Aria’s POV.
I stared at the empty doorway, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might break through my chest. Just a moment ago, Zander had been standing there, larger than life, looming like a shadow from my past. And now, he was gone. Just like that. And worse-he had taken Max with him.
*My dog.*
I blinked, trying to process what had just happened. My mind was racing, and my body felt frozen in place. “What the hell just happened?” I whispered, my voice trembling as disbelief washed over me. I looked down at my hand, still holding Max’s leash. It dangled limply, useless, and the weight of it felt like a cruel joke.
For a split second, I wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. Maybe it hadn’t really happened. Maybe it was some weird, stress-induced hallucination because life had been so overwhelming lately. But no. The silence in the room was deafening, and the leash in my hand was real. Too real. Zander had been here. He had barged into my room, taken the one thing that had brought me happiness in weeks, and walked out without saying a word.
A wave of anger surged through me, hot and unrelenting. It hit me like a tidal wave, making my hands shake and my chest tighten. “Who does he think he is?” I muttered under my breath as I started pacing back and forth across the room. My steps were quick and uneven, my mind spinning in circles. My hands were trembling-not just from the anger but also from the confusion. I couldn’t decide which emotion was stronger.
The worst part wasn’t even that he’d taken Max, as insane as that was. The worst part was that I had no idea *why* he had done it. No explanation, no warning. Just him, storming in and stealing my dog like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Minutes passed, and the anger bubbling inside me finally boiled over. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I grabbed my phone from the desk, my thumb hovering over the keypad as I debated what to do. I didn’t want to call him. I didn’t want to hear his voice or give him the satisfaction of knowing he had rattled me. But what choice did I have?
Just as I was about to hit “dial,” Naomi walked into the room. She was balancing a coffee in one hand and a stack of books in the other, looking like she had just come back from the library. She froze mid-step the moment she saw me. Her eyes scanned my face, and her expression shifted from neutral to concerned in an instant.
“Uh… what happened?” she asked slowly, narrowing her eyes at me. “You look like you’re about to murder someone.”
“Zander,” I said flatly, my voice tight and full of barely restrained fury.
Her eyes widened in shock. “Wait-what? What did he do *now?*”
I slammed my phone down on the desk, the words tumbling out of me in a rush. “He showed up *here,* Naomi. In my room. He didn’t say a single word-just walked in, picked up Max, and left!”
Naomi blinked at me, her mouth falling open in disbelief. “He *what?*” she said, her voice rising an octave.
I threw my hands in the air, pacing the room again as I tried to make sense of it. “Exactly! I don’t even know what to think right now. Who does that? Who just-” I gestured wildly, my emotions spilling out uncontrollably, “-*steals someone’s dog?*”
Naomi set her coffee down on the desk with a loud thud, her expression shifting from shocked to furious in record time. “Oh, hell no,” she said, her tone sharp and determined. “We are calling him. Right now.”
“I was about to,” I admitted, picking up my phone again. My thumb hovered over the call button, but I hesitated. “But honestly, I don’t even know what I’m going to say. What am I supposed to do? Ask him if he’s completely lost his damn mind?”
“Yes,” Naomi said without hesitation. She crossed her arms over her chest, her face set in a determined scowl. “And then demand your dog back. Don’t let him get away with this, Aria.”
I sighed, knowing she was right but still feeling a knot of uncertainty in my stomach. Before I could overthink it any further, I hit the call button. The phone rang once… twice… three times… and then went straight to voicemail.
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath, slamming the phone back down on the desk in frustration. “!!!.”
Naomi frowned, her arms still crossed as she leaned against the desk. “So, what are you going to do now?” she asked, her voice calm but serious.
“I don’t know,” I admitted honestly, throwing my hands up in defeat. “But I’m not letting him get away with this, Naomi. I don’t care what it takes-I’m getting Max back.”
Naomi nodded firmly, her expression full of determination. “Good. Because if you weren’t ready to fight for that dog, I was going to do it for you.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small, bitter laugh at her words. Even in the middle of all this chaos, Naomi’s fierce loyalty gave me a shred of comfort. I looked at her, my jaw tightening with resolve.
“I’m going to make him regret ever thinking he could do this,” I said, my voice steady now. “No one messes with me like that-not even Zander.”
Naomi grinned, her fiery energy matching mine. “That’s the spirit. Let’s get your dog back and put that asshole in his place.”