"Aria, you are mistaken. Whatever you saw that day was not the entire truth. Josie was my ex and I had cut all ties with her. She became very demanding and controlling which started to affect the other areas of my life.
I had broken up with her for a long time but she refuses to accept my decision and keeps on pestering me. I did not tell you about Josie as I thought it was unnecessary, but now we are here and I don't want to lose you," Justin tried to convince her.
He thought of putting all the blame on Josie and started to act as a victim to get Aria's sympathy. Wanting to hold onto Aria at any cost, it was his luck to come across an aristocratic family member and he was not ready to part with Aria without receiving any benefits.
Aria rolled her eyes at Justin's pretense. He wanted to lie to her even after she witnessed everything in front of her eyes.
Justin wanted to show that he left Josie because of her unacceptable behavior. He was a good person but she was trying to spoil his life.
"Justin I may have been cheated once by you, but don't expect me to believe your words a second time," Aria stated.
"Aria, please listen to me. I love you, I love only you. What I had with Josie is nothing compared to what I have with you. You are truly special and the only one for me. Will you blame me for a past relationship which I had before meeting you?" Justin demanded.
"A relationship before meeting me? Are you kidding me? You were making out with Josie on the night of the exhibition and now the whole office is talking about you guys," Aria snapped.
Justin tightened his fists, he was so angry that if Josie was in front of him right now, he would have strangled her. God he should have known she was trouble the day he met her. Now everything was backfiring because of Josie's stupidity. He was a very selfish man who did not care about anyone except himself.
Growing up in a harsh surrounding he had learnt from a very young age that love is an illusion and money is all that matters at the end of day. He knew that one has to rely only on himself and no one will hold your hand at the toughest times.
Despite his unfavorable conditions he did whatever it required to make a name for himself in the society.He was never in a serious relationship, he just had casual flings. Because of his good looks it was not difficult to get a woman.
He met Josie through work. She was Mr. Francis's daughter. She was very attractive and sexy and he wanted to at least bed her once.
When she showed interest in him it did not take long before she was in his bed.
He made it very clear from the beginning that they will be nothing more than bed partners, which she also easily agreed to. They had an open relationship and he slept with different women when he was on business trips.
When he started to go out with Aria, Josie became jealous, pestering him to break up with her. She blackmailed him emotionally, saying that she loved him so much and cannot live without him.
On the day of the exhibition Josie seduced him and he could not control his lust. He ended up taking her in the restroom not caring who was watching. He never expected everyone in the office to know about him and Josie. He had been so careful all these years and now Josie was ready to destroy his professional life.
"That night…," Justin's words were cut off as his phone started to ring. As soon as he received the call, his mood changed completely. His face became tense and he was breathing heavily.
"We….will talk later," Justin said to Aria in a stammering voice. Without looking back, Justin walked out of the room quickly.
By the time Aria finished her work, Travis was waiting at the gate as he had promised that morning.
Travis ran his thumb on her cheek and asked, "How was your day?"
"I got two more clients and a top art gallery was impressed looking at my CV and wanted to meet me," Aria said. She was slowly adjusting to Travis 's touch. He never kept his hands to himself when he was with her.
"Your work is getting recognized day by day," Travis stated.
"I am hungry, the office chef has changed recently and I am not a big fan of his food," Aria cried.
"There is a new Japanese restaurant that opened last week, let me take you there," Travis replied.
"Okay," Aria nodded her head.
Aria's phone started to ring, it was a call from Justin. Even when she dropped the call he still kept on trying.
Travis looked at her phone and his face darkened. His grip on the steering wheel tightened and without saying anything he drove rashly. After dinner he wanted to take her on a long drive so he had decided to drive the car by himself and sent the driver home.
"Travis, you are breaking the speed limit. Slow down," Aria yelled. But Travis did not give an ear to her and drove to the less crowded area. Aria was scared and held the door handle tightly. She kept on praying that both of them will be safe.
After 10-15 minutes he stopped the car in a deserted area. Aria tried to catch her breath and her whole body was shivering while Travis was sitting stiffly as if he was on his office chair. But his expression was murderous and his eyes looked blood red.
"Travis, what changed your mood so suddenly?" Aria asked in a low tone.
"Why is he still hounding you? Didn't you make everything clear to him," Travis growled.
"Today, in office, I broke all ties with him. I confronted him about his cheating on me, but he kept on giving excuses and was not ready to end things," Aria explained.
"That bastard still wants to get benefits from you," Travis hit the wheel.
"Travis, calm down," Aria touched his shoulder.
"Looks like Justin has a lot of free time. Don't worry that will change very quickly," Travis ' lips were on Aria.
She was shocked and tried to push him, but Travis was quick and locked both her hands in one of his. His other hand went to the back of her head. The kiss was a little rough and impatient. He pried opened her mouth and rolled his tongue with hers.
After a few seconds when he sensed Aria had put down her walls and accepted his kiss, he became gentle with her. He started to suck her lower lip, they were too sweet and soft.. Aria was just following his lead, his kiss evoked so many feelings in her.