ARIA I could still feel my heartbeat hammering in my ears, loud enough to drown out everything else. Adrian standing there didn’t make it easier. The hallway felt like it had shrunk, and it was just him, me, and my own racing thoughts. My legs wanted to run, but they didn’t. My hands gripped my bag like it could hold me together, like it could stop me from shaking. My chest felt heavy and tight, and every shallow breath burned like fire in my lungs. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to move, to run, to disappear. But there I was, rooted to the floor, caught in the strange, magnetic tension of his presence. Part of me wanted to look away, to close my eyes, to pretend this moment wasn’t happening. And part of me—an infuriatingly stubborn part—couldn’t. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. “Bookie,” he said again, calm, measured. His voice carried that weight—the kind that makes you feel like he sees everything inside you, even the parts you’re desperate to hide. My stomach twisted. My
Last Updated : 2025-12-03 Read more