Aria's POV
"Ha..."
A bitter laugh scraped out of my throat, hollow even to my own ears. I couldn't stop the question that slipped out, pathetic and small. "Can't we just go to the lounge..."
A flicker of something crossed his face. Impatience. Pure, razor-sharp impatience.
"Aria." My name from his lips, clipped and cutting. "I don't repeat myself."
"Right here. Take. Them. Off."
Each word landed like a whip c***k.
I met his gaze—cold, merciless, utterly indifferent to what this was costing me—and something inside me cracked. Not broke. Just... cracked. Enough to let the despair seep in.
My throat tightened until it burned. Metallic. Bitter. The taste of swallowed blood, of swallowed pride, of everything I'd already given up and still had left to lose.
My hands lifted. They felt li
