Chapter 78

ARIA'S POV

I didn’t answer Adam. I couldn’t. Instead, I hurried up the rest of the stairs, leaving his voice echoing behind me like some taunting reminder of all the choices I didn’t want to face.

As I entered my bedroom and closed the door behind me, I leaned back against it, pressing my palms flat against the cool wood.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out everything—Adam’s laughter, his teasing words, the way he had tossed Finn and Dante into the same sentence as if choosing between them was something I could do with a snap of my fingers.

Who was I going to choose?

The question seemed to follow me, like a whisper I couldn’t shake, a burden I wasn’t ready to carry.

But what if it did come down to that? What if I really had to choose? Dante, who had been a part of my life for so long, or Finn, who was suddenly there in a way I hadn’t expected, stirring up feelings I wasn’t sure how to handle?

I moved towards the bed and collapsed into the soft mattress, feeling the exhaustion