Starting Again

Chapter Six – Starting Again

Aria’s POV

By the time I arrived at Nina’s apartment, it was already dark outside.

I stood quietly in front of her door for a few seconds, trying to calm myself down, but the moment she opened it and saw my face, her expression changed immediately.

“Aria…”

Her voice became softer as she stepped aside for me to enter.

The moment I walked inside, the warmth of the apartment almost made me cry again. Everything that happened tonight came rushing back all at once, and suddenly I felt too tired to keep pretending I was okay.

Nina closed the door and looked at me carefully.

“I knew something like this would happen one day,” she said quietly.

I lowered my eyes because I knew exactly what she meant.

For months, Nina had been telling me to leave Alex. She kept saying I was losing myself in that marriage, but every single time, I defended him. I always believed things would get better somehow.

Now I could not even defend him anymore.

Nina slowly sat beside me on the couch.

“What happened?” she asked gently.

The concern in her voice broke the little control I still had left.

Tears filled my eyes immediately.

“I saw him with her tonight,” I whispered painfully. “At the birthday dinner.”

Nina’s face darkened instantly.

“That woman again?”

I nodded slowly.

“He brought her there in front of everyone.” My throat tightened. “His mother and sister treated her like she already belonged beside him.”

The humiliation still burned inside me.

I could still hear Lena mocking me while everyone stared.

I wiped my face quickly, but more tears came anyway.

“And then I heard him say he didn’t want a child with me.”

Silence filled the room.

Nina closed her eyes for a moment like she was trying to calm her anger.

Then she reached for my hand gently.

“I told you to leave him a long time ago,” she said softly.

A painful smile touched my lips.

“I know.”

“But you kept choosing him.”

That truth hurt more than I expected because it was true. No matter how badly Alex treated me, I kept hoping he would love me again.

Nina squeezed my hand softly.

“But it’s over now,” she said. “And maybe that’s a good thing.”

My hand slowly moved to my stomach without thinking.

A small smile appeared on my lips.

Nina noticed immediately.

Her brows pulled together in confusion.

“Aria?”

I looked at her with teary eyes.

“I’m pregnant.”

For a second, she froze completely.

Then her eyes widened.

“What?”

I nodded slowly, and this time the smile on my face became real, even through the tears.

“I found out today.”

Nina looked shocked at first, but slowly her expression softened completely.

“Oh my God…”

I lowered my eyes and placed my hand against my stomach again.

“I know everything is a mess right now,” I admitted quietly. “But when the doctor told me… I was happy.”

Nina stared at me carefully.

“Does Alex know?”

The warmth inside me disappeared immediately.

I shook my head.

“And I don’t want him to know.”

Nina stayed quiet, waiting for me to continue.

“I heard what he said tonight,” I whispered. “He doesn’t want this baby. I’m not going to beg him to love our child.”

My voice shook badly near the end.

“I don’t want my baby growing up in a place where we are unwanted.”

Nina’s eyes softened with sadness.

Then she gently brushed my hair away from my face.

“Then leave that life behind,” she said quietly. “Completely.”

I looked down at my hands.

“But I don’t even know what to do anymore.”

“Yes, you do,” Nina replied immediately.

I frowned slightly.

She gave me a small smile.

“You were an amazing designer before all this happened. Do you remember that?”

The words caught me off guard.

It had been so long since anyone talked about that part of me.

“I stopped designing years ago,” I said softly.

“That doesn’t mean your talent disappeared.” Nina leaned back against the couch. “The company I work for is looking for designers right now.”

I looked up at her in surprise.

“What?”

“They’re hiring for a new project,” she explained. “And honestly, you’re better than most people there.”

For the first time that night, something small moved inside me.

Hope.

Nina smiled softly when she saw my expression.

“You need to stop seeing yourself as the woman Alex rejected,” she said gently. “You’re more than somebody’s unhappy wife.”

My chest tightened painfully because I had forgotten that.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped being Aria.

I became the woman constantly trying to earn love from someone who never gave it freely.

Nina squeezed my hand again.

“Come with me tomorrow,” she said. “Start working again. Start living again.”

I stayed quiet for a moment.

Then slowly, my hand rested against my stomach once more.

This time, I was not thinking about Alex.

I was thinking about my baby.

About the kind of life I wanted for us.

Finally, I lifted my head and nodded.

“I’ll go.”