ANMELDENThe hallway was empty when I stepped out of the study.My mother was waiting for me by the front door, she looked worried.I was surprised to see her standing there."Are you okay? Did your father do anything to you? What did he say?" she rushed her words.I shook my head. “I’m fine, he can’t do anything to me.”She studied me for a moment, then pulled me into a final embrace."I'm sorry that I couldn’t stand up for you then, when your father was against you." Her eyes were misty. "I just want you to know that I've always been proud of you."I held her close. It was actually the first time she had apologized to me since what happened then, and strangely, I felt a bit relieved, like a load had been lifted off my chest slightly."Thank you," I smiled at her."Anytime, my son. I love you."I pulled back, kissed her cheek, and walked out the door.I couldn’t hold back the smile that danced across my face. I looked back at the house before entering my car.---Third Person POVThe Rossi e
Mason's POVThe Rossi estate loomed in front of me like a monument to everything I'd spent my life trying to escape.That evening, I drove to my parents house.I sat in my car for a long moment, engine idling, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles had gone white. The house hadn't changed. It never did. It had always felt more like a prison than a home.I didn't want to be here.Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to turn the car around, to drive away, to pretend I'd never received that call from my father's assistant demanding my presence.But I couldn't.I killed the engine and stepped out into the cold afternoon air.The walk to the front door felt endless. The door swung open before I could reach for the handle, and there she was.My mother.Katherine Rossi stood in the doorway like she'd been waiting for me. Her hair was perfectly styled, her dress immaculate, even her expression carefully composed. "Mason," she said softly. "You came."I forced a ne
Third Person POVThe bar was the kind of place where people went to disappear.Tucked away in a rundown part of the city, far from the glitz and glamour of the Rossi name, it was the perfect hiding spot for someone who didn't want to be found. The lights were dim. The smell of stale beer filled the air like a fog.Adrian had been there for hours.His jacket was discarded on the seat beside him, his tie loosened, his shirt untucked. Empty glasses lined the bar in front of him, and his eyes were glassy, unfocused, fixed on some distant point that only he could see.The bartender, a grizzled man who had seen too many people drink themselves into oblivion, refilled his glass without being asked."You sure you want another one, Sir?" he asked, his voice flat.Adrian laughed nonchalantly. "What do you think?""I think you're going to regret it in the morning." The bartender said respectfully."I'm not planning on making it to morning."The bartender shrugged and walked away.Adrian grabb
I closed my eyes. She was right, I knew exactly what I was feeling. I was just feeling terrified.Terrified that I still loved him, terrified that I'd never stop, terrified that if I let myself fall again, I would shatter into pieces I would never be able to put back together.> “I need to go. I have work.” I yawned, already feeling the exhaustion in my bones.> “Sure you do.”> “I'll call you tomorrow.”> “You better. I want all the details.” Brielle was so shameless.I set the phone down and stared at the ceiling.---Third Person POVThe bar was the kind of place Vanessa normally wouldn't be caught dead in.Dim lighting that was more grime than atmosphere. Sticky floors that hadn't seen a proper mop in years. A jukebox was sitting in the corner playing something scratchy and old, the kind of music that felt like it belonged to a different decade entirely.But Vanessa wasn't here for the ambiance.She was here because the message had been specific. "Come alone, don't tell anyone. A
"I'm not lying.""Then why are you pushing me away?"Because I'm scared. Because I still haven't forgiven you for walking away, and I don't know if I ever will.But I didn't say any of that."I'm not pushing you away," I said instead. "I'm being realistic. We're not the same people we were five years ago. We can't just... fall back into something because it feels familiar.""I'm not asking you to fall back into anything." His voice was rough. "I'm asking you to give me a chance. That's all.""A chance for what?""For something." “Just let it go.” I insisted."You haven't moved on." He groaned."Stop." "You haven't," he insisted. "If you had, you wouldn't have kissed me back. You wouldn't be sitting here right now, looking at me like you're trying to convince yourself to leave.""You don't know what you're talking about.""I know you, Aria." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. "I know you better than anyone. And I know that you still feel this. Whatever this is
Aria POV The drive was silent.Not the comfortable kind of silence, the kind that felt like two people had too much to say and didn't know how to start. Mason drove with one hand on the wheel, the other gripping his thigh like he was trying to hold himself together. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead. The city blurred past outside the window, buildings, streets, people living their lives, each going facing their own challenges.I kept stealing glances at him. The way his knuckles were white against the steering wheel. We drove for what felt like forever.Then he pulled off the main road onto a narrow, winding street I didn't recognize. The buildings thinned out, replaced by trees and open space. The city noise faded into something softer, like a birdsong, the rustle of leaves, the distant hum of the river.He parked the car near a small park I'd never seen before. It was quiet here. The kind of place that felt like it existed outside of time.He killed the engine and sat th
Third Person POVCarter's Bar & Grill hummed with its usual night energy.The lights were low and warm, casting golden pools across the polished wooden tables. The smell of grilled food and spilled beer hung in the air like a familiar blanket.Brielle’s eyes swept across the room, taking in everyt
I was silent for a moment.The truth was, I didn't really know how to answer that. It was going both well and terribly. I was finding things, pieces of information that felt important but I had no idea what to do with them. I was making progress, but I was also making mistakes."It's complicated,"
Third Person POVThe shoot had been brutal.Seven hours of posing, changing, re-posing, smiling until her cheeks ached, holding positions that made her muscles scream in protest. By the time they finally wrapped, she was running on fumes and stubbornness.She didn't go home.She went to Mason's ap
Third Person POVThe afternoon air was a bit crisp.Brielle walked fast, she was already very late as it was. It was mid afternoon and she had still not opened her bar.Her heels clicked against the pavement in a rhythm that matched her mood rushed, she was already irritated with the day before it







