Zander’s POV.
Aria’s eyes snapped back to me, anger flashing in them like a spark igniting dry wood. Her lips curled into a bitter smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “You think you know me so well, don’t you?” she said, her voice low and sharp. “You think you can just walk back into my life and tell me what I am or what I’m not. But you don’t know me anymore, Zander. You gave up that right the moment you walked away.”
Her words hit me like a blow, but I didn’t flinch. She was right. I *had* walked away. I had made the choice to reject her, thinking it was for her own good, thinking I was protecting her from the chaos of my life. But seeing her now-sitting across from me, her pain and anger etched into every line of her face-I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. “I didn’t stop caring about you, Aria,” I said quietly, my voice rough with emotion. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting you.”
Her bitter smile faded, replaced by a look of disbelief. She leaned forward, her hands gripping the edge of the table as she glared at me. “Protecting me?” she repeated, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. “You didn’t protect me, Zander. You abandoned me. You left me standing there, humiliated and broken, while you walked away without another word. Do you have any idea what that did to me? Do you have any idea how much it hurt?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat. What could I say? That I’d regretted it every day since? That I had thought about her constantly, wondering if she was okay, wondering if I’d made the right choice? None of it would matter now. None of it could undo the pain I had caused. “I thought I was sparing you from a life you didn’t deserve,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I was doing what was best for you. But I was wrong.”
Her expression softened for a moment, a flicker of something-pain, maybe, or regret-crossing her face. But it was gone just as quickly as it came. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she regarded me with cold detachment. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said flatly. “What’s done is done. You made your choice, and I had to live with it. Now, I’m making mine.”
“Daniel isn’t your choice,” I said firmly, my voice cutting through the tension between us. “He’s manipulating you, Aria. He’s using you to secure power for himself, and you know it. This isn’t what you want.”
She flinched at my words, but she quickly masked it with a hard glare. “And what do you know about what I want?” she snapped. “You think you can just show up here and tell me how I feel? You don’t get to do that, Zander. Not anymore.”
“I know you, Aria,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “I know this isn’t you. I know you’re stronger than this, smarter than this. You don’t belong by his side. You belong-” I stopped myself, the words catching in my throat. Where did she belong? With me? After everything I’d done to her, did I even deserve to say that?
She raised an eyebrow, her expression challenging. “I belong where I choose to be,” she said, her voice cold but steady. “And right now, I’m choosing to do what’s best for my family and my pack. Daniel may not be perfect, but at least he knows what he wants. At least he doesn’t run away when things get hard.”
Her words cut deeper than I wanted to admit, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I leaned forward, my hands resting on the table as I met her glare head-on. “And what about what *you* want?” I asked, my voice soft but insistent. “What about your happiness, Aria? Are you really going to sacrifice everything just to make everyone else happy? Is that really what you want?”
Her jaw tightened, and she looked away, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her napkin. For a moment, I thought she was going to answer, but instead, she stood abruptly, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair. “This conversation is over,” she said, her voice tight and controlled. “I don’t owe you an explanation, Zander. Not anymore.”
I stood as well, reaching for her arm, but she pulled away before I could touch her. “Aria, wait,” I said urgently, my voice pleading. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to tie yourself to someone like him. You have a choice.”
She turned to face me, her eyes flashing with anger and something else-pain, maybe, or sorrow. “And where was my choice when you rejected me?” she demanded, her voice trembling. “Where was my choice when you decided I wasn’t good enough for you, when you left me to pick up the pieces of my life on my own?”
I didn’t have an answer. What could I say that wouldn’t sound hollow or meaningless? I had hurt her in ways I couldn’t take back, and now I was paying the price. “I made a mistake,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was wrong. I never stopped caring about you, Aria. I never stopped-”
“Don’t,” she interrupted, her voice sharp and final. “Don’t say it. It’s too late for that, Zander. You don’t get to come back now and pretend you care. I’ve moved on. I have to move on.”
Her words felt like a dagger to the chest, but I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “If you ever need me,” I said quietly, my voice thick with emotion, “I’ll be there. No matter what.”
She stared at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable, before shaking her head. “Goodbye, Zander,” she said softly, her voice breaking slightly as she turned and walked out of the restaurant.
I stood there, frozen, watching her disappear into the night. My chest felt tight, my mind spinning with everything I wanted to say but couldn’t. I had come here to find out if she loved Daniel, to see if she was truly happy with him.
Now, I wasn’t sure if I could handle the truth.