Chapter 13 Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Chapter 13


Aria’s POV

By the time I got back to the Hayes estate, my legs felt like they didn’t belong to me.

Every step up the front stairs was a negotiation. My muscles burned in that slow, stubborn way that didn’t scream for attention but refused to be ignored. I pushed through it anyway, because stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant replaying everything that had just happened.

And I wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Good morning, Miss Bennett.”

I forced a small smile at the housemaid as I stepped inside. “Morning.”

“You’re up early.”

“Practice,” I said simply.

She nodded like that explained everything, and maybe it did. Maybe in this house, effort was expected. Routine was normal. Discipline was just another word for breathing.

I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and headed toward the stairs.

“Miss Bennett,” she called again.

I paused halfway up. “Yes?”

“Mr. Hayes asked to see you when you returned.”

Of course he did.

“Okay,” I replied. “I’ll come down in a bit.”

She smiled politely. “He’s in the study.”

I nodded once and continued upstairs.

My room felt too quiet when I stepped inside. Too still. Like it didn’t match the chaos still running through my body.

I dropped my bag on the chair and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands.

They were still slightly trembling.

Not from fear.

From exhaustion.

From pushing past something I wasn’t used to pushing past.

From not stopping when my body told me to.

I exhaled slowly, leaning forward, elbows on my knees.

You asked for this.

I closed my eyes briefly.

And I got it.

A knock on the door pulled me out of it.

“Come in,” I said.

The door opened slightly.

Dominic.

Of course.

He leaned against the frame like he had nowhere better to be, his expression unreadable.

“You look like you got hit by a truck,” he said.

I glanced at him. “Good morning to you too.”

He stepped inside without waiting for permission, closing the door behind him.

“That wasn’t a greeting,” he replied. “That was an observation.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re limping.”

“I’m walking.”

“Barely.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up, ignoring the slight protest from my legs. “Did you come here to comment on my movement or is there an actual reason you’re in my room?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

That was new.

“I didn’t say thank you,” he said finally.

I blinked.

“What?”

“For earlier,” he clarified. “You… listened.”

I stared at him for a second, trying to decide if I had heard that correctly.

“You’re thanking me for listening?” I asked.

“I’m acknowledging it,” he corrected.

“That’s worse.”

He huffed a quiet breath, running a hand through his hair. “Forget it.”

“No, wait,” I said, crossing my arms. “Say it again. I want to make sure I heard it properly.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t push it.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. “You’re bad at this.”

“At what?”

“Being nice.”

“I’m not being nice.”

“Then what are you doing?”

He hesitated.

Again.

And something about that hesitation felt… important.

“I’m being honest,” he said.

“That’s new.”

“I’ve always been honest.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ve always been cruel. That’s not the same thing.”

The words landed between us.

Sharp.

Uncomfortable.

True.

His jaw tightened slightly.

“I told you to be careful,” he said.

“And I was.”

“You still almost fell.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Because I caught you.”

I met his gaze. “And I told you I didn’t ask you to.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Silence settled between us again.

This one heavier.

“Why do you care?” I asked quietly.

There it was.

The question that had been sitting at the back of my mind since yesterday.

His eyes flickered, just for a second.

“I don’t,” he said.

I held his gaze. “That’s not true.”

“It is.”

“Then stop showing up.”

Something in his expression shifted.

Barely.

But I saw it.

“I can show up wherever I want,” he said.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know what you meant.”

“Then answer me properly.”

He looked away first.

That alone told me everything I needed to know.

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he said.

“No,” I agreed. “But you owe yourself one.”

That made him look back at me.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you don’t do things without a reason,” I said. “You just don’t like admitting what that reason is.”

His gaze hardened slightly. “You think you know me?”

“I think I knew you once.”

That hit.

I saw it.

In the way his shoulders tensed slightly.

In the way his expression shut down just a little more.

“That was a long time ago,” he said.

“Not for me.”

“Then that’s your problem.”

I exhaled slowly, nodding once. “Maybe it is.”

Another silence.

Quieter this time.

Less sharp.

More… complicated.

A knock on the door broke it.

“Miss Bennett,” the maid called softly. “Mr. Hayes is waiting.”

I stepped back slightly. “I’ll be there.”

Footsteps retreated down the hall.

I grabbed my bag again, adjusting the strap over my shoulder.

When I looked back at Dominic, he was still standing there.

Still watching.

“I have to go,” I said.

He nodded once.

I moved past him, reaching for the door.

“Aria.”

I paused.

Turned.

“What?”

He hesitated.

Then, “You did better today.”

The words were simple.

But they didn’t feel like it.

They felt… real.

I studied him for a second.

“Don’t make it a thing,” I said.

A faint smirk touched his lips. “You already did.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the room before he could say anything else.

\---

Mr. Hayes was already seated when I entered the study.

“Ah, Aria,” he said, looking up from the papers in front of him. “Please, sit.”

I nodded and took the seat across from him.

“How was your morning?” he asked.

“Productive,” I replied.

“That’s good to hear.” He leaned back slightly. “And Dominic?”

I hesitated.

What was I supposed to say?

That he showed up?

That he helped?

That he wasn’t entirely the person everyone thought he was?

“He’s… trying,” I said finally.

Mr. Hayes studied me for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“That’s more than I expected.”

I offered a small smile.

“There’s something else,” he continued.

My stomach tightened slightly.

“What is it?”

He reached into the folder on his desk and pulled out a paper, sliding it toward me.

I glanced down at it.

Then froze.

It was a schedule.

Detailed.

Strict.

And at the top, in bold letters

Academic probation.

My chest tightened.

“This goes into effect immediately,” Mr. Hayes said calmly. “Dominic’s performance will be monitored closely.”

I swallowed.

“And if he doesn’t improve?” I asked.

His gaze met mine.

Then, without hesitation

“He loses everything.”

My grip on the paper tightened slightly.

Football.

His status.

Everything that mattered to him.

All of it.

Gone.

I looked up slowly.

“And me?” I asked quietly.

Mr. Hayes smiled faintly.

“You’re the only thing standing between him and that outcome.”

The
weight of those words settled heavily in my chest.

Not just a responsibility.

Not just a task.

A line.

And I was standing right on it.

I nodded once.

“I understand.”

But as I walked out of that office, one thought kept repeating itself in my mind

This wasn’t just about tutoring anymore

And if Dominic didn’t realize that soon

Everything was about to fall apart.