All Chapters of Aria: Scales of Love: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

“Jude, honey, is that you?” My mom’s voice drifted from the kitchen, pulling me back to reality. I stepped back from him, my cheeks flushing, as he turned to face the doorway, a shy, almost boyish grin on his face.“Hi, Mrs. Rossi,” he said, his voice warm and polite.My mom appeared in the hallway, wiping her hands on her apron. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and a huge, genuine smile spread across her face. “Jude! What a wonderful surprise! I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”“I couldn’t wait,” he admitted, his gaze flicking back to me for a moment. “The game was this morning, so I figured I’d drive down and surprise Aria.”“Well, you certainly succeeded at that,” she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she took in my tear-streaked face and the bouquet of flowers still clutched in my hand. “Why don’t you two come into the living room? I’ll put these in some water for you, Aria.” She gently took the flowers from me and bustled back toward the kitchen.Jude follow

The silence in the truck was heavy, but not uncomfortable. It was a silence filled with unspoken understanding, a shared acknowledgment of the battle we had just weathered and won. He didn’t pull out of the pizza parlor’s parking lot right away, instead letting the engine idle, the low rumble a comforting vibration.“I only have until Sunday,” he said, his voice a low, quiet murmur, breaking the stillness. He turned to me, his eyes searching mine in the dim glow of the dashboard. “I go back Sunday afternoon. I don’t want to waste a single minute of it.”My heart ached, a familiar pang of the impending goodbye. “I don’t either,” I whispered.“Come home with me,” he said, his voice a soft, hesitant plea. “Just for a little while. My parents went out to dinner with some friends. They won’t be back until late. We can just… be. Just us.”The thought of being alone with him, of having him all to himself, was a powerful, irresistible pull. I was tired of the drama, tired of the tests. I just

January melted into a blur of schoolwork and late-night phone calls. The fragile peace Jude and I had fought for began to solidify into something stronger, something real. The distance was still a challenge, but we were navigating it together. Our friends had settled into their new dynamics with a surprising ease. Roxy and Ben were sickeningly adorable, their banter a perfect mix of her fire and his calm. Sam and the glasses-wearing guy from the party, whose name was Leo, were officially a thing, their quiet, intellectual compatibility a stark contrast to Marco’s dramatics. And Marco, after much theatrical moaning, had finally found his own boyfriend, a quiet, sweet guy from the drama club named Tyler who seemed to find Marco’s constant melodrama endearing. Noah, however, remained a constant, subtle presence. He never crossed any lines, but the flirting was always there—a lingering look, a compliment that was a little too personal, an easy way he had of inserting himself into my conve

Jude POVThe pounding in my head was a familiar rhythm, the dull, persistent throb of a night spent partying too hard. I groaned, rolling over in my bed, the sunlight filtering through the blinds a brutal assault on my eyes. My phone was on the nightstand, face down. I picked it up, my heart giving a little flutter of anxiety as I remembered the last text I’d sent Aria. Wish you were here. ’t replied. That wasn’t like her. A pit of unease opened in my stomach.I shook it off. She was probably just asleep. It was late when I messaged her.My phone buzzed again, this time with a call from Liam. I answered, my voice still rough with sleep. “Yeah?”“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!” Liam’s cheerful voice boomed through the receiver. “Get up. We’re grabbing breakfast in the cafeteria in 30."“30 min?” I groaned, flopping back onto my pillow. “Dude, I’m dying.”“Don’t be a baby,” he said, laughing. “It’s important. We’re planning a trip.”45 min later, I was sitting in the loud,

Monday morning was a special kind of torture. My phone had blown up overnight with a string of texts and missed calls from Jude, each one a desperate, pleading cry that I ignored. Aria, please pick up. I’m so sorry. Let me explain. I’m an idiot, I know. Please, just talk to me. I deleted them all, a cold, detached sense of satisfaction settling over me. Let him suffer. Let him feel a fraction of the uncertainty he had made me feel.At school, I was a hardly mentally there. I went through the motions, my body on autopilot while my mind replayed the fight on a continuous, painful loop. I was brittle, on edge, snapping at Marco for a stupid joke and glaring at Noah when he tried to ask me if I was okay.By lunchtime, I was exhausted. The mere thought of the greasy pizza and tater tots on my tray made my stomach turn. I pushed the food around my plate, the smell of fried everything suddenly overwhelming, cloying. I felt a wave of nausea rise in my throat, and I had to take a deep, steadyi