AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aria’s shoulders slump, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I-I’m sorry. I just...I don’t know. It’s like nothing I do matters. Like I’m just existing, not really living.”
“Don’t fucking say that. It matters. It fucking matters, Aria,” I spit.
“None of it feels real, Dion. I’m stuck in this endless cycle of disappointment and failure,” she murmurs, tears trickling down her cheeks.
I grab her trembling hands in mine. “Do you really think your life is fucking worthless? Trust me, you are so worthy.”
She scoffs. “Worth being used.”
“You’re much more than that and you know it, astéri mou. But you have to fight for yourself, too. You are loved by so many people.”
She shakes her head, her face crumpling. “And what if I don’t love myself?”
“Then I will keep telling you until you do.”
Aria looks up at me again, something flashing across her gaze, and my hands reach out to her face.
“I need you to understand how much you mean to me. I need you to be more careful. Because if I lose you, I don’t think I’d survive it.”
“Dion—” I put my finger on her lips to silence her.
“Don’t. Come here,” I say, tapping my chest, and she brings her head down to the crook of my neck.
And I know it now. I love her. I fucking love her. And it’s so liberating to finally accept it.
I never thought I’d fall in love. It seemed like a distant, abstract concept, something reserved for others but not for me. My heart was guarded, surrounded by walls I thought impenetrable. It was a foreign language.
Then, Aria came into my life like a chaotic storm, and she effortlessly tore down my walls. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, she unlocked a part of myself I never knew existed.
I’ve learned to embrace vulnerability, to savor the beauty in the chaos of emotions.
Now, as I look into her eyes, I realize that I’ve opened my heart in ways I didn’t think possible.
Her breathing steadies as she relaxes into my hold, our heartbeats joined. Even if Aria doesn’t love me back, it’s okay, as long as I get to hold her like this a little while longer.
34
ARIA
Iwake up, feeling groggy, mouth dry as sandpaper. The room is dim, and it takes me a moment to recognize where I am.
Dion’s guest room. I haven’t been here in a year, but the familiar sight brings back memories.
I look down at my clothes; I’m wearing one of his oversized band tees. Nirvana. I smile.
Just then, a figure hovers over me, and I blink to clear my vision. A man with kind eyes and graying hair is checking my pulse.
“Good, you’re awake.” He smiles. “I’m Dr. Grant.”
I try to sit up, but a wave of nausea crashes over me, and I sink back into the pillows. “What happened?” My voice is barely a croak.
“You had quite a cocktail,” Dr. Grant explains, pulling up a chair beside the bed. “Alcohol, cocaine, and painkillers. A very dangerous combination. You passed out, and Mr. Loukas called me. We had to flush your stomach while you were unconscious.”
I shudder at the thought, my body still heavy and sluggish. “Am I going to be okay?”
“You’ll be fine,” he assures me. “But the effects will linger for a bit. You might feel weak and disoriented for the next few days.”
I close my eyes, a tear slipping down my cheek. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
