Deagan hadn’t called or returned her calls since morning and Aria was starting to worry, he’d been acting differently over the past few days, more distracted and distant. She wasn’t sure whether it had to do with developments at work or something else, but she never found the time to ask.  In the past two months since his birthday they spent less time together than usual with both of their busy schedules clashing, they found themselves seeing less of each other during the day, instead one would slip into bed beside the other after a long day and together they’d drift off to sleep, sometimes barely breathing a word.  If it weren’t for the fact that Deagan spent more nights at his apartment than with her, she wouldn’t have even noticed the distance he created in the last week. The unanswere

Aria cursed herself for having that shot as she emptied the contents of her stomach in her toilet just hours after coming back from the restaurant, the lamb chops she had making their way back up her throat.  Deagan dropped her off at home and left, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall why he hadn’t stayed, and given her current position, she was glad he hadn’t.  She clutched onto the toilet seat for dear life, willing away the dizziness that accompanied nausea. The headaches were something she’d come to terms with and on many occasions learned to live with, without taking medication, but that evening she decided on a strong painkiller to help her through the chatter-filled evening.  Lesson one, alcohol and painkillers should ne

Aria stood awkwardly in the corner of the private dining hall that Deagan hired out, the room was filled with family and close friends there to celebrate the twenty-eighth birthday, but she didn’t feel even the least bit happy.  Her forced smile was starting to quiver and she couldn’t let it fall in front of everyone, least of all Deagan who worked hard to make sure she was having a good time.  “You don’t look like a woman enjoying her birthday party.” Mikhail Lazarev commented, slipping into the spot beside her.  “I’m just tired, it’s been a difficult week at work and I feel a little drained so I wanted to take a breather without being a damper on the mood.” She over-explained which caused him to raise an

He couldn’t see her like this, so strong, yet so despondent. There was a limit to anything good before it became bad, the challenge lied in recognising the line. Especially after having convinced yourself that the pain was worth it, that you deserved the suffering for protecting the people you love, for hurting them.Aycin had done a lot of growing up in the past seven months, he’d always considered himself mature after losing his parents, but being with Aria opened his eyes to a bitter truth he hadn’t allowed himself to recognise even when his parents died.The universe is as greedy as the life that thrives in it. For every “given”, something is taken. Aria was given a new chance at life, but her will to live it was taken from her in the same breath.

Deagan ran a hand through his hair in frustration, without realising it his eyes drifted to the manila folder that sat collecting dust on the right-hand corner of his desk. He hadn’t touched it since he placed it there two weeks ago, but he was hyper-aware of it even when he wasn’t in his office, its presence loomed at the back of his mind like a bad memory and in many ways, it was one.He didn’t want to rehash the past, not when he was finally able to move on.  There was a time in his life where he thought he wouldn’t be able to live without her. Her betrayal cut deeper than anything he’d ever felt, it hurt more than his parent’s death, she hurt him knowingly; his parents wouldn’t have left him on purpose.It wasn’t until he met Zoey that he had something to look forward to and that was something he never fi