ARIA
By the time I reached the café, I already knew something was wrong.
I didn’t need Darrel to say it. I didn’t need confirmation. The feeling had been sitting in my chest since I stepped onto the bus earlier that day, heavy and uncomfortable, like a warning. Darrel, and I had never once spoken before. We had existed in the same orbit only because of Luca, and even then, from a distance. He managed Luca’s career. I existed outside of it.
So for him to call me suddenly, right after pictures of Luca and me surfaced online—meant this wasn’t a coincidence.
This was damage control.
I stood at the entrance of the café for a moment longer than necessary, pretending to check my phone while my eyes scanned the room. Everything looked normal, but I felt completely out of place, like I was ste
