Chapter 294 - 295 So you can run back to Vanessa?

Chapter 294: Chapter 295 So you can run back to Vanessa?

Aria’s POV

I cut him off mid-sentence, brushing past his shoulder so coldly that the air between us seemed to freeze.

I swept my gaze across the room, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows, the minimalist furniture, the way the city sprawled beyond the glass like a thousand glittering secrets.

Then I chose the bar stool by the window and sat down, crossing one leg over the other.

"Nice place," I said, my voice flat. "Didn’t think you’d be hiding out in the middle of town."

Silence.

I heard him close the door behind us, but he didn’t answer me. He just walked past me into the kitchen, and a moment later I heard the faucet run, the familiar sound of a glass being filled.

Then he was there, setting it on the counter in front of me without a word.

"Cold out there," he muttered, his voice rougher than I remembered. "You’re not dressed warm enough."

I glanced down at myself, then back at him. He noticed the thin fabric of my jacket, the way it did nothing against the night air. And then he moved, walking over to the thermostat and cranking the heat up without asking.

I didn’t thank him.

I just reached forward, wrapped my hands around the glass, and let the warmth seep into my fingers. It helped more than I wanted it to. A small mercy. A temporary reprieve from the frost that had settled around my heart.

He stood there, a few feet away, his posture stiff and guarded. The man who had opened the door with something raw and desperate in his eyes was gone. Replaced by this quiet, deliberate version of himself.

"About Vanessa," he finally said, breaking the silence. "You really need to understand, even if we—" He paused, swallowing hard. "Nothing could ever happen between us."

He was still worried I was jealous.

Of another woman wanting him.

The thought almost made me laugh.

I looked at him, at the way he wouldn’t meet my eyes, and I realized he was terrified of the wrong thing entirely.

"Even if we *what*?" I asked, tilting my head.

He didn’t answer.

But I wasn’t going to let him off that easy.

I didn’t need his explanations. I knew about Vanessa. I knew the history, the secrets he carried, the reasons he had walked away from her years ago.

What I was angry about wasn’t him. It was the fact that she dared show up in his life again, that she thought she could slip back into his orbit like a ghost that refused to stay buried.

But I wasn’t about to tell him that. Not yet.

What I wanted was to watch him squirm.

"Between us," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "You need to think this through. Really think."

"About what?"

I wasn’t going to let him stay vague. I looked him dead in the eye and said it plainly. "Are you asking me to think about a divorce?"

He went quiet again.

His silence said everything.

I watched him turn his head away, his jaw tightening as he stared at the wall like it held answers he couldn’t find. When he spoke again, his voice was empty. Flat. Like water that had stopped moving.

"If that’s what you decide... I’ll have the papers drawn up tomorrow. Whatever you need. Whatever you want. I won’t fight you on any of it."

He had already accepted it.

The coward.

The absolute coward.

I was furious. And heartbroken. And so in love with him it physically hurt.

I smiled, thin and sharp, and let the words fall out.

"Fine."

He blinked, clearly surprised that I had agreed so easily. I watched his face fall, the shadows under his eyes deepening as if all the air had gone out of him at once.

"But if we’re getting a divorce, I want a share of your assets," I said, keeping my tone light, businesslike. "I won’t take advantage. Just a third of everything under your name."

A pause. Then: "...Done."

That stung more than I wanted to admit. He hadn’t even hesitated. Like he was handing over money to get rid of me.

I forced my voice to stay steady. "And the penthouse you promised me. The one we were supposed to live in together. I still haven’t seen it."

"Sold." His response was immediate, his voice soft. "The keys are yours whenever you want."

I nodded slowly, swallowing the knot in my throat, and then I delivered the final blow.

"One more thing."

"Name it."

"A wedding. A big one. The kind everyone will talk about for years."

His head snapped up, his eyes finally meeting mine with confusion written all over his face.

"Every promise you made me," I said, rising from my seat and closing the distance between us until I was right in front of him, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. "You never kept any of them. So if we’re calling it quits, we’re doing this first. You owe me that."

"Aria—" he started, his voice tight as his jaw clenched, confusion flickering behind those guarded eyes as I reached up and grabbed the lapels of his shirt, pulling him down toward me with a strength that surprised us both. He stumbled forward, his face suddenly inches from mine, close enough that I could feel his breath on my lips.

"Let go," he said, his voice warning. "Don’t do this."

"Who’s doing what? Me, or you?"

He tried to pull back and walk away. "We shouldn’t fight. Let’s just end this cleanly—"

But I yanked him down again, my hand fisting in the fabric of his shirt as I pressed my lips against his jaw, so close that I could feel the flutter of his pulse against my skin.

"So you can run back to her? To Vanessa? Let her love you instead?"