Aria POV

By noon I already hated everyone.

My inbox looked like it had multiplied overnight, tasks stacked on tasks with red markers and passive aggressive comments from people who pretended collaboration was a personality trait. I stared at my screen, fingers flying across the keyboard as lines of code blurred together.

This was why I preferred machines. They did not gossip. They did not cc HR for sport. They either worked or they did not.

“Aria,” a voice said over the partition. “Did you see the update from management”

I did not look up. “Which one. There are twelve.”

“The one about restructuring deadlines.”

“Tell them restructuring does not magically create time,” I said. “And if they want miracles they should hire a priest.”

A pause. Then a quiet retreat.

I exhaled and leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes. My phone buzzed with a message from HR again. I ignored it. If I did not, I would say something that would get me fired before my first official week even ended.

By the time evening came, my shoulders ached and my patience was gone. I shut down my system, grabbed my bag, and left before anyone could ask me for one more thing.

I did not want to go home yet. The apartment still felt contaminated by memory. So I went somewhere neutral. A small upscale restaurant not far from the office. Quiet. Clean. Predictable.

I ordered pasta and a glass of wine. One glass. I was not repeating mistakes.

Halfway through my meal, just as my shoulders finally relaxed, the door opened.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Aria, the ever-vigilant girlfriend." She smirked, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. 

"I'm surprised to see you out and about, considering the scandalous scene we left you with."

Ethan shifted uncomfortably beside her, his eyes darting between me and Jasmin. "Jasmin, please, now is not the time for this," he muttered under his breath.

But Jasmin was already stepping closer to me, her blue eyes gleaming with malice. 

"Come on, Aria, you can't tell me you didn't see this coming. I mean, a girl like you, all prim and proper, while Ethan and I, well, we have a certain...chemistry."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my  nails digging into my palms. I could feel the anger rising inside me, hot and dangerous. How dare Jasmin throw her betrayal in my face like this?

"You have some nerve," i spat, my voice shaking with barely contained fury. "You were supposed to be my best friend, Jasmin. And you..."I turned my gaze to Ethan."

You were supposed to love me. And yet here you are, flaunting your affair in front of me like it means nothing."

Jasmine had the audacity to look amused, her red lips curling into a cruel smile. 

"Oh, Aria, always so dramatic. It's just sex. It doesn't mean anything."

"Like hell it doesn't," I snarled. I took a step forward, my eyes blazing with determination. "You may have taken my boyfriend and my best friend, but you will never take my dignity. I'm done with both of you. Consider this your final warning - stay the fuck away from me, or face the consequences."

As I turned to leave I saw him, he walked in like the room had been waiting for him.

Luca.

Dark suit. Calm stride. His friend beside him laughing about something that died the moment Luca’s gaze landed on me.

His eyes sharpened. Focused.

He did not rush. He did not frown. He simply came closer.

And somehow that was worse.

Luca POV

I only wanted food.

That was the plan. Simple. No meetings. No politics. Just a restaurant and silence.

Darius was mid sentence about how my chef had betrayed me by taking a day off when I saw her.

Aria stood near a table, shoulders squared, chin lifted in defiance. Two people hovered in front of her. One man smirking. One woman posturing.

I did not need context. I understood body language well enough.

“That looks unpleasant,” Darius said lightly.

“Yes,” I replied. “It does.”

I walked toward them without thinking. Not fast. Not slow. Measured.

Aria noticed me then. Her eyes widened just slightly before something unreadable crossed her face.

Relief maybe.

I stopped beside her, close enough that my arm brushed hers. I did not touch. I did not need to.

“Is there a problem,” I asked calmly.

Jasmin looked me up and down, interest flaring immediately. “No problem at all. Just catching up.”

I glanced at Aria. “Are you alright”

She nodded once. “I was about to leave.”

“No,” I said quietly. “You are finishing your meal.”

The authority in my voice surprised even me.

Ethan scoffed. “And who are you supposed to be”

I looked at him then. Really looked.

“I am the man she is with,” I said.

Aria inhaled sharply.

Jasmin froze.

Darius smiled behind me.

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “Since when”

“Since now,” I replied. “And you are interrupting dinner.”

I placed my hand lightly at the small of Aria’s back. Protective. Possessive without being crude.

“Come,” I said to her. “Sit.”

She hesitated for half a second, then obeyed.

That did something to me.

Jasmin recovered quickly, flipping her hair. “I did not realize you had such taste.”

I smiled thinly. “My taste is excellent.”

She flushed.

Ethan looked furious now. “You think you can just walk in and take over”

“I do not think,” I said calmly. “I do.”

I pulled out a chair for Aria and waited until she sat before taking my own. Darius followed suit, still silent but alert.

“Enjoy your evening,” I added to them. “Somewhere else.”

For a moment I thought Ethan might argue.

Then Jasmin leaned close to him and whispered, eyes never leaving me.

“That is Luca King,” she said softly. “Do you know who he is”

Ethan stiffened.

Her voice trembled with awe. “He owns half this city.”

They left without another word.

I turned back to Aria. “Are you okay”

She nodded, eyes bright. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Good,” I said. “Eat.”

Aria POV

My hands shook slightly as I picked up my fork.

“Luca,” I said quietly. “You did not have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” he replied.

The way he looked at me made my stomach flip. Not hungry. Not drunk. Just aware.

After dinner, he walked me outside. The night air was cool, grounding.

“My car is here,” he said. “I will take you home.”

I hesitated. Then nodded.

As we drove, I caught my reflection in the window. I looked different. Stronger. Wanted.

And for the first time since everything broke, I smiled.

Whatever this was, it was not over.

Not even close.

Aria POV

The car was quiet.

Not awkward quiet. Heavy quiet. The kind that pressed against my chest and made every breath feel louder than it should be. The city lights blurred past the window, reflections stretching and breaking like my thoughts.

I sat with my hands folded in my lap, trying very hard not to look at Luca.

That was impossible.

He sat beside me, calm as always, one arm resting against the seat, his attention forward but somehow still aware of me. I could feel it. The way his presence filled the space. The way my body reacted to it without permission.

My heart was still racing from the restaurant. From the way he stepped in. From the way he said I was his without asking if I wanted him to.

And the terrifying part was that I did.

I swallowed hard, emotions pressing up unexpectedly. Anger I thought I had buried. Embarrassment. Relief. And something dangerously close to wanting to cry.

"You do not have to hold it in," Luca said quietly.

I stiffened. "Hold what in"

"That," he replied, finally turning his head to look at me.

The gentleness in his eyes undid me.

I looked away quickly. "I am fine."

"You are not," he said. Not accusing. Just certain.

My fingers curled into the fabric of my dress. "I hate that they still get to affect me," I whispered. "I hate that she can look at me like she won something. Like I was replaceable."

His jaw tightened.

"You were never replaceable," he said. His voice dropped lower. Controlled. Dangerous in its restraint. "They touched something they had no right to."

I laughed weakly. "You sound angry on my behalf."

"I am," he said.

That made my chest ache.

I closed my eyes, images rising unbidden. Luca standing between me and them. His hand at my back. The way his voice wrapped around me like a promise. My imagination betrayed me then, drifting to what his hands would feel like if they were not just protective but claiming.

Heat spread through me, startling and unwelcome.

I shifted slightly, pressing my thighs together.

Luca noticed.

Of course he did.

His breath changed. Just slightly. His gaze dropped to my movement and then back to my face. Something dark flickered there before he masked it.

I felt suddenly exposed. Seen in a way that had nothing to do with vulnerability and everything to do with desire.

My pulse jumped.

We stopped outside my gate far too soon.

The car idled as silence settled again.

"Thank you," I said softly. "For tonight."

He did not answer immediately. His eyes traced my face slowly, as if committing it to memory.

"Go inside," he said finally. "Get some rest."

I hesitated. "Will I see you again"

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

His mouth curved slightly. "You will."

That was all.

I stepped out of the car on unsteady legs, my heart pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with fear. I did not look back as I walked inside, but I could feel his gaze on me until the door closed.

Inside my room, I leaned against the door, breath shallow.

My body hummed. My mind replayed everything. His voice. His nearness. The way he looked at me like he wanted something he refused to take.

I slid down onto the bed and pressed my hands to my face.

Get a grip, Aria.

But my body did not listen.

Luca POV

The moment the door closed behind her, I exhaled sharply.

Darius glanced at me from the front seat. "You alright back there"

"No," I said honestly.

He chuckled. "Thought so."

The truth sat heavy in my body. Uncomfortable. Unignorable. I shifted slightly, adjusting my jacket, irritation burning under my skin.

Desire was not new to me.

This was different.

This was sharp. Insistent. The kind that had settled low and hard, unrelieved by logic or restraint. My body had reacted to her without asking permission, and that alone pissed me off.

"She was shaking," I said quietly.

"Yes," Darius replied. "Because those two idiots are trash."

"They made her feel small," I continued. "I do not tolerate that."

He glanced at me in the mirror. "You are not supposed to tolerate it. She is not nothing to you."

I clenched my jaw.

"I wanted to hurt them," I admitted. "Not because they insulted me. Because they made her eyes look like that."

Darius whistled softly. "That bad, huh"

"Yes."

The rest of the drive passed in silence.

At the hotel, I moved straight to my suite, stripping off my jacket and loosening my collar. My body was still tight with tension. Want without release was a dangerous thing.

I poured a drink and took a long swallow.

It did nothing.

I was still hard. Still imagining the way her breath hitched when I stood close. The way she pressed her thighs together in the car, how pecky her breast was. 

I closed my eyes briefly.

A knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Enter," I said.

The door opened and my father walked in like he owned the place.

Because he did.

He studied me with sharp eyes. "You look distracted."

"I am busy," I replied.

"So am I," he said, taking a seat. "Which is why we need to discuss the shipment."

I turned fully toward him. "What about it"

"The drugs are coming through the eastern port," he said. "Too visible. Too risky."

"We reroute," I said without hesitation. "Split it into smaller loads."

He nodded. "Agreed. There is also a new player asking questions."

My focus snapped back fully now. "Who"

"Someone ambitious," he said calmly. "And ambition makes people stupid."

"We will handle it," I replied.

He stood. "Make sure you do."

After he left, I stood alone in the room, staring out over the city.

My body still burned. My thoughts still circled back to one woman with tired eyes and a sharp tongue who had no idea how close she came to being claimed by instinct alone.

I tightened my grip on the glass.

Soon, I promised myself.

Soon.

And whoever made her cry again would learn exactly how inpatient I was.