Third person's POV; Time and time again, Ronald had been trying to get Aria's last look off his mind but the scent of her holding back her tears kept replaying in his head, reminding him of the things he should have done- what he was supposed to do but the suddenness of being caught up in an unexpected news had made him speechless. Trying to sign some pack papers was a big failure and the thought of his mate being far away from him while being pregnant caused an unsettling feeling in his chest. Nothing seemed to be going right for him ever since a week ago when he had chosen to escape reality rather than facing it. Even sparring with his warriors hadn't been helping since all of them failed to hit him just for once. He had been the only one venting and had in no way received a payback. It wasn't because they were all too scared to touch him but because none of them were strong enough to. Now that he sat in his office, brooding over his decision of escaping reality rather
Aria's pov; And then, in the blink of an eye, the new week came and I had long been dreading it- dreading having to see Damien get married or entangled with Esmeralda. It was the kind of feeling I never knew I had not until that day when Esmeralda had made the announcement. Did I really have the right to feel betrayed about all of this when I was also carrying someone else's child? And when I also had unclear feelings for the said father of this baby? No matter how hard I tried to convince myself, it just didn't sit right with me and I didn't need anyone to tell me how much truth I was turning a blind eye to. To make matters worse, Damien was yet to show himself to me since the time Esmeralda had made the announcement. If it wasn't because no one else had heard from me, I would have thought he was intentionally avoiding me but after pretending to blend in with the students in school, it was easy to get this much information. As I sat in front of the lake, wondering and broo
Aria's pov: "Aria, look at me," said Damien, pulling my hand with just the right amount of force and stepping into my space, allowing our eyes to meet. With him speaking so gently to me, I was only reminded of how selfish I was being when I had no right to feel how I was feeling now. Why should I be feeling bad because he was getting wed to someone else when I was carrying someone else's child too? The more I tried to think of a better explanation to this, the clearer it became and it was difficult to admit that this was how I felt. "Damien, you are going to become a married man soon enough. You shouldn't be here with me and you shouldn't even be feeling sorry towards me for something that isn't your fault. Have you forgotten, there's nothing between us. We're just friends," I said, laughing slightly at the last part and finally meeting his eyes. My words were a bid to not only convince him but to convince myself and open my eyes clearly to the one thing I was beginning to
Third person's POV; Even the lake seemed to agree with the silent words from Damien; a gentle promise of things to be done that kept sending Aria back to the position she thought she had bypassed. At first, the complicated feelings for Damien had seemed like something that occured as a result of having physical contact with him. She had believed it to be something that was going to just die down in no time- at most, in a few days and at the appearance of Ronald, the feelings turned into guilt before going back to the usual, as if to tell her that she hadn't done anything wrong. "Aria, won't you look at me and tell me to my face that we should stay friends?" asked Damien, gripping her chin in his hand and gently forcing her to stare up at him. His jaw ticked with anger, with obvious tension in his shoulder and the veins that lined his arms down to his fingers ticked and moved about, as if threatening to burst out. As for Aria, hearing him speak to her like this only made
Aria's pov; The scenery around me kept changing in the blink of an eye, representing how fast Damien's chauffeur was driving. My hands remained seated on my thighs while I tried not to speak or cause attention to myself. Thinking about what had happened back at the lake, my mind had pulled into an overdrive, making it difficult for me to think straight. I had been to the lake just to clear my thoughts but rather than leaving there with my thoughts clear and calm, I had left with my thoughts in disarray while trying not to think too much about what had happened. With Damien sitting right beside me, it didn't make things any easier and instead, not only my head but my heart kept skipping beats each time he moved to even say a word or just to look at me. Throughout the short ride back to the club, I was uncomfortable and couldn't say a word- with my only option being - pretending as if everything was fine and the kiss was all shades of normal. No, that hadn't been norm
Third person's POV; Back at the Paxton pack, Ronald couldn't be any more happy to be going to Damien's wedding. Not that he held any sort of loving feeling for him in the first place but the thought that nothing could ever happen between he and Aria again was what brought great joy to him. "Are these all I need?" he asked the maid standing in front of him with her hands folded in front of her and her head curtly bowed. If more attention were to be paid to hard, it wouldn't be difficult to notice the way her legs shook in fear and the small wobbling of her lips while she forced herself to speak. "Yes Alpha," she answered fearfully. Nodding to Ronald's question was the biggest mistake any of them could make and fearing him was the best thing they could ever do. Even Lucas who stood with a pen and a jotter, behind the couch where Ronald was sitted was smart enough to know these things and give the necessary space. With a finger tracing the edge of his lip while his ga
Aria's POV; We've always been told that there were only three options; life, death and the one in between. But no one ever told me that there was more to it. That there was more to not knowing the difference between all three or that there was something else hidden in all of this. I could vividly remember the repetitive stab to my stomach, the one to my chest and also the exact pain I felt while experiencing all of these. Yet, could someone tell me why I was sitted on a flower bed, watching a kid that looked just like a mixture of Ronald and Damien run around the beautiful environment? Things would have been much easier to decide if it felt more like heaven or the afterlife but guess what? It was none of these two. As real as it seemed, every pain that rocked through my body and my bones was the one thing I needed to make me aware that this wasn't real. The kid running around me happily wasn't real and neither was the blue flowery gown I was wearing. You know what el
Third person's POV; One week- one week had gone by and the only words Ronald kept hearing was, "We are trying our best and hoping she wakes up as soon as possible." Each time, these words struck harder and kept sounding more like a death sentence. Like always, he sat by the bedside, staring at the sickly pale face of the one laying on it. She had a tube connected into her mouth that assisted with her breathing but for Ronald, watching her like this was a huge pain to him. "Alpha, you have to come to the pack. The elders are already going crazy enough and demand to know why you kept their candidate locked up in the pack's cell," said Lucas who had been by his side throughout the whole ordeal. Just like his boss, he appeared just as haggard but their only difference was that Lucas still had the decency to trim his hair compared to the former. From his oddly buttoned shirt, down to his rough pants which looked like they had been dug out of a pile of clothes abandoned f
ARIA'S POV; " Please, can we talk later? Do you promise to call me so we can talk? I'm so sorry about yesterday. I didn't know anything about those things that happened," another string of Damien's apology filtered into my ears for the tenth time that morning. Sleep had been so far from me throughout the night and sharing a room with my mother hadn't been pleasant due to her insistence on trying to get me to talk to her. At times like this, I wondered if she was being inconsiderate and not even giving me time to think about the shocking information I had only gotten to know about yesterday. As I made my way out of Damien's mansion with my luggage in tow, and only one place in mind for me to head to, I ignored Damien who kept trying to talk to me. Call me petty but knowing his parents had a hand in the misfortune of my father and if worse, his miserable death was all shades of angering. Knowing I'd possibly have no choice but to listen to him sooner or later or have hi
ARIA'S POV; I stepped into Damien's room, feeling a mix of nerves and anticipation. Every bit of confidence I had before stepping into his home crumpled in an instant. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was determined to learn. Damien closed the door behind me and gestured to the pole in the center of the room. "Okay, first things first, we need to get you comfortable with the pole." I was glad there was no form of talk or awkward discussion and we were just going to get right into it. I nodded, my eyes fixed on the shiny metal rod. Damien walked over to me and handed me a pair of high heels. "Put these on. You'll need to get used to dancing in them." I took the shoes and slipped them on, feeling the familiar click of the heels on the floor. Damien nodded in approval. "Good. Now, let's start with some basic moves." I was glad I had chosen to put on a trouser and a crop top before coming here and to avoid me being in an awkward situation. I pulled off my jacket, handin
Aria's pov; "Look me in the eyes and say all you just said now and I promise I'd let you go and would never appear in your sight again," said Ronald, tightening his hand around while but the seriousness in his voice and the air being thick with tension was the only thing that reminded me not to push this further than I already have. I didn't have to turn to look at him to know he was dead serious and this itself was like being monitored and my hands being tied together, unable to do a thing. "Aria, look me in the eyes and say all you just said again and I swear it, I'll let you go," said Ronald for the second time in all seriousness. My hand which I was just about to pull out of his remained frozen, different thoughts and scenarios running through my head. There were only two ways to this thing. If I truly wanted him out of my life and only claimed him to be a buyer, then by all means, I ought to let him go. Instead, I couldn't find myself doing that and it was as if I co
ARIA'S POV; I've always had a thing with laying on the bed and then closing my eyes, fully aware of my surroundings. As best as I could, it was a coping mechanism of shutting myself out from the things I had to face after waking. The smell of disinfectant and drugs hadn't been familiar since the past month when I didn't have to visit my father in the hospital again. I let my eyes remain closed, only letting my ears do the work of figuring out our surroundings and my nose also do a bit of work. Aside the strong smell of disinfectant, there was the scent of Ronald. My stomach flipped just strong fingers I knew belonged to him gently squeezed mine. The last time I had seen him was when he had waved me off to the club and Caroline asking him about an adoption he was yet to tell her. Curious as to what he was going to say while I pretended to be asleep, I laid unmoving, letting his hand squeeze mine in reassurance while trying not to react to the spark between us. There
ARIA'S POV;I walked through the school gates, feeling a mix of emotions. It happened to be my first day back after the accident, and I was nervous about seeing everyone again, not knowing whether the news had spread already.My mind went back to the brief meeting I had with the dean of my faculty earlier this morning. It was a letter reminding me about the part of my tuition fee I had to pay. “Aria Marblemaw, opportunities like this are rare. So, I suggest you try to meet up as best as you can. The college has helped you enough to the best of its abilities and now, you'll have to do the same,” the dean had said to me and every one of her words hit a certain part of me that had pushed me into picking this college and coming here in the first place, far away from home. Thankfully, my mother had gone back home, leaving me to continue my job back at the club but unlike before where the profit had seemed enough, now, I became aware of how behind I was. As I made my way to my lecture ha
KHALEESI’S POV; Darkness slowly carried me and I willingly let it, too weak to fight against it. Shadows floated above me and I fought for my consciousness, hoping to bring myself out of whatever state this was. Forcing my eyes open, I closed them back immediately, trying to get used to the sudden brightness that almost blinded me. I forced them open again, only to see shadows swimming at the edges of my vision, their hands stretching out to me as if asking me to come. Their hands were spread out towards me, inviting me and immediately, I tried to force my eyes open. “Ah!” With a loud gasp, i sat up on the bed, my eyes flew open, my back cold with sweat and a creepy feeling crawling up my spine. The cold that slowly washed over me was none like no other and the odd scent of burning wood happened to wake my senses. Staring around me, the first thing that came in sight was a small traditional pot with a small fire burning at the middle. Slowly, I let my eyes roam towards the
Aria's pov; If you were to ask me years back that how did I picture how my first time making live was going to be, then I was ready to tell you a lengthy story about it. I was prepared to even given out details that were never true but I hoped was going to come true. Each and everytime I had painted images in my head, there happened to be a point where a gentle tweak was going to happen and there after, there was a possibility of everything changing, like a whole new scene. As I sat back on the recliner chair, thinking about the past of the thoughts I had back then when I had no idea that things like this wasn't going to happen, a smile spread on my face just thinking about it. What had I pictured my first time with my lover was going to be? At that period, most ladies my age had all had their fair share of what sex was but yet, there I was, in a whole new fantasy of mine. I had prioritized having these thoughts over going out to experience them myself and then Cole came
Aria's POV; Today was supposed to be my father's burial, where I was supposed to peacefully lay him to rest without any worry but instead, my mind was more on something else. Deep down, I was curious as to how none of my father's relatives had been introduced to me up until his death. A sudden flash of the adoption documents I had accidentally found in my father's drawer came into my mind. Was he adopted? Is that why I haven't seen any of his relatives? Every attempt to ask my mother had been futile since she was still in mourning, finding it hard to cope with the loss of her husband. “Are you going to be fine? You only just entered college, and now, you have to bear this brunt and carry this on your shoulder,” one of the neighboring people I've always known said with a small squeeze on my shoulder. She bent a bit, seeing as I was a few inches taller than her, before taking my hand into hers. Staring into her watery eyes, once again, the bitterness and pain I had be
Aria's POV; Today was supposed to be my father's burial, where I was supposed to peacefully lay him to rest without any worry but instead, my mind was more on something else. Deep down, I was curious as to how none of my father's relatives had been introduced to me up until his death. A sudden flash of the adoption documents I had accidentally found in my father's drawer came into my mind. Was he adopted? Is that why I haven't seen any of his relatives? Every attempt to ask my mother had been futile since she was still in mourning, finding it hard to cope with the loss of her husband. “Are you going to be fine? You only just entered college, and now, you have to bear this brunt and carry this on your shoulder,” one of the neighboring people I've always known said with a small squeeze on my shoulder. She bent a bit, seeing as I was a few inches taller than her, before taking my hand into hers. Staring into her watery eyes, once again, the bitterness and pain I had been desp