THE QUEEN OF THE BLACK RAVENS

I didn't remember leaving the clubhouse. One minute, I was standing in the middle of the room with everyone's eyes on me, struggling to breathe as Jaxon confessed that he loved someone else. Next, I was sitting in my car, grabbing the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. Rain poured heavily outside. I hadn't even realized it was raining. My vision was obscured as tears streamed down my face. Jaxon had betrayed me. No. That wasn't the part that hurt the most. The part that destroyed me was that Ryder, Mason, Cole, and Ethan had known. All of them. The boys who had promised me a thousand times that they would never let anyone hurt me had stood there and watched my heart break. I laughed bitterly. Maybe I deserved it. Maybe I had been stupid. Stupid enough to believe in forever. Stupid enough to believe that people actually kept promises. By the time I reached home, it was almost midnight. The mansion was dark except for one light in the living room. Dad was awake. Wonderful. I quickly wiped my face and climbed out of the car, hoping I could sneak upstairs unnoticed. No such luck. "Aria?" I froze. Dad stood in the doorway, concern written all over his face. "What happened?" That simple question broke me. I burst into tears. He was beside me instantly, wrapping his arms around me. "What happened, sweetheart?" For several seconds, I couldn't speak. The words refused to come out. Finally, I whispered, "Jaxon cheated on me." Dad went still. "What?" I laughed through my tears. "Apparently, everyone knew except me." Dad frowned. "What do you mean, everyone?" "Ryder, Mason, Cole, Ethan." I wiped my eyes angrily. "They all knew." His expression darkened immediately. "Come inside." I followed him into the house. The moment we entered the living room, he handed me a glass of water. I sat on the couch while he remained standing. "Start from the beginning." So I did. I told him everything. About Isabella. About Jaxon's confession. About the boys keeping secrets. About standing in front of the entire club while my life fell apart. Dad didn't interrupt once. But by the time I finished, he looked furious. "They had no right." I shook my head. "No. They didn't." The silence stretched between us. "Do you want me to talk to them?" I immediately shook my head. "No." Because talking wouldn't change anything. Nothing would. Jaxon still loved someone else. The boys had still lied. My family had still chosen silence over me. "I'm going to bed." Dad nodded. "Try to get some sleep." I almost laughed. Sleep. As if that was possible. I walked upstairs and headed straight for my room. The second I closed the door behind me, my phone started ringing. Jaxon. I rejected the call. A second later, Ryder called. Then Mason. Cole. Ethan. One after another. I ignored every single call. A message appeared. Jaxon: Please talk to me. Another. Ryder: We're outside. I frowned. Outside? Confused, I walked toward my window. Five motorcycles stood in front of our house. Five familiar figures stood beside them. My heart clenched painfully. They had actually followed me home. A small pebble hit my window. Then another. I threw the curtains open. "What?" Ryder looked relieved. "Thank God." "Go home." "Aria, please listen." "No." Mason stepped forward. "We just want to explain." I stared at him. "Explain what? How all of you lied to me for months?" Nobody answered. Exactly. "Go away." "Please," Ethan said quietly. I looked at him. "You know what hurts the most?" Nobody spoke. "You were all my family." My voice cracked. "I would have done anything for you." Ryder looked devastated. "So would we." I laughed. "Really? Because family doesn't stand by while someone destroys the person they claim to love." Jaxon finally spoke. "I never wanted to hurt you." I looked directly at him. "Then you should have broken up with me before falling in love with someone else." He lowered his head. Silence. Heavy. Painful. "Please leave." Nobody moved. I felt anger rising inside me. "Leave!" This time, they listened. One by one, they climbed onto their motorcycles. Jaxon was the last to leave. For several seconds, he stood there staring at me. Then he whispered, "I'm sorry." I slammed the window shut. Then I locked it. One by one, I blocked their numbers. Jaxon. Blocked. Ryder. Blocked. Mason. Blocked. Cole. Blocked. Ethan. Blocked. Six years. Gone with the press of a button. I cried myself to sleep. The next morning, I woke up feeling numb. For a few seconds, I forgot. Then reality hit me. Jaxon. The betrayal. Everything. I groaned and buried my face in my pillow. A knock sounded. "Come in." Dad entered carrying a tray. "Breakfast." I sat up slowly. "I'm not hungry." "You need to eat." I sighed. There was no point in arguing. I forced myself to eat a few bites. Dad watched me carefully. "You're staying home today." "I have classes." "No." I frowned. "Dad-" "No arguments." I knew that tone. The conversation was over. My phone buzzed. Unknown Number. I ignored it. It rang again. And again. Frustrated, I answered. "What?" Silence. Then a female voice spoke. "Hello, Aria." I froze. I recognized that voice immediately. Isabella. "What do you want?" "I need to talk to you." I laughed bitterly. "We have nothing to talk about." "Please. It's important." "I don't care." "Aria, there are things you don't know." Anger exploded inside me. "Save it." I hung up. Seconds later, a message arrived. Meet me at the Riverside Cafe at noon. What I have to tell you concerns your mother. My blood ran cold. My mother? Before I could think, another message appeared. Come alone. I stared at the screen. Something told me not to go. But another part of me couldn't ignore it. Because Isabella had just mentioned the one person who could make me do anything. My late mother. And deep down... I knew I was going to meet her. I spent the next three hours staring at my phone. I should have ignored the message. I knew that. Isabella had already taken enough from me. I owed her nothing. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. What I have to tell you concerns your mother. My mother had died when I was ten. A car accident. At least, that's what I had always been told. Everyone in the Black Ravens knew how close we had been. Mom had been my entire world. Even after all these years, there were still days when I reached for my phone, wanting to call her before remembering that I couldn't. If Isabella was using my mother to manipulate me, I was going to lose my mind. But if she wasn't I needed answers. At exactly eleven-thirty, I got dressed and quietly headed downstairs. Dad looked up from his laptop the moment he saw me. "Where are you going?" I hesitated. "Out." "Out where?" "Just out." Dad frowned. "Aria, after what happened last night, I don't think that's a good idea." "I need some air." "Take one of the club guys with you." I immediately shook my head. "No." "Sweetheart" "No, Dad." The last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by the Black Ravens. Not today. Maybe not ever again. Dad studied me for a moment before sighing. "Be careful." I nodded and left before he could change his mind. The drive to Riverside Cafe felt longer than usual. My stomach was in knots. Part of me hoped Isabella wouldn't show up. Unfortunately, she was already there when I arrived. She sat alone near the window, dressed casually in jeans and a white sweater. For someone who had destroyed my relationship less than twenty-four hours ago, she looked surprisingly miserable. Good. I walked over slowly. "You have ten minutes." She looked up. "Thank you for coming." "I came because you mentioned my mother." Isabella nodded. "I know." I remained standing. "I'm not sitting." She looked hurt. I didn't care. "What do you want?" She took a deep breath. "First, I want to apologize." I laughed. "No." "Aria" "No." I folded my arms. "You don't get to apologize and expect everything to become okay magically." "I know." "Do you?" I asked quietly. "Because you walked into my life and took the person I loved." Tears filled Isabella's eyes. "I never wanted any of this." I stared at her. "Funny. Neither did I." For several seconds, neither of us spoke. Finally, Isabella slid a small envelope across the table. My heart immediately started racing. "What's this?" "It belonged to your mother." I froze. "What?" "My father gave it to me a few weeks ago." I didn't touch it. "Why would your father have something that belonged to my mother?" Isabella looked uncomfortable. "Because our families knew each other." I frowned. "What are you talking about?" "Your mother and my mother were best friends." The world seemed to stop. "What?" Isabella nodded. "They grew up together." I stared at her. "My mother never mentioned your family." "There's a reason for that." I laughed bitterly. "Of course there is. There always is." Isabella looked down. "Aria, there are a lot of things you don't know." I was getting tired of hearing that sentence. I picked up the envelope with shaking hands. Written across the front, in handwriting I recognized instantly, were three words. For my daughter. Tears filled my eyes immediately. It was my mother's handwriting. I would recognize it anywhere. "Where did you get this?" I whispered. "My father found it among my mother's things after she passed away." I looked up sharply. "Your mother is dead?" She nodded sadly. For the first time, I saw something familiar in her expression. Grief. Real grief. The kind that never truly leaves. Slowly, I opened the envelope. Inside was a single photograph. My breath caught. The picture showed my mother. Beside her stood another woman who looked remarkably like Isabella. Both women were laughing. And between them stood two small girls. One was obviously me. The other was Isabella. I stared at the photograph in disbelief. "That's impossible." "We were friends when we were little," Isabella said softly. "I don't remember you." "You were only six when my family moved away." I looked back at the picture. I had no memory of it. None. But there was no denying it. It was me. I looked at Isabella. "What happened?" She swallowed hard. "Our mothers had a fight." "About what?" Isabella hesitated. I immediately became suspicious. "What?" She looked away. "It was about you." A chill ran down my spine. "What does that mean?" Before Isabella could answer, someone grabbed my arm. I gasped. Jaxon stood beside me, breathing heavily. "What the hell are you doing here?" Anger exploded inside me. "Let go of me." Jaxon immediately released my arm. "I've been trying to reach you all morning." "I blocked you." "I know." "Then take the hint." Jaxon's eyes shifted toward Isabella. "What is she doing?" I laughed. "Funny. I was about to ask the same thing about you."