جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

CHAPTER 22ARIA’S POVI knew deep down that coming to this reunion party was a bad idea. From the moment the invitation arrived, something inside me whispered that tonight would not end well. My heart warned me, but my stubbornness pushed me here anyway. I told myself I was coming only to find out who reported the email I sent to appeal for the removal of the ugly rumors about me. That was my excuse—my reason for walking back into a place filled with old ghosts. But as soon as I stepped inside, I could already feel it in the air. The laughter, the sideways glances, the carefully disguised smirks. I could almost taste the malice hiding behind their sweet smiles.I knew Candy would be here. Of course she would. She never missed an opportunity to shine when it meant dimming someone else’s light. My stomach tightened the moment I saw her walk in earlier, like a cold hand squeezing my insides. And now, as I sat at the long table surrounded by faces from my past, the words she threw at m

CHAPTER 24NOLAN’S POVI already knew she was coming here long before she stepped through those school gates. I’d overheard her brief conversation with the orthopedic doctor earlier in the day—just a few words about emotional stress and trauma….but it was enough. Her tone carried a weight I couldn’t ignore. Something was clearly eating her up from the inside. The doctor mentioned that she’d been struggling ever since some rumors started circling, and when I put that together with what I knew that she’d met up with a girl who bully her at the restaurant that day…it wasn’t hard to guess the source of her pain.And it wasn’t just professional curiosity that made me stay close. The truth is, the thought of her dealing with all that alone tightened something deep in my chest.That’s why I was there. Not by accident. Not because of some random night out. I hadn’t gone anywhere with friends, no matter what I told her. I drove straight to the area i parked my car in the shadows near the scho

CHAPTER 26ARIA’S POVI woke up the next morning to the sound of rustling and a voice that could only belong to my best friend, Linda. “Oh Jesus Christ, what are you doing here in the parlor? Why are you sleeping here? Don’t you know your room is upstairs?” Her tone was a mix of exasperation and amusement, but mostly sheer disbelief.I blinked a few times, my head spinning slightly, trying to piece together my surroundings. The faint morning light filtering through the curtains made everything look blurry, and unreal “Oh… did I… sleep here?” I mumbled, my voice croaky from both sleep and the residual alcohol in my system.Linda’s eyes narrowed, her hands on her hips as she shook her head. “Of course you did, you’re crazy. But wait… what happened last night? What the hell happened?”I groaned softly, burying my face in my pillow for a moment, wishing I could erase everything that had transpired. “I… I came back late. I had to… just go to sleep. I wasn’t… you know… I didn’t follow the

CHAPTER 28ARIA’S POVIf someone had told me that all of this chaos, all of the whispers, the insults, the rumors, could be traced back to pure jealousy, I might not have believed them. And yet, here it was staring me in the face: Candy, the one who had tried to ruin my life, had done it all because she couldn’t stand being second while I was first. It was almost ironic—our lives, intertwined since childhood, now colored by envy, competition, and malice. And I realized, with a bitter pang, that she had been the mastermind behind so much of my pain, orchestrating whispers and lies that had followed me everywhere.A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about exposing her. I could do it. I could show everyone exactly who she was, strip away her pretentious facade, and reveal her to her so-called friends. I imagined the looks on their faces, the realization that they had been fooled, that they had laughed at her schemes without knowing the truth. I would make sure they were left in th

CHAPTER 30Dr. Nolan’s POVI felt like my chest was being crushed. Seeing Aria like that—it tore me apart. She’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known, and to witness her carrying all this weight, all this pain, made me feel helpless. Her eyes had that distant look, the kind that screams someone is trying to hold themselves together but failing silently. I could sense the way her fingers fidgeted with her bag strap, and the subtle tremor of her hands…she was in tension. She’s telling herself she’s fine, but the truth is clear to anyone who truly sees her.Even before she noticed me, I saw the subtle signs, the tight grip of her hands, the slight quiver in her jaw when she tried to smile, the brief glance downward that tried to hide the hurt. It was as if her soul was screaming silently. I couldn’t let her handle this alone. Not anymore.I remembered the conversation she had with the orthopedic doctor, how she had mentioned emotional trauma and psychological pain. Now, it a