LOGIN“I wasn’t the same boy who ran away.” My voice grew quieter. “I had something to show for myself.” “I didn’t tell him I was coming. Of course I didn’t have to, I wanted it to be a surprise, to shock him and my mother that I made it without them, I walked into that house like I owned it. I won’t lie, I was so scared he might shoot me, I mean my dad, he's so strict. I found him in his study.” My jaw tightened slightly at the memory. “Same place he used to sit when he decided my future for me.” Aria gave me that pitiful look I hated and I kissed her cheeks then continued. “And for the first time…” I swallowed, the moment still vivid in my brian.. “He looked at me differently, i was expecting him to be disappointed but he stared at me without disappointment. But with something else, recognition. “I told him everything.” I said. “What I built. What I became.” I didn’t need to exaggerate. The truth was enough. “And then I waited. for rejection, his criticism for anything he's good a
I can’t lie to Aria. She deserves more than fragments. She deserves the truth, even if it paints me in a way I’ve spent years trying to outrun. “You don’t like your family?” she asked softly. Aria is a sensible woman, I must admit, she sees through me with her intelligence. I nodded. My hands were still on her waist, warm, steady, grounding me in the present, but my mind was already slipping back into a past I’ve never truly escaped. “I hate my father.” I said, the words came out quieter than I expected, but heavier. Like they’d been waiting—patiently for years. Aria didn’t interrupt. She never does. That’s the thing about her. She listens like every word matters. So I let myself fall. “I was fifteen when he asked me what I was going to study.” I let out a hollow chuckle. “You’d think it was just a normal question, right? A father asking his son about his future.” But nothing about my father was ever normal. “I told him I wanted to be a billionaire.” I felt Aria’s fingers tig
I stood up from the sofa, my heart skipping in surprise as my eyes locked on him. “When did you get here?” I asked, still trying to steady my voice. “Not long ago,” he replied casually, slipping his hands into his pockets like he hadn’t just startled the life out of me. “He sent the letter...” I began, but before I could finish, he stepped closer. His presence swallowed the space between us, and then his index finger pressed gently against my lips, silencing me. “I trust you,” he murmured, his voice soft. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” The words settled deep in my chest, warm and reassuring. A small smile tugged at my lips. “I don’t love him anymore,” I said, my fingers slipping into his hair, brushing through it slowly. “I love you.” “I know,” he whispered, his gaze softening as it lingered on my face. “And I love you a hundred times more, my baby.” Before I could react, he lifted me effortlessly in his arms. A soft laugh escaped me as I wrapped my arms around hi
I smirked, so he's finally accepting I'm not his wife anymore. My heart skipped and I took a deep breath before continuing. "How are you? How's life without me?..." Life is so perfect without him, not just perfect, it's peaceful. "...I don’t know how to begin this without sounding like the same man who hurt you, the same man who twisted words, avoided truth, and made everything about himself. I’ve written this letter more times than I can count, and every version of it felt like a lie, not because the words weren’t true, but because I know I lost the right to be believed by you. But at the same time, I’m writing this because silence would be another form of cowardice, and I’ve already been too much of that. I am sorry. Don't be mistaken, this sorry isn't the careless kind of sorry I used to say to you, the one I’d throw out just to end an argument or to make you stay. I mean the kind of sorry that sits heavy in my chest, that keeps me awake at night replaying everything
(Aria’s POV) I stare at the dress draped over the mannequin, and the black colour fits very well. The fabric glimmers subtly, like it’s alive, like it’s breathing under the soft golden glow above. Tiny beads are stitched into it with surgical precision, scattered across the surface like fragments of a shattered night sky looking delicate and dangerous. My gaze trails down slowly. The silhouette is everything I imagined and more. It hugs every curve with a kind of quiet authority that's not desperate for attention, not loud but impossible to ignore. The structure is sharp yet fluid, sculpted to flatter, to command, to own the room without ever needing to raise its voice. The neckline dips just enough to flirt with danger, teasing the line between elegance and temptation. And those subtle floral textures whisper luxury, power and control. My fingers twitch slightly at my side. I'm proud to call it my design, my vision and my power. A slow breath slips past my lips as I ta
(Author’s POV)The dining room was quiet, sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows, spilling soft golden streaks across the polished marble table, but it did nothing to ease the tension hanging thick in the air.Aria sat in the dining room, her only movement is the slow, absent swirl of her spoon through the milk in her mug.Clink.Clink.Clink.The sound was soft in the silence, but at the same time it felt unbearably loud.Her eyes weren’t on the cup.They weren’t on anything.They were distant—lost somewhere between confusion, unease and the lingering weight of what happened between her and Ethan last night.Across from her, Devi watched in silence, her sharp gaze taking in every detail, the faint pallor of Aria’s skin, the crease between her brows, the stiffness in her shoulders that didn’t belong to someone simply having breakfast.“You don’t look fine,” Devi said at last.Aria didn’t reply.The spoon kept circling.Clink. Clink.“I don’t know...” she murmured eventually,
Aria’s POV The drive home was wrapped in silence, the silence pressed against my chest until breathing felt a bit uncomfortable. Ethan didn’t turn on the radio. He didn’t try to fill the space with words like he used to anytime I'm sad, that wouldn’t matter anyway. And I was grateful for that. I
*Ethan’s POV* I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do, but should I just stand here like a decent man and let another man who's her past, tear into her in front of everyone? Or defend the woman whose trembling fingers are laced through mine like I’m the only thing keeping her upright? Beca
The kiss started slowly, each movement unhurried. His mouth was warm against mine, his hands cupping my cheeks, his thumbs brushing softly against my skin, stabilizing himself or maybe stabilizing me. My hands tightened into the fabric of his jacket, clinging to him, needing to touch him, despera
After the dance ended, the room felt too loud, too bright, and my chest felt heavy in a way I couldn’t ignore. Maybe it was the stares I’d caught on the way in, maybe it was the weight of everyone watching us, maybe it was Ethan or maybe it was every single piece of that mix, pressing down on me u







