There was a knock on the door and Aria hesitated before going to open it. She was hoping that it was not Oliver, Susan or Lena; she just didn’t want to see any of those three, right now. It was almost dark and Lena had not returned to her room. In the past, she would be restless till her daughter was by her side, but this time she was glad that Lena wasn’t there.
She opened the door and met her best friend standing outside. Rosie smiled at her and she smiled back; a forced smile.
“Hey Rosie, please come in,” she ushered, it was clear to her that her friend was here to talk.
“So, it crossed my mind that we barely have time for each other lately, you know… the usual girl’s time.” Rosie said as she walked in.
Aria chuckled and closed the door before joining her. “Well, we have had a lot to handle, you have Sammy now which keeps you occupied, and we have your wedding coming up. So yes, it’s been quite a rough time for us all.” She replied.
“True, very true,” Rosie muttered and sat on the bed, with her eyes moving curiously through the different corners of the room like she was searching for something.
“So, how have things been going with you and Sammy, I hope everything is fine?” Aria asked softly.
“Yeah, sure… definitely,” Rosie said with a nervous laughter. Aria understood that laughter, Rosie was hiding something but she decided not to pry or get herself involved in it.
“What about Lena? Where is she?” Rosie asked.
“Lena is somewhere throwing questions at the tour guide. I know that you didn’t come here to ask about Lena, so why don’t you tell me why you are here,” Aria said with a smile and folded her arms.
Rosie chuckled. “Fine, you know me too well… yes I came here to discuss something different from that, it’s something important, you might want to sit down,” she advised.
“No, I am fine here,” Aria replied and looked down to her legs; she was on bare foot and even though the ground was cold, it didn’t bother her.
Rosie sighed. “Alright, I wanted to talk about Oliver.”
“Yeah, what about him? Did he bring in any more strange guests?” she asked sarcastically and scoffed. Even if Rosie didn’t know too well, she could tell from her friend’s behavior that she was jealous.
“No, but I wanted us to talk about the one with him, I want us to talk about Susan,” Rosie informed her.
“Why? What is there to talk about?” Aria asked and turned around. She knew Rosie would tell that her mind said different things by looking into her eyes.
“Stop trying to act strong and ignorant Aria, I know you too well to say that you are not okay with this, so let me help you.”
“Help me? I don’t understand, what do you mean by I am not okay with this? Of course I am fine, I mean why shouldn’t I be?” She rattled.
Rosie sighed and stood up, and then she held Aria’s shoulders from behind. “You are doing that thing where you talk real fast just to hide your true feelings,” she said.
“Huh? No I am not, what is there to discuss or hide?” Aria muttered.
Rosie turned her slowly to face her. “Yes you are doing just that… look Aria, I can see what is going on, both with you and Oliver, I suggest you act fast before it is too late.”
“What do you mean? Too late for what?” Aria asked, still acting like she had no idea of what her best friend was talking about.
“Stop it already Aria, Susan is in love with Oliver and we both know where this is heading, I can see a pattern and I know you do too.” She half-yelled.
Aria was now silent, she looked down for a few seconds and then looked up again. “Alright, Susan is in love with Oliver and maybe Oliver feels the same way too, so what?” she queried.
“Do you not love him again? Do you not want him again? I know you do, which is why you need to end all of this drama already before you lose Oliver forever,” Rosie advised.
“I don’t love him and I don’t want him, I thought I have made that clear already?” she queried.
“Really? So you are not jealous seeing him being so close to some other lady? You mean you no longer feel anything for him? don’t you have feelings for him anymore?” Rosie asked with concern.
“You are repeatedly asking the same question, look sis… I don’t care who he spends his time with, I don’t love him anymore and it doesn’t affect me when I see him with someone else. I wouldn’t care if they decided to fall in love or get married, I only care about myself and my daughter. The moment this wedding is over, I will be out of here and I might never come back.” She stated in finality.
Rosie sighed. She knew her best friend too well, this was just her anger and ego speaking. Even if she wouldn’t admit it, she was still in love with Oliver. The signs were there, starting from the look on her face when she saw Oliver with Susan, to how hard she had tried to get rid of Susan, even the way she reacted when Oliver was shot. Why does she have this much pride? Oliver used to be the proud one but now it looked like Aria had more ego than the billionaire CEO and it was about to ruin her.
“Alright Aria, I have tried my best to convince you but if you say that you don’t love him and you don’t want him back, then do nothing and watch Susan take away your man, just hope that you are not making the wrong decision, because I know you are. Goodnight sis,” she said and turned towards the door.
Aria stood there and said nothing, she watched Rosie leave the room and then she went to close the door. She held the door knob for a while, thinking about what Rosie had said.
“No, it’s not true, I don’t need him in my life, he can go ahead and be with whom he likes, it doesn’t change anything.” She muttered to herself.
Just then, Damon walked to her door holding Lena’s hand, she was half asleep already. “Ma’am, she is feeling sleepy, please put her to bed and tell the boss that I am leaving, I will be back tomorrow,” he announced.
“Oh, sure…” she replied and took Lena’s hand. “Goodnight then,” she bade with a smile and he smiled back, then he walked away.
Aria helped Lena get to the bed and lay her down. She covered her with the blanket and sat by her side, massaging her head.
“No Lena, I can’t afford to lose you,” she muttered to herself.
To be continued!!