(Aria's POV)I stared at Derek, feeling the weight of his icy gaze pressing down on me as if it could shatter me into pieces. But I wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction.I raised my chin, my voice firm even as my chest ached. “What choice do I have, Derek?” The words slipped out, harsher than I intended. “You terminated our contract. You made it abundantly clear I’m no one to you.”His expression shifted, just slightly. A flicker of something—anger, pain, maybe both—crossed his face, but he quickly masked it with that cold, aloof demeanor he always used.“No one to me?” His tone was low, dangerous, filled with an emotion he seemed to choke back. “Is that what you believe?”“Yes,” I spat, my voice trembling now as my emotions spilled over. “Until tonight, you barely even looked at me. Until tonight, you stood by and let them humiliate me.”My hands tightened into fists at my sides. “So yes, Derek. That’s exactly what I believe.”His ice-blue eyes darkened, the storm within them
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