Aria felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Come and have a seat, dear. We need to have a discussion, as we will soon be a family," Sandra urged.

"Let go of me, Mom!" Aria snapped, flinging her mother's hand from her touch.

"Why are you doing this, Mom?" she yelled, distancing herself a bit from her mother's side. Her hands wrapped around her head in confusion. "I... was... did you even bother to find out where I was? I mean, I never came home last night, and you don't even seem bothered."

"I thought you might be with your friend, Aria," Sandra began.

"You thought? For your information, I was almost murdered last night, Mom," she interjected, her words leaving a stunned silence on both Sandra and the old man.

"What, Aria? Please tell me what happened, dear. Please..." Sandra's footsteps approached, but Aria raised her hands in a halt.

"Stop right there, Mother. You never even... You never cared, ever, did you? Right from my childhood. I just hate... I hate you so much!" This all felt too much for Aria to take in. Was it the fact that her mother cared less about what condition she might be in, while she was battling to survive? Her own dear mother was up all night, fixing up a meeting with her sugar daddy.

"What's going on here, Dad?" A snap as the old man's son made an entry, walking into the building. Aria raised her head a bit to see who the stranger might be, as her legs froze, trembling, her face paled.

"A... Adrian," Aria mumbled through her words, her legs screeched as she almost stumbled.

"Aria?"

The words of the two brought questions swirling in everybody's mind.

"Wait, you both know each other, son?" The old man questioned, hoping for more answers. But before Adrian could leave a word, Aria made her way up the stairs in a hastened speed, her sobs echoing through the room.

"Aria!" Sandra called out, following Aria, but Aria locked her room after entry, leaving Sandra outside.

"Please open the door, Aria. I am sorry, Aria. I am doing this for our best. You just have to understand."

"Go away, Mother. Leave me alone, just go away!" Aria yelled, cradling her ears with her hands, hoping for the silence that seemed distanced away from her. Her eyes swollen as her tears poured out to be more, followed by the fear which still lingered. A sight at Adrian flooded those times—her nightmare high school days. It was him, it was all because of him. Her high school drama was torn to shreds, replaced by a nightmare she never wished for.

"Hey! You damn stinky fool, come lick my boots!" Those tormenting chuckles that followed.

"Stop! Just stop!" Aria found herself muttering words. Why was all this happening now? First, the killer, and now she witnessed her high school bully standing right in front of her. But wait...

She recalled his words that broke out, 'Father?' So he was the old man's son.

Aria remembered Mia's words about Adrian and his father being back in town. She felt the fear that pinned in her chest at the mere mention from Mia. She never told Mia about it all. The truth was that, yeah, she had a crush on Adrian. It was every girl's dream to find a guy in high school, someone who seemed to draw her attention. But somehow, this same crush was Aria's nightmare. Adrian turned out to be a beast after Aria approached him. She distanced herself that very day, but it seemed it was already too late. Each day, every morning and night, those words, those pains—she couldn't forget them. He had even threatened her once, promising to slit her throat if she was to let a word out to anybody. Now, here he was, out of the blue, back in her life. A hope had crashed in that maybe, just maybe, she had finally been set free from his grasp. But it seemed fate truly hated her and had cursed her. How did he end up to be her soon-to-be Stepbrother? First was her mother, and now him.

"No! No! Why!?" Aria shouted, slamming some objects she found on the ground. Her back hit the walls as those legs trembled, hands shivering. Who was going to save her from this nightmare that stood awaiting her? Her father was gone. Now Mia was gone also. He would, right? He would come and hurt her again, just like he did in her high school. She couldn't allow that, but what could she do? Can't she... maybe the only option she had was accepting her cursed fate instead of trying to run away from it. That seemed like her only choice; that was it.

Aria laid down her head, her tears still pouring down as her eyes shutted, eventually finding herself asleep.

Aria's eyes gently opened, only to notice the already-set sun through her window, as it was now the night hours. "Dad? Mia?" Those whispers escaped her lips.

She eventually stood up from the bed, unlocking her room door, as she stepped outside.

Aria's feet dragged against the floor as she walked through the hall, only to pause in her tracks when she noticed her mom's room oddly half-opened.

She found herself taking some steps inside. Her gaze landed on some already emptied cupboards. A letter laid there on her mom's bed. Aria approached, grasping the letter.

the letter read. Little tears found their way crumbling down Aria's eyes. Was it the anger that spurred from within her? Or just her heart shattering into more pieces, knowing in the end what to expect—her same mother who should be here, standing with her, trying to help her through everything, was out there having a lifestyle fantasy with her sugar daddy.

"She left..." Aria muttered in whispers.

"She left me again..." Aria slowly crumpled the letter as she threw it, making her way out of the house, finding her way into the middle of the road. Her eyes grew blurry from the tears as she walked through the half-lit streets.

She watched some people's laughter echoing, families having dinner in some restaurants. She was jealous, or no, she only craved for such happenings that they had. Only if? That seemed like the only word she could utter each day.

Aria found herself standing on an empty side of the road as she came to a sudden pause.

Was it the thought of the incident finding its way to her mind? Her eyes darted to the dark side. Her legs almost stumbled, only for her to bump into a stranger that almost caused her heartbeat to cease in that moment as she retreated back, only to crumble down to the ground.

"P... please stay away!" Aria found herself bursting out. Her eyes shut.

She received no words as she slowly opened her eyes, only to catch sight of him standing right there. It was Adrian. What was he doing here? Why was he here? What did he want? Those questions found their way to Aria's mind.

She staggered while trying to get up. "He must be here to hurt me just like before." She muttered, even as she tried standing, her legs only failed her with her stumbling back down, her hands scraping against the road, leaving a stinging feeling on her.

"Be careful, Aria..." Adrian said, his hands stretched, hoping to help Aria, but he knew that it wasn't going to work out. He should have never shown up so suddenly, but yet a part of him thought he had to.

Adrian found himself despising his old actions when he was young and never thought to think for a second.

"I want us to talk, Aria. It's..." Adrian was saying, but Aria reacted immediately when he took a step closer.

"No... no!" She muttered, "Please just stay away... just..." Aria almost broke into tears, she left the place in haste.

She hated it all. Why was she still afraid? It was certain—the feeling, the terror, they hadn't left her in the end. They were all hidden in her single thought.

Aria returned to the mansion, only to shut the door behind her.

Her breaths shaky from the heavy run, she crumbled to the ground. Hands clenched into fists.

Her very existence from the very beginning felt like a curse to her.

Aria went on to take the stairs straight to her room, entering the bathroom as she turned on the shower. The water flowed down her body, drenching her clothes as she just stood there, glaring at her reflection.

"Go, Aria!" Mia's scream, the blood stains, the killer's face—why couldn't she just forget them all?

Aria smashed the mirror on the floor as it broke into pieces. She grabbed one of the glass pieces, pointing its sharp edge at her wrist.

"Mia is gone. Dad is gone..." she saw no reasons to live anymore. Was it for her mother, the same one that had just simply left her even though she was broken down?

The broken glass piece was slowly piercing Aria's wrist.

Her very mind decided on taking her own life.