Kane hadn't been to the apartment or contacted her in days.Aria figured he was intentionally avoiding her, so she didn't want to bother him by telling him she was in the hospital."Did you two have a fight?" Caleb understood what she meant and sat back down in his chair. "Regardless, you’re in the hospital and need to stay for observation. You should at least let him know."Aria lowered her head and bit her lip. "He moved back home. He's not staying at the apartment."So, as long as no one told him, Kane would have no idea she was here.Caleb frowned. It sounded like things were pretty bad between them, and he wondered if Natalie had a hand in it. "You really don't want him to know?" he asked, confirming for the third time."No," Aria said, looking at him. "I'll pay you back for the medical bills.""Forget about it!" Caleb waved his hand dismissively. "If you hadn't grabbed that big guy, I'd probably be the one in the hospital right now."Aria didn't know Caleb had taken down the rob
The department store was packed on a Saturday, and the parking garage was full.Caleb had to drop Aria off at the entrance and go find a spot on the next street over.Aria figured it would take him a while to park, and she wanted to keep what she was buying private, so she went inside on her own.The supplement section was on the first floor but was tucked away, so she had to walk past the main checkout counters to get to it.Aria spotted the sign for the counters and started walking that way. Just as she did, a gunshot rang out.A loud bang, followed by a woman's terrified scream.Aria's face went pale, and she instinctively ducked behind a large flowerpot, her eyes fixed on where the sound came from."One more sound, and I'll kill you!" a man wearing a black ski mask growled, his arm wrapped tightly around a female cashier's neck.The cashier gasped for air, her face turning from red to white, her eyes rolling back in her head.Aria felt a surge of panic but forced herself to stay c
After Kane moved back in with Natalie, Aria was left alone in the apartment.For the first couple of days, she felt a bit out of place. Every evening, when she came home to the empty space, a wave of sadness would wash over her.Aria had thought about calling Kane, but the memory of his half-baked explanation that morning left her without the courage to reach out.The urge to contact him faded as her courage dwindled.***On Saturday, Aria had a lunch meeting with Caleb and the contractor he’d introduced her to. Since the restaurant was right next to a big department store, and she needed to buy some calcium and zinc supplements, she decided to leave an hour early.To her surprise, as she stepped out of her apartment complex, she saw Caleb’s car parked at the curb. He rolled down the window, honked, and waved at her."What are you doing here?" Aria asked, surprised."Get in the car first," Caleb said, getting out to open the passenger door for her.Aria couldn't refuse. She got in, bu
After breakfast, Kane was headed back to the office, and Gabriella asked to ride with him to ATTA.“What for?” Kane frowned. “Didn’t you drive here?”“I can leave my car here and you can drive me back tonight,” Gabriella said, acting as if she owned the place. “Besides, I’m a part of ATTA. Why can’t I go back to the office? It’s on the way, isn't it, Aunt Natalie?”Natalie wanted them to spend more time together, but she knew Kane wouldn’t agree to it. Gabriella didn’t know, but Natalie did, that Kane had gotten a new car right after she asked him to drive Gabriella home.The meaning of that wasn't lost on Natalie. Besides, Kane had already made a lot of concessions for her. Now that he had moved back, she felt anything was possible.She wasn’t in a rush, and Gabriella’s impatience annoyed her.“Are you going to ATTA, Gabriella? I thought you were going to spend some time with me today,” Natalie said with a sigh, looking disappointed.“You want me to stay, Auntie?” Gabriella’s eyes da
Aria rolled her eyes. She didn't care what he said. She was annoyed and didn’t want to see him.So, she walked back into the guest room and locked the door.The last time Kane had kicked the door down, he had it fixed, so she wasn’t worried he would do it again. After all, he was the one who would have to pay to fix it again.When the door closed, Kane stood there, stunned.Was she giving him the cold shoulder?He was a CEO, a powerful figure, and he was being locked out by a girl?And from the way things had gone, it seemed like he had lost the argument.The thought infuriated him. He didn’t feel like kicking the door down to confront Aria. He just turned around, went into the master bedroom, and took a shower. When he came out, fresh and clean, he saw Aria standing by the front door, ready to leave.She looked at him coldly. “I’ve thought it over. If you don’t want me here, you can just say so. I can leave anytime. You don’t have to move out. This is your place,” she said.Kane’s fa
Just as Frank expected, Kane drank himself into a stupor and passed out on the sofa.Frank stood over him, rubbing his temples, looking at the man who was still frowning in his sleep.“Hey, wake up, dummy!” Frank said, kicking his leg, not in the mood to deal with him.Kane was sleeping soundly and only woke up after Frank kicked him hard enough to make him fall off the couch.“Ugh…” The hangover left him with a pounding headache. He pressed his hands to his temples, his eyes barely able to open.“Where am I?” he asked.He had drunk so much the night before that he had blacked out.“My place,” Frank replied, annoyed, then gave him the boot. “No breakfast here today. If you want some, go home”.Kane held his head for a while before he remembered that he had gotten into a fight with Aria and came to Frank’s place to drink.“I slept on the couch last night?” He looked at the room and frowned. “You’re heartless. You didn't even give me a blanket. Was it because I almost drank your prized