Aria's POV
The bass from the speakers pounded through my chest like a second heartbeat: loud, insistent, drowning out everything except the chaos in my head. The bar was packed with bodies moving to music I couldn't focus on, voices blending into white noise, and the smell of expensive perfume mixing with sweat and alcohol.
I pressed my phone to my ear, barely hearing the ringing over the music. "Come on! Come on! Pick up!"
Julian's voicemail greeting played for the tenth time that night, his smooth voice mocking me with its professional politeness. I hung up before the beep, my fingers already pulling up his contact again.
Nothing. No answer. No texts. No acknowledgement that I existed.
"Oh, for f**k's sake!" The words tore out of me, loud enough that several people nearby turned to
