Arwen's intention was just to pacify Aiden.
She hadn't even realized what she was saying.
Although her words were coming straight from her heart, they were so raw and unfiltered —so instinctive —that she hadn't noticed she had just confessed her feelings. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, something that didn't even need to be hidden.
She hadn't noticed.
But he did.
Aiden froze at her words. He didn't speak. He simply couldn't.
His throat constricted.
His grip on the phone tightened, as if trying to physically hold onto her words —afraid they might slip away otherwise.
"What did you say?" he asked, his tone low and desperate, clinging to the hope that he hadn't imagined it. That she had said what he thought she had. Maybe he just wanted to hear her say it again.
