Chapter 3

Aria’s pov.

I was hiding.

I sat at the furthest corner table of the coffee shop, staring at the piece of paper Julian had given me in the cafeteria like it was a piece of radioactive waste.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing in my pocket.

Notifications from the school website were blowing up, of course from other students, and I didn't even have to open them to know what they said.

The lowly scholarship girl and the King of Hockey. What a headline.

The gossip was spreading faster than a leak in a dam, and I was right at the center of it.

I couldn't stop thinking about the look in Julian's eyes when he stood up and walked away.

He didn't look like he was playing a prank. He looked like he was waiting for me to just say yes already.

Everyone at Westbridge knew about the war between the Morettis and the Vances.

It wasn't just a school rivalry, it was a blood feud between two massive companies that had been trying to bankrupt each other for some years now.

Julian was the one everyone loved and cheered for, the quiet hero of the hockey team who had the whole campus wrapped around his finger.

Luca was the opposite, the reckless playboy of the Moretti empire who spent more time flaunting his wealth than in a classroom.

Growing up, I was always stuck in the middle of them.

I remembered our kindergarten playground fights, back when we were kids—when they both swore I would be their bride. I thought it was all just a joke. We were only kids.

Julian was the one who actually got his knuckles bloody fighting for me back then, standing his ground even when he was outnumbered.

Luca would just use his charm to talk his way out of trouble, always smiling like the world owed him everything.

I had always chosen to stay by Luca’s side, thinking his flashy charm was safer than whatever intense fire Julian had in his eyes.

Even though I knew he was a reckless playboy, I couldn’t help but hope, just a little, that one day he would realize that I love him.

What a massive mistake that turned out to be.

"Aria! My God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!"

I jumped slightly as my best friend, Elena, slid into the chair across from me, her eyes wide with total shock.

She slammed her phone down on the table, showing the school’s main forum page.

Julian’s public reply to my post was the top-rated comment, with hundreds of likes and even more people losing their minds in the replies.

"Aria, tell me right now why Julian Vance is offering you a luxury suite in the Heights," she demanded.

I sighed and told her everything—the desperate need of an apartment, how I had to put up the notice on the site and then how he just handed me his number and walked out.

I also told her about the dorm drama. From the whole sex charade to the dinner invite Luca gave me for Serena.

Elena looked like she was having a heart attack right there in the middle of the shop.

"You have to do it. You have to call him right now," she said.

"I can't just move in with a guy I haven't seen in over a decade, Elena. We talked for two minutes and it was so intense. It's too much," I argued.

"Aria, look at yourself. You're exhausted, you're hiding, and your 'best friend' is busy bringing another girl home to meet his parents," she said.

She leaned across the table, her voice getting serious.

"Julian is the golden boy here for a reason. He’s responsible and he’s quiet. If he’s opening his door for you publicly, he's basically protecting you from the fallout," she added.

"He probably just wants to spite Luca," I muttered.

"Who cares? It's your chance to finally stop being Luca's shadow. He’s never going to choose you, Aria," she said.

That hit me harder than the rain outside.

She was right.

I thought about how Luca had cancelled our traditions lately. The movie nights he missed. The ten-year anniversary he forgot because Serena wanted a spa day. Even going shopping with her.

I realized I wasn't his best friend anymore. It was just a habit he was trying to break.

"I'm going back to the dorm," I said, standing up suddenly.

"To sleep?" Elena asked.

"No. To pack. I'm done being an inconvenience," I told her.

I walked back to the dorms, my heart hammering a rhythm of pure defiance.

I walked right through the front door, not caring who saw me. When I got to the common area, I saw them.

Luca and Serena were tangled together on the couch, surrounded by shopping bags from places I couldn't even afford to look at.

Luca looked up and frowned when he saw me standing there.

"Oh, hey. I forgot we were supposed to grab dinner tonight," he said.

He didn't even sound sorry. He sounded like I was an interruption.

"I’m taking Serena to the Vanguard Gala tonight. Her dad invited us," he added. He looked at his watch, clearly wishing I would just go away.

"It’s fine, Luca. I wasn't expecting you to remember anyway," I said. My voice didn't tremble. I felt weirdly cold, like the rain had finally frozen my heart shut.

"Are you okay? You look... different," he said, squinting at me.

"I'm great. Have fun at the gala," I said.

I didn't wait for a response. I went straight to my room and pulled my suitcases out from under the bed. I shoved everything I owned into them—my clothes, my books, the photo of my parents.

I left the stuff Luca had bought me over the years on the desk. The stuffed bear. The expensive necklace. I didn't want any of it anymore.

I stood in the hallway with my bags, feeling Serena's smug gaze on my back.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Julian had written down.

"I'm ready," I said as soon as he picked up.

"Does the offer still stand? Because I'm standing in the hallway with two suitcases and no plan B," I told him. There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Hold on. Don't move," Julian said.

He hung up, and I stood there in the silence of the dorm that used to be my home.

Luca came out of his room, adjusting his tuxedo jacket, and stopped dead when he saw my bags.

"What are you doing? Where are you going at this hour?" he asked.

"Away from here," I said.

"Aria, don't be dramatic. We can talk about this after the gala," he said, reaching for my arm.

Dramatic. Right. Of course he'd call it that.

Just then, a loud, heavy horn honked from the street below.

I looked out the window and saw Julian's car idling at the curb, dark and imposing.

"That's my ride," I said, pulling my arm away from him.

"Is that Vance’s car? Aria, what the hell is going on? Did you really take his offer?" Luca shouted.

I didn't give him an explanation. I didn't owe him a single word.

I grabbed my suitcases and walked out the door, leaving him standing there in his expensive suit looking completely lost.

I made it down to the curb just as Julian stepped out of the car.

He didn't say anything as he took my bags and tossed them into the trunk. He opened the passenger door for me, his eyes searching mine for a second.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Drive," I said. He nodded, climbed in beside me, and just like that, we drove off.

I resisted every urge to look back at the boy I'd spent half of my life yearning for.