The Man In My House
525 Words
Aria’s POV
The next morning felt… normal.
Too normal.
Like the universe was pretending nothing had happened.
Like last night didn’t exist.
Like I hadn’t kissed a complete stranger in the middle of a storm.
I sat in class, staring at the board without really seeing anything. The lecturer’s voice faded in and out, words blending into noise I couldn’t process.
“Aria.”
I blinked.
“Aria!”
I turned to my side to see Nina staring at me like I had just offended her entire bloodline.
“What?” I asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been spacing out for the past ten minutes. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly.
Too quickly.
Nina leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. “That ‘nothing’ sounded very suspicious.”
“I’m just tired,” I added, forcing a small shrug.
She didn’t look convinced.
“You? Tired? The same person who stayed up all night watching a series and still came to class looking alive?” she said.
I almost smiled.
Almost.
But my mind went back to last night.
To him.
To the way he looked at me.
To the way he said things like they meant more than they sounded.
To the kiss.
My chest tightened.
“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, softer this time.
Nina studied me for a few seconds, then sighed.
“Fine. But if you’re hiding something juicy and I find out later, we’re fighting.”
That actually made me laugh.
“Noted.”
But deep down, I knew this wasn’t something I could just talk about.
Because I didn’t even understand it myself.
---
By the time I got home that evening, I just wanted to shower, sleep, and forget everything.
The house looked the same.
Quiet.
Familiar.
Safe.
At least… that’s what I thought.
---
“Aria, you’re back!” my mother’s voice called from the living room.
I dropped my bag by the stairs. “Yeah.”
“Come here, I want you to meet someone.”
Something about her tone made me pause.
It was too bright.
Too excited.
I frowned slightly as I walked toward the living room.
“Who?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” she said.
---
I stepped into the room.
And everything stopped.
---
He was standing there.
---
For a second, my brain refused to process it.
But it wasn’t a dream.
It was him.
The man from last night.
The stranger.
The one I kissed.
---
“Aria,” my mother said, smiling brightly. “This is Damien.”
Damien.
---
“And…” she continued, her smile widening, “he’s my husband.”
---
The world broke.
---
“Nice to meet you,” he said calmly.
Like we hadn’t met before.
Like nothing had happened.
---
“Nice to meet you too,” I whispered.
---
“You’ve met before?” my mother asked.
My heart skipped.
“First time,” he answered smoothly.
---
But when my mother turned away—
He leaned closer.
“This,” he whispered,
“is where it begins.”
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