Chapter 3: Going somewhere, Miss Aria

Aria's POV

We were high up, and the ground below was all jagged rocks and crashing waves. The estate was built on a cliff.

There was no escaping through the window.

I ran to the door and rattled the handle. "Hey! Let me out!" I yelled, banging my fist against the door. "Mr Sterling! You can't do this! This is kidnapping!"

No one answered. The hallway was silent.

I paced the room like a caged animal. I wasn't interested in this business deal anymore. I didn't care about the millions of dollars, I just wanted to go home.

I started opening drawers, looking for anything I could use, a phone, a tool, a weapon. I pulled open a small drawer in the nightstand and froze.

Inside was a small, velvet box. My hands shook as I picked it up and opened it.

It was a ring, a blue diamond that looked like a drop of the ocean. It was surrounded by tiny white stones. It was the most beautiful and terrifying thing I had ever seen.

I remembered the wedding photo downstairs. This was the ring the woman in the photo was wearing.

I dropped the box like it was hot.

"I have to get out of here," I whispered to the empty room. "I have to leave right now."

If I stayed here, I felt like this house would swallow me whole. It felt like Isabella’s shadow was trying to crawl under my skin and take over. I wasn't Isabella. I was Aria.

But as I looked back at the mirror, I saw the blue diamond ring sitting on the table, reflecting the light. It looked like it was waiting for me.

I gripped the edge of the table until my knuckles turned white. I didn't care who Isabella was or why we had the same face. I was going to find Mila and the guys, and we were getting out of this house tonight.

Even if I had to break Alexander Sterling’s heart, or his nose, to get out of here, I will seriously do it

I waited until the moon was high. When I opened my eyes, I realized I fell asleep. I quietly stood up and walked toward the door, I pressed my ear against it. Nothing, no footsteps, no voices. Just the distant, hungry roar of the ocean against the cliffs.

I reached for the handle, expecting it to be locked, but to my surprise, it turned with a soft click.

My breath hitched. This was locked before, how come it was open? Did he forget? Or was this a trap?

I didn't wait to find out. I slipped out into the hallway, my bare feet silent on the cold marble. The corridor was a tunnel of darkness, lit only by the faint glow of the moon through the high windows. Every portrait on the wall seemed to follow me with painted eyes. They all looked like him, serious, powerful, and possessive.

I moved toward the west wing, where I hoped James had taken the others. My mind was racing, trying to map out the house. Left at the grand staircase, past the library, through the gallery...

"Going somewhere, Miss Aria?"

The voice was like velvet dipped in ice.

I jumped, nearly tripping over my own feet. I spun around, my back hitting a cold stone pillar.

Alexander was standing in the shadows of a doorway, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He wasn't wearing his suit jacket anymore. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his sleeves were rolled up, revealing muscular forearms. In the dim light, his golden-brown eyes looked like predators.

"I’m leaving," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "I’m finding Mila and the guys, and we’re getting out of here. You can't keep us here like prisoners, Mr Sterling.”

He took a slow step toward me. He didn't look angry; he looked exhausted, like a man who had been fighting a war for five years and had finally found the one thing worth winning.

"The gates are locked, the guards are armed, and the nearest town is twenty miles away," he said quietly. He stopped just inches from me. I could smell the whiskey on his breath and that scent of sandalwood that made my brain fuzzy. "Where exactly do you plan on going?"

"Anywhere but not here," I snapped, trying to push past him.

He moved faster than I could react. His hand shot out, pinning the wall right next to my head. He leaned in, trapping me between the cold stone and his warm body.

"Why are you so afraid, Isabel?" he whispered.

"My name is Aria!" I shouted, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. "Why can't you get that through your thick head? I’m an architect from New York! I have a life! I’m not some ghost you can just lock up in a room!"

“Then tell me how you know this house," he challenged, his eyes boring into mine. "You took the shortcut through the west wing. You’ve never been to Sydney before, right? So how did you know the way?"

I froze. My eyes darted around, looking confused. How did I know the way?

"I... I just guessed."

"You didn't guess," he whispered and leaned closer.

For a second, my heart skipped a beat and I didn't pull away. "That... that was nothing. You’re just gaslighting me."

"Am I?" He reached out, his thumb grazing the line of my jaw, right where the small scar sat. I should have pulled away, but I felt paralyzed. "You look like her. You smell like her. You even fought like her when she was angry."

"I thought you said she was obedient," I reminded him, my voice trembling.

A flash of a smile touched his lips, a sad and beautiful smile. "She was but not to people who get on her nerves"

He leaned closer again, his forehead resting against mine. For a second, the anger vanished, replaced by a strange, magnetic pull. My body remembered him even if my mind didn't.

"Let me go, Mr Sterling," I whispered, my strength fading.

"I can't," he murmured against my skin. "I’ve spent five years in the dark, Isabel. Now that I’ve found the light, I’m never letting it go again."

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the floor below, the sound of breaking glass and a woman’s scream.

"Mila!" I pushed him back with all my strength.

Alexander’s expression shifted instantly. The soft gaze turned into cold steel. He grabbed my wrist, but this time it wasn't a care, it was a command.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, pulling a small handgun from the back of his waistband.