The silence after her parents left lingered longer than it should have.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Unavoidable.
Aria stood in the middle of the room, unmoving, her thoughts tangled and restless. The door had closed minutes ago, but the echoes of their words still clung to the air.
Disappointment....
Her chest tightened. And yet—
What unsettled her more wasn’t what they had said.
It was what Adrian had done.
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides as she replayed the moment in her mind.
The way he had stood there, the way he had spoken.
Cold. Controlled. Dangerous.
Defending her, claiming her, threatening them.
For her.
Aria exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself.
It didn’t make sense.
Nothing about him made sense.
One moment, he was controlling, suffocating, impossible to deal
