#Chapter 29 : Shaking Resolve

Aria’s POV I pushed my lunch around my plate, barely registering the half-eaten salad in front of me. My mind was still stuck on last night. Dinner with Liam hadn’t been what I expected—not by a long shot. “Okay, spill,” Isabella said, sliding into the seat across from me in the cafe. “You’ve been off all morning. What’s going on?” I hesitated, unsure how to even begin explaining. “I had dinner with Liam last night,” I admitted, glancing up at her. “And it was… nice.” Isabella’s eyebrows shot up. “Nice? Nice how? Like ‘nice, we’re finally talking like adults,’ or ‘nice, we might be more than co-parents’?” I sighed, shaking my head. “It wasn’t tense, you know? I went in bracing myself for the usual—awkward silences, polite but distant conversation—but it wasn’t like that. He was… different.” “Different how?” Isabella pressed, leaning in with her usual curiosity. “More like, lighter. I don’t know, more confident maybe? He actually smiled at me, Izzy. Like, ge