The automatic doors of the supermarket slid open, unleashing a blast of conditioned air. Aria grabbed a cart, the wheels squeaking in protest. Harland walked beside her, looking around with a mix of curiosity and unease.

"Okay," Aria said, pulling out a list on her phone. "We need essentials. Rice, beans, pasta."

She steered the cart toward the discount aisle. Harland followed, his hands in his pockets.

"Why not steak?" he asked, eyeing the meat counter.

"Because steak is forty dollars a pound," Aria said, not breaking stride. "We are on a beer budget, Harland. Actually, tap water budget."

She stopped in front of the produce section. She picked up a carton of strawberries. They were bright red, plump, and perfect. She looked at the price tag. 8.99.

She sighed and put them back.

"What's wrong?" Harland asked.

"Out of season," she said. "Too expensive."

She turned to weigh a bag of potatoes. Harland watched her. He looked at the strawberries. He looked at her back.

Quickly, stealthily, he grabbed the carton and buried it under the bag of onions in the cart.

Aria turned back. "Do you eat spicy food? Chicken thighs are on sale. I can make curry."

Harland's pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone. The screen read Silas.

"Bathroom," he muttered. "Be right back."

He walked briskly to the back of the store, near the dairy coolers. He checked to make sure no one was within earshot.

"Talk," Harland said, his voice dropping an octave, losing the casual rasp and gaining a razor-sharp edge.

"The board is panicking," Silas's voice came through the earpiece. "The rumors of your 'disappearance' are working. Stock is down three points."

"Let it drop another two," Harland said, staring at a wall of yogurt. "Then trigger the buyback. Use the shell companies in the Caymans. I want fifty-one percent by Friday."

"Understood. And the Young acquisition?"

"Hold on that," Harland said. "I'm... gathering intel."

"Harland?"

He froze. Aria was standing at the end of the aisle, holding a bag of frozen peas.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked, tilting her head. "You sounded... intense."

Harland lowered the phone. He forced his shoulders to relax. "Debt collector," he lied smoothly. "I told him to back off. I told him I'm good for it."

Aria's face softened instantly. The suspicion vanished, replaced by pity. "Oh, Harland. I'm sorry. Once the lawyers process the marriage certificate, I can help."

"Don't worry about it," he said, slipping the phone away. "Did you get the peas?"

"Yes. They were two for one."

They walked to the checkout. Aria unloaded the cart. When the cashier scanned the strawberries, Aria gasped.

"Wait, I didn't-" She looked at Harland.

He shrugged, looking at the ceiling. "Must have fallen in. Just take them."

"Harland, we can't afford-"

"I have ten bucks," he said. "My treat."

Aria looked at him, then at the strawberries. "Thank you."

They walked out to the parking lot. Harland grabbed the heavy bags before she could touch them. He lifted them like they were filled with feathers.

"You're strong for an artist," Aria observed.

"I haul my own canvases," he said. "And frames. Heavy wood."

They climbed back into the Bronco. Aria buckled her seatbelt, feeling a strange sense of contentment. It was just groceries, but it felt like a victory.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Pippa, her only friend who hadn't blocked her.

Image Attachment.

Aria opened it. It was a screenshot of a livestream. Julian and Corina were standing in front of a display of truffles, laughing.

Caption: Shopping for tonight's feast! Only the best for my love.

Aria felt her stomach turn. The contentment evaporated.

"Everything okay?" Harland asked, starting the engine.

"Just... indigestion," Aria whispered, turning the screen off.

"We need to eat," Harland said, steering the truck toward the curb. "The engine is overheating anyway. Needs to cool down."

Aria looked out the window. Her blood ran cold. They were parked directly in front of the Union Square Greenmarket. The exact location of the livestream.

"No," Aria said, shrinking into her seat. "Not here. Let's go somewhere else."

"Truck won't make it," Harland lied effortlessly. He killed the engine. "Come on. Fresh air will do you good."

"Harland, you don't understand-"

"I understand you're hungry," he said. He opened his door and walked around to her side. He opened it. "Out."

Aria hesitated, then pulled her hood up. Maybe they wouldn't see her.

They walked into the market. It was crowded with the Saturday brunch crowd. Harland carried the plastic bags from the discount store, looking completely unbothered. Aria walked with her head down, staring at the pavement.

"Oh my god," a shrill voice pierced the air. "Is that Aria?"

Aria froze. She slowly looked up.

Corina stood ten feet away, holding a basket of organic kale. Julian was beside her, holding a phone on a gimbal, live-streaming to thousands.

"It is!" Corina laughed, covering her mouth. "And who is... oh wow."

Julian lowered the phone, pointing the camera directly at Aria and Harland. "Look at this, guys. The fallen princess and her... what is he? A homeless guy?"

The comments on the screen were scrolling too fast to read, but Aria knew what they said. Trash. Loser. Karma.

"Julian, stop," Aria said, her voice shaking.

"Why?" Julian stepped closer, a sneer on his face. "You look terrible, Aria. That hoodie? Is that polyester?"

Harland dropped the grocery bags. They hit the ground with a heavy thud.

He stepped in front of Aria. He didn't shove Julian. He just occupied the space, his height and breadth eclipsing the other man.

"Move," Harland said. His voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that made the air around them feel heavy.

Julian scoffed, but he took a half-step back. "Who the hell are you? Her dealer?"

Harland looked at Julian. He didn't look at him like a rival. He looked at him like he was a bug on a windshield.

"I'm the guy telling you to get that camera out of my face before I feed it to you," Harland said. As he spoke, he angled his body, turning his head slightly so his face was mostly obscured from the phone's lens by his shoulder and the shadow of his hood.

"Do you know who I am?" Julian puffed out his chest. "I'm Julian Vance. My family owns-"

"I don't care," Harland interrupted. "And it doesn't matter."

The dismissal was absolute. Julian blinked, his face flushing red. He wasn't used to being irrelevant.

Aria grabbed Harland's sleeve. Her fingers dug into the leather. "Harland, please. Let's just go."

Harland looked down at her. The coldness in his eyes vanished instantly. "Okay."

He reached out and took her hand. He interlaced their fingers. His grip was firm, grounding.

Aria stared at their hands.

"Running away again, Aria?" Corina called out. "Dad is so disappointed."

Aria stopped. She felt Harland's strength flowing into her. She turned her head.

"Tell him I don't care," Aria said loud enough for the microphone to pick up. "Tell him I'm married."

The silence that followed was absolute. Julian's jaw dropped.

"Married?" he sputtered. "To him?"

"Yes," Aria said. "To him."

She tugged on Harland's hand. "Let's go home."

They walked away, leaving the stunned couple and the chaotic livestream behind. Aria's heart was racing so fast she thought she might pass out.

But Harland didn't let go of her hand until they were two blocks away.

The "loft" in Brooklyn was actually a raw industrial space with exposed brick and drafty windows. Harland unlocked the heavy metal door and kicked it open.

"Home sweet home," he said.

Aria walked in. It was sparse. A mattress on the floor, a few easels covered in canvas, a small kitchenette. It was cold.

"I'm sorry," Aria said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "I shouldn't have said that. Now they know."

Harland put the groceries on the counter. "So what? It's the truth."

Aria pulled out her phone. Her notifications were a solid block of white text.

Trending: AriaYoungMarried HomelessHusband

She opened Instagram. Her DMs were flooded with hate. You're pathetic. Did you pay him? Corina is so much prettier.

Her hands started to shake. The walls of the room felt like they were closing in.

"Stop," Harland said.

He was standing over her. He reached down and plucked the phone from her hands.

"Hey!"

"Garbage belongs in the trash," he said. He looked at the screen for one second, his eyes darkening, then he tossed the phone onto the mattress. "They want to hurt you. Why are you letting them?"

"Because they're my world!" Aria cried, tears spilling over. "My connections, my reputation... Julian will ruin me."

"Julian is a gnat," Harland said. "And that world? It's toxic. Do you want to be Aria, or do you want to be the Young family punching bag?"

Aria wiped her eyes. She looked at the phone. It buzzed again.

"I don't know how to be anyone else," she whispered.

"Start by deleting it," Harland said. "All of it. Disappear."

Aria stared at him. "Delete... everything?"

"Burn it down," he said. "Start fresh."

Aria picked up the phone. Her thumb hovered over the Delete Account button on Instagram. Her heart pounded. This was her history. Her photos. Her life.

She pressed it.

Are you sure?

Yes.

She went to Facebook. Twitter. She paused when she got to LinkedIn. Her professional life, her portfolio, her connections to the industry... that was different. She couldn't erase that if she ever wanted to work again.

She took a deep breath and changed the privacy settings to their maximum, making her profile visible only to her direct connections. She deactivated the account instead of deleting it, a temporary severing of ties. With every click, the tightness in her chest loosened.

When she was done, she looked at Harland.

"Now the SIM," he said.

Aria popped the tray open. She took out the small chip. She snapped it in half. It made a satisfying crack.

She threw the pieces into the trash can.

"I'm gone," she breathed. "I'm invisible."

Harland reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap-looking flip phone. "Here. Burner. Pre-paid. Nobody has this number except me."

Aria took it. It felt like a toy. "Thank you."

"Hungry?" Harland asked, turning to the kitchen. "I'll make that curry."

Aria watched him chop onions. His movements were precise, rhythmic.

"Harland?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you helping me? Really?"

He paused, the knife hovering over a carrot. "Because I know what it's like to be surrounded by sharks."

He didn't say anything else.

Back in the Young mansion, Julian threw his iPhone against the wall. It shattered.

"She deleted it," he screamed. "She's gone! I can't track her!"

Eugenia sipped her wine, looking bored. "Relax, darling. I just froze her credit cards. She'll be crawling back when she gets hungry."

In Brooklyn, Aria took a bite of the chicken curry. It was spicy, warm, and the best thing she had ever tasted.