Aria Grace
I couldn't breathe.
The walls of that mansion felt like they were closing in on me, heavy with secrets and suffocating silence. My chest ached, my throat was tight, so I did the only thing I could. I ran.
Out the back door. Down the marble steps. Into the open air.
The moment the night breeze touched my face, I felt my lungs start to work again. The Blackwood estate was breathtaking in the dark – cruelly beautiful, like everything Vincent owned. The backyard stretched endlessly, a masterpiece of manicured gardens and cold perfection. Moonlight spilled across the roses that climbed over ivory trellises, their petals glistening like drops of blood.
I walked until the sharp scent of flowers gave way to something softer… earthier, and the crisp scent of the lake water. The garden opened into a lake, its glassy surface reflecting the mansion's golden glow. From a distance, it looked peaceful. But standing there, watching my reflection ripple on the surface, all I could think of was how easily beauty could hide something rotten underneath.
The air was cool, gently soothing my burning skin, brushing against it and leaving tiny pricks. I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my tear-filled eyes, pretending, just for a moment, that the quiet could calm the chaos inside me. Pretending I wasn't a prisoner in a silk-lined cage.
But the moment I shut my eyes, their faces appeared… my mother's tired smile, and Ana's soft laughter. The memories hit me like a blade, sharp and sudden. My breath hitched, and I opened my eyes, gasping for air that suddenly felt too thin.
How can someone be so cruel? Vincent knows what they mean to me. He knows they're the reason I agreed to this punishment in the first place. And yet, he's using them, twisting my love for them into chains around my neck.
I don't understand. Why is he doing this? I've accepted everything. I've taken his punishment, even when I don't deserve it. I've stayed silent, obedient, broken… all for the crimes I didn't commit.
So, what else does he want from me?
"He's cruel, isn't he?" The voice came from behind me, low, deep, and steady, cutting through the silence like a blade.
I gasped, spinning around so fast my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. For a second, I couldn't breathe. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here, especially not him.
Nicholas. Riley's brother.
The last time I had seen him was in the courthouse, that cold, sterile place where I had tried to make him believe I wasn't his sister's killer. But my words had meant nothing then. His eyes had been dead, his face unreadable, as if he were staring straight through me. As if I didn't exist.
And now he was here, standing a few feet away from me, surrounded by the faint silver glow of moonlight.
He looked different from how I remembered, sharper somehow. His dark hair was tousled by the breeze, framing a face that was all clean lines and quiet danger. Broad shoulders, a few buttons of his shirt undone, sleeves rolled to his elbows… effortless power wrapped in tailored perfection. His eyes, the same icy blue I remembered, caught the light of the lake and gleamed with something I couldn't name. Not hatred. Not pity. Something in between.
I quickly turned away, wiping the tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand, trying to steady my breathing. My throat felt tight as I swallowed hard and faced him again, though I kept my gaze low, fixed somewhere near his shoes. I didn't want him to see the cracks in me, the trembling, the tears that refused to dry.
I didn't want him to see how I was breaking from the inside – piece by piece.
"He's not a bad person, you know," Nik said quietly. His voice was calmer than Vincent's, smoother, with a warmth that didn't quite reach his eyes.
He took a slow step closer, his polished shoes sinking slightly into the damp grass. The night air shifted between us, heavy with words neither of us wanted to say.
"He's not this cruel," he continued after a pause. "It's just…" His gaze met mine, steady and sharp enough to make me flinch. "He loved my sister too much. And you…" He hesitated, his jaw tightening, "You took her away from him."
The silence that followed felt colder than the lake breeze.
"So maybe he's not wrong for being this way," he added, his voice lower now, almost unreadable. "Because no matter what you think, he isn't being half as cruel to you as you were to him."
My eyes burned, tears blurring my vision as I swallowed the tight lump rising in my throat. For some reason, it was easier to face him than Vincent. Easier to speak, even knowing he hated me.
"I told you this before, Mr. Hale," I whispered, my voice trembling as a tear slid down my cheek. "I didn't do it."
For a fleeting second, I saw something flicker in his eyes, not anger, but something softer. Then it was gone, buried under the weight of his grief.
"I didn't kill your sister," I said, my voice breaking. "I didn't even hurt her. I didn't even know her. How could I kill her? It was an accident. It wasn't supposed to happen."
Nikolas's jaw clenched, and before I could step back, he closed the distance between us. The air shifted, charged and suffocating.
"No one stabs someone eight times by accident, Miss Grace!" he roared.
His voice cut through the night like a blade. It was the first time I'd ever heard Nicholas Hale lose control, his tone raw, cracking with something between fury and heartbreak. His eyes glistened, not just with rage, but with tears he refused to let fall.
I let out a choked sob. I was so tired, tired of saying the same words that no one believed.
"I didn't do it, okay? I didn't kill her. Believe me, I didn't." My voice broke as I shook my head. "I shouldn't have touched the knife," I whispered, my eyes widening, tears spilling down my cheeks. "I shouldn't have touched the knife. I shouldn't have tried to save her!"
The words ripped out of me as I screamed, my throat burning from the force of it.
Nikolas's eyes narrowed, his voice low and sharp. "What do you mean?"
"I…" My words came out between sobs. "She was there, okay? She was lying there, covered in blood, and there was… There was a knife in her chest." My breath hitched. "I got scared. She was still alive."
I wasn't thinking. I stepped closer, my hands trembling as I grabbed his collar. "She was alive when I got there. She was asking for help. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing! I – I made a mistake. I tried to help her by pulling the knife out, and that's when that woman came. Her friend. Your sister's friend. She saw me and thought I stabbed her, but I didn't! I was just trying to help."
My voice cracked, desperate, pleading. "Please, believe me. I didn't do it. Why would I…"
"Stop it!" The roar split through the night like thunder. Before I could even flinch, Nik was ripped away from me, shoved aside with brutal force.
And then the world went still.
Because standing in front of me, close enough for my pulse to feel it, was Vincent Blackwood.
His face was inches from mine, his nose almost brushing mine. I could feel the heat of his breath, sharp with mint and anger. His eyes blazed with something dark and feral, something that made the air between us feel electric and suffocating all at once.
Before I could move, his hand wrapped around my throat.
I froze. His grip was firm, unyielding. My neck caught in his palm like I was nothing more than a fragile thing he could crush if he wished. His warmth seeped into my skin, but all I felt was the chill of fear crawling up my spine.
I gasped, "Vincent!" I tried to speak, but the word died in my throat as he squeezed.
My breath hitched. I clawed at his wrist, gasping, choking. His jaw was locked tight, his eyes furious and wild.
"How dare you lie to me again?" he hissed, his voice low but deadly, each word slicing through the night. "How dare you stand here and act innocent?"
"Vincent! Stop it! You're going to kill her!" Nik's voice echoed behind him, filled with panic.
Vincent didn't even flinch. His fingers dug harder into my skin. My lungs burned. The world tilted. I could see the veins in his neck, the tremor in his jaw. I could see the monster my pain had turned him into, and yet, in his fury, I caught something else… something broken.
The black spots crept into my vision. My hands fell weakly to my sides. I couldn't fight anymore. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was how it ended. Maybe this is how I was going to go.
Then, suddenly, his grip loosened.
I sucked in a ragged breath, but before I could even register relief, he pulled me forward by my neck. My body crashed into his chest, the heat of him searing through me. His heart was pounding… fast, hard, furious.
For one impossible second, I thought he might hold me.
But then he pushed me away.
Hard.
The world spun before the cold swallowed me whole.
The lake water hit like ice, shocking the air from my lungs. I gasped, choking as I surfaced, my trembling hands trying to stay afloat. My throat burned, my body shook, and when I looked up, Vincent was standing at the edge of the lake, chest heaving, his expression unreadable under the moonlight. He stood there for a moment, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes burned into me… cold, furious, unreadable. Then, without a word, he turned sharply on his heel and stormed away, his footsteps heavy against the grass, leaving nothing behind but the echo of his anger.
He just shoved me into the lake!