Chapter 304: Unsettling
His hand caught my wrist... not rough, but firm enough to stop me. That hunger still burned in his eyes, but now it was tempered with concern. "You okay?"
I smiled faintly, patting his cheek like I was smoothing him over. "I’m fine. You should go join Ash. She’s probably already charming the staff in the..." I paused, searching for the word, "...executive lounge."
He tilted his head. "You’re not coming?"
I was already looking for my hoodie and jeans. "No."
"Why not?"
"I have to get back to Sarah."
His jaw worked like he wanted to argue. "Aria... "
"I want to go back," I said, cutting him off, and there was no bite to it... just exhaustion.
For a moment, he didn’t move. Then he let me go.
The taxi ride was quiet, the city blurring past. My thoughts wouldn’t stop pacing.
It felt like I was losing pieces of myself... slipping, scattering.
When I went back to Sarah’s quiet house, I knew it would all come crashing back: the memories I’d been dodging, the emotions I’d been drowning, and the brutal image of Kael with her.
And I couldn’t do it.
I needed something to anchor me.
Even if that meant going back to work.
Even if that meant seeing Kael again.
The house was quiet when I walked in, but Sarah wasn’t.
She greeted me at the door with her usual sunshine smile, pulling me into a hug so tight it almost knocked the air out of me. "Finally! You’re home. I already made breakfast... your plate’s waiting."
Her warmth should’ve been comforting, but the second her arms wrapped around me, a scent clung to me. Not hers.
Familiar. Sharp.
Kael’s.
My chest lurched, panic blooming so fast I had to remind myself to breathe. No. No, I was imagining it. Losing my mind over him again. Smelling ghosts that weren’t there.
I forced a smile, forcing the thought out with it. "I’ve got the worst headache. Too much drinking."
Sarah pulled back, concern flashing across her face. "You poor thing. Sit, eat... you’ll feel better."
I sank into the chair but needed to talk, needed to anchor myself before I spiraled again. "How was your meeting with that friend you mentioned?"
Her eyes lit instantly. "It went so well. Better than I hoped." Her grin widened, almost girlish. "I can’t wait to see him again."
Something about the way she said it snagged on me, like a fishhook. But I pushed it aside, latching onto the excitement in her tone. "Wait... so is this... a suitor?" My voice lightened with real curiosity, the thought almost sweet. "Come on, spill. I want details."
Her expression flickered, just for a breath, before she shook her head quickly. "Not like that." Then, as if redirecting a spotlight, she tilted her chin toward me with a sly smile. "So... did you have fun with the twins?"
Heat rushed to my cheeks, but not the good kind. That knowing smile made my skin prickle. I shifted, uncomfortable. "They’re... complicated." I almost told her about Sylas, about Kael, about the mess in my chest... but I didn’t. I was too tired to untangle it all, too tired to let the words leave my mouth.
Instead, I leaned into her, collapsing into the familiar warmth of her arms. "I just... wish I could turn my mind off for a day. Or even a minute. Just stop thinking. Stop feeling. Wander like..." My throat tightened. "...like a butterfly. Or a bird. Nothing weighing me down."
Her hand stroked my hair gently, soothing. But her voice was not soothing when it came... it was low, steady, too steady.
"If that’s what you want," she whispered, "I can make it happen."
A laugh tumbled from me, shaky. "You’re joking."
"No." Her voice darkened, threading between each word. "I mean it. You and me... we can go somewhere where nothing matters. No one matters. Just us."
I pulled back, unsettled. Her eyes didn’t match her smile. And under her perfume, I swore I still smelled Kael.
But as quickly as the shadow appeared, she brushed it away with a laugh. "I’m kidding, silly."
"Right..." I muttered, stepping back. "I should shower. And brush before I eat."
"Of course." Her smile stayed soft, like nothing strange had happened..
But as I walked further into the room, a shiver rolled down my spine. Not just exhaustion. Not just hangover.
Something different.
Like pain I hadn’t yet discovered waiting to break me open.
....
I’d spent the past few days choking on my own thoughts. Every time I closed my eyes, it was there again... Kael’s hand cradling her face, the way he let her kiss him, and the way he didn’t push her away. It played like a cruel reel behind my eyelids, and no matter how hard I tried to drown it out, it always came back sharper, uglier.
That jealousy was a living thing now. It clawed at my chest until breathing felt like a punishment. He was once mine... Kael Roman. Mine to touch, to hate, to love. Mine to whisper those reckless nothings against my skin while he held me like I was both his sin and salvation. And now? Now he could just... let someone else have that?
I told myself it had to be a mistake. Maybe I was drunk. Maybe the light played tricks on me. Maybe Kael hadn’t really replaced me so soon. I clung to those maybes like lifelines. Because the alternative... that it was all real... was unbearable.
And yet, if I truly believed my own excuses, I wouldn’t have ended up where I did this morning.
I stood at the foot of XE Tower.
The glass skyscraper glared down at me, merciless in its shine, its polished steel edges cutting into the sky. The plaza outside was buzzing with men and women in tailored suits, phones pressed to their ears, coffee in hand, all rushing inside for the Global Executive Board Meeting. The one that happened every last Wednesday of the month. The one where Kael, the CEO himself, would undoubtedly be present.