جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Aria’s POVI woke slowly, the way dawn creeps in…soft, reluctant, wrapped in layers of warmth and lingering dreams. My body registered the sensation before my mind could catch up: the heat blooming low on my stomach, a slow, glide of lips moving upward. Each kiss felt like a spark against sleepy skin, pulling me gently but insistently out of the haze.My breath hitched. I blinked once, then twice, my lashes felt heavy. The room was still dim, morning light was pale and golden at the edges of the curtains. And there he was.Kyle.His dark hair fell forward as he pressed another open-mouthed kiss just below my ribs, then higher, tracing the soft curve beneath my breast. His hands were already on me…warm palms sliding up my sides, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts like he was learning their weight all over again. He didn’t rush. Which made everything feel more intense. Jason always rushed when he was with me like he couldn’t wait to be done with me.I felt the moment he rea

Kyle’s POVI stood at my office window, with a cigarette between my fingers, watching the morning traffic crawl by below.Claire Donovan’s address was burned into my brain. Brooklyn. A converted loft building in Williamsburg. I’d memorized the route she took to work. She always went to a coffee shop on the corner. And got the same order every morning. Oat milk latte with an extra shot.Predictable.Everyone was predictable once you watched them long enough.I checked my watch. 8:47 AM. She’d be leaving her apartment in exactly eight minutes. Same as every weekday for the past three weeks since she’d moved back to New York.I stubbed out the cigarette and grabbed my keys.The drive to Williamsburg took twenty-three minutes. I parked two blocks from her building and waited.At 9:15, right on schedule, Claire walked out. Her blond hair was pulled back. Designer workout clothes that probably cost more than most people’s rent. Phone already in her hand, scrolling as she walked. She w

Aria’s POV - Three Days LaterI stared at my phone for the fifth time in ten minutes.Claire still hadn’t responded. It has been three days of silence. No texts, no calls, nothing.We were supposed to have dinner on Tuesday night. I’d texted her that morning to confirm and got nothing back. I figured she was busy with work. I texted again on Tuesday evening. Nothing. I called Wednesday and it went straight to voicemail.Now it was Thursday and my stomach was churning with worry.This wasn’t like Claire. She always responded. Even when she was traveling for work in Europe, she’d send quick messages. Always stayed in touch.Three days of complete silence was wrong.I pulled up our text thread again. Read through our last conversation.Me: “Dinner this week? I miss you!”Claire: “Yes! Can’t wait”That had been Monday afternoon. Then nothing.I tried calling again. Straight to voicemail.“Claire, it’s me again. I’m starting to get worried. Can you just text me back and let me know you’re

Kyle’s POVThe first thing I was aware of was the sweat.It had plastered my hair to the back of my neck and soaked through the thin fabric of my sleep shirt, the sheets beneath me were damp and twisted from what must have been hours of restless turning. I blinked at the ceiling, with my chest heaving.I exhaled slowly.The room was still. Morning light came through the curtains in thin pale strips, striping the floor in gold. I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead, then let my arm fall across my face and just lay there, breathing, waiting for my heartbeat to remember what normal felt like. These days, I always felt like my body was off. It seems like Kyle wasn’t yet back. My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I ignored it.It buzzed again.I reached for it without looking, squinting against the screen’s brightness when I finally tilted it toward my face. A notification. I almost set it back down … probably an app, probably nothing … but the name registered a half-second later

Kyle’s POVThe moment we got back to the apartment, I went straight to the bathroom.Closed the door behind me. Locked it.Pressed my back against it and tried to breathe.My hands were shaking.I held them out in front of me, watched them tremble like I was freezing even though sweat was dripping down my spine.Blood. There had been blood on her finger. Bright red against her skin. Dripping onto the counter.Something had hurt her.Something had cut her. Broken her skin. Made her bleed.And it wasn’t me.The thought sent a wave of rage through me so violent I had to grab the sink to stay upright.I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My face was pale. Eyes too wide. Pupils blown.I looked insane.“Calm down,” I whispered to myself. “Calm down, Kyle. Calm down.”But I couldn’t.Because the image of that blood kept replaying in my mind. Over and over. The moment I walked into the kitchen and saw it dripping from her finger.Someone else had hurt her. Something else had marked her.N