Aria’s POV.
The moment I stepped into the drawing room, my breath caught in my chest. There she was, Sarah, lounging on the velvet couch as though she owned the place. She wasn’t even pretending to feel guilty. She wasn’t hiding. No, she was sitting there with her legs crossed, flipping through a magazine like she didn’t have a single care in the world. That smug little smile she couldn’t quite hide tugged at the corners of her lips, and I felt my anger surge to the boiling point. It wasn’t just today. That smile had been there ever since she arrived in my life, slowly making herself more comfortable in my home, my marriage, my *world*.
“Sarah,” I said sharply, my voice slicing through the heavy silence of the room. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to snap her attention to me.
Her head tilted upward, her expression shifting instantly-like a mask, smooth and flawless. Faux innocence replaced the smugness, but her lips twitched, betraying her real feelings. She’d been waiting for this moment, hadn’t she? She’d been expecting me to confront her.
“Aria,” she replied sweetly, her voice dripping with fake warmth as she closed the magazine with a deliberate motion. She set it on the coffee table with an almost theatrical calmness, leaning back against the couch. “Good morning. You seem… upset.”
“Upset?” I repeated, my voice shaking as I clenched my fists at my sides. The effort it took to keep my anger from spilling over was exhausting, and the way she looked at me-calm, collected, and *amused*-only made it worse. I strode toward her, my steps deliberate and heavy, my heels clicking against the floor like a warning. “Upset doesn’t even begin to cover it, Sarah. You took my phone. You *stole* it. You went through my private messages-messages that had nothing to do with you-and then you ran straight to Zander. Without telling me. Without asking me. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Her eyes widened slightly, but not with guilt. No, Sarah didn’t look sorry. If anything, she looked entertained. Like this was all some kind of game to her. She tilted her head to the side, her lips curving into a small, almost playful smile. “I was just trying to help you,” she said, her voice light, as though her actions had been nothing more than a kind gesture. “I thought you’d *want* Zander to know. Those messages were inappropriate, Aria. Someone clearly has an… unhealthy interest in you. I did what anyone in my position would’ve done.”
“*Help me?*” I snapped, my voice rising as my anger bubbled closer to the surface. My fingers curled into fists so tight that my nails dug into my palms. “That wasn’t your decision to make, Sarah! You had no right-no *right*-to take my phone, to invade my privacy, or to show him anything. Who do you think you are?”
She shrugged, her nonchalant demeanor only stoking the fire in my chest. She leaned back again, crossing her arms over her chest, and her smile shifted into something sly, something sharp. “I was doing what any good friend would do,” she said smoothly, her tone so casual it made me want to scream. “I was protecting you. And honestly, Aria, you should be thanking me. Zander was going to find out eventually. Do you really think you could’ve kept those messages a secret forever? At least now he knows someone is trying to come between you two. I did you a favor.”
I stared at her, my vision blurring slightly from the sheer force of my rage. My whole body felt hot, my chest tight, my hands shaking. “Protecting me?” I said bitterly, my voice dripping with disbelief. I took another step closer, my heels digging into the plush rug beneath me. “Don’t stand there and pretend this was about protecting me. You don’t care about me, Sarah. You’re not trying to help me-you’re trying to help yourself. You’ve been acting strange ever since you got here, hovering around Zander like you belong here. You’ve been looking for excuses, haven’t you? Excuses to insert yourself into my life. Into my marriage.”
For the first time, her smile faltered. Just for a second, her composure slipped, and I saw something flicker in her eyes. It wasn’t guilt-it was something closer to irritation. But she recovered quickly, pushing herself off the couch and standing to face me. She straightened her shoulders, her chin lifting slightly as she met my glare with one of her own. “Insert myself into your marriage?” she repeated, her tone heavy with mock offense, as though the idea itself was ridiculous. “Aria, you’re being paranoid. I’ve been nothing but supportive since I got here. Don’t forget, I’m your best friend. Or have you conveniently forgotten that?”
“Supportive?” I repeated, a bitter laugh escaping my lips before I could stop it. The sound was harsh, raw, and filled with all the frustration I’d been holding in for weeks. “You think hovering around Zander, smiling at him like some lovesick schoolgirl, and sneaking into my personal business is *supportive*? Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Sarah. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you act when he’s around. The way you look at him. You’re not here to support me. You’re here to take what’s mine.”
Her expression changed so quickly it was almost startling. The fake sweetness that had coated her voice and softened her features disappeared in an instant, replaced by something sharp and cold. Her eyes narrowed, her lips pressing into a thin, cruel line as she stepped closer to me. The air between us felt charged, like a storm was about to break. When she spoke, her voice was quieter, but it carried a venom that sent goosebumps crawling up my arms. “Take what’s yours?” she repeated slowly, her tone cutting like a knife. “Let me remind you of something, Aria. You and Zander aren’t exactly the picture-perfect couple, are you? Everyone knows your marriage is nothing more than a cold, calculated business deal. Do you honestly believe he’s committed to you? To *this*?”
Her words struck hard, each one a deliberate jab aimed at the cracks in my marriage I didn’t want to think about, let alone admit. But I refused to let her see how much they stung. I refused to let her win. Squaring my shoulders, I stood taller, meeting her gaze with an unflinching glare. My voice was firm, steady, even though inside I felt like I was walking a tightrope. “My marriage is none of your business,” I said, each word clipped and deliberate. “And whether it’s perfect or not, it’s *mine*. Zander is my husband-my mate-and no amount of flirting, scheming, or manipulation from you is going to change that. So don’t waste your time.”
For a moment, her expression froze, like she hadn’t expected me to fight back. But then, ever so slowly, her lips curled into a smirk. It wasn’t playful or kind-it was cold, calculated, and full of unspoken threats. “We’ll see,” she said simply, her tone so casual it made my blood boil. There was something in the way she said it, something so confident, so dismissive, that it sent a fresh wave of anger coursing through me.
I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms as I took a deep breath. I wanted to scream at her, to yell loud enough to wipe that smug look off her face, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Instead, I forced myself to speak calmly, my voice low and steady. “If you really cared about me,” I began, each word dripping with quiet fury, “you wouldn’t be doing this. You wouldn’t be trying to drive a wedge between me and my mate. So stop pretending to be my friend, Sarah. Because friends don’t do what you just did. Friends don’t betray you, steal your things, or try to ruin your marriage.”
For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker across her face-maybe guilt, maybe hesitation-but it was gone in an instant. Her smile faltered, but she didn’t bother trying to recover it this time. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly, her expression caught somewhere between defiance and amusement. The fact that she could still *smile* made my blood boil. “Whatever you say, Aria,” she said lightly, her voice breezy and dismissive, like nothing I said mattered to her. “But if I were you, I’d be careful. Zander’s not exactly known for being forgiving, is he? You might want to ask yourself why he’s really so angry about those messages. Maybe it’s not the messages themselves that upset him. Maybe it’s the fact that you didn’t tell him.”
Her words hit a nerve, and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as my anger flared again. My throat tightened as I tried to swallow down the wave of emotion threatening to spill over. I wanted to throw her words back in her face, to tell her she was wrong, that she didn’t know anything about my relationship with Zander. But the truth was, her words had struck something raw inside me. And I hated her for it.
I opened my mouth, ready to fire back, but before I could say anything, she turned on her heel and walked away. Just like that. She didn’t wait for a response, didn’t care about the damage she’d done. She just left, her footsteps echoing softly in the drawing room as she disappeared through the door. I stood there, frozen in place, my fists still clenched and my chest tight with frustration and hurt.
I stared at the door long after she was gone, my thoughts swirling in a chaotic storm. Sarah wasn’t the friend I thought she was. She wasn’t someone I could trust. She wasn’t here to support me or stand by me-she was here to tear me down, to take what was mine, to worm her way into a place she didn’t belong. How had I not seen it sooner? How had I let her get so close?
But even as I stood there, fuming over her betrayal, I couldn’t stop her last words from echoing in my mind. *Maybe it’s not the messages he’s upset about. Maybe it’s the fact that you didn’t tell him.*
Her voice rang in my ears, each word digging into me like a thorn I couldn’t pull out. As much as I hated to admit it, she wasn’t entirely wrong. I *had* kept the messages from Zander. I’d told myself it was because I didn’t want to worry him, that it wasn’t worth the drama, but deep down, I knew that wasn’t the whole truth. I’d hesitated because I was afraid. Afraid of how he’d react, of how his possessiveness would flare up, of what it might mean for us. And now, I was paying the price for that hesitation.
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing as I unclenched my fists. My palms stung where my nails had dug into the skin, and I flexed my fingers slowly, trying to release some of the tension coiled tightly inside me. This wasn’t over-not with Sarah, and definitely not with Zander.
If Sarah thought she could manipulate her way into Zander’s life, she was sorely mistaken. I wasn’t going to let her win. No matter what it took, I would protect what was mine. Because no matter how complicated my marriage was, no matter how imperfect it might seem to others, Zander was *mine*. And I wasn’t about to let anyone take that away from me-not Sarah, not those messages, not anyone.
I squared my shoulders and turned toward the door, determination burning in my chest. She wanted a fight? She’d get one.