CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Aria's POV

My phone started vibrating, and messages started popping up on my phone, as well as many missed calls. 

One that stood out was a missed call from Kael.

Kael will always rather leave a message for me, and seeing that I received a missed call from him and it put me on edge.

Rose ended the call and sent me a text, “Don't speak until I send you a lawyer if anything happens moving forward. I'm speaking of the police.”

Linda paced around and she kept murmuring, “I hope you won't drag my brother into this mess that you've created for yourself. I don't know why you aren't saying something, Ethan.”

I turned to Ethan. I understand why he doesn't have anything to say anyway. I just hoped that Ethan wouldn't let Linda enter his head, and he tells her this as well.

“Aria, what exactly are you going to do now?” He turned to me and asked. I couldn't even hold myself. 

“I don't know what I'm going to do. This is not my fault, and you know it. I just wonder how this got released to the press.”

“That shouldn't be what you should be bothered about now. All you need to do is find a way to clear your name, and Kael will be able to handle things more professionally since he's the CEO. The crash will fall on his head. You shouldn't be bothering yourself so much about that.” Ethan said to me like it was that easy to push the blame of all this on Kael.

Kael doesn't even know that such a history as this was what I was having to deal with, aside from the reckless spending of my brother. How would I, in my sane mind, think to push all that on him?

“Why would Kael take blame for her?” Linda yelled, disagreeing. 

Linda doesn't even know what was going on, but she acted like she had first-hand information on all that was going on. 

“Kael is now the CEO. If anything, as a leader, he should be the one bearing the damages. He shouldn't be watching the company he just bought flop because of a scandal.” Ethan didn't have any empathy when he spoke. 

I wasn't surprised anyway. Ethan is still angry with Kael. It's possible he's not thinking properly because it's Kael.

“Never! Kael will never take blame for what he has nothing to do with.” Linda scoffed. 

I couldn't stand the way both of them were speaking, so I walked out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Ethan yelled after me.

“She should leave because I don't want anyone to come and embarrass me because they find us together,” Linda said firmly. 

The audacity she had to speak to me in such a manner. She didn't even care that she was speaking to me like that, and she was in my house. 

I stopped, wanting to give her a piece of my mind. On another thought, I knew it was better I kept all the words I had to say in because she wasn't relevant to me anyway. 

“Don't do anything silly, Aria. Leave Kael to deal with this himself.” Ethan ran to me and grabbed my hand.

I forced my hand out of his hand and left him, heading for the door. I wondered why he would think it made any sense for Kael to take the blame for me.

I walked out the door and got into my car. More anxiety than I had ever felt filled me, and I just had to take a deep breath. 

“Fuck!”

“Fuck!”

“Fuckkkk!” 

I yelled, banging on the stirring wheel. 

I couldn't help but think of who could have done this. I don't even know what I would say to Kael if I met with him face to face. 

I was heading towards Rose's apartment. Miranda had dropped a message on the group that we should meet at Rose's apartment. 

There was nowhere else to go for me, without feeling condemned or misunderstood.

I swerved out of the house and drove off without informing Ethan where I was going. I couldn't even think of him at that moment because his sister being present just made matters worse for me.

My arrival at Rose's apartment was met with Miranda, who stood in front of the gate, panting left to right, as she moved around. 

I stepped out of the car and walked over to her. Miranda ran to meet me in the middle, throwing herself on me.

I couldn't even admire the old brick mansion that Rose was living in, like I normally would, because I was blinded by bigger problems, and nothing mattered more to me than finding solutions.

“The fuck are these people who are trying to bring your hard work to the ground? I could strangle them now.” Miranda said, holding me by the face as she assured me. “Don't worry, we will get through all this.”

I felt like melting as Miranda gave me shoulders to lean on.

“I don't know how this will go down. I am not a criminal.” I kept saying, fearfully.

“You're not a criminal. You are not.” Miranda said, assuredly. “Let's just go inside. Rose is already speaking to her friend, Nathan. He is good, and since it's now a public case, he is best suited to fight this for you.”

We walked into the apartment, and Rose stood ahead, on the stairs. She was on a call.

She looked at me, and her eyes welled up in tears. 

“Okay. But how long is this going to take? I don't want this to keep being out. You know what's at stake?” Rose said, speaking to the person on the call. 

Rose dropped the call a few moments later and walked over to me.

The look on her face frightened me as I didn't know what she must have heard.

“This is now a police case, Aria. Nathan said we should comply with the police first. They are on their way now.”