By the time their six-month anniversary rolled around, Ethan was hopelessly hooked. Aria was fire and thunder, unpredictable in every way, and he had learned to love the chaos—or at least pretend he did.
But little by little, cracks were showing.
It began with the parties.
Aria loved them. Every weekend, she dragged Ethan to some crowded apartment or rented hall, where music thumped and the air was thick with alcohol and smoke. She'd vanish into the crowd within minutes, leaving Ethan nursing a drink and waiting for her to reappear.
One Saturday night, Ethan found her outside on the balcony, pressed close to a guy he didn't recognize. The stranger's hand was on her waist, and she was laughing—her head tilted back, lips dangerously close to his.
Ethan froze, heart pounding.
"Aria," he said sharply.
She turned, blinking as if surprised to see him. Then she grinned. "There you are! I was just telling—uh, what's your name again?—telling him about our trip to Mombasa."
The stranger gave Ethan a lazy smile and backed off. Aria looped her arm through Ethan's, kissing his cheek. "Don't look so serious, babe. We were just talking."
But Ethan couldn't forget the way the guy's hand had lingered.
Later, when he confronted her, Aria rolled her eyes.
"You're jealous," she said flatly.
"Wouldn't you be, if you saw me like that?"
She smirked. "Please. You're not me."
The words stung more than he expected.
Ethan's friends noticed, too.
"She's playing you," Daniel told him one evening in the library. "Everyone can see it but you."
Ethan slammed his book shut. "You don't know her like I do."
Daniel leaned back, exasperated. "No, but I know what it looks like when a guy is being strung along. She's got you wrapped around her finger, man."
Ethan wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Deep down, the doubts were growing roots.
One night, Ethan decided to surprise her. He showed up at her aunt's apartment unannounced, carrying a small bouquet of flowers he'd saved up for.
When the door opened, his smile faltered.
A man stood there—shirtless, his expression startled.
"Uh…can I help you?" the man asked.
Ethan's throat went dry. Before he could answer, Aria appeared behind the stranger, wearing only an oversized T-shirt.
"Ethan," she said, her voice too bright. "What are you doing here?"
He stared, heart breaking. "Who is this?"
Aria didn't flinch. She just crossed her arms. "A friend."
The man muttered something about leaving and slipped past Ethan without another word.
Silence stretched between them.
"Aria," Ethan whispered. "Are you…are you cheating on me?"
She sighed, brushing past him to grab a cigarette from the counter. Lighting it, she exhaled smoke into the room.
"Don't be dramatic, Ethan. It was nothing. Just…fun."
"Fun?" His voice cracked. "You call that fun?"
She looked at him with a cold kind of pity. "You take everything so seriously. I told you from the beginning—I don't like rules. I don't do chains."
Ethan's chest ached. "Then what am I to you?"
Her eyes softened slightly. "You're the one I always come back to."
The words should have comforted him. Instead, they twisted the knife deeper.
That night, Ethan cried for the first time since he was a child. Alone in his dorm room, he buried his face in his pillow, hating himself for loving her.
Daniel found him the next morning, eyes red and swollen.
"Leave her," Daniel said quietly. "Please. Before she breaks you completely."
But Ethan shook his head, voice hoarse. "I can't. I love her."
Daniel clenched his jaw, frustrated. "That's not love, bro. That's poison."
Ethan knew he was right. But knowing didn't make the addiction any weaker.
Days turned into weeks. Ethan tried to pull back, to give himself space, but Aria always knew how to reel him back in.
She'd show up at his dorm with takeout and that mischievous smile. She'd kiss him like nothing else in the world existed. She'd whisper in his ear, "No one knows you like I do, Ethan. No one ever will."
And he'd believe her, even when he shouldn't.
Every time he thought about leaving, the thought of life without her felt unbearable.
Aria was the wound, but she was also the only thing that made the pain fade.
Ethan didn't realize it yet, but he was already trapped.
Not in love.
In addiction.