Chapter 15: Dangerous Ground
446 Words
Chapter 15 : Dangerous Ground
(One step closer to ruin)
Aria didn’t remember crossing the room.
One moment, the air was heavy with tension, the kind that made breathing feel like a betrayal. The next, she was standing between them—her hand pressed against Cade’s chest, feeling the hammering of his heart beneath her palm.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Not here. Not like this.”
Cade’s jaw tightened, every inch of him wound with fury and restraint. His eyes stayed locked on Damon, who hadn’t moved a step from the doorway but somehow commanded the entire room with just his presence.
“I came to talk to her,” Damon said calmly. “Not to fight you.”
“You stepped into my home,” Cade growled, “and looked at her like she still belongs to you.”
Aria flinched.
“She doesn’t,” Cade added, softer this time. “Not anymore.”
Damon’s lips curved—not into a smile, but something far more dangerous. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Stop!” Aria said sharply, stepping back. Her voice rang out like a slap in the silent house. “Both of you—just stop.”
Her eyes burned, not from anger but exhaustion. From being pulled between two versions of her past and the uncertain shape of her future.
“I need space,” she said, her voice shaking but steady. “From both of you.”
Cade looked stunned, like she’d yanked the air from his lungs. Damon’s expression flickered, but he nodded.
“Fine,” Cade said first. His tone clipped, jaw rigid. “I’ll give you time. But I won’t wait forever.”
Damon was slower to react, as if weighing every word.
“Time won’t change what’s between us,” he said. “And neither will he.”
He turned and walked out, the door clicking behind him like the closing of a chapter Aria wasn’t ready to read again.
She stood frozen for a moment before heading upstairs. The silence was louder now. Deeper.
She entered the bathroom, gripping the sink with both hands as she stared into her reflection. Her face was pale, her eyes rimmed red.
What was she doing?
Her phone buzzed on the counter.
Cade: I won’t let him near you again. I promise.
She stared at the message, her stomach twisting.
Was that protection—or possession?
Moments later, another message appeared.
Damon: You can lie to him, Aria. But don’t lie to yourself.
She closed her eyes.
No matter which path she chose, something would burn.
And deep down, she feared it might be her.
- Writer
