Marked By Power

Nighttime

Aria’s POV

The walk home felt heavier than the entire day combined.

If he had been two seconds faster, I would’ve been on the pavement, probably unconscious. Maybe dead. And the most humiliating part? My last thoughts would’ve been:

“Just great. I survived Dario, but I died because I wasn’t looking while crossing a road.”

The embarrassment burned more than the fear.

Because the man driving the car

The man who stepped out looking like sin in a suit

The man who glared at me like I’d personally offended his entire bloodline

Yeah, him.

His eyes were still in my head. Sharp. Cold.

Intense in a way no stranger’s eyes should be.

My feet ached. My head throbbed. My heart… well, it had been cracking since morning, but now it felt like the pieces were starting to slip out of place.

Loan company after loan company.

Rejection after rejection.

Polite smiles, fake sympathy, and the same two words repeated like a curse:

“I’m sorry.”

Sorry doesn’t save my mother.

Sorry doesn’t pay back a monster.

Sorry doesn’t stop a countdown that ends with Dario putting a bullet in someone’s head. Or worse… Separating me from my mother

But still, I carried the stupid hope that maybe I could fix this.

Forty-eight hours.

Now less than forty-three.

When I reached our house, my shoulders dropped in relief.

Home.

Small, worn-down, cramped home, but mine.

Ours.

I opened the gate carefully so it wouldn’t screech and worry my mother. Inside the compound, everything was still. The porch light flickered, struggling to stay alive. The house was quiet, too quiet. I didn’t like it. Silence made me think. Thinking made me panic.

I inhaled deeply, steadying myself.

I needed a plan. Something. Anything.

As i entered my house, I saw my mum sleeping on the sofa. “Mum let’s get you to your room” I said as i gently tapped her

“Hey baby” she said as she stirred awake.

“How are you baby?” She asked. “I’m fine mama, but you need to go to your room to sleep.”

My mother sat up “No, I don’t feel sleepy anymore, sit down.” tapping on the chair beside her. “You came in late,” she said softly.

“I know. I got caught up in something, i’m sorry.”

Her expression fell, sadness, guilt, worry all tangled together.

“No luck?”

I shook my head. “No luck.”

Her lips tightened, but she didn’t say I told you so. She never did. Instead, she hugged me, and I melted into her warmth like a child. I loved her hugs. “It’s alright,” she whispered. “We will find a way.” I wanted to believe her. I wanted to pretend a monster didn’t give us 48 hours. But when I pulled away, the clock on the wall caught my eye. The hours were slipping too fast. When did time start moving fast?

I forced a smile. “Are you hungry? There’s some leftovers in the freezer.” She asked looking concerned.

I shook my head. “You should rest, mama. Your face looks tired.”

She smiled. “ You should also rest baby.”

I laughed weakly. If being exhausted became a beauty standard, I’d be Miss Universe by now.

“I’m just going to sit outside for fresh air,” I said.

She nodded, got up and went to her room.

I stepped outside onto the porch and sat on the top step, rubbing my temples.

The road was quiet.

The night breeze cool.

Everything still.

No SUVs.

No strangers.

No near-death drivers with cutting eyes.

Just… silence.

For the first time today, I breathed properly.

Maybe tomorrow I’d find another loan place.

Maybe someone would say yes.

Maybe this nightmare could still be fixed.

For now, I closed my eyes and let the darkness settle around me like a blanket.

The night breeze brushed against my skin, cool enough to make me shiver but soft enough to calm the storm inside me. I leaned back on my palms, staring at the patchy sky between the rooftops. A few stars blinked weakly through the haze, tiny, stubborn things refusing to disappear completely.

I wished I could be like that tonight.

Stubborn. Unfazed. Still shining.

But instead, my whole body felt like a loose thread, one tug away from unraveling completely.

The porch step creaked under my weight. Our house always made these tiny sounds at night: the complaining floorboards, the humming fridge, the soft whirring of our old ceiling fan inside. Sounds I’d grown up with. Sounds that meant safety.

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift.

But… it drifted to him.

The man with sharp cheekbones and eyes that saw too much.

The one who stepped out of his car like he owned the whole road.

The one who glared at me like I had ruined his perfect day by almost dying under his front tire.

I exhaled sharply and shook my head.

Why was I thinking about him?

I had bigger problems.

Problems that had names and guns and deadlines.

Still… the moment replayed in my mind like a stubborn movie scene.

The screech of his tires.

The way my feet froze.

The way my heart flipped in my chest.

And then..him. Stepping out of the car, anger and confusion mixing on his face like he wasn’t used to being startled by anything.

Who was he?

Some rich businessman?

Some passing stranger?

Someone who’d forget my existence the moment he reached his house?

Good.

Let him forget me.

I had enough chaos in my life.

My eyes drifted to the street. It was empty now, just the quiet hum of distant traffic and the faint glow of a streetlamp that would probably die in a week.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

I should’ve been looking for solutions.

Instead, all I could feel was exhaustion sinking into my bones.

Forty-eight hours.

Well… forty-one now.

I pressed my fingers to my forehead. Dario’s voice rang in my ears, smooth, cold, and mocking.

I can’t imagine him claiming me.

I swallowed hard.

If I didn’t find the money…

If I didn’t fix this…

My mother..

No.

I refused to finish that thought.

I stood abruptly and wiped my palms on my jeans. Sitting outside wasn’t helping. Thinking wasn’t helping. Breathing wasn’t even helping at this point.

I should go back inside.

But when I turned toward the door, I paused.

Our home looked small. Too small. Like the walls were struggling to contain the fear I was trying so hard to hide from my mother. I didn’t want her to see me like this. I couldn’t let her see me breakdown especially in her condition.

So instead of going in, I sat again.

Not because I needed fresh air, but because I needed one moment, just one, where I could exist without pretending to be strong.

I rested my chin on my knees.

“What am I supposed to do?” I whispered into the night.

The wind didn’t answer.

The stars didn’t answer.

The quiet didn’t answer.

Of course not.

This wasn’t a story with magic solutions.

This was real life.

And real life was cruel.

Still… something tugged at me.

A strange feeling.

A prickle at the back of my neck.

A sense that something had shifted tonight.

Maybe it was the SUV earlier.

Maybe it was the man with stormy eyes.

Maybe it was just fear twisting into paranoia.

I didn’t know.

But I felt watched.

Not in a threatening way.

More like someone had noticed me for the first time.

I shook the feeling off.

“Get it together, Ava,” I muttered.

I pushed myself to my feet and finally went inside.

Locked the door.

Bolted the second lock for good measure.

My mother was asleep in her room, curled up under a blanket, one hand resting on her chest like she’d only drifted off moments ago. The sight made something ache deep inside me.

I knelt beside her and tucked the blanket higher.

“I’ll fix it,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. “I don’t know how, but I will.”

Even if I had to beg.

Even if I had to run.

Even if I had to break.

Even if I had to sacrifice parts of myself.

I straightened, took a slow breath, and headed to my room.

I let the curtain fall.

Tomorrow…

Tomorrow I’d start again

For now, all I had was silence.

And a single, fragile hope that tomorrow would be kinder.