Chapter 8
1072 Words
Aurelia’s POV
By the time I stepped onto the street, the morning air hit me like a slap.
I walked the twelve blocks to Lena’s apartment with my arms wrapped tightly around myself, my heels striking the pavement in a frantic rhythm.
The sky was gray, the morning damp and cold.
By the time I reached the building, I was shivering.
I wasn’t sure whether it was from the cold or from the weight of what I’d done.
My phone rang as I reached the door.
I froze.
I knew who it was before I looked. Last night we had shared numbers while flirting.
The number was unfamiliar, but something about the timing made my stomach twist.
I let it ring once.
Twice.
On the third ring, I answered.
“Hello?”
“Aurelia.”
Ethan Black.
His voice was low and rough, carrying the same warmth that had haunted my dreams for hours.
My knees almost weakened.
“You left.”
“I had to.” I forced my voice to remain steady. “I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
Silence.
I could hear him breathing on the other end.
“You don’t know me, Ethan.”
“I know you ran.”
I closed my eyes.
“And I know you’re hurt.”
His words hit somewhere painfully close to the truth.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
I pressed my forehead against the cool wood of the door.
“It was a mistake,” I whispered. “I was upset. I used you. That’s all it was.”
“You didn’t use me.”
His calmness irritated me more than anger would have.
“You needed someone, and I happened to be there. That’s different.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
The lie tasted bitter.
“I have a boyfriend, and last night was a stupid mistake. One I can’t take back.”
Silence.
Then Ethan asked quietly,
“Do you love him?”
My lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Because the truth was complicated.
Ryan had been my whole world. The boy who had held my hand in the dark. The man who had promised forever.
But forever had already cracked.
“I don’t know,” I finally whispered. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is.”
He exhaled slowly.
“But I’ll tell you something, Aurelia. I don’t chase women who belong to other men.”
My heart clenched.
“But I don’t walk away from something real either.”
I swallowed.
“Ethan—”
“I’m interested in you.”
My breath caught.
“Not what happened last night. You.”
I couldn’t answer.
“So here’s my offer.” His voice softened, but there was still something unyielding beneath it. “If you ever decide you want to find out what this could be, call me.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I won’t wait forever.”
The line went dead.
I stood in the hallway, phone pressed to my ear, staring at nothing.
Then the tears came.
Hot. Silent. Relentless.
God.
A man like Ethan Black had asked me for a chance.
And I had thrown it away.
I changed my number that morning.
Deleted his contact.
And buried the memory of him beneath work, exhaustion, and denial.
For the next month, I threw myself into my shifts at the diner. I poured coffee, wiped tables, smiled at strangers, and pretended my heart wasn’t still carrying the ghost of one reckless night.
But every time I closed my eyes, I heard Ethan’s voice.
If you ever decide you want to try, call me.
I never did.
Instead, Ryan kept calling.
Again.
And again.
My phone filled with messages.
Baby, you misunderstood.
Please talk to me. You know you’re the only one I love.
It was a mistake. Please let me explain.
Give me one chance.
I ignored every one.
Until Ryan came to the diner.
Three weeks later, on a Tuesday afternoon, I looked up from a tray of glasses and nearly dropped all of them.
He stood near the entrance.
He looked awful.
Pale.
Exhausted.
His usually immaculate suit was rumpled, his eyes shadowed by dark circles.
He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in weeks.
“Aurelia.”
His voice cracked.
“Please. Just five minutes.”
I walked away.
For another month, I avoided him.
I changed my shifts. I slipped through the back door. I pretended not to see him waiting outside the diner.
But Ryan was persistent.
And my heart was stupid.
Because beneath the anger, beneath the betrayal, I still remembered the boy I had loved.
The boy who had once held my hand and promised me forever.
Eventually, on a gray Thursday evening, I agreed to meet him.
We sat in a booth at the back of the diner.
Two untouched cups of coffee sat between us.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Ryan broke.
“Vespera knew.”
I looked up.
“She knew I had a girlfriend,” he said quickly. “She lied to you, Aurelia. She came to me months ago and said she could help me get my father’s approval. She told me being seen with her would protect my position with my family.”
His jaw tightened.
“I was weak. I let her kiss me. I let her hold my hand at events. I let everyone believe we were together.”
My fingers tightened around my coffee cup.
“But it was never real,” he whispered. “Not once.”
I stared at him.
“The only real thing in my life was you.”
Anger burned through me.
“You let me think I was crazy.”
“I know.”
“You let me doubt what I saw with my own eyes.”
“I know.”
“You watched me break.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“And I’ve hated myself for it every day.”
I looked away.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I’m here.”
He reached across the table, his fingers brushing mine.
“Because I haven’t slept properly in a month. Because I would give anything to undo what I did. Because I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that you’re the only woman I want.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD