Ruthless Desires
Aria’s POV
Only then do I let myself breathe. And the breath breaks me.
I stumble back against the desk, fingers gripping the edge until my knuckles ache. My lungs drag in air that tastes too sharp, like glass cutting my throat. I kept my face steady for her. I held the line. But now, in the echoing silence, her words tear through me like shrapnel.
“Barren.”
“Wasted his years.”
“Perfect alibi.”
I press my palm to my mouth to keep the sob from spilling out, but it still comes, a muffled, ragged sound I haven’t made in years. My knees weaken, and I slide into the leather chair behind my desk, spine curling despite myself.