The closeness of their bodies and the short distance between their faces came to a halt and Lucas was the first to pull away. This surprised Aria since he was usually so keen on touching her and getting close to her. Aria tried not to think too hard about it because she knew she’d only end up disappointing herself. But this did make it easier for her to make up her mind. “It’s… it’s a long story not worth getting into.” Aria murmured as she looked away from him. She lost her nerve once again. There was no way she could tell Lucas what she did three years ago. Lucas could tell that she was still holding back and he couldn’t understand why. If there’s one thing he couldn’t understand, it was living a life you didn’t want to live. Despite the way he withdrew from her when their bodies became too close, he still rested his bigger hand on top of hers. But that simple act of comfort revealed something that he wasn’t yet ready to share.Aria sees the ring on his finger. She immediately ri
Aria looked at the unfamiliar woman confusedly. She seemed to be staring at Lucas intently as if she didn’t even see Aria, or at least was ignoring her.“What’s going on?” She takes a step closer and then looks down at the hands that Aria had around his sleeve and arm.“Um…” Lucas looked hesitant even to speak as he glanced down at Aria awkwardly. She then finally noticed that the woman had a ring on her finger too and the design was similar to Lucas’s call. Before she could even finish her thought, Lucas had already explained the rest of what was about to come across her mind. “Aria. This is my fiance, Daisy,” he says to Aria before doing the same to his so-called fiance. “And Daisy, this is my…” Lucas hesitated for the first time when he was about to call her something to him. But as soon as he saw the storm clouds in Aria’s gray eyes, he spoke from his heart. “Aria is a close friend of mine.”Aria looked up at Lucas with raised brows and wide eyes and her mouth showed that she was
Lucas frowns with discontent as Aria walks back into the building. He knew that his time with her was coming to an end but he wasn’t sure whether or not she was lying about seeing her next client. So he does what he did last time to keep her attention on him, something he has slowly become obsessed with getting. “Aria, have you had lunch yet?”Aria stopped and looked back at him confusedly and warily before looking over to Daisy. As expected, Lucas’s fiance looked surprised by Lucas’s brazen behavior; asking another woman out to lunch when the woman he’s supposed to marry is standing right next to him. Daisy’s silence doesn’t last long because she quickly speaks up before Aria even has the chance. “Honey, didn’t Ms. La Belle say that she has more work to attend to? Let’s leave her to it. Your uncle wants to see you anyway.” The sudden mention of Lucas’s uncle wanting to see him was something that he thought would’ve been one of the first things Daisy would’ve said to him. This make
Davis sits in his office, rubbing his temples as he tries to keep his rage under control. He felt like a teapot boiling with the scorching steam barely making its way out. In front of him was his business partner comforting his crying daughter, the woman that he was going to force his nephew to marry.“He was so mean to me! He pretended that I wasn’t even there and even acted like I’m not his fiance!” she whines with crocodile tears. Davis could’ve called her a decent actress but he’s seen, and done, acting far better than that. He felt frustrating annoyance crawling beneath his skin. He had warned the two of them, especially Daisy, to take it slow with Lucas and not act like they were already a married couple. You have to work for his trust and affection. And this woman had probably just blown the one chance Davis had to get rid of that lame, pathetic singer who could threaten his position as CEO of Lucas and kept recovering his memories.“Shh, shh, honey. I’m sure Lucas didn’t mean
Even within the back of the room near the bar, the speakers let out the booming bass that rattled Mason’s eardrums as well as the club’s walls. No surprise, Mason had a feeling that Lucas would go back to his old habits. His best friend would always drag him along to a club to get drunk and occasionally take a woman to bed when he’s had a bad day. And the moment Mason saw Lucas’s face when he got back to work, he looked gloomier than ever. Lucas hasn’t confided in him yet on what has been ailing him today but Mason knew that he was going to eventually, likely after his drunk. He just hopes that it doesn’t involve Aria. Their alcoholic beverages had ripples in them because of how loud the bass was. It didn’t seem to bother Lucas one bit. He seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. “Old habits die at all, eh?” Mason’s voice is a little raised so that Lucas can hear him over the music.“What?” Lucas still didn’t hear everything he said.Mason signs and scoots closer before trying again with an
Aria twiddles her pen between her fingers as she stares down at the papers on her desk. It was hard to get to work when her mind was in a fog over what happened the other day. The interactions with and between Lucas and Daisy were stressful and worrisome. Aria wanted no part in it but at the same time, she wondered how Lucas was doing. The black-haired woman jumps when her boss barges into her office and she quickly pretends like she’s working hard. Aria didn’t even look up at the older woman until she slammed a letter onto her desk. When she looked up at her superior, she noticed a very grouchy expression had twisted her face. “Congrats, Songbird. Looks like you’ll get a second chance to sing,” she grumbles before leaving her office. “What…?” Aria murmured to herself confusedly before looking down at the letter her boss had slammed down onto her desk. Upon opening it, her eyes became wide when she read the unexpected text. It was an invitation to an interview. And by the look of it
From the other side of the door, Lucas’s expression dropped into confusion and he whispered to himself. “Alcoholism…?” It was hard for Lucas to believe that Aria had ever been an alcoholic. And this was the first time he’d heard about the death of her friend.Aria on the other hand froze up and her mind went blank when she heard the interviewer’s chosen words. The silence was making everyone impatient so the interviewer leaned over her desk while repeating herself. “Ms. La Belle, could you tell us about Madaline Dyke? She was the guitarist in your band, was she not? You were both close friends for a long time?” she then tilted her head, the impatience was showing in her eyes. “Could you tell us more about your relationship?”“Sh– she… uh…” Aria swallowed saliva that felt as hard as a rock as she inhaled a shaky breath and held her hands behind her back. “She… Yes, she was the guitarist in our band. I’ve known her since college… we had dreams of becoming stars together… and she was t
After the dramatic interview, the rest of Lucas’s day seemed to have gone by increasingly slowly. Even though Mason had told him to keep his head down and focus on only one woman: his fiance, he still couldn’t get Aria out of his head. Her terrified and humiliated expression still haunted his memory.Memory.He flinched in pain as a sudden stabbing feeling pulsed inside his head. He prepared for the painful feeling to reveal a vision of his past but alas, he saw none. All he got was a gut feeling. He had seen Aria’s eyes look like that before, her eyes looked younger at the time too.Lucas at least pretended to be docile and focused on his work when Mason was at his side but he always kept a lookout for a getaway. It saddened and unnerved him that slowly, yet surely, Mason was starting to feel more and more like a stranger. Like someone, Lucas couldn’t rely on it anymore. Or trust, for that matter…As soon as he caught sight of the ‘interviewers’ who harassed Aria, he approached them