Lahat ng Kabanata ng CRAVING THE BAD BOY: Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

Ariana POVI didn’t expect it to feel like this. I was the one who said it, maybe we should stop this. But now…I was the one staring at my phone. Waiting. It had been minutes. Maybe more. I wasn’t even sure. I sat on my bed, legs folded under me, my phone in my hand, my thumb hovering over the screen like I was about to do something… but didn’t know what."Why am I like this?" I muttered softly.I dropped my phone beside me and lay back. Staring at the ceiling again. This used to be easy. Talking to him. Laughing with him. Even arguing with him. Now everything felt heavy. Like every word mattered too much. Like every silence meant something. I turned my head and looked at my phone again. Still nothing. My chest tightened slightly."So you’re not going to say anything?" I whispered. I picked up the phone again. Unlocked it. Opened our chat. No new messages. I stared at the last thing I sent, maybe we should stop this. I swallowed. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Maybe I went too far.

Ariana POVI didn’t sleep well. Not even close. Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing it. The posts. The comments. My face everywhere. I woke up feeling heavy. Like something was sitting on my chest. I reached for my phone immediately. Bad idea. More notifications. More tags. More people talking. "This is getting worse," I whispered.I sat up slowly, scrolling through everything again. Someone had made a whole thread. Pictures of me and Nick. Side by side. Zoomed in. Analyzed. Who is she really? Why is he hiding her? Is she the reason for the drama? My stomach turned. "This is insane."I threw my phone on the bed. Got up. Started pacing. "I didn’t ask for this," I muttered. My phone rang. Nick. I stared at it. Let it ring. Then it stopped. A second later…it rang again. I picked up this time."What?" I said, not bothering to sound nice."Ari, have you seen what’s going on?""Of course I’ve seen it," I snapped. "it’s everywhere.""I’m handling it."I laughed. A short, dry laugh. "H

Nick POVI knew something was wrong the moment she didn’t pick up. Ariana never ignored my calls like that, not once. I stared at my phone, the call ended screen still showing. Then I called again. It rang and rang, no answer. My jaw tightened."Pick up," I muttered under my breath. Nothing. I dropped the phone on the bed and stood up, pacing my room. This didn’t feel right. After everything that had been happening…she should have answered. Unless..."No," I shook my head. "don’t think like that."I grabbed my phone again and opened our chat. Typed, deleted, typed again. Call me when you see this, Sent. I waited. Nothing. I ran a hand through my hair, frustration building. "Why is she doing this?" I muttered.But deep down…I knew. She wasn’t doing anything. She was choosing. And that thought made my chest feel tight. My phone buzzed. I picked it up immediately. Not her. Unknown number. I frowned. Then answered. "Hello?""Nick."I froze slightly. That voice. Laura’s father. "Sir," I sai

Ariana POVI didn’t expect to see him again, not today, not when everything in my life already felt like it was slipping out of place. The café was busy, louder than usual. Orders kept coming in, people kept talking, machines kept running. Normally, I liked this kind of noise. It helped me forget things. It kept my head from going too far.But today, even the noise couldn’t save me. Because no matter what I did, my thoughts kept going back to the same person; Nick. The way he sounded on the phone. The way he avoided things. The way everything about him felt…unfinished. “Ari.”I froze. That voice didn’t belong in my thoughts. It was real. I turned slowly. “Mark?”He stood there like he had always been there. Like he hadn’t disappeared for weeks without saying anything. His hands were in his pockets, his expression calm, his eyes fixed on me like he had been watching me for a while.“You finally noticed me,” he said with a small smile.I blinked, still trying to process it. “How long ha

Nick POVMy phone kept ringing, over and over again. I didn’t even need to check to know who it was. Ariana. My chest tightened every single time her name flashed across my screen. I ran my hand through my hair and paced around my room like I had lost control of my own body. Because I had.Everything was falling apart faster than I expected. “Pick up,” I muttered under my breath. “Come on, kitten, just pick up.”The call ended. Silence stretched. Then another call came in. I picked up immediately this time. “Ari...”The line went dead. She declined it. My heart dropped. “No… no, no…”I stared at my phone like it had just betrayed me. She never ignored me like this. No matter how bad things got between us, she always answered eventually. But this time…she wasn’t. And I knew why. The video. The proposal. Everything was already out. Everywhere, trending. Every news page. Every sports blog.Nick Carter proposes to longtime girlfriend Laura The headline made my stomach turn. “Longtime girl