"OH LUNA! ARIA!! Where the hell have you been all these years? I fucking missed you so much!" 

Rina mumbled as she tightened her arms around the omega's neck.

Aria doesn't know what to say or do because to be honest, she never expected to bump into one of her best friends so soon.

When the alpha finally had enough of her, she finally let go. "You're wearing a scent blocker." Rina furrowed her brows.

"Y-yeah,  I… Rina I didn't expect to see you here." Aria said awkwardly though deep inside she was really so happy to see her best friend. She also missed her so much.

"That's good! I mean, it's not safe here anymore, I can't believe I ran into you like this. Are you going home now? Do you have a ride? I can take you home if you want." Rina offered.

Aria almost agreed immediately but when she remembered Knight and his status she pushed the idea to the back of her head.

"Uhmmm, how about a cup of coffee Rina? She suggested it instead because she also wanted to catch up with her.

The two ended up going to a cafe nearby. They chose the table in the corner so they could talk without being disturbed.

"So how have you been? Oh Aria, we tried to look for you!" Rina said and Aria froze up on hearing the word "we".

But then she remembers how she saw Rina and Alex at the Carter mansion the day she lost his daughter too. 

Now Aria is a little conflicted because she isn't sure if Rina knows what Julius and Cyrus did to her.

"Rina...uhmmm when Kiana… I mean that day we last saw each other? What were you doing at the Carter’s?" Aria asked just to clear her mind of doubt.

Rina suddenly tenses on her seat.

"I also received the news Aria. I am so sorry about what happened. Alex sent me a message so I went there, next thing I knew you were gone too. I was so worried, I didn't know where to find you." Rina said with little tears in her eyes.

Aria sighs as she takes her best friend's smaller hands to her own over the table.

"I'm sorry Rin. I...well, Cyrus and I got divorced and I lost my angel so I thought it would be better for me to move away already. I've missed you so much." Aria said while squeezing her best friend's hands.

"I understand Ria but please don't do that again. So where are you staying now? I mean, do you live here in NY? Are you back for good?" Rina asked again because she is really curious about her best friend's life.

 Aria smiles fondly at her. She still is the ever thoughtful one. She briefly informed her about her line of work though she didn't specifically tell her that she already produced songs.

She also told her that she's currently living with a friend but purposely left out the fact that the said friend is no other than the heir of their Prime Minister.

"How about you Rin? How about Lexi? I've missed you both." Aria asked this time.

Rina’s eyes widened upon the mention of their other friend.

"Omg! Aria, aren't you watching the news? Wait! Do you even know that Cyrus is into politics now?" Rina furrowed her brows while staring at her friend.

Aria looked down, she has been purposely avoiding the news because she didn’t want to see anything about her ex family. 

She only used her  private social media accounts to stalk the music charts and that’s about it.

Rina shakes her head when she realizes that Aria is indeed not watching the news.

"Aria, when you left...Lexi got closer to Cyrus. Uhmmmm, I also don't know how it happened but they somehow clicked together. I haven't talked to them both in so long because of how  busy I am with my work but I often see them in the news. I think they're also getting married soon." Rina said.

Aria swallowed as she felt her mark heated up on her neck.

"Oh well...I'm happy for them." She muttered before she forced herself to drink the coffee that suddenly tastes like sand in her mouth. 

Maybe Travis was right after all. She also has to move on with her life for herself and for her future.

And what is the best way to build a future? For Aria, it's to make peace with her past. She quickly made a mental note to visit the place where she started to dream, her home that made her want to pursue singing. 

She smiled to herself thinking what to get for her brother Lucas. She would definitely visit him soon.

At the other side of the City, Cyrus Carter is fuming.

"Dylan, when the hell are they going to stop talking about my love life for fucks sake! This is getting ridiculous!" 

Cyrus threw the remote control of his TV in the office after turning off the device that showed him another report of him secretly dating his friend Alex Perez.

"Why are you so riled up about that news? Aren't you used to it by now? I've never seen you this mad about it." Dylan said before picking up the remote and putting it back in its place.

"I'm just so tired of this. Why the hell do they care more about how many holes I fuck more than the current issue in this country?!" Cyrus wants to smash his head on his wooden table because of the piled up frustration.

"Are you tired of the ridiculous news or just frustrated about the negative report on  Aria's whereabouts?" Dylan bluntly asked, which made Cyrus head snap towards him.

"It's been 3 months! It's been 3 fucking months and we still have no clue where she is! Where the hell could she be hiding?”

Cyrus gritted his teeth when he finally admitted the main source of his stress.

"It's because I think we're looking in all the wrong places, Cy. This weekend, I'm going home." Dylan said, which made Cyrus' eyes widen in shock.

"Oh"

"Might as well pay an old friend a visit. Who knows, I might bump into their pretty singer again." Dylan said with a smirk on his lips.

"Dylan, why do you think she would want to go back there?" Cyrus asked because he really doesn't want to give himself a false hope anymore 

"The omega is an orphan and her only friends are close to you. The only person left that she could go back to is Lucas Monroe, her adopted brother."

KNIGHT’S PENTHOUSE, NY

Aria was still staring at the street through the wide glass window from Knight’s home. It's been hours since she bumped into her best friend Rina and yet she still couldn't believe that she met her friend.

The omega couldn’t help but remember everything Rina had told her but one thing stayed with her.

‘Lexi became close to Cyrus after you left. There's a rumor that they're getting married soon.'

Aria closes her eyes as she tightens her grip on the wine glass she was holding. She is all alone in the penthouse and since she was already getting paid as a music producer, she can afford to buy bottles of wine for her and Knight when they hang out. 

It's one of the many things they both share and since she was still living at the penthouse for free, she always made sure to buy Knight’s favorite wine no matter how expensive it was.

"He’s getting married but why the hell won't you leave my skin?" Aria lifted her free hand to graze over the mate mark on her neck. 

She might not see it but she can feel it as if it's mocking her at the moment.

She knows that a mating mark isn't something you can just get rid of, especially for fated mates like them. 

She learned in high school that the mating mark would only vanish when the one who made it dies or loses his feelings toward the person carrying the mark.

 It is also the reason why she thinks she’s still alive because she had always thought that her mark was a symbol that Cyrus still has feelings for her somehow. 

But now that she learned of her ex-husband's relationship with her best friend, then maybe the feelings that are keeping a mark on her are not love.

"Must be hatred then...it's the only feeling as strong as love." She mumbles again before she drowns her drink.

 It hurts, it really hurts knowing that the person you've been wanting to find you doesn’t even care and is already smitten with your friend.

 Aria chuckles bitterly at her thoughts and how pathetic she is for thinking that her mating mark still means something to Cyrus. 

Now that she remembers that she also put a mark on the alpha, she feels even more embarrassed because she's sure Cyrus might be thinking that she is still longing for him.

Aria pours another drink into her glass. 

 She needs the alcohol to knock her out tonight or else he wouldn't get any ounce of sleep with her head running a mile a minute. 

That night, she drank her sorrow away knowing that she’d wake up tomorrow with the feeling still lingering on her.

CARTER MANSION

Cyrus sighed for the nth time that evening after making sure his little princess was sleeping peacefully in her bed.

 Be came home late again and her nanny was the one who put her in bed that evening. 

The pure-blood alpha is so thankful that they have the old woman taking care of his pup because Felicia just seems to know how to deal with Kiana even when she's difficult.

Ever since he started participating in politics, he became so busy that he rarely spends time with his daughter but Felicia made sure that Kiana is being taken care of. 

She will be turning 4 soon and one thing she has learned from her nanny is to listen to different types of music. 

He even bought his daughter a vinyl player for her room because Kiania fell asleep faster with her music on. She loves music just like her mother.

Cyrus smiles fondly at his sleeping daughter when the music from the recorder changes. The song is new.

 This time the song sounds so sad. Even the lyrics reminded him of someone, the someone he's been looking for so long. 

Cyrus stands up and walks towards the player as if listening to the song would suddenly reveal the person he's looking for. He closed his eyes as he listened to the song. it sounded familiar but unfamiliar.

When the alpha feels like the song is suffocating him, he quickly turns the player off before he leaves the room. 

He didn’t know why he felt like the song was speaking to him so he went to bed trying not to think of anything.

Three days have passed and Aria couldn’t seem to forget what Rina has told her. 

She already finished her recording with the group but here she is in her office drowning herself in  work hoping she could just forget everything and go back to when she didn’t have that knowledge.

Heaven knows she's trying her best to forget and just move on with her life now but everytime she tries to take a step forward something from her past will just drag her back to where she started. 

She feels so helpless. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that it was past the time to go home.

 She almost fell off her seat when her colleague’s head popped in from the door.

"Not Going home yet?" Kyrie asksbut Aria just pouts and points at the scattered paper in front of her.

"You know, they told me that a good musician needs a muse to be able to make good music. Come on Ivy, why don't you join me for a drink? Maybe you'll meet  that someone"

"Thanks Kyrie...you know I don't go to clubs and I'm not up for mating. Just go and have fun!" Aria even waved his hand towards the older producer.

Kyrie just scrunches his nose as he retreats because he knows he could never convince her.

Aria sighs when she sees he’s  gone. She knows he is right about having a muse, but Kyrie is so wrong for thinking that she doesn't have one because she knows deep in her heart she has his angel and she will be forever her muse.

The omega couldn’t help but feel the longing in her heart again when she remembers her pup. 

She slowly tidies up her table and tries to divert her mind to anything but her daughter because she doesn't want to cry herself to sleep for once. 

He looks at the calendar sitting on top of her desk and realizes that it's already the weekend.

"Hmmn, I suppose it's time to pay Lucas a visit then" Aria mumbles to herself. 

She already bought a present for the older man. She knows Lucas is rich and probably has everything he wants in life except a mate but then Aria knows how the older alpha is plant obsessed and loves wooden things so she bought him a cute little bonsai tree that is now sitting on the table inside her studio.

Aria smiles to herself as she grabs her bag and picks up the present for Lucas.

She looks at her watch to check the time. She still has enough time to get to the metro so she can go see her brother.. She fishes out her phone and types a short message informing Knight that she's going to see her brother.

The alpha is still in his vacation house and would probably be back in a few days so Aria took the opportunity to leave now. 

But to her surprise the moment she stepped out the building she's working in, she spots the familiar alpha leaning on his black Audi A8.

"Knight!" Aria squealed when their eyes met. She hates how excited she sounds but Knight’s smile really made her feel better.

"How are you Ivy?" Knight beams and immediately takes the gift from her hands and her bag.

Aria laughs at Knight’s calling her by her pseudonym. Ever since she started working at Gem-harmony, the pure blood alpha started calling her that every once in a while.

"I'm fine! I actually sent you a message just now because I didn't expect you to be back soon. I'm planning to go to the country side!" Aria says.

Knight opens the car door for her and only replies when they're already inside the car.

"Yeah, I saw your message. But  Aria, you know it is dangerous for you to travel alone, right? Do you mind if I'll go with you? Or if you are not comfortable with me then I can send Justin to drive you and…"

"NO! I mean, …..I'll be fine. You don't have to drag Justin or me again. I bet he already hates me enough because you keep making him check on me whenever you're gone as if I can't take care of myself." Aria said matter of factly. 

She doesn't know how to feel with the attention Knight has been giving her; she's worried that Justin would think that she's an opportunist who's taking advantage of the kindness of his friend.

"Justin could never hate you. Hell, he is practically bouncing whenever I ask him to check on you. I guess he has also become your fan, well just your number 2 fan because I'm the number 1!" Knight grins as he starts the car.

Aria suddenly froze in her seat when she heard his words.

 Those are the exact words Cyrus said to her when he first learned that she used to sing at Lucas’s restaurant.

 She still remembers how her ex husband used to go to the restaurant every night just to watch her perform before they got married. 

Cyrus was once her number 1 fan or so she thought.

Knight noticed the omega's silence and didn't comment on it.

 He knows that whenever he accidentally says something connected to Aria's past, she goes quiet.

"So, how about we drop by for chicken and pizza first before we drive out tonight? You know I also want to visit their famous strawberry farm there." Knight suggested that made Aria smile.

"Oh goodness, how could I ever say no to fried chicken? Let's go then!" Aria replied.

At first, she thought about insisting to go alone but then she remembered Rina’s words. 

Everyone seems to have moved on already, maybe it's time for her to move forward with her life too. Maybe it's time for her to just focus on herself and the people who actually care for her. With that in mind, Aria looks at Knight’s side profile.

Maybe, it's really time for her to open up to someone else too.

Aria decided to go back to where she started just to let herself be at peace with who she is, Little did she know that they are not the only ones who are going to that place.