ARIA'S POV
I didn’t want to be here.
The moment I stepped out of the car and set foot on the steps of the banquet hall, my stomach twisted into a knot so tight I thought I might be sick.
The whole place was lit up like something out of a fairy tale—golden lights twinkling in the trees, the soft murmur of laughter and conversation floating in the air.
It should have been beautiful. Magical, even. But all I could feel was the pressure of a hundred eyes that would be on me the moment I walked through those doors.
“Aria, you’re overthinking this,” Adam had told me before I left, his voice patient but firm, like he was talking to a child. “You won't be able to hide forever. At some point, they’re going to have to know who you are. And tonight is as good a time as any to make an impression.
