Morning came quicker than expected, way too sunny, not a sound around. Yet everything felt off from the start.
Aria hardly rested at all. Instead, her thoughts kept looping through it - over, again
Lucien's confession.
Damian's comfort.
The pressure broke suddenly - like a thin cord cutting into skin.
Yet nothing got her ready for what lay ahead at Blackwood Academy.
The moment she walked into the school yard, everyone went quiet.
Students stopped talking.
Some whispered.
Some stared openly.
At first, though, Aria figured it was just typical focus - the "new girl" label she could never ditch.
Yet that's when she spotted it - the cause.
Lucien but Damian stood in the yard.
Facing each other.
No words.
No movement.
Exactly the sort of pressure turning every breath into a risk.
Aria froze.
She'd watched them mad earlier - yet now felt off. This time sat heavier.
This wasn't anger.
This felt heavier, clearer - some ancient thing lurking close.
Students edged backward, making room - as if the cosmos sensed disaster ahead.
Aria's pulse quickened.
She moved closer to those folks.
Then another.
"Lucien… Damian… please—"
They both looked at her - just then. One right after another, their eyes shifted.
Then it hit her - she saw the way they were looking.
Lucien's eyes looked like thunderclouds, full of sorrow that hit her right in the chest. One glance and her whole body reacted. It wasn't just sadness - it was weighty, raw, real. She couldn't look away even if she tried.
His eyes felt icy, cutting - like he'd thrown up a barrier in just one night, locking himself behind bricks.
Aria, he started, tone flat - maybe too flat.
"Go inside."
She shook her head. "No. Not until you tell me what's happening."
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"Damian seems to think there's something he needs to protect you from."
Damian let out a laugh - no joy in it at all.
"Someone, Lucien. Not something."
Lucien moved closer. "Speak up."
Damian didn't blink. "You're risky," he said - quiet but sharp
A sharp breath spread across the open yard.
Lucien spoke so quietly it felt dangerous.
"You think I would hurt her."
"So do you," Damian shot back. "You're trying not to. That's the difference."
Aria felt the words hit her like cold water.
"This is about me?" she whispered. "You're fighting because of me?"
"Not a fight," Damian said, staring at Lucien. "More like shutting him down."
Lucien's breathing trembled - just a bit, though she noticed.
"Damian doesn't trust me," Lucien said quietly.
Damian moved nearer, speaking softly.
"I don't trust myself around her either. But I don't let obsession turn me into something reckless."
Lucien's eyes flashed.
"You think I'm reckless?"
"I think you're breaking," Damian replied. "And when you break, you destroy everything around you."
A small muscle near Lucien's jaw jumped suddenly.
Aria moved between them, her hands trembling.
"Stop! Please stop! None of this is helping me."
Lucien turned toward her - his face changed right away.
Damian turned his gaze elsewhere - proof she'd caused pain, though not on purpose.
Aria wasn't sure where to glance or whom she could rely on.
She got stuck in the middle of two forces tugging her apart - one yanked left, the other right.
Lucien breathed in, trying to keep his tone calm.
"Aria," he said softly, "I need to speak to you alone."
Damian moved ahead right away.
"She's not going anywhere with you."
Lucien's eyes darkened.
"You don't make choices for her."
"She doesn't know what you are when you lose control."
Lucien flinched.
Aria's chest tightened - like something heavy had dropped right through it.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" she shouted.
They both froze.
She couldn't tell if it was Lucien's panic that scared her most - or maybe Damian's cold reasoning instead.
Aria sucked in a quick, uneven gulp of air.
"I don't want to be fought over. I don't want to be protected like I'm fragile. I just want the truth."
He glanced her way, his face easing up.
"I already gave you mine."
Lucien turned his head, face hard to read.
"I'm not sure you want mine."
Aria moved near despite everything.
"Lucien… please."
His shoulders stiffened.
His jaw tightened till it hurt.
Then, quietly:
"My father knew the truth about your mother's accident."
Aria stopped breathing.
Damian's head jerked his way.
"Lucien—"
Yet Lucien went on, speaking softly, hollow inside.
"He knew the brakes were cut."
The world got quiet.
Aria's vision blurred.
The ground tilted.
"No…" she whispered. "No, that's not—"
Damian shut his eyes, teeth clenching from anger.
Aria gave another slow shake of her head, her words breaking mid-sound.
"You're saying… my mother's death wasn't an accident?"
Lucien moved near, softly trying to take her hand - only to stop just short, scared of making contact.
"It wasn't," he whispered. "And the person who ordered it… is alive."
Her breath shattered.
Damian grabbed her arm when she wobbled, holding her up.
Lucien looked down at Damian's hand.
Jealousy.
Fear.
Regret.
Everything just showed up.
Lucien inhaled shakily.
"I've been trying to keep you away from this," he whispered.
"But Damian keeps pulling you closer."
Damian moved ahead of her, stance firm.
"She deserves to know."
"She deserves to be safe," Lucien hissed.
"And you think you're the one who can keep her that way?" Damian shot back.
Lucien shot ahead, yanking Damian's shirt. Yet his grip stayed firm despite the pushback.
Students gasped.
Aria pushed them away from each other.
"Stop! STOP!"
Lucien spoke quieter, his tone sharp like a warning.
"She's not choosing you."
Damian's tone lined up with his - similar rhythm, same rough edge.
"And she hasn't chosen you either."
Silence.
Aria's heart pounded hard against her ribs.
Lucien let go of Damian's collar bit by bit, staring with a broken kind of look in his eyes.
Damian spoke up, shattering the silence.
"Aria… you're going to have to choose."
Her breath caught.
Lucien stared into her eyes.
Damian's gaze lost its sharpness around the corners.
Two different storms.
Two different dangers.
Two different futures—
They both just looked at her, like nothing else even existed.
Then suddenly…
Aria saw it clearly - what was real finally made sense to her
The next move she picks could wreck a person. One wrong step might break things for another soul.