Wants and needs
1600 Words
Aria left her breakfast unfinished as she left for work. She adjusted the cuffs of her blazer and tucked her phone into her bag to leave.
The air was crisp for a weekday morning, and the familiar hum of the city did little to ease the weight pressing against her temples.
Kain was still having his breakfast when she'd left. Aria was still amazed at how much he ate, like a starved roach. His excuse was that he didn't know if he'd be eating until he returned later for dinner so he was eating as much as his stomach could take.
Aria hadn’t cared much, other than the fact that the man had made himself far too comfortable in her house for someone who was blackmailing her sister just a week ago.
His mere presence in their home alone made her skin itch.
But she pushed all that thought aside for now. She was heading into a board meeting that promised to be as stiff as her back, she couldn't afford to lose concentration.
The ride to her office was uneventful, but her mind swirled. Kain, Mira, the marriage contract and the inheritance.
The burden she had thrown over her shoulders because Mira had cried in her arms and begged for help. She’d do it all again wouldn't she?
Aria tried not to think too hard about that too much, she grabbed her tablet and prepared for the meeting.
The life of a CEO with familial troubles.
By noon, Aria’s desk at Elmont corporations inc. Main office was stacked with reports, and proposals. Her assistant had already come in twice to ask if she was doing okay.
She wasn’t.
The truth is, despite how unbothered she tried to act, the whole marriage thing with Kain was eating at her. Like a fest of parasite made of pure regret for having decided to go through with it.
Just then, Aria wanted a break. Something to reassure her that the next five years wouldn't drown her. She wondered if she could keep to her life before all of this.
She had a life she wanted too, she had her own desires.
She recalled Adrian, the guy she'd been speaking with the last few weeks.
She’d met him at a tech summit in Vienna, a month before the contract came knocking on her door. Adrian was charming but quiet; powerful but private.
His company was a direct competitor with hers, one of the biggest in the industry. Yet, that didn't stop them from vibing. Their conversations had always lingered beyond strategy and market shares.
They talked about burden, about loyalty, about the scars left by the weight of expectations. They lived the same reality, and he always understood her.
She’d thought, in another world, that maybe… she could have married him instead. They had a lot in common, a shared world one could say.
However, she hadn't spoken to him in days, and worse, she hadn't told him about the marriage. Aria knew he had some interest in her, she wasn't oblivious to the signs.
She wondered how Adrian would react to the news? In truth, she desired him as well. But then, Kain was now in the picture.
Aria was 26, she'd be 31 in the next five years. She knew she could still do whatever she wanted, but it wouldn't be the same as to knowing for certain what she was doing with her life. Especially with the things she wanted in life.
Contemplating for a while, Aria reached for her phone and dialed his number. She decided to commit and start something with Adrian before it's too late. She'd tell him about her situation and see if it wasn't a deal breaker for him.
“Adrian?” she asked when he picked up.
“Aria.” His voice was low, velvet-smooth. “I was hoping I’d hear from you. You okay, you don't sound it?”
“Yes,” she lied. “Just work. It’s been crazy lately.” Aria sighed.
“Same here. Want to trade company war stories over dinner?”
She smiled faintly, this was why she enjoyed being around him. “Tonight? Somewhere... quiet?”
“You name the place.”
“I’ll text you the details,” she said, and the call ended with a soft chuckle from him. Aria felt a light tug at her cold, numb heart. She looked forward to the dinner later, finding confidence in her choices once again. Perhaps, she could still find an anchor in all of this mess she was in.
She let herself wonder if they could become a thing after she told him her situation. If Adrian would be willing.
Aria hoped he would. She needs the assurance.
' A little f**k would do to seal the deal in fact.' Aria drowned in her fantasy of Adrian.
But as Aria leaned back in her chair, something in her chest twisted. A reminder that she was now married. It was a strange sense, that turned off all the desires.
If anything, Aria hated betrayals. And though she owed Kain no loyalty, something in her still repulsed the idea. Like she would be wronging Kain in some way or the other.
'Would I care if he slept with other women?' Aria wouldn't.
So then why does she find it hard to do the same?
'Oh Aria, get off your self-righteous horse-ride', She sighed, cupping her face in her palms.
She needed to talk right now, she couldn't wait till dinner.
She needed Daniel.
Daniel, the one constant in her life. Her childhood friend, now a detective. He remains the one who’d helped her through almost every trouble. He makes it all go away.
Aria grabbed her phone again, calling him.
“Lunch?” she asked when he picked.
“I’m already parked outside,” he replied.
Shortly after, Aria met him at a quiet Lebanese place near her office, their usual. Daniel was already halfway through the hummus when she slid into the booth.
“You look tired,” he said. “And pissed.”
“Because I am,” she murmured, then looked up at him. “Thanks for coming.”
“You know I always will.” he said, the look on his eyes affectionate.
Aria nodded and proceeded to dump everything on him. Not about Adrian, of course, not yet, but about Kain and how he was settling in a little too well. About her guilt of Mira. About how nothing felt like it was under her control anymore. About how she felt her life was slowly drifting away from the course she desired.
Daniel nodded slowly, listening. “You still think this is worth it? All of it?”
“I don’t know,” Aria whispered, clearly undecided.
Just then, Aria's phone buzzed on the table.
It was Mira.
Aria picked up.
“Hey--”
“Did you give him the car?” Mira cut her off, asking almost immediately the call connected.
“What?” Aria voiced out with a puzzled frown, confused.
Mira’s voice cracked. “Did you give Kain permission to drive one of our cars around town like some-- some damn prince?”
Aria sat upright. “No, I didn’t. What are you talking about?”
“Well,” Mira snapped, “he’s on campus. With one of our Audis. Parked near the library, and flaunting with his friends like he owns the damn place.”
Aria blinked, even more confused. “Are you sure?”
“I watched him step out of it. I was heading to the library for a group project and... Aria, what the hell is he doing?” She seemed on the brink of losing her mind, Mira.
“ What the--. Never mind, I’ll handle it,” Aria said calmly, though her stomach twisted.
Mira’s voice dropped, wounded. “You… you should’ve let me take this on. I can’t believe he’s yours now to deal with. You don't deserve any of this.” Her words cut through Aria, but before Aria could respond, the line went dead.
She stared at her phone, her heart pounding. Across from her, Daniel’s brows were furrowed.
“What happened?”
“He’s on campus,” Aria muttered. “Driving around in our Audi. Mira saw him.”
Daniel leaned in, his expression hardening. “Want me to pay the kid a visit?”
“No,” she said quickly, but her voice trembled. “No… I’ll handle this.”
But even as she said it, she wasn’t sure she could.
Kain was more unpredictable than she thought. But then, Mira… Mira was starting to show signs of something else.
Something not unlike resentment...
- Writer
