Chapter 22
After Damien said Ariana felt like home, Ariana spent the entire night thinking about it. For someone like her, who had grown up with a distant father and a mother who carried silent burdens, no one had ever made her feel like she belonged anywhere in that way. The words echoed in her mind until they became heavier than sleep itself. She turned on her bed repeatedly, pressing her face into her pillow, trying to silence her thoughts, but Damien’s voice refused to leave her head.
She was falling too deeply, and she knew it.
Ariana suddenly received a message from Damien. It read: "No work tomorrow. We have the rest of the day to ourselves." For once, Damien was pulling her away from the company, away from files, meetings, and endless pressure. As she read it, her chest filled w
