Our Entwined-Fate

Aria's POV

The sight before me hits like a punch to the gut. My heart stops, my breath catches in my throat.

It's a scene I never could have imagined, even in my darkest nightmares.

There, tangled in the sheets on my bed, are two bodies I know all too well. Ethane, my boyfriend, and jasmine , my best friend since childhood.

Their naked flesh glistens in the dim light, moving together in a lewd dance that makes my stomach churn.

I stand frozen in the doorway, unable to look away from the shocking display.Ethane's face is twisted in pleasure, his eyes closed as he thrusts into Jasmin's willing body.

She arches beneath him, her nails raking down his back, her cries of ecstasy filling the room.

"Oh my god, Ethane! What the fuck?!" The words burst from my mouth, shocked and betrayed. My voice is high-pitched, almost unrecognizable to my own ears.

Jasmine's head whips around at the sound of my voice, her eyes wide with guilt and surprise. "Aria?! Oh shit..."

Ethane jumps up from the bed, scrambling for the sheet to cover his nakedness. "Baby, wait, this isn't what it looks like!" he stammers, his face pale and ashen.

But I can't tear my eyes away from his manhood, still semi-erect from Jasmin's ministrations.

Bile rises in my throat as I realize that he has been inside her, that he has touched and caressed my friend in ways he had always promised to reserve only for me.

Aria, I'm so sorry," Jasmin blubbers, her eyes brimming with crocodile tears. "It was a mistake, I swear! We didn't mean for this to happen!"

Her words hit me like a slap. A mistake? They didn't mean for this to happen? How can she say that? How can they both claim innocence after the most intimate betrayal imaginable?

I lunge at Jasmin, grabbing a fistful of her hair and dragging her out of the bed. "You bitch!" I snarl, punctuating each word with a sharp shake. "You fucking whore!

How could you do this to me? I trusted you with everything!"

She screams and cries, begging for forgiveness. But I am beyond reason, beyond tears. I had been betrayed by the two people I loved most, the two people I thought would never hurt me. And in that moment, something inside me shattered irreparably.

As Ethane tries to intervene, pleading for mercy and forgiveness, I turn on him with all the force of my rage. "Get out!" I scream, my voice raw with anguish. "Both of you, get the fuck out of my sight! I never want to see either of you again!"

Tears stream down my face as I watch them scramble to gather their clothes, their pleas for forgiveness falling on deaf ears.

They flee down the stairs and out of my life forever, the sounds of their desperate apologies echoing behind them.

I cried my eyes out, but that wasn't helping, 'I need a drink', I can't be like this.

"Aria!"

I turned just as Ethane grabbed my arm, what is he still doing here?.

"Let go," I said, my voice shaking.

"Baby, listen to me." His grip tightened. "This isn't what it looks like."

I laughed. A sharp, broken sound. "You were naked inside my best friend in my bed. What else is there to see?"

"You've been distant," he snapped, frustration replacing guilt far too easily. "You're always tired. Always working. You never have time for me anymore."

I was shocked, 'so I'm to be blamed?'

"So you cheated?" I whispered.

"I made a mistake," he said quickly. "And if you hadn't pushed me away"

I ripped my arm free.

"Don't you dare," I said, tears spilling freely now. "Don't you dare turn this into my fault."

He scoffed. "You're overreacting."

That word ended it.

'Overreacting?' I slapped him hard in the face. He stood there shocked.

I stepped back, my chest heaving. "You don't get to touch me. You don't get to explain. And you definitely don't get to gaslight me into staying."

I turned and walked away before he could say another word.

I didn't know where I was going.

I just knew I couldn't stay sober.

The hotel loomed like it was going to dry up my pain.

Tall. Gold-lit.

I stumbled into the bar like a ghost, my eyes scanning for the strongest thing they had. The bartender raised an eyebrow but said nothing when I ordered a double. Then another. And another.

That's when I felt it. Someone has been staring at me, I might be drunk but my mind is still with me. I looked up.

He was sitting at the far end of the bar, dressed in black like the shadows had tailored the suit themselves. Broad shoulders. Calm posture. The kind of man who didn't need to look around to know the room already belonged to him.

His eyes met mine.

Dark. Assessing. Amused.

My stomach twisted.

I took another sip, heat flooding my veins, courage rising recklessly. "Has anyone ever told you," I slurred slightly, "that you look like the kind of man women regret loving?"

One corner of his mouth lifted.

"Only the smart ones," he replied.

His voice was low. Controlled. Dangerous in a quiet way.

I laughed, turning fully toward him now. "You're handsome. Like... unfairly handsome."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is." I squinted at him. "You own this place, don't you?"

His eyebrow lifted. "What makes you think that?"

"The way everyone avoids you," I said bluntly. "And the way you're watching me like you already know how this ends."

Something unreadable flickered across his face.

"I'm Luca kings," he said.

"Aria." I raised my glass. "Recently unemployed girlfriend."

"Recently?"

' yea, about an hour ago."

He studied me for a long moment, then signaled the bartender. "Put it on my tab."

I blinked. "Thank you, but I didn't ask"

"You didn't have to."

The alcohol hit harder then. My body swayed, and I felt stupidly aware of how close he was now, how warm. Safe in a way that terrified me.

"You're trouble," I murmured.

"Yes," he agreed calmly. "And you're drunk."

"I can still make decisions."

"Can you?"

I looked at him. Really close enough.

"I want to forget," I said softly.

His gaze darkened, "Be careful what you ask for, Aria."

The room tilted.

The last thing I remember was his hand hovering near my back, ready to catch me if I fell.

And the way his voice cut through the noise as he spoke to someone behind me.

"Take her upstairs," he said. "Carefully."

Then everything went black.

Luca's POV

She's a beauty to behold, as she leaned into me instinctively my body reacted, how deliberately I restrained it.

Aria smelled like citrus and alcohol and heartbreak. The kind that seeps into the skin, and settles behind the eyes. Her head rolled slightly as the men I trusted most lifted her with practiced ease.

"Careful," I said quietly.

They nodded. Of course they did.

The bar had gone silent in that way it always did when something important happens. I felt eyes on my back as I stood, adjusted my cufflinks, and followed them toward the

The hotel responded to me like a living thing doors opening before we reached them, staff turning away instinctively. This place was mine. Every marble tile. Every whispered secret behind closed doors.

Including hers now.

The elevator doors slid shut.

Aria stirred, her fingers curling weakly into the fabric of my jacket. It was an unconscious thing, desperate.

" Is she okay?" one of the guards asked.

"She will be," I said. "Get the doctor on standby. And water. No alcohol in the room."

"Yes, boss."

The elevator chimed softly as we reached the top floor. My floor.

I hadn't planned on bringing a woman up here certainly not one who looked like she'd just watched her life detonate. But i cant possibly leave her alone in a public bar while half the city drank and the other half hunted.

That wasn't an option.

We entered one of the guest suites, not my private rooms. I watched as they laid her gently on the bed, removing her shoes, covering her with a blanket.

"She vomit?" I asked.

"No, sir."

"Good. You can go."

They left without question.

The door closed.

Silence rushed in.

I stood there for a moment longer than necessary, watching her chest rise and fall. Her face was softer in sleep, tension eased but not gone. Like she was bracing even in dreams.

"You should've gone home," I muttered.

But she hadn't.

She'd walked into my bar instead.

I turned away and poured myself a drink. Just one. Whiskey, neat. I didn't need it but habits are hard to kill, even for men like me.

I hadn't expected her honesty. Drunk people lied all the time, but Aria hadn't. She'd worn her pain openly, like she was too tired to protect it anymore.

Men break women like that.

I frowned.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Darius didn't wait for permission anyway.

He strolled in like he owned the place, blond hair perfectly in place, grin already sharp with amusement. "So," he said, eyes flicking briefly toward the bedroom, "I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you're already kidnapping sad brunettes?"

"She walked in on her boyfriend cheating," I said flatly.

Darius blinked. "Damn. That bad, huh?"

"With her best friend."

He winced. "Okay, that's criminal."

I took a sip of whiskey. "She's drunk. She's staying here tonight."

Darius leaned against the counter, studying me far too closely. "You don't usually play savior."

"I'm not."

"You brought her upstairs."

"So?"

"So you hate complications," he said. "And women like her? They are complications with eyelashes."

I set my glass down slowly. "You didn't see her."

"No," he agreed lightly. "But I see you."

That earned him a look.

Darius raised his hands in mock surrender. "Relax. I'm teasing. Mostly." His gaze drifted again toward the bedroom. "She special?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

He hummed. "She must be, if you noticed her physique first."

I scowled. "She described mine."

That made him laugh outright. "Oh, I would've paid to hear that."

"She was drunk."

"And bold," he added. "That's rare."

I didn't respond.

Darius straightened. "Anything I should know?"

"Nothing yet."

"Yet," he repeated. "Alright. I'll have someone quietly look into her. Just basics."

"No," I said sharply.

He paused. "No?"

"She deserves one night without being dissected."

Darius searched my face. "Since when do you care about what people deserve?"

I didn't answer.

Eventually, he nodded. "Fine. But if she turns out to be trouble"

"I'll handle it."

He smiled faintly. "You always do."

After he left, I returned to the bedroom doorway.

Aria shifted, murmuring something incoherent. Her brow furrowed, hands clenching in the sheets like she was fighting something unseen.

"Easy," I said quietly, though I knew she couldn't hear me.

She relaxed slightly.

I stood there longer than I should have.

This woman knew nothing about me. About the blood. The violence. The decisions I made without flinching.

And yet she'd looked at me like I was just a man in a bar.

That alone made her dangerous.

I turned off the light and left the room, locking the door behind me.

Aria POV

My head felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton and regret and then shaken it violently.

I groaned softly and turned my face into something cool and smooth. Definitely not my pillow. My eyes open slowly and the first thing I saw was a ceiling that was too high and too clean to belong to my apartment.

I froze.

The room came into focus piece by piece. Thick curtains drawn halfway. Neutral colors. Expensive furniture that looked untouched. The air smelled faintly of clean linen and something masculine but distant. Like it had been here earlier and already left.

Okay. Breathe.

I pushed myself up, instantly regretting it when my skull throbbed in protest.

"Never again," I muttered, pressing my fingers to my temples.

I scanned the room again. My dress was still on. My shoes were placed neatly near the couch. My purse sat on the table beside a bottle of water and two small tablets.

That helped. A lot.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood slowly, testing myself. Dizzy but upright. I thinking i'm still among the living.

Good signs.

Memory kept coming in gradually. The bar. The alcohol. The man. Luca.

Heat rose to my face.

I remembered telling him he was unfairly handsome. Remembered his calm voice. The way he looked at me like he was amused but not mocking. Like he saw a thousand drunk women a year and still found something about me interesting.

God. I really needed to stop drinking when emotionally unstable.

I grabbed my purse and checked my phone. No missed calls from Ethan. Of course not. He was probably still busy apologizing with his body to Jasmin.

The thought hurt but not as sharply as it had last night. It sat in my chest like a bruise instead of an open wound.

Progress.

I noticed a small card tucked under the water bottle.

You were safe here. Drink the water. Leave whenever you want.

No name. No number.

I stared at it for a long moment. There was no threat in it. No implication. Just information.

"Strange man," I murmured.

And considerate. Which somehow made it stranger.

I downed the water in slow gulps, swallowed the tablets, then grabbed my shoes. I did not linger. Whatever this place was, it was not mine. I had no interest in waking up to awkward explanations or questions I did not feel like answering.

I slipped out quietly, avoiding eye contact with staff who already seemed to know not to look too closely.

Outside, the morning air was crisp and bright, slicing through the haze in my head. I flagged down a car and gave the driver my address.

Home.

Not the apartment. My real home.

The mansion gates opened as I approached, familiar iron curves welcoming me back like nothing had gone wrong in the world. The house sat proudly behind them, white stone glowing in the sunlight, perfectly manicured gardens framing it like a painting.

I exhaled for the first time since last night.

Inside, the house was alive with quiet weekend sounds. Footsteps. Soft voices. The faint clink of dishes.

A maid spotted me immediately.

"Miss Aria," she said warmly. "You are back early."

"Morning," I replied, forcing a smile. "Is my dad up"

She nodded. "In the breakfast room. He asked not to be disturbed but I will let him know you are here."

"No need," I said quickly. "I will go to him."

She studied my face with gentle curiosity but said nothing. The staff here never did. They knew better.

My father sat at the table with a tablet in one hand and coffee in the other, glasses perched low on his nose. He looked up when I entered, his expression shifting instantly.

"Aria," he said. "You look terrible."

"Good morning to you too," I replied, dropping into the chair across from him.

He set the tablet down. "Where did you sleep"

"Hotel."

One eyebrow lifted. "Which one"

I shrugged. "One of the nice ones."

He snorted. "That narrows it down to half the city."

I poured myself coffee and added sugar until it looked acceptable. "I ran into some drama."

His gaze sharpened slightly. "Explain."

"Ethan cheated."

That got his full attention.

"With my friend," I added.

He leaned back slowly. "Which friend"

"Jasmin."

The silence that followed was heavy but controlled. My father did not explode. He never did. He simply absorbed information and filed it away under future actions.

"I see," he said finally. "And you walked away"

"Yes."

"Good."

That was it. No lecture. No threats spoken out loud. Just approval.

I relaxed into my chair. "I will need a few days to clean my apartment. She was squatting there."

His mouth twitched. "She will not be there when you return."

I smiled faintly. "I figured."

He studied me again, more closely this time. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," I said honestly. "Nothing happened."

He nodded. "Eat something. You look like you might pass out."

"I am not that dramatic."

"You were when you were five," he replied dryly. "You cried because your toast was cut wrong."

"That was a traumatic experience," I said. "I have not recovered."

A ghost of a smile appeared. Then it faded.

"Your job starts next week," he said.

I groaned. "Do not remind me."

"You chose it."

"I chose the work," I corrected. "Not the people."

He chuckled. "You were never good with office politics."

"I like machines," I said. "Machines make sense. People pretend to."

"You could work here."

I shook my head. "No. I need my own thing."

He accepted that easily. He always had.

After breakfast, I retreated to my old room. Nothing had changed. Same furniture. Same faint scent of lavender. Same feeling of being protected without being caged.

I showered, letting the hot water chase away the last of the hangover. As I dressed, my phone buzzed with a message from HR.

Reminder that your onboarding documents are still incomplete. Please submit before Monday.

I stared at it, irritation bubbling up.

I typed back.

They were submitted last Thursday. Check your system.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

We will review and get back to you.

I rolled my eyes.

This was exactly why I hated corporate environments. Too many smiles. Too many passive aggressive emails. Too many people who smiled to your face and complained behind your back because you refused to pretend.

I tossed my phone onto the bed and flopped down beside it.

My mind drifted back to the hotel. To Luca. To the way he had looked at me without expectation. Without pressure.

I did not even know if I would ever see him again.

And strangely, that felt fine.

Some moments were not meant to last. They existed to remind you that the world was bigger than your heartbreak.

I closed my eyes.

Next week would come soon enough.

For now, I was home.