Matthew's Point of View
The door creaked open, which was way too loud in the tense silence that had settled between us. I barely had time to figure out who was there before my heart started pounding in my chest.
I knew the person standing in the doorway all too well. A man I thought I had left behind a long time ago. A ghost from my past.
Aaron.
His presence hit me like a wave of ice-cold water, and I couldn't move. His smirk was the same: that twisted, arrogant smile that always made my skin crawl. He leaned against the doorframe like he didn't just threaten to destroy everything I had worked for and tried to protect.
I could feel Esther stiffen next to me. She was a steady anchor that I was trying not to shake. I could hear her breath catch a little, and I knew she was taking in the
