34. Chapter 34
A ria
She shut the door behind her.
The latch clicked and the world outside ceased to exist.
Aria leaned her back against it, eyes blank, heartbeat lost in the hum of silence.
She didn't remember the journey home. Not the short walk to the tube and not the slow climb up the stairs of her third-floor flat.
Her body had delivered her here on muscle memory alone, but her mind had remained frozen, as if trapped inside that townhouse with Marcus Falder's smile like a blade sheathed in silk.
She lurched to the kitchen sink.
She fumbled for a glass. She didn't bother with the filter.
The tap sputtered once, then streamed ice cold.
She filled the glass to the brim and drank in great, greedy gulps.
The hard water bit at her teeth and throat with a sharp metallic bite.
It spilled down her chin, soaked the front of her shirt, but she didn't stop.
She stood there, clutching the sink's edge, dripping, staring at nothing.
A beep broke through the stillness.
Her phone screen lit up on the table .
She blinked, slowly walked over, and sat down like her bones no longer could be trusted to hold her up. She picked up the phone and unlocked it with shaking fingers.
A message from Crispin.
How have you been? Have you eaten anything today?
It felt like her heart was tearing wide open as she stared at the words. Her eyes welled up instantly, and she squeezed the phone, as if the warmth in those few words could seep through her palm and into her bloodstream.
If there was a god, he was definitely not on her side.
Because how cruel-how impossibly cruel-was it for someone to finally admit he loved her while his family plotted to erase her.
There were six missed calls from Lule.
She hit the call button, and it rang once before Lule picked up.
"Aria?" came her voice, sharp with concern. "What happened? I've been calling all day. "
Aria swallowed. "I lost the café job. Gallen didn't even... It was awful."
"What?" Lule's voice darkened. "After everything you did there-"
"And the Lackenby job," she interrupted. "Mr. Lackenby offered to help, in exchange for..."
Even through the line, she could feel Lule's disgust bloom like dragon fire. "That man should have his hands sewn to his trousers and dropped into the Thames. Are you okay? Did he touch you?"
"No. Nothing like that. Just...implication. I need a bath." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
Lule exhaled hard. "Jesus. And the cleaning interview?"
Aria started to tell her but hesitated.
She could tell Lule everything-about Marcus, about the job, which was essentially a bribe, the threat, the kindness which was veiled cruelty-but then she remembered the way his voice had changed. " Your sister. Her boyfriend. Start-ups fail..."
She couldn't risk it.
"I don't think it'll work out," she said quietly. "I bombed the interview. "
A pause. Then Lule said gently, "You don't have to do this alone. Please come stay with me. We'll make it work. You can have the bed; I'll take the couch. I just...I can't sleep knowing you're out there like this. I haven't slept properly in weeks. Why are you so stubborn?"
Aria's eyes drifted to the framed drawing above the table-a messy crayon sketch of a house and a girl and a purple sun. Lule had made it in Year two. Aria had it framed and looked at it as a reminder of the simple love they'd always had.
"Come stay with me," Lule said again, her voice wobbling. "Don't think. Just pack your bag and take the train. Let me take care of you, Ari. Please."
Lule never cried.
The sound of it undid her.
Aria closed her eyes. Her stubbornness, her refusal to leave London, had become a domino that knocked down everyone she loved. Lule didn't need the stress, and neither did her baby.
"Okay," she whispered.
There was silence.
"Really?" Lule's voice rose. "You mean it? "
"Really. I have to think of the baby."
There was a whoop of joy, then muffled sounds-Rahul's voice in the background asking what was going on, and Lule half-laughing, half-sobbing.
"Finally," she whispered. "Finally. Thank you. I'll come help you move next week, okay? We'll get everything together."
They talked through the logistics and made plans. When Aria finally hung up, her shirt was dry and the knot in her chest had loosened, just a little.
She sat for a moment in the quiet.
Then, without letting herself overthink, she opened her messages.
She scrolled to Crispin's name. Her thumb hovered. Then she typed:
How are you?
The reply came in under ten seconds.
I've been waiting a long time for this.
Four weeks, three days, four hours and thirty-four minutes to be exact .
Her breath caught again.
Everything she had wanted to believe-that he missed her, that he'd been counting time till his birthday the way she unconsciously had-was right there, plain as day.
But so was the truth of his world.
And the silence that stretched between his message and what she wanted to say next was crushing.
Her thumb moved as if with a mind of its own, and she typed slowly.
I saw your friend loitering outside.
The words sat on the screen for a second before she hit send.
She didn't mention that the man had stood out like a sore thumb in their tired little neighbourhood.
His fresh haircut, clean leather shoes, and too straight posture was unusual for someone just passing by.
She'd watched him nervously drop a grocery bag at her doorstep and hover longer than necessary, pretending to scroll through his phone.
Crispin's idea of help. Always cloaked and always another layer beneath the surface.
Her phone buzzed again after a beat.
I just want to make sure you're okay .
Aria swallowed, heart pounding like a drum, the strange cocktail of love and exasperation making her fingers tremble. Before she could overthink, she typed:
I need to go away for a bit. My job situation's not good. I'm going to live with Lule.
She stared at the message for a heartbeat before pressing send.
Her phone lit up, buzzing sharply. It clattered to the floor like a shot fired. It rang and rang, Crispin's name glowing up at her like a viper rearing to strike.
She stood frozen, hand hovering before reaching for it.
The ringing stopped, but a second later, it started buzzing again.
She closed her eyes and pressed her thumb against the green icon.
"Aria?"