“I called your boss yesterday and asked her to give you a day off. She agreed.” Will whispered before biting on Aria’s ear softly.
“Ah, yeah... wait, what? Why?” she stuttered while simultaneously bending her neck further and giving Will more space to kiss.
“I have a surprise for you, and I needed you to be home.” Will said as Aria turned around and smiled shyly.
“A surprise?” she asked, just as there was a knock on the door.
“Yes. Now go and see who it is.” Will said while pointing to the hall and after giving Aria a small peck, he stepped aside and winked. Aria looked at him in confusion but obliged and left the room, with Will hot on her heels.
She opened the door and a loud gasp left her mouth as she saw who was on the other side of it.
“Mom?”
~
Five years ago
“Honey? Is everything alright” Eleanor asked her as she took a seat next to her.
“I am quitting school.” Aria said after a few moments while looking down at her feet.
“What!? Why!?” her mother all but screamed, as she knew that she would, and she flinched.
“I just don't want to study anymore, and David promised he was going to take care of me, so I quit.” Aria said quietly while avoiding her eyes, knowing that she had to keep up with the charade.
“Of course, it has something to do with that man. I should have guessed!”
“Don't talk about him like that.” Aria meekly countered her, even though inside she completely agreed with her.
“I'll talk about him how I want to! He changed you, Aria. He is pulling you away from me, from your friends, and now your school. I thought that you knew better than that!”
Aria started to shake, her mother's words ringing true in her ears, and she steeled herself for what she had to do.
“I love David; he is the love of my life, and the only family I want and need! Since you obviously can't deal with that I don't want to see you again!” she screamed and turned to leave.
Once she was at the door Aria looked back and the look on her mother's face broke her heart so she quickly turned and left; the tears she had been suppressing the entire time finally allowed to fall.
~
Present
“Mom?” Aria whispered as the sight of her mother made her freeze on the spot.
The woman looked the same as the last time she saw her, five years ago, and at the same time so very different. The changes were subtle, but Aria noticed them right away. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes, that weren't there before, her hair had started to go grey, and she had lost a considerable amount of weight. Aria felt a pang of guilt in her chest, knowing for sure, that she must have been the reason for it.
“Honey.” Eleanor said and a second later Aria was enveloped into a bone-crushing hug. She stood unmoving for a beat, still feeling shocked, before she returned the hug with all she had, as the familiar smell of honey and almonds reached her nose and she inhaled deeply. Home, mom; the words crossed her mind, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Where have you been!? Five years Aria! Five years!” her mother started to yell at her as soon as they separated.
“Why don't you move to the living room, so you can talk?” Will said, probably noticing that Aria had started to shake, and trying to give her some time to compose. Her mother stared at her for a few more minutes, before nodding.
Once they were seated, she looked at Will, since Aria was still in an obvious state of shock.
“I am sorry. You are Will, right?” she asked with a tired smile.
“Yes. We talked on the phone. It's very nice to finally meet you, Eleanor.” Will said with a small smile and they shook hands before the man left the room so they could talk privately.
“Aria?” she heard her mom say, and slowly looked up to see her looking at her, her gaze assessing her, her face a myriad of emotions. There was the obvious happiness for seeing Aria again, but she also recognized sorrow and anger.
“What happened? What are you doing in New York? Last I heard you were with that man.” she said, her thoughts on the man in question quite clear.
Aria flinched when she mentioned David, not wanting to remember him, but she knew that she had to. She owed her mother that much; she deserved to know the whole story and she also deserved to know that Aria didn't want to leave her all those years ago.
“I... I left him two years ago.” Aria whispered as she stared at her hands squeezed tightly in her lap.
“Why? If I remember correctly, he was the love of your life and the only important person in it; the only family you wanted.” she said, her words cutting through Aria like a knife, just as they did when she was the one saying them to her.
Her eyes filled, once again, and she shook her head, trying to calm down.
“Aria? Just talk to me. Please.” she whispered, and Aria took a long breath and started.
She told her what happened; she told her every single gruesome detail. She told her how David changed, how he threatened to kill Aria and her family if she didn't cut the ties with them. How he treated her, how he beat her and sold her, insulted her and broke her. The words spilled from her mouth, and with every
