Page 53 of Six of Hearts
"Why?"
"Because if I'm not, everything falls apart." The words came out harsher than I intended.
"Someone has to keep track of everything. Someone has to make sure the kids get where they need to go, that the bills get paid, that everyone's on the same page. If I don't do it, who will?"
"The other guys—"
"Are doing their best, but they have their own shit to deal with." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the tension coiled in my shoulders. "Gabriel's working insane hours. Liam's got Mila's dance schedule. Julian's still processing his divorce. Ethan'strying to keep his business afloat. And Ronan..." I trailed off, not wanting to get into Ronan's complications.
"And you're trying to hold all of them together," Aria finished softly.
"Someone has to."
She reached out and cupped my face, forcing me to look at her. "Not all the time, Noah. Not with me.”
Something in her eyes—the warmth, the understanding, the complete lack of judgement—made the walls I'd built around myself start to crumble.
"I'm tired," I admitted, the words barely a whisper. "I'm so fucking tired, Aria."
"I know." She stood and moved between my legs, wrapping her arms around me. "I know you are."
I buried my face in her stomach, breathing in the scent of her—vanilla and something uniquely Aria. Her fingers threaded through my hair, gentle and soothing, and I felt something inside me break open.
"You don't have to be strong with me," she murmured. "You can just be Noah.”
I pulled back to look at her, and the tenderness in her expression nearly undid me. "I don't know how to be anything else."
"Then let me show you.”
She kissed me, soft and slow, and it wasn't about sex or desire. It was about comfort. Connection. Being seen.
I stood, lifting her easily, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I carried her to my bedroom, laying her down on the bed with a gentleness that surprised even me.
"Let me take care of you," she said again, and this time I didn't argue.
She undressed me slowly, her hands reverent as they moved over my body. She kissed my shoulders, my chest, the tension I carried in my neck. She touched me like I was something precious, something worth caring for.
When she finally sank down onto me, it wasn't frantic or desperate. It was slow and deep and achingly intimate. She moved above me, her hands braced on my chest, her eyes locked on mine.
"You're allowed to let go," she whispered.
"I've got you."
And for the first time in longer than I could remember, I did. I let go of the control, the responsibility, the constant need to be the one holding everything together. I let Aria take care of me, let her set the pace, let her give me what I needed instead of the other way around.
When I came, it was with her name on my lips and her hands in mine, and it felt like more than just physical release. It felt like relief.
She collapsed onto my chest, both of us breathing hard, and I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close.
"Thank you," I said into her hair.
"For what?”
"For seeing me. The real me."
She lifted her head, pressing a kiss to my jaw. "I always see you, Noah. All of you.”
I pulled her closer, feeling something shift between us. Something deeper than attraction or lust. Something that felt dangerously close to love.
