ANMELDENARIA'S POV“Xavier.” I shot up from the chair. “Oh my God, are you okay? Hold on, I'm going to get the doct…”His hand shot out and caught my wrist,pulling me back down onto the bed, right beside him.“You didn't answer the question, Aria.”I took a look at him, noticed how weak his grip was around mine. It could have been worse, way worse. “I thought I was going to lose you.” The words tumbled out between sobs. “I thought… God, you scared me.”His thumb brushed across my cheek, wiping away the tears that lingered on my face. “I never knew I was married to a crybaby.”I shoved at his chest lightly. “You should have told me, Xavier. You should have told me about your….”“You never asked.” He cut me off calmly. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'd eat every last piece of that meal if you served it again.”My brows furrowed. “You knew?”He shrugged like it meant nothing to him, and the movement alone looked painful.“You knew it had peanuts in it, and you still…” I straightened. “
ARIA'S POVWe've all been sitting here for an hour, waiting for someone to come out and put our minds at ease.And in those long sixty minutes, all I've felt is guilt. The fact that Xavier is lying in that hospital room because of me is something I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for.Every time I close my eyes, I see him collapsing. I see the confusion in his eyes. The way his body suddenly went limp against mine. The way I screamed his name over and over again while begging him to wake up.My chest tightened painfully.I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the closed room once again.The moment the door to Xavier's room opened, everyone surged to their feet.I was the first one standing.Victor was the first to reach the doctor.“How is he?” he demanded. “What's wrong with my son?”The doctor removed his gloves and adjusted his glasses before answering.“Mr. Weston suffered an allergic reaction.”Silence fell across the hallway.Victor frowned. “An allergic reaction?”T
XAVIER'S POV“What?”Aria walked past me into my room before I could stop her. She crossed to the couch, sat down, and patted the space beside her.“I need to talk to you.”Oh.Here I was thinking she meant something else entirely.I walked in reluctantly and sat close to the edge, leaving enough distance between us to think clearly. “I'm listening.”Her gaze dropped to her hands. “About what you said... that you can't survive it if I left.” She looked up. “What did you mean by that?”“It's exactly what it meant.” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “I think I made it clear enough. But you insisted on leaving anyway.”“Xavier, the contract…”“I know what the contract says.” I turned to face her fully. “I made the rules, Aria. Every single one of them. But here I am, breaking every single one because I couldn't control my feelings for you.”Her lips parted. Closed. Then parted again.“I don't get it.” She slipped a hand through her hair, tugging at the strands. “I was your siste
XAVIER'S POVThe crowd pressed in from all sides.Hundreds of people gathered, screaming and crying in front of me. Their voices melted together into a wall of sound that vibrated through my bones. I pushed through them with my elbows and shoulders, my heart slamming against my ribs.Something was wrong.Something was terribly wrong.Then I saw him.Ian lay on the ground, his white shirt soaked red. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the pavement like spilled wine. His eyes were open but empty. His lips were parted, but no sound came out. Just him choking on his own blood.“No.” I dropped to my knees beside him. “No, no, no…”My hands pressed against his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. But the blood kept coming, warm and slick against my palm.“Ian!” I grabbed his face. “Ian, look at me!”His eyes didn't move.“Mr. Weston.”The crowd faded slowly.“Mr. Weston, wake up.”I gasped violently and shot upright from the couch in my office.My breathing was uneven, sweat soaked t
DEAN'S POVThe vase shattered as I hurled it against the wall, ceramic fragments scattering across the hospital floor.Isabella jolted upright in the bed, her eyes wide, her hand pressed against her chest. “Dean, are you insane? What is wrong with you?”“What is wrong with me?” I spun around to face her, my chest heaving. “Have you seen the news? It's only a matter of time before Aria gets cleared of the charges. All of it.”Isabella sat up immediately, the color draining from her face. “What? So she's not going to jail?” Her voice rose. “We lost a child, Dean. Our child. Who the hell is going to pay for that?”Something snapped inside me at those words.I walked toward her slowly, my fists clenched at my sides. “How about you and that boyfriend of yours pay for it? After all he's behind it all.”She shifted backward on the bed, pressing herself against the pillows. “Dean, He's my ex. We ended things long ago. He means nothing to me.”“I lost my child because of him!” I shouted. “I ha
ARIA'S POVI was in the kitchen, reaching for a bottle of water when the doorbell rang.The sound echoed through the penthouse, sharp and unexpected. Who would be visiting at this hour? Xavier was upstairs. Reed was supposed to be at work. And I wasn't expecting anyone.I walked toward the door and peered through the peephole.Several women stood outside. Young women in their twenties, maybe. They were dressed in neat uniforms with bags in their hands and huge smiles on their faces.Who are these people?I was about to go get Xavier when my phone buzzed.A message from Xavier?Xavier: The new maids should arrive at the house any minute now. Let them in.Oh.Without hesitating, I pulled the door open.The moment I did, all of them bowed their heads in unison, like they had rehearsed it.“Good morning, ma'am.” One of them lifted her head and smiled. “We've been sent as the new maids to work at your service.”I nodded. “I got the message. Come in.”They filed inside one by one, their ex
ARIA'S POV“Do I have to wait longer to hear what you have to say?” My gaze locked on Isa where she sat propped against the hospital pillows. The machines beside her beeped softly, monitoring whatever life still flowed through her veins. The room smelled like antiseptic and flowers, too many flowe
XAVIER'S POVAfter some long days spent between those white walls, going back and forth after Ian's incident, I have come to detest hospitals. Everything about them. The smell, the lights, the way the air feels too clean and too cold at the same time, and the memories they bring.But in this situat
ARIA'S POVMoving into a new house has to be the hardest thing for me.The need to rearrange your closet, fix a lot of things just to have them to your satisfaction, the whole process is stressful as fuck. In a place like this, you could easily have the maids do stuff for you, but I’m not the type
XAVIER'S POVThe moment I ended the call with Adrian, silence swallowed the room whole.I sat there for a long moment, staring at the dark screen of my phone, turning his words over in my head. Ian's name floated through my mind for a second, impossible to ignore.I debated calling him from a place







