When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
❝Don't you think four years is something to fight for?❞
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HALF AN HOUR before Ashton is scheduled to arrive, Ria is in a crisis. She flings boots and sandals out of her closet, desperate to find the matching silver flats to her outfit; a floor-length black dress that hugs her frame and leaves her right leg exposed up to her mid-thigh with a slit. She knows just how much Ashton enjoys seeing her skin and thought it'd be the perfect tease.
As she's ruffling through her shoes, her arm brushes against her leg. She gasps and gapes down at them. From a distance, they appear smooth, but with just that light touch, she felt thin hairs sabotaging her entire look.
I just shaved yesterday!
She curses and storms into her bathroom, flats now in the back of her mind. At the sink, she hikes up her dress, grabs her razor and shaving cream and lathers her leg. She manages a quick shave without staining the new fabric.
When her legs are smooth, she lets the dress drop and examines herself with critical eyes. Somehow a brush managed to wrestle through her hair, allowing her to put delicate curls throughout it. Auburn locks lay gracefully over her exposed shoulders. Silver studs decorate the low neckline of her dress and a single chained necklace drapes down her neck.
Ria smiles and fluffs her hair. I haven't been on a first date in years.
A quick and heavy rap against her front door jolts her from admiring herself.
He's here already?
Ria scrambles back into her bedroom and snatches up the nearest pair of black flats she can find and slips them on. Another impatient knock puts a kick in her step and she rushes to the door. Throwing it open she greets Ashton with a giddish smile.
It vanishes in an instant.
A block of ice freezes over her heart. The laws of breathing slip from her mind.
The man in front of her is not Ashton. The man in front of her is the curse that once held her hostage from happiness.
"Hey, baby."
"C-Chris?" She blinks rapidly. Her hand tightens around the door handle. "What are you doing here?"
Russet eyes trace her figure, dragging up and down with a hint of danger. A smirk defined by confidence graces his lips. "You look stunning, babe." He pushes the door open and steps past her. "You gotta date with someone?"
Ria whirls around and struggles to find her breath. All at once, the darkness she'd almost forgotten slinks its inky hands across her shoulders. It leans down and hisses in her ear.
He's your everything. Your first. You will never get over him.
"Why are you here?" she whispers and rubs the sides of her head. "I thought I told you to stay away. We're through, Chris."
