CHAPTER 222

ARIA’S POV

As I sit back in my office and replay the last conversation I had with Adam when Tony was sentenced, I feel a wave of emotions crashing over me. Adam had tried to catch me at the courthouse steps, and the memory of that moment stirs a complex mix of feelings within me.

“Aria.”

“Yes?”

“We need to talk.”

“About?”

“Us.”

My thoughts drift to what Stella mentioned the other day. She had overheard Adam telling his mother that he didn’t want me back. It stung to hear that, a sharp reminder of our past and the painful end of our relationship. So why does he want to speak to me now over a cup of coffee? What game is he playing?

The pieces of this puzzling situation fall into place, and the conclusion I reach is disheartening. Adam knows I'm the richest woman in the country now, a revelation that has undoubtedly changed his perspective. Is he reaching out for financial or business reasons? Maybe he fears I hold a grudge and wants to smooth things over for his own benefit.

I sit back,