ARIA'S POV
Aria stood outside the gates of the Blackwood estate at 1:55 PM, her hands shaking so badly she could barely press the intercom button.
One month. One month since she'd been escorted off this property. One month since she'd seen his face. One month of suffering that had hollowed her out from the inside.
And now she was back.
She'd barely slept last night. Had tried on six different outfits before settling on the emerald dress....the one he'd loved, the one she'd worn that last devastating night. If this was goodbye, she wanted him to remember what they'd been. Before she'd destroyed it.
She'd lost weight. Could see it in the way the dress hung looser on her frame, in the hollows of her cheeks when she'd checked her reflection this morning. Her mother had noticed too, had held her hands and said, "Whatever happens today, you survive it. You hear me? You survive."
