All Chapters of Marked By Two: Chapter 51 - Chapter 59

59 Chapters

The night begins

Aria's povI don’t go to events like this to be seen. I go to control what people think they see. And right now, they were observing me.The moment I stepped out of the car, all eyes fell on me like I was an artwork for exhibition.I straightened my back and smoothed my dress. Max came up beside me. His hand brushed the small of my back.“Relax,” he murmured under his breath.I almost smiled.“I am relaxed.”A man approached us first as we walked inside the power filled room. He had a sharp suit and even sharper eyes. I knew him: Victor Hale.“Max,” he said, shaking hands before turning his gaze to me. “And you must be the woman everyone is talking about.”“People talk too much,” I said smoothly.He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. “Only when something is worth the breath.”“Then I hope I keep giving them something useful to say.”He studied me for a second. He was looking for a crack, a sign of hesitation. He wouldn't find it.“Well,” he said, “I look forward to seeing ho

The Things we lost

Noah's povHalfway through the flight, while the city lights of Ravaryn burned beneath the private jet like a field of fallen stars, I stared out the window and wondered why the hell I had agreed to this.“Try not to look like you’re attending a funeral,” Cassian muttered from the seat across from me.I glanced at him. He looked different now than the brother I used to know. Still dangerous. Still impossible. But fatherhood and disappointment had carved something harder into him. There was less recklessness in his eyes these days. More damage.“You always know how to make an entrance,” I said dryly.Cassian smirked faintly. “And you always know how to ruin one.”Across from him, Elena sat quietly with their son sleeping against her shoulder, his small hand curled against her silk dress. She looked composed in the way women learned to look when they had no other choice. Beside me, Maeve adjusted the diamond bracelet around her wrist for the third time, legs crossed, staring at her

Introductions

Noah's pov“...Noah?”Cassian’s voice came low beside me.“Tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.”I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was paralyzed by the sight of her.The girl I had lost, the girl I had mourned for seven hundred days, was standing in front of me. And she was looking at us as if we were nothing more than strangers in her city.She didn’t look away. Aria met my gaze directly with no hesitation. After the toast, they stopped in front of us.Close enough now that there was no room left for doubt.“You look surprised.”Her voice was calm and even but there was a slight hardness to it.Like she hadn’t disappeared for two years without a trace.Like she hadn’t left everything behind.Like she hadn’t—Left me.“You’re alive.” It didn't come out the way I intended it to.“Clearly.”Cassian let out a short breath beside me, something between disbelief and frustration.“That’s it?” he said, eyes locked on her. “Two years and that’s all we get?”She turned her head sli

No turning back

Noah's povThe applause continued while their lips were still locked. Laughter bled into celebration. And I stood there— Still burning, trying to process what I was looking at. My fingers tightened slowly around the glass in my hand. The faint crack of pressure barely registered over the noise in my head.Cassian moved first. Of course he did.He took a sharp step forward, then another. The air around him turning dangerous. “You’ve got some nerve,” he said. His voice was low, but it cut clean through the noise of the ballroom. “Disappearing for two years and walking back in like this?”But Aria didn’t flinch. Not even a little.Cassian let out a humorless laugh. “What? No explanation? No apology?”She tilted her head slightly, her eyes were steady and unblinking. “I don’t owe you either.”Maeve let out a soft, sharp, ugly sound that should have been a laugh.“Well,” she said slowly, stepping forward just enough to be seen. “I suppose we should congratulate you.” Her gaze sli

Noah

Aria's povThe noise followed me out, muted, distant, like the world was still happening somewhere far behind me, but I had already stepped out of it.The balcony doors slid shut with a soft click. Finally some silence.The cool air brushed against my skin, steadying me. I rested my hands lightly against the railing, staring out at the city lights of Ravaryn as they stretched toward the horizon. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I let it go, slowly, carefully, with the kind of control I had spent two years perfecting. My thoughts drifted slowly to the past. When the one person whose betrayal hurt the most was the one I loved more. Maeve.When I left, I discovered that all she ever wanted was the Vaelor twins. Her hatred for me was deep that even Julian only had to use for his selfish desires. But the poison was already there from the beginning. I shook my head slightly, trying to let go of the past. I had moved on to a new phase of my life. Enough of the past now.I to

The New Aria

Aria's pov “They said you don’t lose.” I didn’t look up from the contract. “I don’t.” A pause. Then. “Then you might want to explain why someone just tried to kill your deal.” That got my attention. I lifted my gaze slowly. He hadn’t changed as much as I expected. Still the same sharp jaw, same steady eyes, just older now. Harder. Like life had taken its time with him. “Ryan,” I said, leaning back slightly in my chair. “I didn’t realize you were in Ravaryn.” “I wasn’t,” he replied. “Not until recently.” His gaze moved across the office, the glass walls, city view, huge space, before settling back on me. “You’ve done well.” “That’s one way to put it.” There was a pause, it wasn't uncomfortable. Just heavy things we weren't saying. “You disappeared,” he said finally. “So did you.” “My mother arranged something,” he said after a moment. “Big client. Different city. I left the day before…” His voice trailed off Before our pack got slaughtered. “I

Unplanned Storm

Aria’s POVDinner with Ryan wasn’t supposed to mean anything.That’s what I told myself when I agreed to it.That’s what I told myself when I walked into the restaurant and saw him already seated, sleeves rolled slightly, looking like he had nothing to prove.And somehow I felt uncomfortable. “You’re late,” he said calmly, picking up a fork.“Sorry, I was busy.”“I figured.”I sat across from him, crossing one leg over the other as I set my clutch down beside me.“You clean up well for someone who used to avoid attention,” he added.“I don’t avoid anything anymore.”“I can see that.”The conversation after that flowed too easily.That was the first problem.“You built all this?” he asked at some point, gesturing lightly with his glass.“Yes, I did.”“On your own?”“Yes.”I pause for a beat, then.“That’s insane.”I almost smiled.“I had help,” I said eventually.He raised an eyebrow, “Max.”Ryan leaned back slightly, studying me. “Do you trust him?”“Yes, I do." My eyes locked to him

After the storm

Aria's pov The morning light spilled on my face, causing me to turn to the pillow. My brows pulled together and I realized something.I wasn't on my bed.I sat up immediately, looking around me. Then the memories came back slowly. “Shit." I scrambled out of the bed. My legs got tangled in the sheet and I ended up slipping and hitting the floor.“Running somewhere?" Ryan stood at the bathroom entrance with nothing but a towel, wrapped around his waist. Water clinged to his tight muscles that I couldn't take my eyes away from.“Look Ryan, whatever happened, it was a mistake, like a really big mistake.”"But was it?” He asked, raising a brow. "Seriously, I'm engaged, I'll be getting married soon, this wasn't supposed to happen.”"What?You and I, we were each other's first love, got caught up in the moment and had sex.”"It's not so bad, Aria.”He was already in front of me. Looming over me like a shadow I couldn't shake off.He was so damn irresistible, I hated that he made me feel

Guest

Aria's pov I moved quietly through the penthouse after Max left the room, the door clicking shut behind him like a line being drawn. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at nothing in particular, listening to the silence settle around me. It felt different.Not comforting. Just… heavy.I walked toward the window slowly, the city stretched out in front of me, calm, controlled, exactly the way I liked it. Everything in its place. Everything predictable.Unlike me.My fingers lifted to my neck without thinking, brushing lightly over the spot Max had noticed. I froze there for a second, then let my hand fall.I lied to him…and I didn’t even hesitate.I let out a slow breath, folding my arms across myself as I leaned slightly against the glass. Ryan’s face flashed in my mind. The way he looked at me. The way he spoke like nothing about last night was accidental.And the worst part?I couldn’t call it a mistake.My eyes closed briefly. I could still feel the echo of it. Not just what

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