Aria's POV"Why are we here?" I ask, moving my legs that have been dipped in the water. I let the cold temperature of the water settle in.Xander's feet are also in the water; he is sitting next to me."Why do you think we are here, sunshine?" he throws my question back at me."Well… you brought us here. How about you tell me why we are here?""To take our minds off things," his eyes focused on my face. "You've been cranky for the past twenty-four hours. So how about we cleanse those bad energies with a day out in the lake?""No, I haven't," I protest, crossing my arms on my chest."Ever since I came back, have we spoken to each other without you raising your voice or getting mad?""Well… uhm—" I try to come up with an excuse, but I can't. My brain always betrays me when I most need it."See! That's why we need to cleanse those bad energies surrounding you." I didn't know he fetched the water until he splashed me with it."What the heck?" I flinch when the cold water touches me. "You

Aria's POV"What? No! I don't think they will ever do that," Xander spoke, and I felt something unclench in my stomach. But who would ever try to drug me? They look like the perfect suspects for that. I don't know how to imagine someone simply drugging me without my parents' knowledge and caused me to make me forget the things that had happened to me? This just doesn't make any sense to me. I rake my fingers into my hair."Who do you think did it?" I raised a brow. "I think it might be them," my voice came out as a whisper.Feeling something moist and a bit itchy around my eyes, I thought, "Shit, am I about to cry again? How many times am I going to cry today? This is like the third time." A voice in my head scolded, "Aria, get a grip on yourself, damn it! Aren't you tired of showing weakness already?"I really need to stop crying; I really need to get a grip. But I can't; I don't seem to know how to control my emotions. The control has been snatched away from me, and my body is curr

Aria's POVAfter what felt like an hour of crying, yes, in the shower, I finally got a grip on myself and got out of the shower.I honestly forgot the real reason that made me cry, but I knew I was mad at Xander. I wrapped my hair in a towel and dressed in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. I don’t know why it was so cold today; maybe it was because I sat in the cold shower for a long time.Staring at my puffy eyes in the mirror, I knew I needed to do something. My crying is getting out of hand, and if I don’t do anything about it soon, my eyes might fall out of their sockets.I need to find something to calm my nerves and emotions. I’m a very big mess!Then it hit me, ‘Rose.’ Rose might be able to help out; she tried her best to help me when I was going through my withdrawal. So she must definitely have something to help out.But… for that, I need to get out of this house first. So I made a mental note to go see Rose tomorrow. I’ve missed her a little bit.I dragged the covers over

Aria's POV"You’re not wrong, Aria; we are mates; you are my mate," I hear Xander’s voice.I turn abruptly to the sound of his voice. He was standing a few feet away, and I fight the urge to ask him why he's here. I bring my knees closer to my chest, wrapping my arms tighter around them to ease the chill engulfing me.I turn my attention back to the lake. I really need to know how he’s doing this, how he’s listening to my thoughts without my knowledge. Letting himself into my head without my permission. His heavy footsteps draw closer, but I don’t even acknowledge them. I feel a jacket being wrapped around me, and the cold immediately subsides a little. The smell of Xander’s cedarwood scent makes me feel a little better.“It’s cold out here; let’s go home,” he gives me his hand, which I don’t accept. My attention is still focused on the lake.“Sunshine,” he whispers, “it’s cold out here. You’re even shaking” I look down to my hands and legs, I didn’t know I was shaking until he said

Aria’s pov Today is one of the best days of my life . Whoever said ‘spending money you didn’t work for is bad’ need a reality check. At first, I did feel guilty, but Xander deserves it. He didn’t think twice when he was doing things I didn’t like, so he’s paying with his money.I love the way the shopping bags look, and the sound of the machine when the card gets approved, and the fake smiles from the workers when they hand me the card back.I walked out of the fourth store today. At this point, I don’t know what I want. I’m just buying things out of spite for Xander.I can’t imagine what his face looks like when he sees all those debits.I flinch as some of my bags fall to the ground when I feel a hand snake around my waist. But the smell of cedar wood calms me. I turn to see Xander.But not the way I expected him. I thought he would be fuming with smoke coming out of his ears, but no, something that resembles worry spreads across his face. “What the heck, you scared me.” I place