Aria’s POV
Fifteen minutes.
That’s how long I sat there....knees drawn up, sheet clutched like a shield...staring at the closed door while the coffee turned completely cold and the rose dropped one petal onto the tray.
Fifteen minutes of silence that wasn’t silence at all.
I could hear them.
Not clearly, but muffled through walls and doors...but enough to make my blood boil.
Ethan’s low, steady voice: “Deep breaths… that’s it… tell me where it hurts most.”
Sophia’s soft, broken replies: “Here… and here… it’s worse today… I’m scared, Ethan…”
A rustle of fabric. A quiet gasp. The creak of the bedframe as someone sat.
Then his voice again, gentler than I wanted to hear:
“I’m right here. You’re not alone.”
My stomach twisted.
I knew that tone too well, I’d heard it last night when
