~Aria's POV
For a moment, I truly thought he would cut me off.
I thought he would say something sharp, something careless, something that would remind me that I had crossed a line. My shoulders tensed without me realizing it, and I braced myself for the familiar sting of being told I was too much. Too nosy, and too emotional.
But he did not speak.
He stayed still.
Too still.
His eyes did not wander. His jaw did not tighten. Instead, he watched me like he was actually listening, not waiting for his turn to respond, not planning an escape. He looked… invested. Like my words mattered.
That unsettled me more than any insult would have.
So I swallowed, took a breath, and continued.
"I was young when my mother died," I said quietly. The words came out flat at first, like they had lost their edges from being repeated too many times in my head. "One moment she was there, and the next… she was not."
