"This isn't you Aria,"

ARIA>>>

My phone buzzed as the elevator doors slid open.

I reached into my purse, fingers still tingling from the heat Kael had burned into my skin. The screen flashed an unknown number. I picked up without thinking.

Then came the voice. His voice.

"Aria, I—"

I hung up. Blocked the number. Try harder, asshole. Not that I would take him back.

Eric had been calling since a few days ago—ever since I caught him cheating and turned his car into a junkyard special. Honestly, I expected him to go crying to the cops. Instead, all I got were weak-ass attempts to claw his way back with excuses I'd never hear.

My heels hit the concrete of HQ's parking lot with sharp, deliberate clicks. I should've kept walking. Should've let it roll off my back like everything else.

But I didn't.

I stopped.

And for a second—just a second—his name cut through me like a dull blade.

That lying fuck.

Even now, a part of me still felt the sting. I hated that. I hated him.

I let out a slow breath, flexing my fingers. It's nothing. Just residue. Just muscle memory.

He was almost everything to me. Almost.

With him, I could stop being this. I could breathe. I could laugh. And maybe I liked that feeling too much. Maybe that's why I let my guard down.

But that was before. Before I was reminded—again—that men are just different breeds of the same parasite. Before I learned that even the ones who claim to love you will still ruin you when it suits them.

Kael, Eric—didn't matter. They took. I endured. That's how the game worked.

A sharp ache curled in my chest, tight and unwelcome. I shoved it down. Buried it deep. I don't have time for this shit.

With a slow, measured exhale, I started walking again.

⁠♡♡♡

The hospital smelled the same—sanitized, cold, and suffocating. I walked through the hallways with purpose, my heels clicking against the polished floors as I made my way to the new ward. VVIP Suite. Just as Kael said.

I pushed the door open without hesitation.

My mother lay peacefully in a state-of-the-art hospital bed, her breathing steady. The monitors hummed softly, the room almost eerily quiet—too pristine, too expensive for someone like us. The kind of place reserved for people with six-figure insurance policies and generational wealth.

Olivia stood beside Mom's bed, her arms crossed. The moment she saw me, her brows furrowed. "Aria. What the hell is going on?"

I schooled my features into something unreadable. "What do you mean?"

She scoffed. "Oh, don't play dumb. They moved Mom here like she's some senator's wife. And they—" She hesitated, dropping her voice. "They scheduled the surgery. Early. The doctor said it was taken care of financially."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my gaze flicking to my mom's peacefully sleeping form. "It's… nothing. Just a better option for her."

Olivia didn't buy it for a second. "That's not it. Tell me, Aria. You know something I don't." Her tone was sharp, almost accusatory. I shifted my weight, all nonchalance. "I arranged it." I answered calmly.

I kept my tone even, though inside, the burn of his name still stung. "I took a loan. It's fine." I lied. I couldn't tell her about Kael. Didn't want to—infact I wouldn't say anything about my new position. Maybe that freeloading bastard would finally be serious enough to keep a fucking job and prove himself useful.

Her gaze bored into me, suspicion creeping into her features. "A loan? From who?"

I didn't flinch. "Doesn't matter. The point is, everything's in place. It'll work out."

"You're lying to me," she said, voice low but full of the certainty she was never wrong. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

I crossed my arms and met her gaze, my own defenses rising. "It's done. Just let it be." It wasn't like telling her would make any difference anyways.

Her eyes softened for a split second, the tension between us thickening. She opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a hand, cutting her off.

"Olivia. I've got this."

And I did. The lie slipped out too easily.

After checking on Mom, I headed home, my thoughts spiraling in different directions. That bastard owned me now or at least a significant part of me. What the hell had I gotten myself into? How was I going to break that smug bastard? And more importantly, what was I supposed to tell Sarah about getting my job back? One of the contract's terms was strict confidentiality—I couldn't tell a soul unless they figured it out themselves. I had to come up with something believable. My head throbbed as I crashed onto my bed, but sleep wasn't an option.

Instead, my mind replayed every damn second I spent with that son of a bitch. How his tailored navy-blue suit hugged his broad, imposing frame like it was custom-made by the devil himself.

The way his piercing green eyes dragged over me—slow, deliberate, like he was savoring every inch, it made me squirm a little inside. I could feel the heat radiating off him, crackling like embers waiting to ignite.

My thighs pressed together instinctively. Fuck. No.

"This isn't you Aria," I whispered, but even I could hear the lie in my own voice. It definitely was me.

Because no matter how much I despised Kael, I couldn't deny the way my body betrayed me.

The sharpness of his jaw, the effortless power in his stance, the way he wielded arrogance like a goddamn weapon—it infuriated me.

And yet, deep in the darkest pit of hell in my stomach, something coiled and tightened, something reckless, something hungry.

I shoved the thoughts away. I tried.

But my nipples ached beneath the thin fabric of my shirt, and my fingers moved on their own, circling slowly, teasing the hard peaks through the cloth. A gasp slipped past my lips before I could stop it.

No.

Not to him.

I'd never forgive myself if I got off thinking about that bastard.

And yet, I didn't stop.

My free hand slid lower, slipping beneath the hem of my skirt. Two fingers pressed against the damp heat of my panties, and I nearly cursed. Fuck. I was already wet.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

And it was all his fault.

♡♡