Chapter Ten
Ryan’s POV
After school, Aria sat in the passenger seat of my car, quiet and thoughtful. I’d told her—time without number—that she wasn’t just another girl. That she was the one I wanted. The only one.
Each time I said it, I meant it more.
My mind kept circling back to one undeniable truth: Aria loved me too. She had to. Because when I kissed her in that classroom, in front of everyone, she hadn’t pushed me away. She’d kissed me back. Her hands had gripped my shirt, her lips had moved against mine, and for those few perfect seconds, nothing else had mattered.
That had to mean something. That had to mean everything.
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That night at home, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I lay on my bed, phone in hand, staring at her contact name for what felt like the hundredth t
