Chapter NinetyJulian’s POVThe color drained from Aria’s face so fast I thought she might collapse. Her hand was trembling in mine, cold despite the heat that still lingered in the air between us.“Aria,” I said, keeping my voice low, steady, though inside, my chest was a thunderstorm. “Who was that?”Her lips parted, but no sound came. She stared at the phone like it had come alive, like it had whispered a secret meant to unravel her completely.“Aria.” I squeezed her hand, grounding her. “Look at me.”She did. Her eyes were wide, shining, haunted. And in that look, I saw something I had never seen in her before. Not fear, Aria wasn’t easily shaken. This was worse. This was recognition.Her lips moved. A single word slipped out, barely audible.“Impossible.”My blood ran cold. I didn’t need her to say more to understand. Whoever had spoken on that phone wasn’t a stranger.“Tell me.” My voice dropped, harder now, though I forced the edges of anger down. I wasn’t angry at her. I was a
Chapter Eighty NineAria’s POVThe silence between us felt heavier than the sound of shattering glass. Julian leaned against the doorframe of my office, his shirt still creased from the chaos of the night before, his expression sharp enough to slice through me.“You were reckless, Aria,” he said, his voice low, controlled but his hand curled into a fist by his side betrayed him. “If I hadn’t gotten there in time..”“You don’t get to lecture me about recklessness.” My voice trembled, not with fear, but with the pulse of heat that had been building ever since he’d touched me last night. My body remembered every spark of his fingers against my skin, even as my mind screamed at me to push him away.He stepped closer, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The sound echoed like a gunshot in my chest.“Aria…” My name on his lips wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle. It was a demand, a tether that pulled me closer even when I wanted to run. “Do you have any idea what it does to me when I se
Chapter Eighty Eight Aria’s POVThe air between us felt like it had been ripped open.His words, short, brutal, unshakable, hung in the space like a detonated grenade, and I could almost hear the ringing in my ears.She was you.I swallowed hard, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in my throat. “I don’t… I don’t understand. How could she be me if I’m..”“Alive?” Julian’s eyes locked on mine, a storm swirling inside them. “Because the world doesn’t play by rules you think it does. And because someone decided to make sure I’d never be free of you… even if it killed the real thing.”My heart hammered so loud I could hear it in my head. “You’re saying she was a..”“Not here.” His voice was sharp, decisive. He closed the distance between us, taking my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing against my cheeks as if trying to ground me. “If you want the truth, you’re going to hear it somewhere safe. Not in this hallway. Not with her still breathing nearby.”But I caught it, the flicker
Chapter Eighty SevenAria’s POVThe air between us was too still, like the room itself was waiting to see what Julian would say next.I swallowed. “Julian… who is she?”His jaw tightened. That muscle along his cheek flexed, the one I’d only ever noticed when he was trying to hold back words. “Aria, now is not..”“Don’t tell me it’s not the time,” I cut in, my voice shaking but sharp. “Not after what just happened. He knew your name. My name. He knew something about you that..”“That he thinks he knows.” Julian took a step toward me, and the proximity made my heartbeat pound in my ears. His cologne wrapped around me, warm and expensive, but under it was something raw, adrenaline, anger, fear.“Julian, I need to know,” I whispered.His eyes softened for a fraction of a second, like he wanted to give me what I was asking for. But then that wall slammed back into place. “If I tell you everything, Aria…” His voice dropped lower. “…you’ll never look at me the same again.”I hated that my br
Chapter Eighty SixAria’s POV“Step away from her,” Julian said, voice low but razor sharp.The man’s smirk only deepened, and he leaned casually against the doorframe as if he owned the building. “Still possessive, I see. Some things never change.”The air between them crackled, not just tension, but a history I wasn’t privy to. The kind that comes with scars no one talks about.Julian moved half a step in front of me, his stance protective, predatory. “You’ve got three seconds to say what you came for, then you’re gone.”The man ignored him and spoke directly to me. “Do you know who I am?”Something in Julian’s tone when he snapped, Don’t answer that, made my pulse jump.“No,” I admitted, my voice steady even though my heart was pounding so loud I could feel it in my throat. “But you clearly know me.”“Oh, I know you more than you realize,” he said, his eyes darkening as they swept over me with unsettling precision. “Julian’s been keeping secrets… hasn’t he?”Julian’s jaw clenched.
Chapter Eighty FiveAria’s POVThe room felt colder than it should have, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. Julian stood by the window, his back to me, hands braced on the frame as if it were the only thing keeping him steady.“You’ve been somewhere else all night,” I said quietly. “And not the good kind of ‘somewhere.’”He didn’t move, but I caught the slight drop of his shoulders, a crack in that perfect composure.“I’m fine,” he said.I hated how flat it sounded. I hated even more that I knew it was a lie.“You’ve told me a hundred times not to hide things from you,” I reminded him, crossing the room. “So don’t you dare start doing it to me.”He turned halfway, his profile lit by the dim city glow outside. “Some things aren’t meant to be shared, Aria.”I laughed under my breath, though it wasn’t amused. “You mean some things you don’t want me to share in. There’s a difference.”That got his attention. His head shifted fully toward me, eyes catching mine with the