All Chapters of THE DAY MY BESTFRIEND STOLE MY FIANCE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"Another business trip?" Isolde quizzed her mother as the two prepared for the house party that would be taking place that night. "Darling, you know your father is a very busy man." Celeste smiled weakly, almost as though, by convincing her daughter of why her father was absent, she was working on convincing herself, too. "I know, but I rarely see him anymore. How many people go on that many business trips a year?" "Successful people like your father." "Will he even be here for the wedding?" Isolde questioned, sounding increasingly annoyed. Like most girls, when she'd pictured her wedding, of course, she'd imagined her father being the one to give her away at the alter but as time was passing and the wedding drew nearer, she was beginning to think that that was going to be an impossible reality. Her father was her idol, the one who had taught her from a young age that to be successful, one must remain ruthless in one's pursuits, the one who had earned her a place in property devel

“Why are you still awake?” Aria’s voice is soft, barely louder than the hum of the night around them. Her fingers move lazily over his chest, tracing absent shapes through the thin fabric of his shirt. For a second, he doesn’t answer. Instead, he shifts slightly behind her, tugging the blanket higher over her shoulder before resting his chin gently on top of her head. His arm tightens just enough to keep her close. “Just thinking,” he murmurs. “About what?” He exhales slowly, his hand sliding up and down her arm in a slow, absent rhythm. “About how quiet this feels.” She tilts her head back a little so she can see him in the dim light. “Quiet’s a good thing.” “Yeah,” he says softly. “It is.” Silence settles between them, but it isn’t heavy. It’s warm. The kind that feels earned. Aria studies him, noticing the slight crease between his brows — the one he gets when he’s overthinking something he won’t admit out loud. “You look like you’re waiting for it to end,” she says gent

“You just can't stand to be away from me, can you?""I'm dying to have you here with me...but that's not why I actually called," Adrian responded, his voice gravelly, completely laced with lust at the thought of being wrapped up in Arias' warmth again. But as he completed the second half of his sentence, his voice undertook a rather serious tone."And here I was thinking you were calling to tell me how you couldn't wait to have me in that bed with you, again. What's up, though?" Aria sighed in response."You know, when I was booking the hotel, they were supposed to send out a confirmation booking email with the date and time we're supposed to be checking into the hotel, right?""Right." Aria yawned, carelessly slipping into her skin-tight floral playsuit after snapping yet another semi-nude picture for Adrian, as had become ritualistic since he'd left. She'd loved how each picture sent had slowly begun to unleash Adrian's raunchy side, letting the composed pretence melt away; slowly s

"What exactly did he say? Did he mention how she is, if she's okay?" Adrian continued bombarding Aria with numerous questions as the two were now seated in the car, making their way down to the hospital as Marcus had instructed.Aria remained silent and utterly unresponsive. It wasn't that she was ignoring Adrian's continuous enquiries, but rather it seemed as though something inside her had completely switched itself off; as though she was no longer able to fully comprehend his words."Aria, are you even listening to me?" Adrian yelled, distracted by Aria's silence. He only realised he needed to press the clutch when the red traffic light appeared, causing him to stop abruptly. The sudden halt triggered a cascade of honking from the cars behind them.Rolling down the window in a fury, he bellowed, "Oh, shut the fuck up, will you?" to the cars behind him, only warranting himself a further ten more honks as a result of his foul language."Aria!" he repeated, reaching over to give her s

"She could've died.""I know.""You're telling me that someone was actually trying to hurt my daughter and her baby that night." It wasn't a question that slipped out from between Celia's lips but rather an accusation. Her intense gaze eventually rested on Aria’s face, and it didn't take rocket science for Aria to have guessed what thoughts were racing through her mind at that moment."That's what she said. But sometimes..." Aria began before halting abruptly, glancing down at her hands, only to find her fidgeting fingers scraping unforgivingly at the skin surrounding her well-manicured cuticles; a recent habit that she had begun to seek refuge in. She inhaled deeply before averting her gaze back up towards Celia and Adrian."What I'm trying to say is that sometimes...people want answers for why...for why it happened, even when there is no reason, so maybe this is Isolde’s way of finding an answer?""You're actu