Chapter 1 Trapped Between The Montclair Brothers
Aria’s Pov.
The clock on my wall blinked past midnight, the green numbers glowing in the darkness of my room. The rest of the house was silent, the kind of heavy silence that meant my dad had probably fallen asleep hours ago.
My phone screen was the only light in the room, casting a pale glow over my black dress as I sat on the edge of my bed.
Heels on. Hair done. Makeup perfect.
Grounded or not, I wasn’t staying home tonight.
“Two weeks grounded for one stupid mistake,” I muttered, tightening the strap on my heel.
My dad seriously thought locking me in the house would magically turn me into a completely different person.
Like two weeks of grounding was some kind of personality reset.
Tonight I planned to prove him wrong.
A sharp tap hit my window.
I froze for half a second before a grin crept across my face.
Right on time.
I hurried over and slid the window open carefully. Mia clung to the tree branch outside like some chaotic raccoon, her blonde ponytail swinging as she flashed me a mischievous smile.
“Come on, slowpoke,” she whispered. “You breaking out of prison or what?”
“Same thing,” I whispered back.
I swung one leg out the window, gripping the frame as I climbed down the tree. My heels sank into the grass when I landed, and I straightened my dress quickly.
Mia gave me an approving once-over.
“Okay, Aria. Grounded but still serving looks.”
I rolled my eyes, but a small smile tugged at my lips.
“Let’s go before my dad randomly develops super hearing.”
By the time we slipped through the back gate of the mansion, the party was already exploding.
Music pounded through the walls like a heartbeat. Colored lights flashed across the backyard, turning everything into a blur of moving bodies and laughter.
The air smelled like perfume, sweat, and cheap alcohol.
Mia grabbed a red cup from someone walking past and shoved it into my hand.
“Now this,” she said proudly, “is what freedom looks like.”
“I can’t get drunk,” I reminded her. “I still have to sneak back in.”
She waved me off like that detail didn’t matter.
But I wasn’t really listening.
Because my eyes had already found him.
Ryan.
He leaned against the far wall like he owned the place, arms crossed casually, that lazy grin I knew way too well spread across his face.
The grin that had convinced me to forgive him more times than I probably should have.
But tonight something felt… off.
Because he wasn’t alone.
A blonde girl in a skin-tight silver dress leaned into him, whispering something in his ear.
Her hand rested on his chest like it had every right to be there.
Ryan laughed.
Her hand slid lower on his chest.
My stomach twisted.
I waited for him to move away.
He didn’t.
Then his eyes lifted.
And landed on me.
The second he saw me, his expression changed instantly. Surprise flashed across his face before that familiar charming smile slid back into place.
“Babe,” he said, pushing off the wall and walking straight toward me.
The blonde girl looked annoyed as he left her behind.
Ryan wrapped his arms around me like nothing had happened, pulling me against him.
“You came.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead.
I hesitated.
“I saw you with…”
“That girl?” he scoffed. “Relax. She was asking about the math assignment.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Our math assignment.”
“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Which, by the way, I definitely didn’t do.”
His fingers brushed gently across my cheek, his voice softening.
“You know how people are, Aria. Gossip, drama… clingy girls.”
His thumb lingered there.
“Don’t overthink it, okay? You trust me, right?”
Something in my chest tightened.
Because the truth was… I wanted to trust him.
Ryan had this way of making everything feel simple, like any doubt I had was just me being paranoid.
So I nodded.
Even though a tiny voice in the back of my mind kept whispering that something wasn’t right.
But I didn’t get time to think about it.
Because suddenly..
Sirens exploded outside.
“COPS!” someone screamed.
The entire party detonated into chaos.
Music cut off mid-beat. People shoved past each other, drinks splashing everywhere. Someone knocked over a table. Glass shattered somewhere near the kitchen.
My pulse spiked instantly.
“Aria, this way!” Ryan grabbed my wrist.
He pulled me through the crowd as people scrambled toward every exit at once. Mia appeared beside us, her eyes wide but excited like this was the best thing that had happened all night.
“Back fence!” she shouted.
We ran.
The cold night air hit my face as we burst out a side door. My heels sank into the gravel as we sprinted across the yard.
My lungs burned.
My dress kept catching on my legs.
But adrenaline shoved me forward.
A beam of light cut across the yard.
“Over here!” a police officer yelled.
My stomach dropped.
“Run!” Ryan hissed.
We vaulted over the fence, landing hard on the other side. My palms scraped against the pavement as I caught myself.
We didn’t stop running until the sirens were several blocks away.
By the time I reached my front door, my chest felt like it might explode.
My hands trembled as I slid my key into the lock.
Please be asleep.
Please be asleep.
The door creaked open.
And my stomach dropped instantly.
The living room light was on.
My dad sat in his armchair, elbows resting on his knees, staring down at the floor like he’d been sitting there for hours.
Waiting.
I froze in the doorway.
The smell of smoke and alcohol clung to my clothes. My hair was a mess. My heels were scratched.
There was no way he didn’t know.
He lifted his head.
His expression wasn’t angry.
Which somehow felt worse.
“Sit,” he said.
My legs moved before my brain could argue, carrying me to the couch.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Do you have any idea what could have happened tonight?” he asked quietly.
His voice wasn’t yelling.
It was tired.
“You were this close to getting arrested,” he said, holding his fingers a breath apart.
“A friend of mine in the police force called me when the raid started. He recognised you.”
“I wasn’t…”
“Don’t.”
The word cracked through the room like a whip.
I flinched.
“When the police raid a party, Aria, the last place my daughter should be is inside that house.”
He rubbed his hand over his face slowly, like the whole conversation was exhausting him.
“You were already grounded for two weeks, Aria. And you still snuck out.”
I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.
“Maybe if you didn’t treat me like a prisoner, I wouldn’t have to sneak out.”
His head snapped up.
“You think this is about rules?” His voice rose slightly. “It’s about keeping you safe.”
“Oh please,” I scoffed. “Safe from what? Having fun? Having a life?”
“Safe from situations exactly like tonight,” he said. “You were running from police officers, Aria.”
My anger flared.
“And whose fault is that?” I shot back.
I should have stopped there.
But the words slipped out anyway.
"Maybe I wouldn't be sneaking out if Mum hadn't walked out on us!"
“Don’t.”
But I was already too angry to stop.
“Why not?” I snapped. “She left us. She ran off with some billionaire and forgot she had a kid!”
The room fell completely silent.
My dad leaned back slowly, dragging a hand down his face.
For a moment he didn’t say anything.
Then he looked at me.
And something in his expression had changed.
“That’s it,” he said quietly.
My stomach twisted.
“You’re going to live with your mother in Paris.”
The words hit me like a slap.
Paris.
The one place I had sworn I would never go.
The city my mother chose when she walked out of our lives.
“No.”
“It’s not up for debate.”
“You can’t just ship me off!”
“Your mother and Valentin already agreed.”
I frowned.
“Valentin?”
“Her husband,” he said. “The billionaire.”
He hesitated slightly.
“You’ll also be living with his sons.”
A bitter laugh escaped my throat.
“So that’s it?” I said. “You’re just sending me away because I’m too much trouble?”
His voice cracked slightly.
“You’re my daughter, Aria. But I can’t do this alone anymore.”
My throat burned.
“I don’t want Paris,” I said. “I don’t want her. And I definitely don’t want some new family.”
He stood slowly and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Pack your bags. You leave tomorrow.”
My chest felt like it was collapsing.
“Dad… please,” I whispered. “I’ll change. I promise. My friends are here. My life is here.”
His eyes softened, but he shook his head.
“It’s already arranged. Her husband is sending a private jet in the morning.”
A private jet.
Like that was supposed to make everything okay.
I shoved his hand off and stormed upstairs, slamming my door so hard the walls rattled.
But when I collapsed onto my bed, one horrible thought kept echoing in my head.
First my mom left.
Now my dad was sending me away.
And tomorrow I’d be trapped in Paris…
With a mother who abandoned me.
A billionaire stepfather.
And stepbrothers I had never even met.
