Chapter 121: Therapy

ARIANA'S POVI stayed a few cars behind him the entire drive.He never looked back. Never slowed down. He just kept driving, and I kept following, praying I wasn't making a mistake.After almost twenty minutes, his car finally pulled into the parking lot of a building.A gym.I frowned, switching off my engine a few spaces behind him.The place looked deserted. Most of the lights outside were off, and the parking lot was almost empty except for our cars.I watched him climb out without a second glance around. He shut the door, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, and disappeared inside.For a second, I just sat there.Then I pulled off my seatbelt, climbed out of the car, and hurried after him.By the time I reached the entrance, I grabbed the handle and pulled.Locked.I tried again, harder this time.Nothing."What the hell..."I stepped back, looking through the glass doors, but everything inside was dark.Had I lost him?I walked around the side of the building, hoping

Chapter 122; What he needed

Ariana’s PovHe kept going, fucking me like the grief and rage were still pouring out of him. His mouth found my other breast, sucking hard, teeth scraping the nipple until I whimpered. When I tried to twist away from the intensity he just pressed me down harder, hips slamming into mine, the sound of skin on skin echoing through the empty gym.I was moaning his name between broken “ahhhh”s and “fuck”s, my legs wrapping around him even as it hurt a little, even as he held me so tight I couldn’t escape the force of it. He didn’t slow down. He just kept driving into me, rough and relentless, like he was trying to fuck the pain out of himself and into me instead.Neither of us was close to finishing. He was still too full of everything that had happened tonight, and I was still taking every bit of it.He kept thrusting for a while longer — deep, hard strokes that shoved me further up the canvas every time his hips snapped forward. Each time he pulled almost all the way out and drove bac

Chapter 123: I loved him too

ARIANA’S POV“I love you.”The words came so quietly I almost thought I’d imagined them.“I love you,” he said again. “I should’ve said it a long time ago.”Everything inside me went still.I stared at him, mind completely blank. Out of everything I thought he might say, it wasn’t those three words. Not now. Not like this.I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.He gave the smallest smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.“Aren’t you gonna say anything?”I closed my eyes for a second, then looked at him again.“Kian… I can’t.”His brows pulled together.“What do you mean you can’t?”I slowly sat up, putting a little space between us.“You’re engaged.”He didn’t answer.“You’re engaged to Serena.”“I’ll end it.”“It’s not that simple.”“It is.”“No.” I shook my head. “It isn’t.”He reached for my hand. I looked down at it, then back at his face.“Rhys has done nothing except love me,” I said, quieter than I meant to. “He stood by me when I had nobody. He never asked for anything except for m

Chapter 124: It was over

KIAN’S POVI stayed at the gym for a long while after she left.I didn't know how long exactly. I just sat there in the ring, staring at the empty space where Ariana had been, replaying everything that had happened between us over and over again.She loved me.She hadn't said it tonight, but I knew. I could see it in her eyes before she walked away.And somehow, that made it hurt even more.Eventually, I got up and left.By the time I got home, the house was quiet. I walked straight to my room, opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind me.I stood there for a moment, not moving.Then my hand went into my pocket.I pulled out the folded piece of paper Alora had given me.I stared at it for a long while before finally opening it again._____My dear Kian,If you're reading this, then I'm probably no longer there to explain everything to you myself.I don't know what you're feeling right now. Maybe you're angry. Maybe you hate me. Maybe you're wondering why I waited this long

Chapter 125: Goodbye, Ari

ARIANA’S POV I had just walked into the house when I noticed my phone lying on one of the couches in the living room. I guess they got it back. I walked over and picked it up, the screen lighting up in my hand. There were a bunch of missed calls. I frowned. Who the hell was calling me this early? It was barely seven. Before I could check the name properly, the phone started ringing again. I looked at the screen for a second, then picked up. “Hello?” Nothing. I frowned. “Hello?” Then I heard him breathe on the other end. “Your stupid Kian went ahead and messed with my business.” I froze. “What?” “I’m going bankrupt, Ariana.” I pulled the phone away from my ear for a second, staring at the screen. “What the hell are you talking about?” “Don’t play dumb with me. I know he found out.” My brows pulled together. “Found out what?” “That it was me that got the pictures and made the headline some years back.” My stomach dropped. The pictures. The headline. Ever

Chapter 126: It's the end

Ariana’s Pov I woke up slowly, stretching my arms above my head and letting out a tired sigh. For a few seconds I just stared at the ceiling, still half-asleep, before reaching for my phone to check the time.It was almost afternoon.I frowned. I had slept that long? Surprisingly, no one had knocked on my door this time. Usually someone would have woken me by now, asking if I wanted breakfast or reminding me about something. But today the house was strangely quiet.I pushed the covers aside and sat up, rubbing my eyes.I got up, went straight into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I stood under the water just long enough to wash the night off my skin, then stepped out, dried off and pulled on a soft t-shirt and shorts. My hair was still damp when I opened the bedroom door.He was……. thereKian was standing right there, hand raised like he’d been about to knock.He started talking the second he saw me.“Rhys just left. He spoke to me before he left. He said you—”I didn’t let him