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Chapter 57: Chapter 19: Back In The Light
publish date:
2026-04-06 08:20:03
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Aria (The Complete Aria Series) End of Miss Me, Aria?
Copyright © 2026 Wanda Diehl Miss Me, Aria? (Aria Series, Book 3) Also available: Aria (Aria Series, Book 1) Aria Til Death (Aria Series, Book 2) Husband For Hire All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. Some characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Editing by Wanda Diehl. Book Design & Cover Design by Wanda Diehl. Printed and bound in the United States of America. First printing April 2026. Published by Wanda Diehl Altoona, Pennsylvania 16602 Visit www.wanda-d.com
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 59: Chapter 21: Salt, Skin, and Silence
The moment we stepped out of the airport, the air changed everything. Warm. Heavy. Soft with salt and sunlight. The Bahamas didn’t feel like a destination. It felt like a pause in time. For the first time in months, there were no cameras. No headlines. No voices calling our names like demands. Just the ocean. Just wind. Just us.I stood barefoot on the balcony of the private villa that overlooked the water, my hair loose now, no makeup, no armor—just me.Antonio came up behind me quietly, like he always did when he didn’t want to disturb a moment, only enter it. “You’ve been staring at the ocean for ten minutes,” he said softly.I smiled without turning. “I think I forgot it looked like this,” I admitted. “Like it doesn’t belong to anyone.”Antonio stepped closer. “It doesn’t,” he said. “It just exists.”. A pause. “Like us right now.”That made me turn slightly toward him. The distance between us was small. But it felt like everything else in the world had fallen away to
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 58: Chapter 20: Where The Ocean Remembers
The house was too quiet in a different way than usual. Not the kind of quiet that came from peace—but the kind that came from absence.I stood in the nursery doorway for a long moment, watching Arias sleep. His chest rose and fell in a rhythm that still felt like something I had to memorize every time I looked away. Antonio stood beside me, one hand resting lightly at my lower back. Neither of us spoke at first. Because this was the first time. The first time we were leaving him for more than a few hours.Chad and Joe were downstairs already, the kind of calm presence that made the decision possible. They had insisted more than once that they could handle it—warm, steady reassurance wrapped in practical experience.Still, my hesitation lingered. “I feel like he’s going to wake up and realize we’re gone,” I whispered.Antonio’s voice was soft. “He won’t be alone,” he reminded her. “He’ll be safe.”I nodded, but didn’t move. Antonio stepped slightly closer. “You don’t have to b
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 57: Chapter 19: Back In The Light
Several months passed before the world saw us again. Not through windows. Not through headlines. Not through speculation.In person.On a red carpet that shimmered under thousands of lights, where cameras no longer felt like an invasion—but like an audience holding its breath.The night of the Grammy Awards had always belonged to spectacle. But tonight, it belonged to me. And Antonio.I stood at the edge of the carpet for a brief moment, my hand resting lightly in Antonio’s. The gown I wore was his design.Not just designed—created for me. Every line of it was intentional, sculpted like it understood me before I spoke a word. It moved like water under the lights, soft but powerful, delicate but unshakably certain.Antonio glanced at me once. “You ready?” he asked quietly.I exhaled. “I think I’ve been ready for months,” I said. Then, softer, “I just didn’t know if the world was.”Antonio squeezed my hand. “Let them catch up,” he said. And together, we stepped forward.The c
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 56: Chapter 18: The World Remembers His Name
It started with a headline. Then another. Then a flood.I saw it first on my phone before I even understood what I was looking at. “Fashion Designer Antonio Anderson Alive? Industry Shock After Year of Silence.”I blinked once. Then again. My thumb froze above the screen. Because it didn’t feel real at first. It felt like something old resurfacing—something buried that should have stayed buried.But then I opened it. And there it was. Photos. Speculation. Fragments of truth twisted into something loud enough to trend.“Antonio Anderson not dead?” “Out of hiding after a year of disappearance?” “Alive and well—where has he been?” “What does this mean for Aria Durham?”My stomach tightened at the last one. My name attached to his like a question mark that didn’t belong to me. I sat down slowly at the edge of the couch, the phone still glowing in my hand.Arias made a small sound over the monitor. But I haven't moved yet. Because my mind had already left the room.Antonio
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 55: Chapter 17: The Spark Returns
The studio smelled like dust, old coffee, and memories I hadn’t visited in six months. I stood in the doorway for a moment without stepping inside. It felt familiar. And unfamiliar at the same time. Like walking back into a version of myself I wasn’t sure I still fit into. Behind me, Antonio didn’t rush me.He just stood there—quiet support, steady presence, no pressure in his silence. “You don’t have to do anything today,” he said softly.I glanced back at him. “I know,” I said. Then I stepped inside.The studio lights flickered on one by one as I moved through the space. The piano sat in the corner, unchanged. The microphone stood waiting, as if time hadn’t passed at all. But I had. I stood there scanning the room. Six months. Six months of silence where music used to live in my bones. I walked toward the piano first, fingers hovering just above the keys without pressing them yet. “I used to come in here and just… lose myself,” I said quietly.Antonio leaned against
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 5: The Plus One
As I open my eyes to the sun shining brightly into my bedroom window, I glance over and notice that the other side of the bed is disturbed. Um. I slightly raise the sheet and notice that my body is exposed. I usually don’t sleep naked. I have always had a fear of fire or well being alone, a break i
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 4: Could I Have Both?
As I am driving back out to my countryside retreat, I give Antonio a call. Did that really just happen back at the restaurant? I come into the city for an innocent lunch with two of my best friends, only to get blindsided the way I did. Yes, I do like Albert, really I do, but not today… This was no
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 3: Unexpected Company
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been on more dates than I have been in the past thirty six years of my life. Yes, with both guys. I’ve been on more dates with Antonio, but just as nice dates as with Albert. Why is my life being so complicated right now? It makes for great music though, I must say…Ov
Aria (The Complete Aria Series) Chapter 2: Begin The Dilemma
My evening went a little different tonight. As I usually would sit here with a glass of wine, writing, looking out into the beautiful scenery I have surrounded myself with, tonight I sit here with a glass of wine, writing about my experiences today. Antonio is on my mind, the thoughts of Albert cal
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