Secrets And Scandals

Aria’s POV: For two whole days, I didn’t see him. Not in the halls. Not in the office. Not even on campus. It was like Wolfe had vanished. And maybe that had been the point. After the contract. After the s*x. After Sloan Maddox and the closet and the cold truth hanging between us like a loaded gun—maybe we both needed a break. So I did the one thing I had been avoiding since Bellmere began. I went home.

******* The Lancaster townhouse sat like a fortress on the Upper East Side, white stone and steel gates and the kind of polished silence that screamed money. My sister Ivy met me at the door. Perfect as ever. Hair curled. Lip gloss on. Her phone glued to her hand. “You’re alive,” she said, barely looking up. “Surprised?” I asked, stepping inside. “Considering Dad almost pulled you out of Bellmere last week? Yeah.”

I blinked. “What?” Ivy finally looked at me. “You really didn’t check your email, did you?” Apparently, while I had been learning how to kneel and beg, my father had been firing off warnings to the Dean’s office about “inappropriate distractions.” Warnings that had mysteriously disappeared. I didn’t need to ask who had deleted them. Wolfe. Dinner had been awkward. Vincent Lancaster, king of real estate and silence, sat at the head of the table like a statue carved from arrogance.

“So,” he said finally. “You’re keeping your grades up.” I nodded. “Yes.” “And no more incidents?” My fork froze mid-air. “No,” I said. “No incidents.” He looked at me, sharp and appraising. “You reminded me too much of your mother.” I didn’t respond. That had been his favorite insult. One I wore like armor.

“Don’t ruin this, Aria,” he said. “Bellmere is a gift. Don’t make me regret it.” I didn’t tell him I had already broken every rule. I didn’t tell him I had signed a contract with the man he trusted most. Instead, I smiled. “Of course, Daddy.” ********* Back at school, things didn’t go back to normal. But they did get quiet. Too quiet. Jules noticed. “You had been weird,” she said as we walked past the art quad.