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“What, Dion? What do you expect me to do?” She throws her hands up in frustration. “Do you think I want this?”
My chest tightens, and I struggle to find the right words. “I don’t know what you want, but thinking about you with him, whoever he is?—”
“You have no right to be jealous,” she interrupts, her voice trembling. “What is it that we’re doing, anyway? We know this can’t go anywhere.”
I take a step back, raking a hand through my hair. “I don’t fucking know!” I shout. “But I can’t stop it. Whatever this is, we have to see it through. I’m not letting you marry him.”
Aria shakes her head, tears now filling her eyes. “Dion, we don’t even know each other. This could just be the remnants of lust from that one night.”
I push her back against the tree, bringing my face to the crook of her neck. “Have you thought about me in the past two months?” I demand, my breath leaving goosebumps on her skin. “Because I haven’t been able to get you off my mind no matter how hard I’ve fucking tried.”
She looks away, biting her lip. My heart pounds in my chest.
“Tell me the truth, Aria,” I say, my voice raw. “Have you thought about me?”
She finally looks back at me, her jaw locked. “Every single day. But that doesn’t change anything.”
My hand reaches out to cup her face.
She doesn’t pull away, but I can feel the tension in her body, see the conflict in her eyes.
“It changes everything,” My voice is barely more than a breath. “Because it means this isn’t just in my head. It’s fucking real.”
Aria’s tears spill over. “I’m scared,” she admits, leaning into my touch, her eyes closing for a moment. “I’m scared of what this means.”
I pull her closer, my forehead resting against hers. “I know. But I’d rather face whatever comes our way than keep pretending this doesn’t matter.”
We stand there in the darkness, the forest around us silent.
“Then what do we do?” she asks in a whisper.
I take a deep breath, my fingers gently wiping away her tears. “Tell me who he is, and I’ll figure it out.”
“Andrew Galanis,” she responds, not hesitating.
His last name sparks a flicker of recognition in my mind. Have I heard it before? I quickly rack my brain, trying to recall any previous encounters with that family, but I can’t quite put a finger on it. This is a job for Xander.
“I’ll handle it from here, astéri mou. But if you notice something tomorrow, text me.”
“I don’t have your number,” she says, pulling away from me.
“Give me your phone, then.”
“I don’t have it,” she replies with a guilty smile.
I hand her mine. “Put in your number and text yourself.” She does, then gives the phone back to me. “Now, go back home before you’re caught.”
I kiss her again, savoring her soft lips, before releasing her.
As I watch Aria weave through the forest, a mix of emotions, a concoction that my damaged heart struggles to comprehend, stirs within me.
My heart is scarred and wounded, but perhaps it is still capable of feeling something.
What I feel for Aria can’t be love—it’s too fast, too soon. Love requires a certain vulnerability, a willingness to open up and connect on a level that I just haven’t been able to reach in years.
But there’s something else inside me, undefined, something my mangled soul can’t quite grasp. And it’s pulling me toward her.
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