Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Chapter 188

Samuel’s POV

Aria came out with her head lowered, wearing the clothes I’d bought for her. Everything was new, from the coat to the underwear underneath. She glanced at me, then instantly looked away again, her cheeks flushing red.

“You okay?”

Her eyes were swollen, her nose pink too. Obviously, she’d cried again in the shower.

She pressed her lips tight. Her chin trembled a little, and tears started spilling out all over again.

I grabbed the tissue box and held it out to her. “He’s not worth this. You’re still young. There are plenty of good men out there—wolves who actually know how to treat you right. Finding out early that someone’s trash is a blessing, not some punishment from the universe.”

That only made it worse.

She just folded in on herself like all the strength had been yanked out of her body, sank to the floor, pulled her knees to her chest, buried her face, and started sobbing.

My temples throbbed. Something heavy twisted in my chest.

I wanted to pull her into my arms, wipe away every tear, press my lips to her hair, and tell her she’d never have to go through this kind of pain again.

But I couldn’t.

If I touched her, she’d run. And the tiny bit of trust I’d managed to build today would vanish on the spot.

So I sat down on the sofa across from her and waited.

Her crying slowly eased off. The sharp gasps turned into broken little sniffles, then finally faded into silence.

I poured her a glass of water and handed it over. “Drink. You’ve been crying forever. You’re gonna dehydrate.”

She took it with both hands and drained the whole thing in one go.

“Hungry?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“I’m going downstairs to get food. I’ll bring yours up too.”

I didn’t ask whether she agreed.

I took the elevator down. The lobby was dead quiet. I ordered two meals.

On my way back to the elevator with the takeout bag, the doors slid open, and Kyle stepped out.

The second he saw me, he turned like he wanted to dodge me.

I dropped the food, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him behind one of the pillars. He clawed at my hand, voice shaking. “What the hell are you doing? Let go—”

I hit him.

A clean hook straight to the jaw. I didn’t hold back at all.

He went down hard. I crouched and gave him two more punches, steady and precise. He didn’t even have time to get his arms up and block.

Pretty face, zero backbone.

Guys like that reel women in with looks, then pay them back with lies. Pathetic.

I stood, rolled my wrist once, and looked down at him. “Stay away from Aria. If I hear you say her name again, next time this conversation won’t be this polite.”

He lay there on the floor, face already swelling, too stunned to say a word.

I picked up the food bag and took the elevator back upstairs.

Once I got back to the room, I looked at my knuckles. Red. A little swollen too. It had been a long time since I’d hit anyone. Maybe I was rusty, but the result was decent enough.

I set the food on the table. “Come eat.”

Aria didn’t move. “I’m not hungry.”

“The last thing you should do right now is punish your own body for what he did. Eat. You can go back to being miserable after, but first you need food in your system.”

She looked at me, her face still blotchy, her eyes worn out and dull with exhaustion. Then she got up and sat at the table.

I started eating.

At first, she only poked at her food like she didn’t care, but after a while, she ate more than she probably expected to.

By afternoon, the rain had started letting up. Sunlight pushed through the clouds, and people began filling the streets again.

I checked my phone. Flights were running normally. I could book one for tonight.

“Do you still need me here?” I asked.

“No.” The answer came instantly, sharp with caution.

“Then I’ll book a flight for tonight.”

I opened the booking page, my thumb hovering over the confirm button.

Aria’s phone had gotten wrecked in the rain. For the past hour, she’d been restless, clearly worried that her mother wouldn’t be able to reach her.

“Samuel.”

I looked up.

“Can I borrow your charger?”

I handed it over. She plugged her phone in, but the screen stayed black.

“Water damage.” I took the phone, checked it, and yeah—it was completely dead.

She let out a frustrated sigh.

“Use mine.” I handed her my phone.

She glanced at it. “It’s locked.”

“101021.”

She blinked. “What?”

“My passcode.”

She just stared at me.

A second ago, I’d handed her my phone without hesitation, like it was nothing. No conditions. No hovering over her shoulder. No “give it here, I’ll unlock it for you.”

Her fingers shook slightly as she typed in the numbers.

The screen unlocked.

She called her mother, said her phone was broken, told her not to worry, and explained that she’d head over once the rain fully stopped.

Then she hung up and handed it back.

“Keep it,” I said. “Use it if you need to.”

But she only set it on the table beside me and returned to her seat.

I watched her stare out the window at the clearing sky.

She wasn’t crying anymore, but her shoulders were still tight, her jaw locked hard.

Every few minutes, her eyes would go distant and empty, and I knew she was replaying everything in her head again.

I didn’t interrupt.

I had work to handle on my laptop, calls to take, emails to answer.

I didn’t keep staring at her. I didn’t pace around near her either. I gave her what she actually needed—a space where she could completely fall apart and still know she wouldn’t be judged for it.

At one point, I noticed she was looking at me.

She looked away fast, but I’d already seen it. Her gaze had just traced along my jaw, my throat, all the way down to the open collar of my shirt.

“Bored?” I asked, keeping my voice even.

I didn’t tease her. If I pushed too hard, she’d bolt.

“It’s actually kind of interesting,” she blurted out, and then color rushed all the way from her neck to her hairline.

I laughed quietly. “If watching me work counts as entertainment, then wow, I really don’t have to try.”

She turned away and gave me her back.

By five, the sky was completely clear. I booked the last flight out.

“I’m leaving at six.” I closed my laptop. “Thanks for putting up with me today.”

She looked at me. “You’re leaving?”

I raised a brow. “Gonna miss me?”

She snapped out of it and corrected herself at once. “No. Have a safe trip.”

I studied her face carefully.

Under that layer of guarded distance, behind those swollen eyes and that tight jaw, something had changed today.

The way she looked at me wasn’t the same as it had been this morning.

The fear was still there, sure. But now it was sharing space with something else.

“Will you see me off?”

She didn’t owe me that.

For the last two days, she’d spent most of her energy trying to erase me from her life. Asking her to come to the airport with me was basically me asking the universe for a miracle.

I smiled and picked up my bag. I hadn’t really expected her to say yes anyway.

“All right.”

I looked over at her.

“I’ll take you.” She stood up and smoothed out the borrowed clothes she was wearing. “It’s the least I can do.”

The smile on my face spread before I could stop it.