ARIA'S POV

I couldn’t breathe.

Not really. Not after the way Kane looked at me like I was dirt, like I was something to be suspected.

He actually thought… me? That I’d side with Ross? That I’d somehow know who was behind the shootings when I nearly bled out from one of those bullets?

God it stung. Deeper than I wanted it to.

And the stupid part? I shouldn’t even care.

Because this thing between us—it’s not real. It’s a contract. A stupid façade. He ...