The confirmation email blinked on Aria's laptop screen.
Project Successfully Submitted.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Leo leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. "We did it."
Aria let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Yeah... we did."
Their eyes met.
There was relief there. Pride. And something softer that had been growing between them over the past weeks.
But before either of them could say anything more, Leo's phone buzzed.
He frowned slightly when he saw the caller ID.
"My mother," he muttered.
Aria's stomach tightened instinctively.
He answered. "Yes?"
A pause.
His expression hardened slightly, though his voice remained calm. "Tonight?"
Another pause.
"Yes. She's with me."
Aria already knew.
He hung up.
"They want us for dinner," he said, tone neutral. "Both of us."
She forced a small smile. "That's... good, right?"
Leo didn't answer immediately.
"It's just dinner," she added, trying to convince herself more than him.
He studied her for a moment. "You don't have to go if you're uncomfortable."
She straightened.
"No. I'm going. I'm not hiding."
He nodded once. "Alright."
The Moretti estate was intimidating in a way the penthouse wasn't.
The penthouse was luxurious.
This house was legacy.
Old money.
Generations staring down at you from oil portraits lining the hallway.
The staff greeted Leo formally.
They greeted Aria politely.
There was a difference.
When Leo's parents entered the dining room, the temperature shifted.
His mother's eyes immediately landed on Aria.
Measured.
Evaluating.
"So," Mrs. Hale Moretti said, lips curved in a thin smile. "You must be Aria."
Not It's lovely to meet you.
Not We've heard so much about you.
Just... that.
"Yes, ma'am," Aria replied calmly.
His father barely nodded. "Sit."
Dinner began with controlled elegance.
Crystal glasses.
Silverware that probably cost more than Aria's entire semester.
At first, the conversation was surface-level.
School.
The project.
Leo's future.
Then the questions changed.
"So," Mrs. Hale said lightly, cutting into her food. "You're on scholarship, correct?"
Aria's fork paused for half a second. "Yes."
"How admirable," she replied smoothly. "That must mean your family isn't... financially established."
Leo's jaw tightened.
Aria kept her composure. "We manage."
His father leaned back in his chair. "Manage how?"
Silence.
Leo spoke sharply. "That's inappropriate."
"I'm asking out of concern," his father replied coolly. "If she's going to be around you long-term, we deserve clarity."
Aria's chest tightened at the phrasing.
Around you.
Not with you.
His mother smiled again. "We've read about your mother's medical condition."
Aria froze.
"How...?" she began.
"We make it a point to know who enters our son's life," Mrs. Hale replied.
Leo set his glass down harder than necessary.
"That's invasive."
"It's responsible," his father countered.
Aria felt heat crawl up her neck.
"I don't see how my mother's health is relevant to dinner conversation," she said carefully.
His father's gaze sharpened. "Everything is relevant when alliances are being formed."
Alliances.
Not relationships.
Not love.
Leo stood abruptly. "She's not a business merger."
Mrs. Hale didn't even flinch.
"We simply expect our son to marry strategically."
The word echoed in Aria's head.
Strategically.
His mother finally looked directly at her.
"You're intelligent, I'm sure. But intelligence doesn't replace background."
That did it.
Leo's chair scraped loudly against the marble floor.
"That's enough."
His voice was low.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"We're leaving."
Mrs. Hale sighed. "Leonard, don't be dramatic."
"I'm not being dramatic," he replied coldly. "I'm setting boundaries."
He turned to Aria.
"Let's go."
Aria stood on autopilot.
She refused to let them see her break.
She walked out with her head high.
But inside, something had shattered.
The car ride back was silent.
Leo's hands gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual.
"I'm sorry," he said finally.
Aria stared out the window.
"It's fine."
"It's not."
She didn't respond.
The city lights blurred past.
The penthouse doors closed behind them.
And the second they were alone-
Aria broke.
Tears spilled before she could stop them.
"I didn't ask for this!" she cried.
Leo stepped toward her immediately. "Aria-"
She stepped back.
"No!"
Her voice cracked.
"I didn't ask to be investigated! I didn't ask to be dissected over dinner like I'm some kind of charity case!"
"They had no right," he said fiercely.
"They had every right in their world!"
Silence slammed between them.
"They look at me like I'm temporary," she whispered. "Like I'm beneath you."
"You're not."
"That's not what they think."
"I don't care what they think!"
"But I do!" she shouted.
He froze.
Her chest heaved as tears streamed down her face.
"I don't belong there, Leo. I don't belong in rooms where people measure worth by last names."
He softened slightly. "You belong wherever you choose to be."
She shook her head violently.
"No. This was supposed to be simple. A contract. Just something to help my family and solve your public image problem. That's it."
His expression darkened.
"And what is it now?"
Her voice trembled. "Complicated."
"Because of them?"
"Because of us."
That landed.
He stepped closer again, slower this time.
"You're not seriously going to let their prejudice dictate how you feel."
She looked at him - really looked at him.
"You don't understand."
"Then make me understand."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"If this becomes real... I'm the one who loses."
He stared at her.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your world will always choose you," she said. "Mine doesn't have that luxury."
"I would choose you."
"You say that now."
"I mean it."
She shook her head again, backing away.
"No. I can't do this."
"Do what?"
"This." She gestured between them. "Feelings. Expectations. Your family's scrutiny."
His jaw clenched.
"So what are you saying?"
Her voice steadied unnaturally.
"I'm saying this is just a contract."
It hit him like a slap.
"Don't do that," he warned quietly.
"I mean it."
"You don't."
"I do."
Silence filled the penthouse.
Heavy.
Cold.
"You're scared," he said.
"Yes!" she snapped. "I am! And I have every right to be!"
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"So you're just shutting me out?"
"I'm protecting myself."
"From me?"
"From your world."
That hurt more than anything his parents had said.
He took a step back.
His expression closed off.
"Fine," he said.
Just one word.
Sharp.
Controlled.
"If that's how you want it."
She swallowed but didn't respond.
He walked toward his room.
Stopped at the doorway.
Without turning around, he said, "You don't get to feel everything with me and then pretend it didn't happen."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Watch me."
He closed the door.
Hard.
The sound echoed.
Aria stood alone in the living room.
Her chest felt hollow.
She slid down against the wall and cried silently, pressing her hand to her mouth to keep from making noise.
In his room, Leo stood by the window, fists clenched.
He wasn't angry at her.
He was angry at his parents.
At the system.
At the fact that she thought she had to choose survival over love.
But what hurt the most-
Was that she didn't trust him enough to fight.
And for the first time since this contract began-
They went to sleep on opposite sides of the penthouse.
Not touching.
Not talking.
And something fragile between them began to fracture.
