CROSSING THE LINE
1130 Words
Aria’s POV
My heart didn’t slow down.
Not even after I got to my room.
Not even after I locked the door behind me.
It just kept racing—fast, uneven, like it was trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.
“This is only going to get worse.”
His words echoed in my head.
Over and over again.
I pressed my back against the door, closing my eyes tightly.
What was I supposed to do?
Pretend nothing happened?
Act normal?
Like he wasn’t just a stranger I kissed… now living in my house… married to my mother?
A sharp knock hit the door.
My eyes snapped open.
“Aria.”
My breath caught.
His voice.
Low.
Calm.
Too calm.
“Open the door.”
“No,” I said immediately.
There was a pause.
Then—
“We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I replied, forcing my voice to stay steady.
A quiet exhale came from the other side.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
My grip tightened on the edge of the door.
“Then leave,” I shot back. “Isn’t that what you should do?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then—
“You think I have a choice?”
Something about the way he said it made my chest tighten.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
“Open the door, Aria.”
My name on his lips again.
Too familiar.
Too close.
“I said no.”
The handle moved.
My heart jumped.
Locked.
Thank God.
“You locked it,” he said.
“Yes.”
A small, almost amused sound came from him.
“Smart.”
I didn’t respond.
Because I didn’t feel smart.
I felt trapped.
---
“Fine,” he said after a moment. “We’ll talk like this.”
I frowned slightly.
“Talk about what?”
“About last night.”
My stomach dropped.
“There is no ‘last night,’” I said quickly.
A mistake.
Because his tone shifted immediately.
Colder.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend.”
My chest tightened.
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“Then look me in the eye and say it meant nothing.”
I froze.
Because I couldn’t.
---
“You can’t even answer,” he said quietly.
“Because you’re making it into something it’s not!” I snapped.
“Am I?”
The way he said it made my breath hitch.
“Yes,” I said, though my voice wasn’t as strong anymore.
“It was a mistake.”
The word hung in the air.
Heavy.
Final.
---
Silence followed.
Then—
“Is that what you think?” he asked.
His voice was softer now.
But more dangerous.
---
“Yes,” I said, forcing it out.
“It shouldn’t have happened.”
---
Another pause.
Then I heard movement.
Like he stepped closer to the door.
---
“Then why didn’t you stop it?” he asked.
---
My heart skipped.
---
“Why didn’t you pull away?” he continued.
---
My fingers curled into my palm.
---
“Why didn’t you walk away when you had the chance?”
---
“Because I didn’t know—” I stopped myself.
Too late.
---
“You didn’t know what?” he pressed.
---
“That you were my mother’s husband,” I finished.
---
Silence.
---
A long, heavy silence.
---
Then—
“Exactly.”
---
My chest tightened.
---
“You didn’t know,” he said.
“And neither did I.”
---
Something about that felt wrong.
Like there was more he wasn’t saying.
---
“But now we do,” I said quickly. “So this ends here.”
---
I expected him to agree.
To say yes.
To leave.
To make this easier.
---
He didn’t.
---
“You really believe that?” he asked.
---
My heart pounded.
---
“Yes.”
---
Another pause.
---
Then—
“You’re lying to yourself.”
---
My breath caught.
---
“I’m not—”
---
“You felt it,” he cut in.
---
My voice disappeared.
---
“That night,” he continued, “you felt it just like I did.”
---
Heat rushed to my face.
---
“And tonight,” he added quietly, “you felt it again.”
---
My chest tightened painfully.
---
“Stop,” I whispered.
---
“Why?” he asked.
---
“Because this is wrong!” I snapped.
---
Finally.
The truth.
---
“Yes,” he said.
Without hesitation.
Without denial.
---
“That doesn’t change anything.”
---
My heart stopped.
---
“What does that even mean?” I asked.
---
“It means,” he said slowly,
---
“That some things don’t disappear just because they should.”
---
The words sank deep.
Too deep.
---
“This is my mother,” I said, my voice shaking now.
---
“I know.”
---
“She’s your wife.”
---
“I know.”
---
“Then act like it!” I snapped.
---
Silence.
---
Then—
“I am.”
---
The calmness in his voice made it worse.
---
“Are you?” I challenged.
---
Another pause.
---
Then his voice dropped lower.
Closer.
Like he was right against the door now.
---
“Are you?”
---
My breath hitched.
---
Because I didn’t have an answer.
---
And that scared me more than anything.
---
“Stay away from me,” I said finally.
---
A mistake.
---
Because I felt it.
That shift.
---
“That’s not going to happen,” he replied.
---
My heart pounded harder.
---
“You don’t get to decide that,” I said.
---
“Don’t I?”
---
The confidence in his voice made my stomach twist.
---
“This is my house too now, Aria.”
---
The words hit differently.
Harder.
Real.
---
“I’m not going anywhere.”
---
My chest tightened.
---
“Then I will,” I said quickly.
---
Silence.
---
Then—
“No.”
---
One word.
Sharp.
Final.
---
“You don’t get to run from this.”
---
My breath caught.
---
“From what?” I asked.
---
A pause.
---
Then—
“From me.”
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The words sent a chill down my spine.
---
“Because whether you like it or not,” he continued quietly,
---
“We’re not done.”
---
My heart slammed against my chest.
---
And deep down…
I knew he was right.
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