…

The café was too bright, too cheerful for what was happening..

Aria Mitchell sat across from Ryan Cooper—her boyfriend of eight months, the man she'd trusted, maybe even loved—and watched him destroy her world with clinical efficiency..

"I think we want different things," he said, not quite meeting her eyes. "And that's okay. It's nobody's fault."…

Her throat closed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." He exhaled sharply, like this was hard for him. Like he was the one being hurt. "It's been eight months, Aria. I'm ready for more. A real relationship. Not something that feels like it's always on hold."..

"We have a real relationship." Her voice sounded small even to her own ears.

"Do we?" Now he did look at her, and there was something in his expression she couldn't name. Frustration? Regret? "I care about you. I do. But I can't keep waiting for you to be ready for... more."..

Sex. He meant sex..

They'd talked about this. She'd explained why she wanted to wait—the chaos at home, her focus on school, her need to feel stable before taking that step. He'd said he understood. He'd said it was fine..

He'd lied..

"I thought you understood," she whispered.

"I thought I did too." Ryan stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the tile floor. "I'm sorry, Aria. I really am. This just isn't working for me anymore."

"Wait—"

But he was already walking away. Threading through the tables. Out the door, and he was gone..

Aria sat frozen, her untouched latte cooling in front of her. Around her, the café hummed with normal Saturday afternoon energy—students laughing over coffee, couples sharing pastries, baristas calling out orders.

Everyone living their regular lives while hers fell apart.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Sophia.

Jake's party tonight! You're coming, right? It's your birthday—we're celebrating whether you like it or not!

Right. Her birthday. She'd turned twenty today.

Some celebration..

That Morning...

Aria had woken up that morning full of cautious optimism..

Twenty felt significant somehow. She was not a teenager anymore. She's now an actual adult. And for once, things in her life weren't completely terrible..

She had Ryan. She had decent grades. She had Sophia. They were small victories, but they were victories nonetheless...

In the bathroom mirror, she'd studied herself critically. Dark hair that needed a trim she couldn't afford. Brown eyes shadowed from too many late nights studying. She looked tired, but that was normal. Been tired was her default state...

Downstairs, the Mitchell house was already awake and hostile..

Victoria sat at the kitchen table with her coffee and tablet, looking immaculate as always. Not a blonde hair out of place. She had on, designer clothes that cost more than Aria's entire wardrobe..

"You're up early," Victoria said without looking at her. "Try not to make a mess. Melissa and I have the gallery event this afternoon."

"It's my birthday," Aria said quietly..

Victoria's eyes flicked up. Cold and disinterested. "Happy birthday. The dishes still need washing."

That was it. Twenty years of Aria's existence, and Victoria couldn't even pretend to care for thirty seconds..

Aria washed the breakfast dishes she hadn't eaten, then escaped to campus...

The library was her sanctuary. It was quiet. Orderly and Safe..

Sophia found her there around noon, hunched over Business Administration textbooks at their usual table.

"Birthday girl!" Sophia dropped into the chair across from her. "Please tell me you're taking a break from studying to actually celebrate."

"Ryan's taking me to dinner later. He said he has a surprise."

Sophia's eyes lit up. "Ooh, a surprise! That's promising. Eight months is definitely serious-gift territory."

"I don't need gifts. I just want..." Aria trailed off.

"What?"Sophia asked..

"I don't know. To feel like I matter to someone. Is that pathetic?"

"No." Sophia reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "It's human. And you do matter. To me and to Ryan. Don't let Victoria's ice queen routine make you think otherwise."

Aria's phone had buzzed then. Ryan's text about the café.

She'd smiled. She felt that flutter of warmth in her chest..

Now, sitting in that same café alone, the memory tasted like ash..

Back to the present...

Aria didn't know how long she sat there..

Long enough for her latte to go completely cold. Long enough for the café to fill up with the dinner rush. Long enough for the reality to settle into her bones...

Ryan was gone. On her birthday. Because she wouldn't sleep with him.

Eight months. Eight months of dates and texts and kisses and holding hands. Eight months of believing someone actually wanted her.

All of it conditional on her giving him what he wanted...

Her phone buzzed again. Sophia, persistent as always.

Seriously, you're coming tonight. I will physically drag you out of that house if I have to. You deserve ONE night of fun.

Aria stared at the message..

Going home meant Victoria's cold dismissal, Melissa's casual cruelty, her closet-sized room and the weight of knowing she didn't matter to anyone there...

Going to a party meant facing people. Pretending to be okay. And forcing smiles..

But maybe that was better than going home..

Her fingers moved almost on their own..

What time?

Sophia's response was immediate.

YES! Nine o'clock. I'm picking you up. Wear something cute!

Aria looked down at her faded jeans and worn sweater. This was as cute as her wardrobe got…

But okay. Fine. She'd go to this party. She'd pretend her heart wasn't broken. She'd survive her twentieth birthday the same way she'd survived everything else.

One painful moment at a time...

At the House...

The Mitchell house loomed in front of her, all clean lines and expensive landscaping. It had been her father's house once. Hers and her mother's. Before cancer took Mom. Before the car accident took Dad. Before Victoria and Melissa moved in and transformed it into enemy territory..

Now… it was just the place she slept. Not a home. Never a home.

She let herself in quietly, hoping to slip upstairs unnoticed.

But, there was no such luck.

"You're late." Victoria's voice cut through the entryway. She stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed. "The vegetables won't chop themselves."

"I had plans."Aria spoke up..

"Cancel them. I'm hosting a dinner party tomorrow and I need help with prep."

"It's my birthday."Aria retorted angrily..

"And?" Victoria's expression didn't change. "You live under my roof. So, you have to contribute. That was the arrangement."

Arrangement. Like Aria had any choice.

"I'm going out tonight," Aria said, surprised by the firmness in her own voice.

Victoria's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"I said I'm going out. To a party. With Sophia."

"No, you're not. I need—"

"I don't care what you need." The words came out harder than Aria intended, fueled by heartbreak and exhaustion and twenty years of swallowing her anger. "For once, on my birthday, I'm doing what I want."

She didn't wait for Victoria's response. She just turned and climbed the stairs to her room..

Inside, she locked the door and leaned against it, heart pounding.

She'd actually said no. After years of compliance and keeping her head down and being invisible, she'd pushed back.

It felt terrifying and powerful all at once.

Her phone showed six-thirty. Two and a half hours until Sophia picked her up.

Aria looked at her closet. In there was three shirts. Two pairs of jeans and one dress Sophia had given her last year, that she'd never worn because it felt too nice for her life..

Tonight, she'd wear the dress..

Tonight, she'd pretend she was someone who mattered..

And maybe, for just a few hours, she'd believe it...