Chapter 3 You Don't Get To Explain.

Aria didn't go looking for answers the next day

She went to class.

She sat where she always sat. Took notes when the lecturer spoke. Nodded at the right moments. Even answered a question once, her voice steady enough that no one looked twice.

From the outside, nothing had changed.

That was the point.

Her phone stayed buried in her bag, on silent. She didn't need to check it to know what was there. Liam. Iris. Jace .

Missed calls. Messages. Explanations she hadn't asked for. She ignored all of it.

It wasn't anger holding her together.

Anger was loud. Unpredictable.

What she felt was quieter than that. Colder. Precise. It didn't shake her, It sharpened her.

By the time her last class ended, the campus had thinned out. Students moved in clusters, laughing, arguing about assignments, making plans for the evening like nothing in the world had shifted.

Aria stepped outside, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, and headed toward the gate. "Aria."

She stopped .

Not because she wanted,but because she recognised the voice.

For a moment, she considered walking anyway. Pretending she hadn't heard him.

But that would mean he still had the power to make her avoid things. She turned.

Liam stood a few feet away, like he hadn't been sure she would.

He looked different. Not put-together. Not controlled. There were shadows under his eyes.

Good, she thought.

"You've been avoiding me," he said.

Aria held his gaze. "That implies I owe you access."

He blinked, thrown off by how even her voice was. "I've been trying to talk to you." "I know."

"And you're just... ignoring it?" "Yes."

The word landed cleanly between them.

Liam exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. "Aria, what you saw "

"I'm not confused about what I saw."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then say what you mean."

A couple of students passed by, glancing at them briefly. Aria didn't look away from him.

Liam stepped closer, lowering his voice like this was something private. Like it deserved to be handled carefully.

"It wasn't planned," he said. "It just... happened."

Aria studied him for a second. Not his words him. "That's your explanation?"

"No, I'm just-"

"Because if it is," she cut in, "it's weak."

His jaw tightened. "It wasn't supposed to get to that point." "Then why did it?"

He didn't answer.

And that hesitation small, almost invisible told her everything she needed.

"You didn't stop it," she said.

"I tried-" "No," Aria said quietly. "You didn't."

Silence stretched. Not awkward. Not uncertain.

She shifted her weight slightly, folding her arms. "I'm not interested in half-truths, Liam. So let's make this simple."

He swallowed, but didn't speak.

"Did you want to kiss her?"

There it was.

No room to twist it. No room to soften it.

Liam looked at her, and for a second just a second he hesitated. That was enough.

Aria nodded once. "Okay." "Aria-"

"No, it's fine," she said. "It actually helps."

"Helps?" His voice edged with frustration.

"Helps how?"

She let out a small breath, like she was organizing something in her head. "Because now I don't have to sit there wondering if it was a mistake.". He frowned "It was-"

"It wasn't," she said, cutting him off again. "And you know that." "That's not fair."

She almost smiled at that.

"Fair?" she repeated. "You don't get to use that word right now."

He stepped closer again, his voice lower, more urgent. "I care about you. That hasn't changed."

Aria didn't react. Not even a flicker.

"Then you have a strange way of showing it."

"It's not that simple, It is."

He shook his head, frustration breaking through now. "You're shutting me out without even trying to understand."

Aria looked at him for a long moment. Not angry.

Not emotional. Just... certain.

"I understand that you kissed my best friend," she said.

He opened his mouth, but she didn't stop.

"I understand that she kissed you back."

His expression shifted.

"And I understand that neither of you told me."

Her voice stayed calm. Controlled. That was what made it worse.

"What exactly do you think I'm missing?"

Liam didn't answer. "Right," Aria said softly.

She turned slightly, ready to walk away.

"Aria, wait." She stopped again.

This time, she didn't turn around.

"There's something you don't know," he said.

She closed her eyes briefly.

There it was.

The complication. The justification. The part where he tried to make it sound like there was more to it than what she saw.

"There always is," she said.

"This isn't just about Iris," he continued. "It's about-" Don't... "Don't try to twist my head"

The word was sharp enough to cut through whatever he was about to say.

Liam went quiet.

Aria turned back, her eyes locking onto his.

"Don't do that," she said. "Don't try to turn this into something bigger so it feels less like what it is. I'm not."

"You are," she said. "You're trying to make it complicated so you don't have to say the simple version out loud."

"And what's the simple version?" he asked, his voice tight.

Aria didn't hesitate. "You wanted her."

The words landed clean. No emotion attached. No accusation.Just truth.

Liam flinched barely but she saw it.

"And maybe," she added, quieter now, "you wanted me too."

That hit harder.

She watched it happen.

Watched the realization settle in his expression.

"But you don't get both," she said.

For a second, it almost felt like everything had stopped around them.

"For what it's worth," Liam said finally, his voice strained, "you're not as unaffected as you're pretending to be."

Aria held his gaze.

"You're right."

That surprised him.

She let that sit there for a moment just enough.

Just enough for him to think he'd gotten through.

"But the difference is," she continued, "I'm not the one who has to live with what I did."

That landed. Deeper than anything else she'd said, She saw it in his face. The way it stayed with him.

She turned and walked away.

,