Chapter 6 UNINVITED, UNDENIABLE

(Arianna gets a phone call from her best friend, Isla Martins)

Arianna's phone vibrated again and again. She stared at the screen like it personally offended her.

Isla is on the line. She exhaled sharply and finally answered.

"Hello Is..."

"Bitch"

Arianna winced, pulling the phone slightly away from her ear.

"I have tried reaching out to you the whole damn time but you are not picking up!! What the f*CK is wrong with you?"

"Isla..." Arianna groaned, rubbing her temple. "I am so sorry, it's been a lot"

"Oh a lot" Isla scoffed loudly. "I called you ten good times last night. You didn't pick, didn't respond, let alone opening my messages. Do you know how worried I was ? In fact I was one step away into filing a report about a missing person"

Arianna Chuckled.

"Now you're laughing. You should thank your ancestors that I got your damn back...you always get to do this when you're drunk, now tell me, were you ?"

Arianna closed her eyes. On the other side of the line, Isla gasped drastically.

"I should have said you were with Liam but you both chose to part ways six months ago"

Arianna did not answer, which was enough.

"You got me worried, girl"

"I'm very sorry I did. Can we go on a date in the evening after work so for a way of showing I truly mean it ?"

"Hey bitch, you got me with this one" Isla laughed out loud so hard that she could not control herself. "Okayyyy sure, where?"

"Timobal Cafe"

"Okay, see you soon and please take care of yourself, respond to my texts and do not keep me worried"

"I got you, best friend"

The line went off.

***

(At the office)

Arianna stared at the phone for a long moment before lowering it slowly onto her desk. The office noise crept back into her awareness, keyboards tapping, distant printers humming, muted conversations flowing through glass walls but her mind was elsewhere.

Last night, on the note, on the way his voice had wrapped around her name like a claim.

She shook her head sharply and forced herself back into work mode. Meetings blurred into emails, numbers into signatures. Twice she caught herself staring into nothing, replaying flashes she had no business replaying in broad daylight.

By the time five o'clock arrived, her composure was hanging by a thin thread. She packed up quickly, ignoring the curious glance from one of her coworkers, and stepped out into the evening air.

The city was alive, headlights glowing, traffic building, people spilling onto sidewalks in tailored suits and expensive perfume.

Arianna inhaled deeply, she needed this, she needed Isla.

***

(Timobal Cafe– 6:18 PM)

The cafe buzzed with soft indie music and the low murmur of evening conversations. Warm golden lights hung from the ceiling, reflecting off polished wood tables. It was intimate without being suffocating, their usual spot whenever life demanded debriefing.

Arianna spotted Isla immediately. Isla Martin was impossible to miss. Curly hair bouncing around her shoulders, bold red lipstick, oversized sunglasses perched dramatically on her head despite the fact that they were indoors. She was scrolling through her phone with exaggerated impatience.

The moment she looked up and saw Arianna, her expression shifted.

"Oh, you survived."Arianna rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress her smile. Isla stood up immediately and pulled her into a tight hug.

The kind that squeezed stress out of bones.

"You scared me," Isla muttered into her shoulder.

"I know."

They pulled apart slightly, hands still on each other's arms.

"You look different," Isla narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Arianna stiffened. "Different how?"

"Glowy."

Arianna scoffed. "Shut up."

Isla gasped dramatically. "You're glowing. Oh my God. It happened."

They sat. A waiter approached, and Isla ordered her usual caramel latte while Arianna requested a glass of water first. She needed clarity before caffeine. Isla leaned forward across the table.

"Start talking."

Arianna exhaled slowly. "It wasn't planned."

"Obviously."

"It wasn't even supposed to happen."

"And yet..." Isla rolled her eyes.

Arianna looked down at her hands. "He came back."

Isla's brows shot up. "Back where?"

"To work of course" she let out almost impertinently

Isla blinked. "Wait. The lounge guy?"

"Yes."

"The tall, brooding, corporate villain?"

"Yes, Isla."

"And he just... appeared?"

"He's a client."

Isla slapped the table softly. "No way."

"Yes way."

"And?"

Arianna swallowed. "And we've seen each other twice since then."

"Twice?" Isla leaned back dramatically. "In two days? Oh, he is not wasting time."

Arianna hesitated. Isla's eyes widened.

"You slept with him."

Silence page in between them. Isla placed her hands over her mouth.

Arianna finally met her gaze.

"Yes."

Isla's reaction was immediate, she squealed so loudly that a couple at the next table turned to stare.

"ISLA," Arianna hissed."Sorry! Sorry." She leaned in, lowering her voice. "Okay details, Arianna. I need details."

Arianna hesitated again, but this was Isla. There had never been secrets between them, not really.

"It was intense," she admitted softly.

"How intense?"

Arianna's gaze drifted somewhere distant.

"He doesn't rush, he studies, he watches. Even before he touches you, you feel like he already has."

Isla swallowed. "And?"

"And when he does..." Arianna paused, searching for words that wouldn't sound like surrender. "It's not careless, It's deliberate and controlled."

"Dominant?"

Arianna's silence confirmed it. Isla leaned back slowly.

"Oh."

A slow grin spread across her face.

"Ohhh."

"It's not funny."

"I'm not laughing. I'm impressed."

Arianna scoffed but couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips.

"You remember Liam?" Isla asked gently.

Arianna stiffened slightly at the name. "Yes."

"You gave that man everything, loyalty, patience, therapy sessions and what did he give you back?"

Arianna didn't answer. Isla did.

"Stress, anxiety, gaslighting."

Arianna's jaw tightened.

"And now," Isla continued softly, "the universe sends you someone who actually wants you. Who shows up. Who pursues you."

Arianna exhaled shakily. "Or someone who's playing a game."

"Is he?"

"I don't know."

Isla studied her carefully. "Do you feel played?"

Arianna thought about the note. -–I will see you again. Wear the memory of last night like a warning-.

Her stomach tightened. "I feel... wanted."

Isla smiled softly.

"Then maybe that's not a bad thing."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of that admission settling between them.

The cafe door chimed. A subtle shift rippled through the room.

Arianna felt it before she saw him. Her spine straightened instinctively. Her pulse changed rhythm. She didn't want to look. She did anyway.

Damien Hart stood near the entrance. Dark coat over his shoulders and crisp white shirt beneath. That same controlled posture, that same quiet dominance that didn't need volume to command attention.

Isla followed Arianna's line of sight.

"Oh," she whispered.

"Oh."

Damien's gaze found Arianna instantly. Not scanning, not searching but direct and certain and then he walked toward them.

Each step is unhurried but intentional.

Arianna's mind raced.

How the hell did he know she was here?

She hadn't told him. She hadn't posted anything, her phone had been her phone.

He stopped at their table. "Good evening."

His voice was smooth and steady.

Isla blinked twice while Arianna recovered first.

"How did you know I was here?"

Damien's eyes flickered briefly with amusement.

"It's nothing you have to be worried about."

Isla and Arianna exchanged a look.

"That's not an answer," Arianna said carefully

.

Damien slid his hands into his coat pockets.

"I had business nearby."

"That's convenient."

His gaze softened but only slightly.

"I was hoping to see you."

The air thickened. Isla looked between them like she was watching a live drama unfold.

"And you just walk into random cafes hoping to find me?" Arianna challenged.

Damien leaned slightly closer. "You underestimate how observant I am."

Isla cleared her throat loudly. "Hi. I'm Isla."

Damien's attention shifted smoothly.

"Damien Hart."

They shook hands. Isla studied him boldly.

"You look exactly how she described."

Arianna choked. "ISLA."

Damien's brow lifted slightly. "And how did she describe me?"

Isla smiled sweetly. "Intense."

Arianna kicked her lightly under the table.

Damien's gaze returned to Arianna, something darker flickering there.

"I see."

A waiter approached awkwardly, asking if Damien would like to order something.

"Black coffee," he replied without looking away from Arianna.

Of course. They sat in a triangle of tension.

Isla leaned back casually, clearly enjoying herself.

"So," she said brightly, "how do you two know each other?"

"A lounge," Damien answered calmly.

"A project," Arianna corrected simultaneously.

Damien smirked faintly. "Both are true."

Isla's eyes sparkled. "I like him," she announced.

Arianna stared at her in disbelief. "You just met him."

"And?"

Damien's coffee arrived. He took a slow sip.

"You were worried about her," he said to Isla suddenly.

Isla blinked. "Yes?"

"You don't have to be."

Something about the way he said it wasn't dismissive but protective, firm and certain.

Isla studied him carefully.

"Good," she said finally. "Because if she cries, I bite."

Damien's lips twitched faintly. "Understood."

The conversation flowed after that, lighter and easier. Damien asked Isla about her work, while he listened attentively. He didn't dominate the space the way Arianna expected him to.

But every so often, his hand would brush lightly against Arianna's on the table, subtle and claiming.

By the time Isla excused herself to take a phone call outside, Arianna turned to him fully.

"You're following me."

"No, You just happen to appear everywhere?" He leaned closer. "I told you I would see you again."

Her breath caught. "That wasn't an invitation."

"No," he agreed softly. "It was a promise."

Arianna's pulse thundered in her ears.

"Damien..."

"I'm not playing with you, Arianna."

His voice dropped, stripped of teasing.

"You think this is a coincidence ,it's not."

"Then what is it?"

He held her gaze steadily. "Interest."

Isla returned just then, cutting the moment.

"Well," she said, glancing between them, "this is either the beginning of a love story or a psychological thriller."

Damien smiled faintly. "Perhaps both."

Arianna exhaled slowly and deep down, beneath the attraction and the thrill and the danger, she realized something terrifying.

She wasn't afraid of him showing up, she was afraid of wanting him to.