Aria’s Pov
I woke up the next morning to a severe headache.
My head felt like soone had taken a hamr to it, and my mouth tasted like a mixture of cotton and sour milk.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand,a habit I had ford ever since I turned into a "celebrity". The screen lit up with a flood of notifications before I could even unlock it.
Breaking news alerts. Dozens of them.
**"Lucian Voss Released on Ergency Bail After Overnight Hearing"**
**"Billionaire CEO Walks Free—Power Play or Justice?"**
**"Voss Arrest: Unconstitutional Release or Elite Privilege?"**
**"Wife’s Viral Confession—Did Aria Thorne Save Her Husband?"**
I sat up so fast the room tilted.
Lucian was out.
I opened the first article. The headline scread:
**"In a stunning late-night decision, Lucian Voss was granted ergency bail after only hours in custody. Legal experts call it unprecedented. Critics say it’s proof the rich play by different rules."**
There was a photo of Lucian stepping out of the police station at 3 a.m., suit rumpled, his face deviant of a smile nor relief.
The comnts were already a war zone.
"Money talks, justice walks."
"His wife probably paid soone off."
"She lied to protect him—typical gold-digger."
"Power play. The system is rigged for n like Voss."
I dropped the phone. My hands shook.
He was out. And he hadn’t called or texted .Neither has he co ho.
The penthouse felt bigger and colder than ever. I stood up on unsteady legs, wrapped the robe around myself, and walked to the living room.
I checked the ti. 9:17 a.m.
He should have been ho hours ago.
I paced. Made coffee I didn’t drink and I stared at the front door like it might open on its own.
At 10:42 a.m., the elevator dinged.
My heart jumped into my throat.
Lucian stepped out.
He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t look at . He walked straight past the living room toward the master suite like I wasn’t even there.
I stood frozen.
"Lucian."
He didn’t stop.
I followed him. "Lucian—talk to ."
He disappeared into the bedroom. The door closed behind him with a loud jam.
I stared at the wood like it had personally betrayed .
It was obvious he was ignoring but I will not take it.Not this ti.I banged on the door. "Open the door, Lucian. We need to talk."
Silence.
I banged again. Harder. "You can’t just ignore after all this drama. You can’t just walk in here like nothing happened."
The door opened.
Lucian stood there, shirt half-unbuttoned, his eyes tired and cold.
"What do you want, Aria?" His voice was flat. He was not angry but it sounded distant.
I stepped inside. "I saw the news. You’re out. You’re ho. And you won’t even look at ."
He walked past to the dresser, started unbuttoning his cuffs. "I’m tired. I need a shower. We can talk later."
"No." I grabbed his arm. "We talk now. You were arrested because of . You beat Ethan because of . And now the whole world thinks I’m the reason you’re free. They’re calling a curse again. And you won’t even say anything."
He looked down at my hand on his arm. Then up at . His eyes were dark. "You went live without telling ."
I blinked. "What?"
"You went live. You posted evidence. You spoke for both of us without asking first Aria." His gaze was stern,as if he was holding in a built up rage. "You think you helped? You made it worse."
I let go of his arm. "I was trying to protect you."
"You were trying to protect yourself," he said quietly. "You were scared of what Ethan would release so you spoke first. You didn’t trust to handle it."
"That’s not true—"
"Isn’t it?" He stepped closer. "I told you to stay put. I told you my lawyers were moving. I told you I’d be out by morning but you just couldn’t help yourself.You went public and now the narrative is out of control."
I felt tears burn behind my eyes. "I thought I was helping."
"You thought you were saving yourself," he said. "And maybe you did. But you also painted a target on both of us."
Silence stretched between us.
I searched his face. "You’re disappointed in ."
He looked away. "I’m disappointed you didn’t believe in ."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I stepped back. "I... I didn’t know what else to do. The world was tearing apart again and Ethan was threatening . I thought if I told the truth—"
"You told part of the truth," he said. "And now Ethan has the rest. He’ll twist it, say you’re covering for . Probably add that we frad him together and because you spoke first, people will believe him."
I felt the floor tilt under .
"I didn’t an—"
"I know," he said quietly. "But intent doesn’t change consequences."
He walked past toward the bathroom. "I need a shower. We’ll talk after."
I watched him go and close the door behind him
Then the room tilted,my vision blurred.My knees buckled like I was no longer in control of them.
I knocked over the vase that stood by the door .I didn’t know what was happening but I could see Lucian rushing out of the room. He caught before I hit the floor.
"Aria?"
Everything went black.
***""
I woke to white walls and beeping machines.I was in the hospital.
A doctor stood over , smiling gently. Lucian was beside him, holding my hand, eyes red-rimd but steady.
"You’re awake," the doctor said. "Good. We ran so tests."
I tried to sit up. Lucian seeing that, stretched forward and helped as I relaxed myself on the hospital bed fra.
"What happened?" I whispered.
"You collapsed," Lucian said. " I’m guessing it’s from stress or exhaustion."
The doctor smiled wider. "And congratulations, Mrs. Voss."
I blinked. "What?"
"You’re pregnant."
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