Chapter 57

Ariana's POV

There are rare moments in my life when I truly feel helpless, where the feeling of being useless dominates all my other emotions.

This is one of those rare moments as I sit across Max with a stoic expression, probably because I feel too numb to react.

The silence around us is heavy. I can clearly hear the ticking of the clock on the wall behind me. Its ticking reminds me of the ticking of a time bomb, and somewhere it is not far from the truth.

Time. Is. Ticking.

With each moment passing, I feel my chest constricting. All these feelings were too familiar, the vice-like grip clutching my chest, making each intake of breath difficult than the previous one.