Chapter Fourty Three

My face lit under the settling star of the evening, my voice was barely audible, easily carried away by the breeze. " No one, I was just talking to myself," I mumbled, avoiding Ariana's gaze.

The confession that had tumbled from my lips seconds ago, a secret held prisoner in my heart, now felt exposed and raw.

Ariana perched beside me, the warmth of her presence a stark contrast to the turmoil within me. Her eyes, pools of fathomless blue, held a gentle concern that I couldn't escape. "You weren't just talking to yourself, Ella," Ariana said softly, her voice laced with quiet knowing. "Something is bothering you, isn't it?"

My heart hammered against my ribs, I felt like a frantic bird desperate to escape. I fumbled for words, my mouth dry and cottony. "No…really," I stammered, "it was nothing."

But Ariana was not easily convinced. She studied my face, tracing the telltale signs of turmoil etched in the furrow of my brow and the tremor in my chin. "Don't lie to me, Ella," she pleade