Julian’s POV
The way Aria breaks down makes me unhappy—no, that’s not the right word. It guts me. It carves something hollow in my chest that I don’t know how to name. She’s always been strong, the kind of woman who stands her ground even when the world tries to knock her down. She wants to save her mother. Of course, she does. But watching her crumble like this…
“I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.”
Her words keep ringing in my head, looping over and over like some broken record I can’t shut off. They’re soaked in desperation, drowning in pain. Where’s the Aria who challenged me at every turn? Where’s the woman who looked me dead in the eye and said no like it was the easiest word in the world? Now she’s just… desperate. Empty. I don’t understand her anymore. Or maybe I do, and that’s
