002

Chapter 2 

Aria

“Miss? Miss? Miss!”

I spun around and found Lena, one of my regular staff, staring at me with open concern.

“Look,” she said.

I glanced down. Milk was still pouring into the café latte, overflowing the cup and spilling across the counter in a slow, widening puddle.

“Oh my God.” I jerked the pitcher away, horrified at how long I’d been standing there. “How long was I zoning out?”

“I’ll clean it up, don’t worry,” Lena said gently. “Why don’t you just go home and rest?”

I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you, Lena.” I squeezed her arm, untied my apron, grabbed my bag, and left the café.

Outside I climbed into a waiting taxi.

Three months had passed since Julian and I broke up, and I still wasn’t handling it well. Some nights I cried myself to sleep. Other times I completely checked out in the middle of a shift, my body moving while my mind stayed somewhere else.

I sighed and rested my head against the seat.

“We’re here,” the driver said, pulling me back.

I stepped out and walked toward my building—only to freeze. A crowd of people stood outside, some yelling, some crying. A heavy chain locked the entrance doors.

Confused, I spotted my neighbor from the third floor and hurried over.

“Hey—what’s going on?”

He sighed. “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?” My stomach twisted.

He pointed at the chained doors and the angry group. “The whole thing was a scam. The guy who sold us these units never actually owned the building. He forged the paperwork, took everyone’s money, and vanished.”

“What?” My knees went weak. “That’s not possible. I signed a lease. I have documents.”

“So did everyone else here.” He shook his head, bitter. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The real owner came forward last week. The building’s been in legal trouble for years—back taxes, code violations, everything. The city’s condemning it.”

“Condemning it?” My voice came out thin. “They’re going to tear it down?”

“Yep. And none of us are getting a single cent back.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve got people telling me the guy who sold us these units is probably out of the country by now.”

I just stood there, staring at him, waiting for the joke, the misunderstanding, anything that would make this make sense.

It didn’t come.

“This can’t be happening,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

“Yeah.” He gave me a hollow, humorless smile. “Welcome to the club.”

I stayed outside under the hot sun for what felt like hours. At some point the noise around me faded—tenants arguing, someone on the phone with a lawyer, someone else quietly sobbing against the wall. Everything just sat in my head, looping.

I felt hollow. Depressed in a way I didn’t have the energy to fight. Why did all of this have to pile on top of everything else? Where was I even supposed to start? Where was I supposed to stay?

Going back to my mother’s house wasn’t an option. I had cut ties months ago, not long after the breakup. My brother Leo still messaged me sometimes with little updates, but I never asked and he never pushed. Her stance hadn’t changed. The only way she’d take me back was if I completely cut Sage out of my life for good. That was never going to happen. Not for anything.

Eventually a city official appeared at the door with a clipboard. He had that flat, tired voice people get when they’ve said the same thing fifty times already.

“You have one week,” he announced. “One week to clear out your things before the demolition crews come through.”

I barely heard the rest of it.

Later that evening I finally made it back inside my apartment. I dropped onto the sofa and just sat there, too exhausted to think, too overwhelmed to sleep. I only wanted a moment to breathe without having to process one more disaster.

That night Sage showed up with bags of food and drinks. She’d just come from a hockey game and still looked buzzing with leftover energy.

“You should’ve come,” she said, collapsing onto the sofa beside me. “Girl, the game was insane. Cole played out of his mind tonight—three assists and a goal in the third. The crowd was going wild.”

I managed a small, tired smile. I’d never cared much for hockey before Sage dragged me to my first game years ago, but somewhere along the way it had grown on me—mostly because of her. Cole played for the NHL, and even I had to admit, begrudgingly, that he was one of the best on his team. It didn’t make me like him any more as a person, but I could respect the skill.

Sage kept talking for a minute, still riding the high of the game, before she stopped mid-sentence and really looked at me.

“Hey.” Her tone shifted. “Are you okay? You’ve been really quiet. That’s not like you.”

I let out a heavy sigh. Before I could stop myself, everything spilled out—the apartment, the scam, the condemnation, the one-week deadline.

Sage’s face fell more with every word.

“Okay.” Her expression hardened into focus. “I’m only in town for another week before I have to fly back to Paris, so I can’t have you stay with me long-term even if I wanted to. But Cole has that huge place all to himself, and he owes me one. I’ll talk to him.”

I jerked back. “Sage, no. Absolutely not.”

“Aria, you have nowhere else to go.” Her voice softened, but she didn’t back down. “It’s temporary. Just until you find your footing and figure out your next move. I promise.”

I wanted to argue further, but the truth sat heavy in my chest. I had no other options left.

“Fine,” I said quietly. “But if he says one word about this, I swear—”

“He won’t.” Sage squeezed my hand. “Or he will, and you’ll just have to ignore him the way you always do.”

I let out a small, humorless laugh despite myself and threw my arms around her, thanking

her over and over.

Then it hit me.

I was actually about to move in with Cole Carter.

Shit.