Chapter 22
22
Aria
I t was the end of the world.
At least, that was how it felt.
The second she saw Cayden’s message, she knew her life was about to change—and not for the better. She was one revelation away from Cayden figuring out she was dating Daniel. Cayden was powerful. He had connections everywhere. She didn’t know what he might be willing to do, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t mind bulldozing over anyone in order to steal her back.
She should never have agreed to meet him in town.
He’d told her he’d tracked her down, and if she didn’t come, he would come to her. The last thing she wanted was for Cayden to come to her cousins’ home. She didn’t want any of them interacting with him. He could be the most charming person to everyone else. On the surface, he was perfection.
But when they were alone, he had a knack for making her feel small and useless.
Just seeing his face had her feeling as though she’d been pushed off a cliff to a rocky landscape below.
Aria held a trembling hand to her stomach.
She’d been attempting to devise a plan on how to take care of Cayden. Bribery had been at the top of her list. Ignoring him had been second. She’d even fantasized about asking Daniel to marry her so she could show up at the coffee shop with a wedding band on her finger and a man to back it up with.
But none of those scenarios would work, and she knew it.
She wanted to be angry.
Angry with Cayden for upending her life.
Angry with Daniel for making her fall in love with him.
And angry with Daniel all over again for being the kind of guy who knew her well enough to see she was struggling with something.
The fact that he’d caught her in town and hadn’t immediately come over to her to demand answers was more telling than he would ever know. He trusted her.
And what was she doing to that trust?
Shredding it up all over again.
First with the application to Cornell and now this.
She groaned, shoving her head into her hands when she finally made it to her room and slumped down on the bed. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t exactly tell Daniel what she was dealing with. He’d come riding in on a white horse to rescue her from the devil himself if he had to.
And she couldn’t let Cayden know about him.
She was stuck.
She was broken.
Tears started to fall as she went over everything that Cayden had said during their meeting.
He wasn’t going to let her go. She’d embarrassed him when she’d run off—especially since he’d apparently told all his friends that he was going to marry her. She might think she had a choice, but she didn’t.
He planned on taking her back home.
Of course she’d told him right where to go—her colorful language only making him chuckle. The dark look in his eyes promised that she’d pay for her sharp tongue, however.
After they’d parted ways, she’d felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t bear the thought of going home to speak to Daniel about the meeting or the threats. And she didn’t want Cayden following her just in case he really didn’t know where she was staying.
Once again, he threatened her—telling her to meet him for a date tomorrow. He said they had a lot to discuss. Bile rose in her throat. While he’d been sweet and charming in public, she could see through that facade immediately. The undertones of his words had done more than enough to make her wary.
A snort bubbled up and out of her throat. As much as she‘d wanted to scream and make a scene, she knew she couldn’t. Folks around here would only see the handsome, wealthy, charming man that Cayden presented himself as. With her luck, he’d make them all believe she had a mental break and he was here to take her back home.
She groaned again and flung herself onto the bed. Staring at the ceiling, she racked her brain for any ideas she might be able to come up with in order to get Cayden to leave. There had to be something—anything—that would make him see that she wasn’t worth the trouble.
Her mind was blank.
Cayden would never give up.
He’d proven that fact by tracking her down all the way here in Copper Creek. She might as well give up.
Or she could run.
The problem was she didn’t have anywhere to run to. She had no clue how he’d managed to find her here, but he had.
Shutting her eyes against the painful emotion that threatened to escape, she attempted to flood her mind with images of Daniel’s handsome face. The man she loved. The man she’d do anything to keep safe.
Even leave him so he didn’t become a pawn in Cayden’s narcissistic ways.
At some point she’d fallen asleep, though she didn’t sleep well at all. Once again, she woke early, antsy, and upset about how she’d left things with Daniel.
What was she going to tell him about missing dinner tonight? If she simply didn’t show up, then he’d likely come track her down. If she told him she needed space—who was she kidding? The man would come find her and make her talk to him. She was surprised that he hadn’t done exactly that when she’d stormed off last night.
Her eyes were red and itchy. Whenever she blinked, pain laced the space where her lids rubbed against the dry surface. Maybe she should bail on Cayden. She could skip her dinner with him and pray that he didn’t do anything rash. That was exactly what she was going to do.
Bolstered, she got up out of her bed. Aria didn’t spend a single moment out of the house. She forced herself to do some freelance work, choosing to steer clear of the cowboy she knew would be as grumpy as she was.
Then she fixed their supper and took it over.
Seated across from Daniel, she kept her eyes on her plate. He hadn’t asked her about their argument last night. He didn’t pry into her meeting with Cayden. Strangely, he didn’t even ask the guy’s name. Had Daniel been paying attention to her lack of movement today? She wouldn’t be surprised if he noticed that she hadn’t left the house. It would make sense.
Her appetite hadn’t returned. There was so much she wanted to say to him. The words were burning a hole in her chest.
But she couldn’t.
Not until Cayden was gone. There was too much risk. For how awful her father had been, Cayden scared her more. His evil ways felt more sinister—like he took joy in torturing a person mentally.
Daniel’s chair creaked as he shifted where he sat. The air was strained and tight. She couldn’t breathe. Every few minutes, she’d glance at the clock, waiting for her phone to ring or chime indicating that Cayden had grown tired of waiting.
But the call never came.
When the dishes were cleaned up and she headed for the door, she wasn’t surprised that Daniel stopped her with a hand on her wrist. She glanced down at where his gentle fingers wrapped around her, and then slowly she lifted her eyes to meet his expectantly.
“Aria,” he whispered, that one word filled with so much pain and uncertainty.
She shook her head. “Right now isn’t a good time.” It wasn’t a good time to talk. It wasn’t a good time to sit in silence. It just… wasn’t a good time for anything. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
His brows creased, and she flushed as he continued to scrutinize her. She half-expected them to start another argument, but all he did was lift her hand to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her palm, then released her.
Aria’s heart shattered for no other reason than knowing she was causing him grief. She dipped her head and slipped out the door to head back to the house.
When Cayden didn’t message her, call her, or make any sort of additional threats, Aria allowed herself to breathe a little easier. She still didn’t sleep well, but today she knew she couldn’t stay away from Daniel.
She needed him. His strength. His love. She needed to be in close proximity so she could start to feel a little better about what was going on in her mess of a life.
Seated on the edge of the corral, she watched him work. Every so often he glanced in her direction and she offered him a shy smile. Maybe they were past the worst of it. Cayden had brought a challenge to her life, and she’d made it out with a few bumps and bruises—but alive.
The sound of tires crunching along the gravel road toward the barn drew her attention. She didn’t recognize the car, but immediately, her heart went into overdrive.
It was one of those pompous models—a hybrid or some nonsense that had no business being on a ranch where petrol was king. Before the door opened, she knew who would be emerging.
She scrambled down from her perch and charged toward the vehicle and the man waiting beside it.
Cayden had on his smooth, nonplussed expression, but his eyes smoldered with fury.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. “You need to leave.”
His eyes flicked over to where Daniel was working. “You stood me up. So I’m here to make good on my promise. You’re coming out with me.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. Get it through that thick skull of yours. I will never come back to you.”
Cayden’s expression never changed as his focus shifted to her. Then one side of his mouth quirked upward, and in a flash of his arm around her waist, he yanked her flush against him. His lips pressed near her ear and he whispered, “When are you going to understand that you have no power here? You’re nothing, Aria. You belong to me.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Through Aria’s blood roaring in her ears, she hadn’t heard Daniel’s approach. She’d been paralyzed by what could only be described as fear when Cayden had pulled her into him. Maybe it was his touch or his familiar cologne, or a combination of the two. Either way, she should have pushed away from him sooner.
With that thought in mind, she shoved at him. He released her without a fight, tugged on his sport coat and flashed a smile at Daniel. Holding out his hand, he murmured, “I’m Cayden, Aria’s fiancé.” His voice was smooth, confident, and it felt like the truth.
Her heart dropped into her stomach. He’d proposed when she’d been in Georgia. But she’d never given him an answer. She’d asked for time—and in the end, she’d run.
Daniel stiffened beside her. “Daniel Keagan,” he said. She could sense his fury simmering beneath the surface. He was livid. He probably thought she’d been lying to him all this time. It wouldn’t do any good to try to explain herself or deny any of it. He stared down at Cayden’s hand, his lip curling with disgust. “I think you should leave. You’re trespassing on private property.”
Cayden arched a brow, his attention drifting to Aria. Without warning, he grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I trust I’ll see you for dinner tonight?”
She yanked her hand away from him, not answering. Cayden’s eyes flashed with a warning—as if he already knew the consequences of her rebuffing and she wasn’t going to like them one bit. Aria took a step back and folded her arms. “Daniel’s right. You should leave.”
He watched her for what felt like an eternity, and then he gave her a curt nod. “I’ll wait to hear from you then.” With that, he climbed into his expensive rental car and drove away, spitting gravel in his wake.
“Daniel—” she started, but he didn’t give her a chance to get in a word.
“What in heaven’s name was that?” he demanded. “Why was he here for you? Did you invite him?”
Her mouth dropped open. “What? No! I didn’t even want him to be here in the first place. He… found me.”
Daniel huffed. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“Look, I appreciate that you got rid of him. But I didn’t ask for your help.”
His brows lifted like she’d said something absurd. “Ask me,” he snapped.
She blinked. “What?”
Daniel threw his hands behind his neck and paced in front of her. “Ask me, Aria. Ask me for help. That’s what I’m here for.”
Her heart stuttered as the full weight of what he was saying came crashing down around her. No. She couldn’t ask him. She couldn’t put him in any position where he could get hurt. He’d been hurt far too much in his life.
He’d stopped his pacing and his eyes bore into hers, daring her to argue with him.
She couldn’t voice that argument. She knew if she tried, she’d burst into tears and end up telling him everything. Shaking her head, she spun on her heel with the intention of storming off, but his hand grasped hers, yanking her back.
“You’re not going to walk away from me,” he said quietly, firmly. His touch burned her more than she cared to admit, and she yanked her hand from his grasp.
“What is it with men and their incessant need to be in control all the time? You’re not the boss of me.” The words were childish, and yet they were the only ones she could think of to spew in his direction.
Shock filtered across his face and he stared at her with those sad eyes. She couldn’t bear it a second longer. Wasting no time, she charged away and back to her hiding place in the house.