His to Love, Not to Claim

ARIA POV

Aria hadn't seen her in years.

Three to be exact. Three years since Nina Reyes left town with a scholarship and a suitcase full of dreams, promising she'd call every week.

She never did.

So when Aria saw her again  in the middle of a luxury grocery store filled with silent bodyguards and overpriced cheese she froze.

Nina was standing in front of the imported jam aisle, hair dyed platinum blonde, lips glossy, and voice loud enough to cut through the air like it belonged there.

"Riri?" she blinked, lowering her sunglasses. "Aria Carter?"

Aria's breath caught.

Oh, no.

They stood awkwardly at first, surrounded by silent tension and Dominic's ever present shadow one of his men watching from two aisles over, pretending to read wine labels.

Nina broke the silence.

"I thought you left the city."

"I did. Kind of." Aria shifted uncomfortably. "I'm back."

Nina's eyes dropped to Aria's small baby bump, then flicked to the designer tote hanging from her shoulder a gift from Dominic. Her smile didn't falter, but it stretched too tight.

"Well, you clearly landed on your feet. Fancy neighborhood. Driver. Bodyguard." Her voice dipped low, playful. "Don't tell me you married rich?"

Aria's throat tightened. "It's not like that."

Nina leaned in. "Then what's it like?"

Later that night, back in the Voss penthouse, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Nina had hugged her goodbye too tightly. She'd said, "We need to catch up. For real." And she'd looked behind Aria like she was memorizing the route to follow her home.

Dominic was waiting in the lounge, dress shirt open at the collar, a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He didn't look up when she entered.

"Who was she?"

Aria blinked. "What?"

"Blonde. Bold. Called you 'Riri.'"

Aria frowned. "How did you?"

"There are cameras. Everywhere." He took a slow sip. "Answer the question."

"Her name's Nina. We were friends... before everything."

"Friends don't just appear like ghosts unless they're digging for something." Dominic said

She crossed her arms. "Maybe she missed me."

"Maybe," Dominic said coldly, "or maybe someone sent her."

The room went quiet.

He stood, walking toward her slowly. His voice dropped, low and intimate.

"You have a past, Aria. So do I. But in my world, ghosts don't visit to reminisce. They visit to recon."

⸻

That night, Aria checked her phone. No new messages. Nothing from Nina.

But in a shadowed alley across the city, Nina Reyes climbed into the back of a black car. A man sat inside, his face half-hidden in shadow.

"Well?" he asked.

"She's living in the Voss penthouse," Nina said, voice cool. "He's got her guarded like she's royalty."

The man smiled.

Ezra McCallum leaned forward just enough for the streetlight to catch the glint in his eyes.

"Perfect."