The entire act of leaving the building was completed, thanks to Damian. Because Aria had almost completely shut down, her body just moving on instinct, as her steps were only steady because Damian was guiding her with a firm hand at the small of her back. Even till they moved past the glass doors and into the street outside.
The city was alive around them... luxury cars honking as they drove passed, the soft hum of traffic, the clicking of high heels on the sidewalk, the soft chatter of some pedestrians walking by...but none of that mattered to Aria as they sounded so distant.
Family.
That was the only thing that was on repeat in her head.
She kept hearing the word. Feeling it. It was suffocating.
A family she didn’t know she had. A family her mother never told her about. A famil
