Aria's POV
I hadn't had a hot shower in days. Not a real one. Not one where the water didn't dribble out like it was apologizing for existing. So the second I stepped into that sleek bathroom and saw the steam curling from the faucet like it was welcoming me home, I nearly cried.
The bathroom was like the rest of the apartment. Clean. Expensive. Cold. White tiles. Silver fixtures. A mirror so big it made me look smaller than I already felt. But there was soap. Real soap. Not the kind you get in gas station bathrooms. This one smelled like eucalyptus and secrets. I didn't even ask whose it was. I just grabbed it and stepped under the water like I belonged there.
The heat soaked into my skin and for a second I forgot where I was. I scrubbed my arms like I was trying to erase the last week of my life. Cafes. Broken sleep. The feeling of not having a door that locked behind me. All of it went swirling down the drain.
I pulled up my playlist and played my favorite song. The one that made me feel like maybe the world wasn't completely falling apart. And yeah I sang. Loudly. Off key. Maybe a little too dramatic. But come on. A girl deserves one concert moment in her life.
I was mid chorus when it happened.
Bang bang bang
Someone was knocking. No. Banging on the door like it owed them money.
My heart jumped. I slipped a little on the wet floor and grabbed the wall.
What the hell
I turned the water off so fast I almost twisted the knob off. Threw a towel around myself and then grabbed the oversized hoodie from my bag. Threw it on over damp skin and padded barefoot across the cold tiles to the door.
I cracked it open just enough to see him. Kael. Standing there with that storm cloud look on his face like I'd just murdered his cat.
Would you keep your voice down he snapped the walls are thin for fuck's sake
And just like that he turned and walked off without waiting for a reply
I stared at his retreating back for a second
Nice talk I muttered always a pleasure
I shut the door with a sigh and leaned against it. What a delight.
I dried off properly and pulled on sweatpants then dropped onto the bed. My hair was still wet but I didn't care. For the first time in days I was clean I was dry I had a bed that didn't squeak every time I breathed
But something nagged at me
He hadn't said anything about rent. Or rules. Or how we were going to split anything at all. I didn't want to be a freeloader. And as much as I hated the idea of another conversation with him I needed to know
So I got up and walked down the hallway toward his room
That's when I heard it
His voice low calm clipped
Yeah run it all. I want everything. Background address records whatever you can find
I froze
He was talking about me. He had to be
My stomach twisted
Seriously He couldn't just ask me
The phone call ended and I knocked once before pushing the door open
If you really wanted to know more about me I said you could have just asked
He didn't even look up from his phone
I crossed my arms I actually just came to ask how we're going to share rent
That got his attention
He looked up slowly his eyes flicking over me like he was scanning a barcode
Then he snorted
Like you could afford it
The words slapped harder than I expected
I clenched my jaw and forced a smile
Wow I said you really know how to make a girl feel welcome
He didn't answer. Just went back to whatever he was doing. Like I was background noise
I turned and walked away. Slammed the door to my room so hard the wall shook
Petty Sure
Satisfying? Absolutely
I sat on the bed arms crossed eyes on the ceiling. I stared up at the ceiling, counting the cracks that didn't exist. This place was too clean. Too quiet. It didn't feel real. Like I'd stepped into someone else's life and left mine behind on the sidewalk. And maybe I had. Maybe that was the whole point. But even in this silence, I could still hear his voice echoing in my head — sharp, cold, dismissive.
Then I got up
I paced the tiny room like a caged cat, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from screaming. Who did he think he was? Mr Tall-Dark-and-Toxic with his stupidly perfect cheekbones and that voice that sounded like gravel dipped in honey. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be here, in his spotless soulless apartment, walking on eggshells and dodging his laser eyes like I was the problem. I was just trying to breathe. To survive. Maybe sing in the shower without being attacked like I was hosting a concert in Madison Square Garden. And that thing he said about the rent? Like I couldn't afford it? I mean, this did send like ab expensive apartment but still Excuse me. I might not have had a silver spoon shoved in my mouth at birth, but I worked. I hustled. I stretched every coin until it cried for help. I didn't need his charity. Or his judgment. Or his smug little smirk. I flopped down on the bed and let out the loudest sigh I could muster, just in case he was listening. This wasn't going to be easy. But I'd been through worse. I could survive Kael Wolfe. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe. Ugh.
Kael Wolfe was the worst
And I was stuck living under the same roof with him
Just perfect.