CHAPTER 78
ARIA
My teeth sank into the warm skin of his neck. It should have been the confirmation I needed, the proof that I’d been craving.
"Aria! What the hell are you thinking?!” His voice exploded, sharp, raw, reverberating through the room.
“Do you have any idea what you just did? You—you actually bit me?! How could you even—what is wrong with you?!”
Without thinking, his hand shot to the back of his neck, brushing over the spot where my teeth had bitten.
He froze, his body tense, then slowly brought his fingers around in front of him—and his eyes went wide. A thin streak of blood stained his fingertips.
His chest heaved with disbelief, jaw tight, brows drawn together in a storm of anger and shock.
“What is wrong with you? Have you completely lost your mind?!”
His voice cracked, raw with frustration, disbelief, and panic all at once.
But I didn’t move.
I stayed frozen, every nerve taut, heart hammering in my chest. My eyes were glued to his neck, where a thin ribbon of red trickled stubbornly from the bite. I couldn’t look away, couldn’t think of anything else.
It shouldn’t be there.
It couldn’t be.
My mind screamed in disbelief, panic twisting through me.
Why wasn’t it healing?
Lian—my Lian—had always healed instantly, his body closing wounds before anyone could even blink. That had been his gift, the proof that he was more than human.
And yet this mark… it clung to him, vivid and undeniable, blood still seeping, a living reminder that something was wrong.
My hands shook, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted iron.
My stomach churned, nausea rising with the panic.
The world narrowed to that trickle of blood, each drop a hammer against my disbelief.
I lifted my hand slowly, almost trembling, letting it hover over the thin ribbon of blood on his neck.
His head snapped toward me, eyes blazing with fury.
“Do not—touch me!” he barked, his voice sharp and raw, each word striking like a whip.
He grabbed my wrist with a grip that made me stumble back a step, his fingers digging into my skin—not cruelly, but with an urgency that left no room for argument.
I froze, heart hammering, my hand pinned by the strength of his hold.
“I—” I began, but he cut me off.
“You just bit me, Aria!” His voice rose, panic and outrage mingling in a way that made my stomach drop
I flinched, shrinking back, my fingers folding into themselves.
My eyes stayed locked on the streak of blood still trickling down his neck, tracing the wound as if it held the answers to all the questions twisting in my mind.
Was he not my Lian?
Had I been wrong?
“Aria! Do you even realise what you just did?!”
His voice snapped, sharp and thunderous, slicing through the fog of my panic.
“Aria! Do you even realise what you’ve just done?!”
His voice cut through the space,
“This—biting me—is completely unacceptable. Do you think you can just go around acting like some… feral animal, sinking your teeth into people, seeing what happens?
Or is this some kind of sick bet—how far you can push me before I snap? Because let me be clear, Aria… it isn’t funny. Not in the slightest!”
He took a step closer, chest rigid, eyes blazing with controlled fury.
"Or are you testing me? Or are you trying to humiliate me? Because you’ve succeeded in terrifying me, and don’t think I won’t react if you do it again.”
I could feel my chest tightening, my fingers itching to reach out to him.
My gaze was glued to the thin ribbon of blood still trickling down his neck, refusing to vanish like it should have.
His fingers flexed at his sides, voice rising again.
“This behaviour—this—is completely unacceptable. I won’t go complaining to your boss this time, but mark my words: in the future, you stay as far away from me as humanly possible. Do you understand me? Far away!”
Every word trembled with barely contained outrage, his entire presence radiating the anger and disbelief he was struggling to contain.
I swallowed hard, my gaze still fixed on the thin ribbon of blood trickling down his neck.
“But… It’s supposed to heal!” I gasped, voice trembling.
“The wound—it’s supposed to heal! Why isn’t it… Why isn’t it healing? It's always healed before.”
He froze, staring at me, eyes wide with a mix of shock and incredulity.
"Heal?"
His jaw clenched, then loosened, as if trying to contain the storm of disbelief building inside him.
“Oh, of course,” he said, his tone dripping with sharp sarcasm, voice rising slightly,
“Because all you have to do is wish it, right? Snap your fingers, and poof! Every little scratch, bite, or welt just disappears. Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
“No… I don't understand —” My voice broke, the words lost in the weight of my fear.
“Let me spell it out for you: that’s not how it works. Wounds don’t just vanish because you want them to, and biting people—especially me—is definitely not going to make them do it faster.”
"But...
He threw up his hands, frustration flashing like fire in his eyes.
“Clearly, you’re not thinking straight! You need to see a doctor—or maybe… take a long, hard look at yourself. You’ve completely lost your mind over this!”
My chest tightened, panic clawing at me, but he didn’t wait for a response.
He turned sharply, his movements precise, controlled, and I could see the tension in his shoulders as he muttered,
“I’m going to see my doctor. You… get yourself together.”
No..no..
I lunged forward, heart hammering so violently I thought it might shatter my ribs. My hand found his, gripping it tightly, desperate.
“I know it’s you,” I said, my voice trembling, raw with certainty.
“I don’t know why… why your wound isn’t healing, but I know it’s you. You’re… you’re my Lian. My creature… You’re magical. You have wings. I know it!”
He froze, eyes widening in disbelief, as though my words had burned him. His chest rose sharply, and he stepped back, shaking his head.
“What the hell are you talking about?!” His voice cracked with outrage.
“Have you completely lost your mind? Do I look like some creature with wings to you? Seriously, Aria… I don’t know what drugs you’re on, but you need to go—get yourself checked out!”
“No—” I stammered, trying to force out the certainty that burned in every fibre of me.
“I know it’s you—”
“You’re insane!” he snapped, cutting me off. His hands shot up instinctively, grabbing mine and yanking them away.
“Do not touch me! Do not talk to me! Stay away from me!”
I refused to step back.
My chest heaved as I pressed forward, my voice cracking with desperation.
“You can shout, call me insane, crazy, whatever, but I know it’s you! I don’t know what happened to you, or why you’re pretending not to be my Lian, but I know it’s you! Years ago… you saved me from that falling building. You—flew down and caught me, took the brunt of that fall. I thought you were dead… but you’re here, right in front of me!”
He froze for a moment, lips twitching as if trying not to laugh, eyes narrowing in disbelief. Then, with a sharp, sarcastic edge, he snapped,
“Oh, really? I flew? Caught you? And now I’m magically supposed to be your dead-and-resurrected superhero?
Is that what this is? Some kind of fairy tale you’ve been rehearsing in your head, Aria?”
I think you've completely lost it?”
“No!” I snapped, my hands trembling as I clenched them at my sides.
“You can say whatever you want, deny it all, but I know it’s you! I don’t care how impossible it seems, how much you refuse to admit it—I saw you, felt you, every single detail! Your voice… your touch… It’s the same! You’re my Lian! You’ve always been my Lian!”
I took a step closer, my chest heaving, eyes burning with frustration and desperation.
“I don’t know why you’re pretending, I don’t know what happened to you—but I know you’re him. You’re the one who saved me, the one I thought I’d lost forever… and now you’re here!”
I lifted a trembling hand toward his face, wanting, needing to feel him, to confirm him.
But he recoiled, taking a sharp step back.
“Oh, of course, I’m some magical superhero now, am I?” His voice dripped with mockery.
“Flying around, catching people from falling buildings, saving the day… sure. And now suddenly I’m your Lian, the one you’ve been mourning for years? Give me a break, Aria. You’ve completely lost it.”
He ran a hand over his face, shaking his head, as if trying to scrub the absurdity from the air.
“I’ve never seen you before this conference. Never. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it’s… insane. I’m not your Lian. I’m not some creature. I’m a man who walked into your room, and now I’m supposed to be a myth you’ve conjured in your grief?”
His gaze pierced mine, sharp, unyielding.
“So, do yourself a favour—take a deep breath, get checked out, and stop doing this… whatever this is. Because I’m not who you think I am, and the more you insist, the worse this is going to get.”
Every instinct in me screamed at his words, but I couldn’t pull back.
The blood from the bite still trickled in my mind’s eye, the proof of him that wouldn’t lie.
My fingers curled at my sides, tension coiling like steel.
“I don’t know what happened to you, or why you’re hiding behind this… this lie, but I know it’s you! Your voice—your eyes—everything about you—it’s you! You can deny it all you want, but I won’t be fooled!
You are my Lian,"
His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing.
“No, Aria. You’re confused. Delusional. Whatever this is in your head—it’s not real. I am not your Lian. I am not your… whatever you think I am. You need to stop this. Now.”
The proof was in him—somewhere beneath the walls he’d built, I could feel it. I could feel him.
“Why won’t you just admit it?” I whispered, voice cracking.
He shook his head violently, throwing up his hands as if to ward me off.
"I am who I am, Aria, and I am not your fantasy. You’ve completely lost touch with reality.”
My chest constricted as the words hit me like blows, but still I didn’t move back.
Everything inside me—every memory, every instinct, every sense—was screaming that he was mine, that he had always been mine.
I took a shaky breath, trying to steady my racing heart.
“I don’t care. I know you. You can deny it, shout at me, push me away—but I know it’s you. I’ll prove it if I have to. I won’t be wrong about this.”
He exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose, jaw tight, eyes flashing with a mix of frustration and disbelief.
“I’m leaving now. I need to see my doctor for my wound—and whatever you think you know, it’s not real. And for your own good, stay as far away from me as you can. Understand me?”
I swallowed, fingers clenching at my sides. My eyes followed him as he turned and left, every step he took driving home the impossible truth: he was here, he was real, and he was denying everything I knew to be true.
I sank to the floor, shaking, hands trembling, and whispered into the emptiness he’d left behind,
“I know it’s you… I know it’s you…”