Chapter 5 Aria (5)

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The days felt heavier after that night. The air was thick with unspoken words, and no matter how hard I tried to tune it out, the chemistry between Liam and me was impossible to ignore. The moments when our gazes met in the room felt like an eternity, and even in silence, there was an invisible cord that tied us together-one I was attempting to fight but couldn't help.

I spent the following day trying to focus on the small things that had to be done around the house, trying to keep myself busy. It wasn't enough, though. I still felt Liam's presence when he wasn't around-like an echo that lingered with me. And whenever I thought of him, I remembered everything we'd been through, everything he'd done.

But the aspect that nagged at me the most was how easily he had fallen back into my life. Like old times, but more complicated. More intense.

I took my coffee out onto the small balcony off my bedroom, hoping the quiet would soothe my thoughts. The sun was still low in the sky, and it created long shadows across the yard. The house was quiet, the only sound the soft fluttering of leaves on the breeze. It should have been sufficient to soothe me, but my thoughts were far from calm.

I hadn't even noticed the door had opened behind me, but I felt it-felt the air change as Liam stepped out onto the balcony. He didn't speak at first. He didn't need to. He was always so vigilant, so attuned to me in a way that left my skin tingling with the presence of him standing near.

"Morning," he breathed, his voice low and smooth, the vibration of it flowing over me like silk.

I didn't turn around, though I could sense his eyes on me, unyielding and steady. "Good morning," I replied softly, not knowing what else to say. Everything I wanted to say was trapped behind a wall of tension that I couldn't break through.

There was a silence that lasted for what felt like hours, and I knew he was there, waiting for me to make my next step. But I couldn't. Not yet.

Finally, he spoke, his voice gentle but beneath it something else. "You've been avoiding me."

I didn't blink. I had thought he might do something like this. "I'm not dodging you," I said, trying to make myself focus on my cup. "I'm just attempting to have some distance between us."

Liam drew nearer, the heat from his body spreading the air around me. "You're not tricking me, Aria."

I looked up, meeting his gaze. His dark eyes were filled with that same intensity, but there was something else in them too, something I couldn't quite place. Desire? Regret? Maybe a little bit of both.

"Don't even try to lie to me," I said to him, my voice now harder. "I just... I don't want to fall into the same patterns. I don't want to go back to a place where everything was so delicate. I don't know if I can do that again."

He tilted his head to the side, his gaze never leaving mine. "I know what I've done. I know I've hurt you. But I don't want to continue running from all of this. From you."

I swallowed, my throat tightening at what he was saying. "But what if it's too late? What if everything's already shattered beyond repair?"

Liam did not respond. Rather, he drew closer, until there was only a breath of air between us. The tension between us snapped, the unspoken feelings rising to the surface. I felt the warmth of his body, the heat emanating from him, and against my will, I retreated a step.

He caught my movement and held out his hand, his fingers brushing against mine in a gentle but firm touch, a reminder of how readily he could reach me. "I know I can't change the past," he breathed, "but I'm here now, Aria. I'm not going away."

I shivered at his touch, the warmth of his skin causing a shiver to run through me against my will. I hated the way much as I wanted him to be telling the truth. How much I wanted to believe that it might be different this time.

"You left me once," I whispered, hardly above a murmur. "You walked away from me without hesitation. How can I trust you again?"

The words were bitter, but they were the truth. I had loved him so totally, had given him everything, and when I needed him most, he was gone.

He didn't retreat. He edged closer, his hand on my shoulder now, his thumb drawing a slow, soothing circle on my flesh. "I can't undo what I did. But I can show you, day by day, that I'm not the same man who left you."

I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing his words to crash over me, sensing the weight of them. But I didn't know if that was enough. I wasn't sure if anything could replace the silence of the years, the suffering I had endured in isolation.

When I opened my eyes once more, Liam's was in front of me, only inches from mine, looking intently at me with an expression so concentrated breathing became hard. His lips almost touched, being so close his breath was like a warmth against my skin.

"Aria," he breathed, his voice raspy with emotion. "You have to realize... I never stopped loving you. Not even for a moment. Not even when I went away."

My heart skipped at his words. I could feel my chest tightening, the old feelings rising to the surface, more than I could ever have imagined. I wanted to brush him away, to tell him to leave and never come back. But I couldn't. Not when he was standing there, all intimate and in front of me.

He leaned in a little way, his mouth in my ear as he softly said, "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm asking for a chance to let you see who I am today. A chance to make it right."

For a moment, I was unable to do anything but remain there, stuck where I stood, the conflicting feelings raging inside me. But then something shifted. I didn't know what it was, didn't know how it happened, but at that moment I knew that I wasn't prepared to let him go. Not yet. Not when the attraction between us was so powerful.

I reached my hand out slowly, my fingers trembling as they brushed against his jaw. He was hard, warm against my palm. And when I looked up at him, his eyes burned, his gaze flickering with something raw, something I hadn't experienced in a very long time.

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore, Liam," I whispered, my voice uncertain, filled with doubt. "But I must admit that I do still care for you. I always have."

Liam's mouth curled into a slow, knowing smile, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the tension in my chest eased a fraction. "Then let's go slow," he said. "One step at a time.".

I nodded, not sure how to respond to that. But when his hand slid down onto my cheek, his touch so soft and careful, I did see something. Maybe this is what I needed. Not assurances, not answers, but the simple chance to see where this might go.

For the first time in years, I let myself consider perhaps-possibly-that I could allow him in.