Roman's POV
The apartment was too quiet.
I woke up late. Maddie was gone by then, thank f**k. Her perfume still lingered cheap and sugary, clinging to the couch like regret. I didn’t need a reminder of the night before. I didn’t want it. Not when all I could think about was her.
I don’t know what time Ariana came home last night.
If she came home at all.
I kept telling myself I didn’t care. That it didn’t matter. That whatever she saw—whatever she thought she saw—wasn’t my f*****g problem. But the longer the silence stretched, the more I started to notice every creak in the floorboards, every second ticking by without her footsteps, her humming, her presence.
Her room was still locked when I passed by.
I stood there like an i***t, fingers twitching against her doorknob, listening. N
