ARIANA'S POV

I thought it was him.

God, I swear I thought it was him.

He entered the room just after midnight. Silent. Shadowed. I was sitting on the edge of the bed in one of his shirts, the one that still smelled like him. My heart had been aching all day—I needed him.

And then there he was.

Or so I thought.

He didn’t speak. Just walked in with purpose, eyes trained on me like I was water in the desert. His mouth twitched like he was holding back emotion, or maybe rage I ...