Dustin's POV
Ben was sitting across from me in my office, rattling on about some new merger, but my mind had already checked out. All I could think about was Ariana—how these days she barely even looked at me, her voice hollow, her eyes distant. It was as if she’d built some unreachable wall between us, and I was banging against it, powerless. She was still in our house, but her heart... that was something I couldn’t seem to reach, no matter what I did.
“Dustin!” Ben’s voice jolted me back to reality. He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “What’s going on, man? You’re like a ghost today.”
I rubbed my temples, feeling the weight of my frustration. “It’s Ariana… I’m at my wit’s end, Ben. I’ve tried everything to reach her, but it feels like the harder I try, the further away she drifts
