Aria's POV.
I didn’t even notice the rain at first. My hands shook as I followed the messages, the ones I thought were from Cassian. “Come inside. I need to see you. Urgent.” My chest had jumped, hope flaring through me like a fire. Maybe he was waiting. Maybe he wanted to see me, wanted to fix things after last night.
The building looked abandoned, the glass doors grimy, the faint hum of the air conditioning the only sound inside. My footsteps echoed across the empty lobby as I pushed the doors open.
“Aria?” a voice called, sweet and familiar. Relief made me smile, soft and tentative. “Cassian?”
The laughter that answered me wasn’t his.
I froze. Then I saw them. Brielle, standing there like she owned the place, that smug, twisted grin tugging at her lips, her dark eyes bright with m
