CHAPTER 302

ARIA’S POV

The evening at Adam's place has a strange tension in the air, the kind that seems to settle in the corners of the room, waiting to pounce at the most inconvenient moment. Regis is here tonight, and although it's been a long time since we last saw each other, the memory of our last encounter lingers between us like a ghost.

That stunt he pulled at the restaurant when I was out with Tony was supposed to be forgotten, but the weight of his overprotectiveness, his concern, and his unspoken feelings for me have made it impossible to erase.

“How has it been, Aria?”

“Pretty rough.”

As we gather around the dinner table, I find myself hyper-aware of Regis' presence. He’s seated across from me, and though he tries to keep the conversation light and casual, there’s an undercurrent of something more—something deeper and more complicated that neither of us seems willing to address. I catch him watching me out of the corner of his eye, his expression a mix of fondness and something that