Aria's POV
She walked away and I stood there alone for a moment, just breathing and thinking.
"Aria."
I turned to see Lucian standing in the doorway.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
"Of course."
He walked over and we stood there together, looking out at the city.
"I know this probably isn't the right time," he started. "And I know you need time to process everything that just happened. But I need to say this before I lose my nerve."
"Lucian—"
"I'm in love with you," he said and the words came out in a rush. "I have been for two years. I tried to ignore it because you were mated to my best friend and it was wrong and I'm sorry for that but I can't keep pretending anymore. Watching you go through all of this, almost losing you last night, it made me realize that life's too short to not tell people how you feel about them."
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
