CHAPTER 187ARIAThe house was quiet when Caspian came in. He dropped his keys in the bowl by the stairs and a second later, I heard Lark from the living room. They were out in the storage room where Lark was trying to make a floating boat from straws. "Dad! It didn’t float right! I told you it can't!” Dad? Since when was Caspian dad? I'd never heard them call him that. I hurried to the doorway just in time to see Caspian drop his bag on the floor, and kneel beside Lark, both of them staring down at a bowl of water. The sad looking straw boat they'd been working on together had half sank into the water. Caspian ruffled Lark’s hair. “We’ll fix it. I'm sure we can get it to work.” Caspian was patient. He had always been patient with the kids even when he didn't have to be. I watched him sit on the floor, saw Lark’s excitement, and Caspian nodding along, as though all his ideas made perfect sense. “I'll tape the bottom so the water doesn't find a way inside the boat. What do yo
ARIAThe air smelled different at Caspian’s house.Maybe it was because I got used to the cold, clean, sterile air of the hospital, but it felt like the world had been changed while I was gone. It felt like everyone was waiting for me to make the wrong move. I had nothing to say still, I couldn't believe I'd lived three years believing one thing only to…Stepping out of the car carefully, I held the car door to hold myself steady, the other hand holding the hospital bag they had insisted I take.I still had a white wristband I hadn't managed to tear off yet. The house door opened before I reached it."Mom!"Nylah and Lark ran towards me almost like they would knock me down. Lark reached me first, throwing his arms around my waist, his head buried into my stomach. Nylah was there a second later, wrapping her arms around my legs with a soft cry. I held them, dropping to my knees, my hands shaking as I wrapped it around their backs. I inhaled them in, my relief filling my eyes with
ARIA The hospital room smelled like bleach. I expected a nurse had cleaned up while I was sleeping. The white lights digging into my eyes made the world feel flat, but in my hands was my phone which seemed to survive the crash. I scrolled through it, checking in on what was happening in the world. There were no new posts on Zara’s social media handle, so I dropped the phone. But it rang and I carried it to see Vivienne’s name on the phone screen. I answered slowly. "Hello?" "Why didn’t you tell me Ivan was alive?" Her voice was dangerous, already mid-accusation. I sat up too fast, the pain pulling at my side. "You didn’t know?" "Clearly not," she snapped. Stricken by guilt, I blinked, because none of it added up. I had assumed Markus would tell her. He worked for her after all, unless she was lying. "How did you find out then?" I asked. "I have my sources." That meant nothing. She had everyone on her payroll. I sighed. "I was going to tell you. Soon." After a se
CASPIAN I stood at the vending machine, feeding the money in as calmly as I could. A few beeps later, I took the bitter cup of coffee and took a blissful sip, two fingers pressed against my temple. I hadn’t really slept. A half-hour nap on the stiff visitor’s chair didn’t count. The nurses had come and gone through the night, checking vitals and adjusting IVs. I’d barely looked up each time, eyes always trained on her sleeping form just to make sure. Now, with the sun up and the hospital no longer quiet, I left my post and walked into her room again. Aria was awake, propped up against the pillows, her face pale but alert with her hair a tangled mess she hadn't yet remembered to care about. Even then, I thought she looked maddeningly beautiful. Some things didn’t change. She turned her head when she saw me and reached for the water on her tray. Her hand was unsteady. I took the cup from her and helped her sip. She nodded in thanks, then leaned back again with a small winc
CASPIANThe man tried to argue but I moved to block him completely. For a few seconds, it was tense.Finally, Aria’s father gave up. He muttered something under his breath and walked away with his shoulders tight and his jaw clenched.I watched him go, then I exhaled. I turned to Xander, who was still standing by the bench.Xander nodded to the seat and I followed him, sitting down with a sigh.“I’ve been looking into what you asked,” Xander said after a moment.I turned to him. “And?”Xander looked me in the eye. “You might want to brace for this.”I sat up straight. My entire body was tense. The words hit me way harder than I expected it to.“What did you find out?” I asked.Xander hesitated.And I knew whatever it was, it was going to change everything, because Xander wasn't one to hesitate.“The night Talia said you raped her? She was at the club the whole time. Multiple people saw her, and she left with Zara right before dawn.”I blinked, caught off guard. “That’s not possible.”
CASPIAN I stood and paced to the hospital window with my arms folded and my mind all over the place. The burner phone thing had caught me completely off guard. I’d been sitting there for a while now, trying to make sense of it before she woke up. And it just didn't make any sense. I knew Aria probably had secrets. Hell, everyone did, but why would she go as far as buying a burner? That wasn’t a casual choice. She had something up her sleeve that she wasn't sharing with me. That was the kind of thing you did when you didn’t want to be traced. When you were planning something in secret. Or when you didn’t trust the people around you. I glanced back at her on the bed. She was sitting up now. Even weak, she looked stunning snuggled into her sheets, her eyes round and large in her face. She looked like she wanted to speak, and I didn’t push her. I just waited. Finally, she said. "I got the burner because I had something on Rowan. I wanted to release it without anyone know