Page 41 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
He looked at Aria fully now. "I didn't need to feel guilty. Nothing had happened between us yet. But in my head...in my heart...something already had."
"That was the moment I knew I didn't want to live a life in halves. I wanted you. But I was still too much of a coward to say it out loud."
A shuddering breath.
"You need to understand, I was never going to marry her. I just..." He looked away, ashamed. "I just didn't want anyone to know about us. About you."
Aria's fingers curled tighter around the mug.
"The repercussions... I thought if I just had more time-"
"Time," she echoed, almost to herself.
"Yes, time," Crispin repeated. "I need a few more months, Aria. Just to make it safe. You don't know what my father is like, but I do. I know how he thinks. Just a little longer-"
She wasn't listening anymore.
She rose slowly, placing the mug on the side table. "I need to get ready for work."
He stood, his breath catching. "I haven't told you everything. There's more I need to say."
"I justcan'tright now," she said, not looking at him.
He reached for her, gently, but she took a step back.
He hesitated.
Then she quietly added, "Leave the keys on the table, please."
It was the finality in her tone that did it.
Crispin's shoulders slumped.
Without a word, he pulled out his keychain, removed the little silver spare, and placed it on the table beside the tea.
"I'm not giving up," he said quietly.
She couldn't respond, couldn't even look at him.
He waited for a beat before reluctantly walking to the door.
This time, it closed behind him.
Only then did the first tear fall, and then another.
She thought she was all cried out, but it seems there was more.
Until she was bent over on the couch, her robe pulled tight around her, her chest heaving silently.
The tea sat untouched, growing cold.
Chapter 24
Aria
It was like being plunged into a lake.
When you opened your eyes underwater after submerging your head.
