Chapter 4
623 Words
Aria Monroe
The worst part about fear is that nobody knows when you’re feeling it.
Not when you’re good at hiding.
The cameras are still pointed at me.
The lights are still on.
Everyone is still looking at me like I’m supposed to know what comes next.
That’s the thing about being Aria Monroe.
People expect me to always know what to do.
They expect a smile.
The confidence.
The perfect response.
So even now, with something feeling wrong, my first instinct is to pretend it isn’t.
Because that’s what I’ve always done.
I pretend.
I look at Kai.
And somehow, he’s the only person in the room who isn’t pretending.
He’s not looking at the cameras.
He’s not looking at the people around us.
He’s watching everything.
Everyone.
Like he’s already three steps ahead.
A few minutes ago, I thought he was just another person hired to control my life.
Another person telling me where I could go and what I could do.
Now I’m realizing something I don’t want to admit.
Kai Anders isn’t trying to control me.
He’s trying to keep me alive.
The lights flicker again.
My stomach drops.
The room that was full of noise suddenly felt smaller.
The interviewer, who was smiling moments ago, is now standing completely still.
Too still.
I look around.
The crew.
The cameras.
The doors.
Everything feels different.
Like I’m seeing behind the curtain for the first time.
“Kai,” I whisper.
His eyes immediately find mine.
Not because I called his name.
Because he was already watching me.
“Stay close to me.”
Normally, I would argue.
Normally, I would tell him I don’t need anyone protecting me.
But my mouth opens, and nothing comes out.
Because for the first time in a long time…
I don’t know what to do.
And I hate that.
I hate feeling helpless.
I hate that the person who everyone thinks has everything can feel so small.
Kai moves in front of me.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Like putting himself between me and danger is the most natural thing in the world.
“Are you scared?”
The question surprises me.
Not because he asked.
Because he asked quietly.
Like he actually wants the answer.
I swallow.
“No.”
A lie.
He knows immediately.
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
Something about those words hits harder than it should.
Because everyone wants something from me.
A performance.
A smile.
A headline.
Nobody ever asks me to be honest.
I look away.
“I’m used to handling things myself.”
His expression doesn’t change.
But something in his eyes does.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have had to.”
For some reason, that hurts more than the fear.
Because I know he’s right.
Before I can respond, there’s movement across the room.
Kai notices before I do.
He steps closer.
“Behind me.”
This time, I listen.
And that might be the scariest part.
Not the locked doors.
Not the strangers around me.
Not the possibility that someone planned this.
The scariest part is that I trust him.
I barely know him.
I don’t know his story.
I don’t know why he keeps everyone at a distance.
I don’t know why he looks at the world like he’s already lost something.
But I know one thing.
Kai Anders is standing between me and danger.
And he didn’t hesitate.
The world sees Aria Monroe.
The celebrity.
The star.
The girl on every screen.
But standing behind him, in a room where nobody knows what happens next…
I don’t feel like a star.
I just feel like a person.
And somehow…
Kai is the first person who has treated me like one.
- Writer
