Chapter 37 No decisions yet.
Now she was in the back of the car, Thomas driving her down the hill, away from the mansion, back toward her neighborhood.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Aiden.
“Already miss you. That's probably pathetic.”
“Not pathetic, Human.”
“Will you text me? During the week? Or are we doing full radio silence?”
“We can text. But nothing heavy. No decisions yet.”
“Deal. What counts as not heavy?”
“I don't know. Normal stuff. What you had for breakfast. Whether Lily's driving you crazy. If it rains.”
“It's Portland. It always rains.”
“Then you'll have a lot to text me about.”
“You're ridiculous.”
“You like it.”
“I really do.”
Ariella set her phone down and watched the city pass by. Back through downtown, back through her neighborhood, back to the bakery that smelled like home.
Her mother was waiting outside when the car pulled up. She looked older somehow. Or maybe Ariella had just been gone long enough to notice.
"Baby," Claire said, pulling her into a fierce hug. "You're home."
"I'm home," Ariella agreed.
"For how long?"
"A week. Maybe longer. I don't know yet."
They went upstairs to the apartment. It looked exactly the same, the same cramped kitchen, same water-stained ceiling, same sense of too-small-but-ours.
Ariella had forgotten how small it was. How the mansion had recalibrated her sense of space.
"The bakery looks good," she said, noticing the renovations visible through the kitchen window. "Aiden's designs are really…"
She stopped. Saying his name hurt more than expected.
"Are you okay?" her mother asked gently.
"I don't know. His dad died. We buried him yesterday. And now I'm here and he's there and we're supposed to figure out if this is real or just trauma bonding."
"What do you think it is?"
"Both. Neither. I don't know, Mom." Ariella sank into a kitchen chair. "I think I'm falling in love with him. But I don't know if that's real or if it's just…he's the only person who understands what I've been through. He gets the grief, The guilt, The weight of trying to save everyone."
"Those are good reasons to fall in love with someone."
"Are they? Or are they just codependency with better PR?"
Her mother laughed softly. "Oh, honey. Love is always a little codependent. We're meant to need each other. The question isn't whether you need him. It's whether you like who you are when you're with him."
Ariella thought about that. About late-night conversations and swimming lessons and the way Aiden made her laugh when everything felt impossible. About how he saw her, really saw her and stayed anyway.
"I like who I am with him," she said quietly. "I think. When we're not drowning in family drama. When it's just us. I think I like us."
"Then maybe that's enough."
"But what if it's not? What if liking us isn't the same as being able to build a life together?"
"Then you'll figure that out. But Ari…" Her mother took her hand. "Don't run away from something good just because you're scared. You've been running from your own happiness since Ethan died. Don't let fear make your choices."
"I'm not running away. I'm just taking space."
"For a week."
"For a week."
"And then?"
"And then I guess I decide if I'm brave enough to try."
Her phone buzzed.
“Lily's playing sad piano music and sighing dramatically. I think she's mad at me for letting you leave.”
“You didn't let me leave. I chose to go.”
“She doesn't care about logic. She just wants you back.”
“Just Lily?”
A long pause. Then:
“No. Not just Lily.”
Ariella smiled at her phone despite everything.
"That's him?" her mother asked.
"Yeah."
"You look happy."
"I look stupid."
"Same thing when you're falling in love."
"I'm not…" Ariella stopped. "Okay, maybe I am. But I'm allowed to be scared about it."
"Of course you are. Love is terrifying. Especially when it's real." Her mother squeezed her hand. "But you know what's more terrifying? Living your whole life afraid to feel anything."
"When did you get so wise?"
"When my daughter grew up too fast and started teaching me about bravery."
They sat in the small kitchen, drinking terrible coffee that tasted like home, and Ariella tried to figure out who she was when she wasn't performing.
When she wasn't the girl saving her family.
Or the billionaire's contract bride.
Or the tragic orphan sister.
Just Ariella.
And whether that Ariella was brave enough to choose love when it meant risking everything.