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Seventy-Two
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Fallen Apart Seventy-Three
DAVE'S POV TWO MONTHS AGOI glanced at my wristwatch from time to time, tuning out of the discussion at the meeting that was being held at our company's branch in Pittsburgh. Left to me, I would've sent someone else to the meeting because the next day was my one-month anniversary with Aria. I had prepared a lot of things to celebrate the day and I didn't want anything to delay and ruin the day, but thanks to the branch manager, who insisted that it was important that I was here, I might end up stuck here for the night. "Mr. Mendez," a voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced around the room to see everyone giving me a confused look."I'm sorry, you were saying?" I leaned off my seat, placing my elbows on the table in front of me."It seems you are in a hurry, why don't we reschedule the meeting to another convenient day?" The branch manager that was sitting on my right said."That would be so much appreciated." My lips stretched in a smile. "In that case, I'll take my leave.
Fallen Apart Seventy-Four
LENA'S POVI stood at the entrance of my apartment with my hands shoved into my black fur jacket as I watched Aria bid farewell to Xavier and Savannah with a forced smile on her face. The vibration of my phone in my pocket made me tear my eyes away from them as I checked the caller to be Nixon.It had been two days after the wedding, and I hadn't talked to Nixon since then. I had a lot of questions in my head but I didn't know how to bring up the conversation which was why I refrained from calling him or picking up his calls.A sigh escaped my lips as I pressed the green button. "Hello.""Lena," he called and I could sense the shock in his voice. "How are you doing? Why have you been ignoring my calls?" "Nothing. I just needed some space." "Why? Did I do something wrong?" He asked with confusion laced in his tone."I'm not sure about that yet." I didn't want to jump to conclusions and act wrongly toward him when I still hadn't confirmed his involvement in the case. Dave was his bes
Fallen Apart Seventy-Five
NIXON'S POVLena's words rang in my head as I walked back to my office. Of all the reasons for Aria to leave Dave, I could never have imagined that it would be because he was responsible for her parent's death. It even hurt me the more that Lena believed I was involved.As I entered my office, I sat on my chair and the picture frame of Dave and I sitting on my desk was in my line of sight. Staring at the picture of Dave and I smiling at the camera after our college graduation made me realize that I shouldn't blame Lena for not trusting me in that case. If Dave was truly involved as they claim and he had told me about it, I would have been forced to keep quiet. Dave is my best friend, there was no way on earth I would sell him out knowing it would ruin his entire life and I was sure that was why he was scared to tell anyone too. But wait, I shouldn't jump to conclusions without hearing Dave's side of the story. Even if he was responsible for their death, something must have happened.
Fallen Apart Seventy-Six
NIXON'S POVWhen I decided to go look for Dave, I didn't expect that I would spend the whole day at the cabin, trying to persuade him to go home and give up on whatever plan he had to make Aria get back to him because I saw it as an impossible mission. Nobody in their right mind would want to be with someone who murdered their parent.After that fruitless day, I left the cabin and went back to my parent's house. On getting home that evening, I was surprised when I saw Jenny's car parked in my driveway. Without anyone telling me, I knew she was here because she couldn't reach Dave. Since Aria and Dave's relationship has been broken, it would be a perfect chance for Jenny to act as a comforter to Dave and try to win his heart. But with Dave's current state of mind, I was sure that plan of hers would fail woefully. I wasn't sure what to call Dave's feelings for Aria anymore. Was it still love or it had grown to obsession? I couldn't fathom why he was hell-bent on getting back to her af
Fallen Apart Seventy-Seven
ARIA'S POVThe rays of the rising sun seeped through the curtains and landed on my face, making me groan in discomfort. I turned my head to the other side as I popped my eyes open. Knowing I could no longer go back to sleep, I sat up on the bed and stretched my arms. Standing up from the bed, I walked to the window and opened the curtains. I bathed in the heat of the sun as a bright smile spread across my face. Seeing as the sun never failed to rise no matter how dark or harsh the night might be gave me enough inspiration to put everything that happened behind me and start all over again.Hating Dave and falling into depression won't bring my parent back. The one thing I could do for them was to make them proud by fulfilling my dreams that they have been supporting since I was a child. I moved to the bathroom and did my business before walking out with a towel wrapped around my body. I got dressed in a white shirt and black pants before topping it with a long white coat to protect m
Fallen Apart Seventy-Eight
LENA'S POVSeeing Aria taking a step to move on from Dave and the death of her parents was surprising but at the same time, it brought a great sense of joy in my heart. She took the situation better than I expected. I had planned to talk to her again about leaving Chicago but it seemed that it won't be needed. I walked into Styles with a bright smile on my face and took the elevator to the fourth floor. The elevator stopped with a ding and I strolled to my office, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with anyone I came across."Good Morning, Miss Fernandez," my Secretary greeted me when I got to my office. "You look extremely happy today, did something good happen?" "Yes, it did." My smile widened as I walked into the office. I placed my bag on my desk and slumped on my rotating chair. "Time to work." I massaged my fingers before turning on my computer. My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion when I noticed that Nixon sent a file to me. I opened it to see that it was the compila
Fallen Apart Seventy-Nine
ARIA'S POVReading all the hate comments directed at me on social media was depressing. I had to turn off my phone when I began to receive calls from colleagues and friends from both high school and college. Throughout that day, I lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling after crying my eyes out as I thought of the next step to take. All my plans to forget about everything and move on went down the drain, leaving me with no choice of hope. I couldn't get justice for my parents and I couldn't even defend myself. I was sure my parents were disappointed in me for the way things turned out for me. I wonder how my brother was coping with all the news. Dragging his name into this mess was the last thing I needed. He already had a lot on his plate and I didn't want to add my scandal to it.How I regretted the day I stepped into Styles. I regretted it more that I got myself entangled with Dave Mendez. I was convinced that I had committed a great sin in my past life that was why I was bein
Fallen Apart Eighty
NIXON'S POVI developed a banging headache as I read the article that was posted that morning and it disturbed me the more because I knew I couldn't do anything to take it down. As expected Lena was pissed about it but I managed to convince her that everything would be fine when I wasn't even sure of what to do. My only hope was to make Dave talk his parent into taking the article down, which might not work if Dave refuses to talk to his parent or if his parent refuses to listen to him. But I was more scared of the latter than the former.After Lena left, I decided to call it a day and leave but instead of going home, I drove towards the outskirts of the city to see Dave. I didn't want to delay things any longer. The faster that article is gone, the better things will be for Aria. Dave had put her through a lot in the few months she had been in Chicago, she deserved to be happy again.I was halfway toward the forest when my phone vibrated in my pocket. My eyebrows scrunched together
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