Chapter 2 Confrontation

The silence in the room was deafening.

Ariana stood there, her pulse pounding in her ears, drowning out the panicked breaths of the two people who had just shattered her world. Her body was rigid, every muscle locked in place as she stared at the man she had given her heart to and the woman she had once called her sister.

Liam took a hesitant step forward, his hands raised as if approaching a wounded animal. "Ariana, please, let's just talk-"

"Don't." Her voice came out low and dangerous, her entire being coiled tight with barely restrained fury.

Sienna clutched the sheets tighter around her body, her blue eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears. "Ariana, I swear to you, this isn't what you think-"

Ariana let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Oh? Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like what I think it is." Her gaze flicked to Liam, who had the nerve to look guilty. "Tell me, Liam. When did this start? Before or after you told me I was the love of your life?"

Liam swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Baby, listen to me. It didn't mean anything."

Ariana clenched her fists. That excuse. Again.

"It didn't mean anything?" she echoed, her voice shaking with disbelief. "So you're saying that after everything we've built, everything we've shared, you just accidentally ended up in bed with my best friend?" She let out a harsh breath, her vision blurring with unshed tears. "How stupid do you think I am, Liam?"

"I-" Liam raked a hand through his disheveled hair, frustration flickering in his eyes. "I was going through a rough time, okay? Work has been stressful, and I-I made a mistake."

Ariana took a slow step toward him, her gaze burning into his. "Oh, I see. So I should feel sorry for you?" Her voice was deadly calm now. "You poor thing, having to deal with stress. Was cheating the only way to cope? Or was it just easier because she was always right there?"

Sienna let out a strangled sob. "Ari, please, I never wanted this to happen-"

Ariana's head snapped toward her. "You never wanted this to happen?" She took another step, forcing Sienna to shrink back against the headboard. "Then tell me, Sienna, when exactly did it start? The first time you smiled at me and pretended to be my friend? Or was it later, when I was telling you about my relationship problems and you were already in his bed?"

Sienna's lip quivered, but she had no words.

Ariana let out a slow, humorless chuckle. "Right. That's what I thought."

Liam exhaled sharply, stepping between them. "Ariana, I swear, I love you. This-this was a mistake, but it doesn't change how I feel about you."

Ariana felt something inside her snap. How he feels about me?

Her stomach twisted violently, and for the first time since stepping into the room, she felt sick. Truly sick.

"You love me?" she whispered. Her voice trembled, but not with sadness-with rage. Pure, raw rage.

"Yes," Liam said, reaching for her hand.

She slapped it away so hard his head jerked back slightly.

"Don't you dare touch me," she hissed. "You don't get to say you love me, Liam. You don't get to say that."

Liam flinched, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides. "I know you're hurt, baby, but-"

Ariana let out a hollow laugh. "Hurt?" She placed a hand over her heart, feeling it hammer against her ribcage. "Hurt is an understatement for what I'm feeling right now, Liam."

Sienna sniffled, her voice small. "Ariana, please, I still care about you-"

Ariana snapped her head in Sienna's direction so fast, the other woman froze mid-sentence.

"Don't you dare say that to me," Ariana whispered, stepping closer. "You don't care about me. If you did, this wouldn't have happened."

Sienna trembled but said nothing.

Ariana let the silence settle between them for a long, agonizing moment before turning back to Liam. "Tell me something, Liam. Did you ever feel guilty?"

Liam's lips parted, but he hesitated.

"Did you ever lie next to me at night," Ariana continued, her voice eerily calm, "and think about what you did? Did you ever touch me and think of her?"

Liam inhaled sharply, and that was all the answer she needed.

She shook her head, blinking back the sting in her eyes. "God, I was such a fool."

"You weren't a fool," Liam said quickly. "Ariana, please, I'll do anything to fix this. I need you-"

"You need me?" Ariana let out a bitter laugh. "No, Liam. What you needed was loyalty. What you needed was self-control. What you needed was to remember that the woman who loved you wasn't just another option."

"Ariana, please-"

"No." She inhaled sharply. "You don't get to beg. You don't get to ask for forgiveness just because I caught you."

Liam ran a hand over his face, exhaling harshly. "Okay. Fine. You're angry. I get it. But what now? Are you just going to throw away everything we have?"

Ariana felt her heart tighten painfully. Everything we have?

She turned slowly, glancing around the room-the same room where they had whispered secrets, made love, planned their future. The same room where Liam had held her when she cried, kissed her awake in the mornings, promised her forever.

And now? Now it was nothing but tainted memories.

Ariana let out a breath and lifted her chin. "You threw it away the moment you touched her."

Liam's face twisted. "Ariana, I love you!"

"You don't," she said, her voice breaking for the first time. "Because if you did, this would have never happened."

Liam's jaw clenched, desperation flashing in his eyes. "I made a mistake-"

"No, Liam," Ariana interrupted, shaking her head. "A mistake is forgetting an anniversary. A mistake is saying something hurtful in an argument. This?" She gestured to the bed, to Sienna, to the wreckage of their relationship. "This is a choice. You made a choice."

Liam opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Sienna sat frozen, tears running down her cheeks.

Ariana inhaled deeply, forcing the tears stinging her eyes to stay put. She wouldn't break here. Not in front of them.

Finally, she turned toward the door.

Liam stepped forward. "Ariana, wait-"

"Don't," she whispered, gripping the doorknob so hard her knuckles turned white. "You made your choice. Now, live with it."

And with that, she walked out.

But as she stepped into the cold night air, something inside her shifted.

The pain wasn't just heartbreak anymore.

It was rage.

It was purpose.

And for the first time, Ariana Cole realized something with absolute clarity-

They would pay.