ARIA'S POV
It’s morning. I didn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the echo of that lock clicking behind me. I’m sitting at the small table when he enters, already dressed, already composed.
“We’re leaving,” he says, pouring himself coffee.
I look up slowly. “Leaving where?”
“Out of town.”
My stomach drops. “Why?”
He finally looks at me then, irritation flickering across his face like I’ve asked something unreasonable.
“Because Dante is close,” he says. “And you make people careless.”
“I didn’t ask him to look for me,” I say. Sebastian smiles thinly. “You didn’t have to.”
I stand. “I’m not going anywhere without knowing where.”
“You don’t need to know,” he replies calmly. “You need to cooperate.”
“I came back because I needed space,” I say. “Not because I agreed to di
