The moment realization hits hard is when you see a full blown article of you; hitting every mile of the media anyone could ever find, your face plastered, for all to see and judge.

Thankfully, this is familiar to me. The feeling of the whole world's judgement on your shoulders, being plastered as someone you didn't even know you was.

"Runaway Princess? Ariana Vanderbilt flees Valencia, joining her cousin?"

Tossing the paper into the bin, I leaned into the wall, blocking out the voice that had been tampering with me for the past hour.

"This will make us look bad." Alina mumbles, leaned against her chair anxiously, eyes rocking back and forth between Marcus and her assistant. God, it's almost like she's dependent on them.

"You think I don't know?" I replied, a harsh tone to my voice. "Worse of all, they think that scumbag Gabriel is the reason."

Alina raised her brows, a blank expression on her face. "Well, a little bit," I added, running a hand across my face, pulling at my skin. "And I thought I'd finally be free of my problems."

"You can never be free of your problems," My cousin stared at me, a cold and truthful gaze . "Trust me. Life always has a way of throwing shit at you."
Sometimes, I hate how much she's right. Alina might only be in her twenties, but she has matured more than anyone I've known.

"So," She smiles, crossing her legs, "I was about to ask if you wanted to jump off a cliff with me?" She has a hidden intensity behind the gleam in her eyes; and for a second I thought she was messing with me. Why does she look so serious all the time?

"I figured," she began, "Since you live with a stranger now, you're basically fearless. Isn't that right?"
I let out a loud groan, throwing my arms in the air. "When are you going to let it go?"

"When I start to understand your decisions. You're living with a guy you barely know, you drink at work, in my office, Aria," Alina sighed, removing her glasses. Her fingers delicately massaged her temples as she continued her next sentence heavily;

"It seems that I'm the only one who cares about you. You don't even give a shit about your own life. You're irresponsible, Aria, and the worst part is you know it."

I took those words in, ignoring the heavy lump in my throat. I could only stare back at my cousin, and for the first time, I saw someone else.

"You remind me of my mother." I said. Alina's shoulders instantly dropped, and her gaze softened, her anger completely vanishing.

She stood up, walking over to me. After a few pregnant seconds, she reached over and squeezed my hand. I've seen that look before.

It's the same look she gave me upon that night. That night I try so hard to let go. I shut the incoming voices, clearing my head. A sudden need tugs me inside; I have to drink something. I have to forget.

Pushing myself up, I don't say anything else to Alina and reach for my purse. My mind is blurred as I open the door to the hallway, where Marcus greets me.

The words he utter does not reach my ears, a constant ringing is blocking out any other sound. My legs shake by the time I enter the elevator.

Deep breaths, Aria. Deep breaths. Come on. You can do this.

The elevator door slides open, and I scramble my way out, bumping through a large amount of people. I hear my name being called out; but I step out the lobby anyway.

Blurry visions of cars and people are all I see, and I stood on the street for a good while, trying to figure it out. I'm suddenly tired. I need to sleep.

My heartbeat is all I can hear this instant, ignoring the erratic breaths I've been having. How do I get home?

I shook my head, hoping to clear it; as my hand scrambled inside my purse, searching for my phone. I can't feel anything.

The pain is growing by the second, and my ability to focus is starting to fade. My legs are giving up on me and my head starts to wobble. What's going on?

"Aria?" I heard a familiar voice, calling from beside me. I don't recognize it, along with the constant ringing. "Aria!"

The last thing I felt was my head throwing backwards, and I remember seeing a distressed face looking back at me, along with strong arms catching me, pulling me close to a hard chest.

~

[ a l i n a ]

I run out of the elevator, Marcus behind me. The lobby receptionist stands up at my presence, and makes her way towards me hastily.

"Your Grace?"

"Where's Ariana Vanderbilt?" I try not to scream. Marcus has his hands on his hips, looking around for any sign of my cousin.

"I believe she went outside." Nodding, I ran out as fast as I could, almost tripping due to my heels; Marcus following behind.

"There she is!" He shouts, confusion spreading fast across his face. I stop, not believing what I'm seeing either.

"Tim?" I yell at the infamous Red Robin, holding a completely blacked out Aria in his hands. "Oh my god, Aria." I let out a gasp as I saw her, completely ignoring the fact that she's in Tim's grasp.

"What happened?"

"Get my car, we're taking her to the hospital."

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