جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

ARIA POV The car ride with Ethan felt like a trap I had just willingly walked into.I sat in the passenger seat of his sleek black Mercedes, with my arms crossed tightly over my chest, staring out the window as the city lights blurred past us. I had agreed to “get some air” mostly to stop my mother from hovering and to stop myself from thinking of Adrian and the text he sent earlier, without context. But now, as the streets grew darker and the buildings we passed by changed from elegant skyscrapers to something more secretive, I regretted every decision that had led me here.Ethan glanced at me from the driver’s seat, with that easy, confident smile still on his face. “You’ve been quiet the whole ride. Everything okay?”I didn’t look at him. “I’m fine.”He chuckled softly. “You don’t sound fine. You look like you’re thinking about murdering someone.”If only he knew.I forced a tight smile. “Just tired. Where exactly are we going? You said it was a nice place to relax.”“You’ll see

ADRIAN POV After Aria left the club, the heavy curtain fell shut behind her, cutting off the last glimpse of her retreating figure. The low thump of bass music from the main floor vibrated through the walls, but inside the private booth, the silence felt heavier than it should have. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the place where she had been, my hands still tingling from the way I had gripped her, the taste of her still lingering on my tongue.I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair.This was getting dangerous.Ethan had seen too much tonight. He had seen me pull her out of his car like she belonged to me. He had seen the way I touched her, the way I looked at her. If he opened his mouth to Victor Bennett, my entire cover could crumble in seconds. The driver who had been quietly dismantling an empire from the inside would be exposed, and everything I had built, every careful move, every fake profile and facade, would be for nothing.I couldn’t let that happen.

ARIA POVThe dining room felt smaller than usual this morning, the air was thick with the smell of fresh coffee, buttered toast, and my mother’s overbearing perfume. I pushed a forkful of scrambled eggs around my plate, watching the yellow mush blur into the porcelain. My appetite had vanished the second Ethan slid into the chair across from me, flashing that polished, trust-fund smile like he hadn’t just spent the night getting caught up with Adrian. I knew something had happened the night before. I had seen the way he looked at me when he got back from the club; he seemed pale, shaken, and his eyes kept darting around as if he was scared of his own shadow. And now here he was, acting like nothing had happened last night.“Darling, you’ve barely touched your food,” Mom said, her voice bright and brittle as she refilled my father’s coffee. “Ethan was just telling us about that new gallery opening downtown. You two should go together after your classes. It would be lovely.”I forced a

ARIA POVThe ride with Ethan was quiet, painfully quiet, not in a comfortable way, but in a suffocating way.I stared out the window, watching the city move past me, but my mind wasn’t there. It was still back at the mansion. Still stuck on the way Adrian’s hand had wrapped around my wrist.The way he has reduced his voice, the way he looked at me like I was doing something reckless, and he was barely holding himself back from stopping me.I curled my finger slightly in my lap.God.Why did that bother me this much? I shifted in my seat, exhaling slowly, forcing myself to focus on the present.On Ethan, the reason I was even here in the first place. I turned my head slightly, studying him from the corner of my eye.He looked, normal.His hands were on the wheel, while his eyes stayed on the road, with a very calm expression on his face. I tilted my head slightly, breaking the silence.“So…” I said, my voice was very low. “You gonna tell me what that ‘private matter’ is, or am I suppo

ARIAI opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn’t think properly. All I could think about was his hands down there. I wanted to yell, to tell him to stop, but I couldn’t.“Ahh...Adrian stop.” I moaned out, my brain clogged up with the heat, frustration and need of the moment.The words left my mouth, but they sounded weak even to my own ears. My body was a traitor, my hips tilted forward of their own accord, chasing the pressure from his fingers that were already sliding under the hem of my dress, he pushed the soaked lace of my panties aside like it was nothing. The cool night air kissed my exposed skin for one electric second before his warm, calloused palm cupped me fully. He slid two thick fingers through my dripping folds with a wet sound that made my cheeks burn with shame and desire.“Soaked already,” he growled against my ear, his voice was dark and filled with satisfaction, the vibration of it sending sparks straight down my spine. “Even when you’re angry. Even when you