Page 139 of Symphony for Lies

My fingers curled involuntarily, itching to grab his shirt to pull him even closer. To let him ruin me the way only he could.

“How about a room tour?” he teasingly asked against my lips.

I held his gaze, heart hammering against my ribs.

I stepped back and motioned for him to follow me through the apartment, and for the most part, he stayed unusually quiet. His sharp eyes scanned the space, taking in every detail, but they kept returning to me—like I was the only thing in the room that truly mattered.

He stopped in the bedroom, gazing at my bed. “Looks a lot like your old room.”

I nodded, a small, wistful smile playing on my lips. “It does.”

His lips curved into something amused. “Your bed seems bigger, though.”

That knowing smirk widened as he watched realization dawn on my face.

Swallowing hard, I shoved him out of the room and practically forced him to sit on the couch. But his gaze never wavered, following me, burning through the space between us like an unspoken touch.

I brought him a drink and settled beside him. The moment I did, the air thickened with electricity. My skin tingled.

“Have you seen the news?”

I frowned.

He held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

I hesitated but eventually passed it over.

“First of all…” he murmured, swiping across the screen. “…you’re going to unblock me.”

He pulled up my contacts, but when he saw that his name was already unblocked, he sent me a raw look. And in that moment, I knew I had just given him more than I intended.

“What was I supposed to see?” I asked, leaning back and trying to regain control of my breath.

It took him a second. Like he was physically restraining himself. Then, after a long pause, he tapped something on my phone and held it out to me.

A headline in bold, accusing letters stared back at me.

AriaFamily Scandal.Engagement rumors with Zane Cole a distraction?

I skimmed the details, barely able to process what I was reading.

Fraud. Financial schemes. Possible bribery. The Aria family was drowning in debt, desperate to maintain their influence, and they had used the Cole family to do it.

“They tried to use you?”

“They tried to pull me into their business,” he explained coldly. “My mother owed them. And Ella—” He exhaled sharply, his tone dropping into something lethal. “Ella is obsessed with me.”

I stiffened, letting the new information sink in.

“Was this your doing?”

He leaned back, fingers tapping against the armrest as if weighing his words.“Not just mine.”

“Who helped you?”

He didn’t answer immediately. His hands curled into fists before slowly releasing them. “I’ve been working on this for a long time with my assistant. Before you even got caught in this mess, Amelia.”

His words were like a confession waiting to be spoken. “They manipulated my mother, and they wanted to trap me. To force me into this engagement with Ella so they could own me.”