Aria: Echo of Love, #1

By Tijana Popov

Haunted by the horrors of her painful past, Aria lives as a recluse, spending her days studying and her nights working in the best club in the city, called "Echo," absolutely sure that love is just not in her cards. But when she meets William Jones, a handsome brother of her boss who makes it quite clear that he has his sight set on her, Aria will have to decide if Will is worth the risk, when a silly little thing called love comes knocking on the door.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna T. Pope
• Release date: Oct 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223128090

Tijana Popov

Tijana Popov was born in 1993. to a middle-class family. She lives in a small town in the Republic of Serbia; a tiny little state located in Southeast Europe. Tijana is a mother of two little boys, with a big love of literature and even bigger dreams of becoming a well-known author. She started writing during her adolescent years but the first time she allowed anyone to read her work was in 2016 when she joined the Wattpad community and published her first story. Her main genre is general romance, although she also dabbles in the fantasy genre.

Book preview

Prologue

4 YEARS AGO...

THE FIRST THING ARIA’S hazy mind registered was that she could barely move.

Her head was pounding, her left eye was completely swollen, and she was bleeding profusely from the wound in her abdomen if the warm liquid running over her hands was anything to go by.

She slowly turned her head to the side despite an excruciating pain zipping through her neck and making her vision go white for a few seconds.

After everything returned to focus, the sight that greeted her made her remember the reason behind her current state.

Please don't do this, David! Please, I’m begging you! Aria moaned, her voice hoarse and broken, so much so that she wondered if someone else had spoken on her behalf.

She saw him standing above her crying friend with the gun pointed straight at her head, the satisfaction of holding someone else's life in his hands swirling in those dead, cold eyes.

Aria could still remember the time when she had foolishly thought those were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen, and now, after everything that had happened, she finally realized just how wrong she had been.

She felt helpless as she lay there broken on the cold kitchen floor, unable to do anything to help her friend, as the horrifying guilt kept crashing over her in waves.

She knew the risk they would be taking, and she had chosen to ignore it, endangering her friend’s life without so much as a second thought, too wrapped up in her own desires.

She knew that she shouldn't have brought anyone into her mess and had chosen to ignore it, and now, because of Aria, Jamie was going to die.

There was a moment of complete silence, only broken by Aria’s harsh breaths and soft pleas before she heard the sound of a gunshot, and then another and another...

No! she started to scream at the top of her lungs as tears spilled out of her eyes before she saw Jamie falling to the ground, her friend’s pretty hazel eyes losing their light barely a few feet away from her.

Green eyes

SHE WAS RUNNING AGAIN, white puffs of air escaping her wheezing lungs as she jumped over a small bush, barely managing not to fall on her face in the process.

It was nighttime, and the air was freezing cold, making Aria tremble in the flimsy clothes that did nothing to shelter her from the howling wind.

Cold rain droplets kept splashing across her face and, combined with the pitch darkness of the forest, made it almost impossible to see where she was heading. 

Her lungs felt like a thousand tiny needles punctured them repeatedly as she desperately tried to breathe through the pain, the wound in her stomach pulsing out more blood with each breath she took. 

All that kept going through her mind as she ran faster than ever before was the need to keep going and get away as fast as she could from that house and, most importantly, Him.

And then, she was falling, her nose connecting harshly with a tree root sticking out of the forest dirt, making her eyes water at the pain of it, as big hands wrapped around her ankles and started pulling her back to where she had come from. 

Aria wanted to scream and beg for them to let her go, let her get away, but no sound left her mouth as the darkness swallowed her whole.

ARIA WOKE UP WITH A start, breathing harshly like she had just finished running a marathon.

She leaned against the pillows, dragging a shaking hand across her sweat-covered face. 

Another nightmare, she thought and closed her eyes with a tired sigh, disappointment prickling under her skin, feeling foolish for hoping that the dreams had finally stopped since she hadn’t had one in the past couple of days. 

For just a moment, Aria considered calling Nura to ask her for her therapist’s phone number, which the girl had offered her numerous times, but she quickly changed her mind like she always did. 

The truth was that most of the time, Aria couldn’t even think about the past without getting a panic attack, let alone talk to a stranger about it.

She quickly got out of bed and went to the bathroom across the hall, intent on getting a shower. After getting out of her soaked-up shirt and the sweats that had seen better days, she stepped under the lukewarm water while she tried to calm her still rapidly beating heart. 

She could feel the beginnings of a panic attack at the edges of her mind, so she started counting back from a hundred while breathing in and out slowly, one of the quickest ways to stop thinking about the agony of her dreams. 

It didn’t matter how often Aria had that same nightmare; the effects of it were always exhausting, leaving her a sniveling mess in the aftermath. 

She quickly scrubbed her body with soap, trying and failing to ignore the marks carved into the pale skin that reminded her of the past that she was so desperate to forget as her fingers moved over them.

After rinsing off and grabbing a warm towel from the rack, she went to the closet and pulled out a pair of black jeans, a white cotton shirt, and her favorite black flats. She looked at her reflection once she was done with dressing and frowned.

Aria was on the relatively short side, even for a girl, with barely-there curves, a head full of ordinary brown hair that fell flat over her shoulders, big blue eyes, and full lips, which she had always found too big for her small face. People often described her as cute and pretty, but try as she might, she could not see what they apparently did.

A slight glint caught her eyes, and they fell on the golden cross peeking out of her shirt. It was a birthday gift that her mother had given her long ago and the only thing Aria had managed to keep from her childhood. 

She felt a pang of sadness in her chest when she thought about her mother; about her beautiful, smiling face and always welcoming arms, and the fact that Aria would never see her again almost brought her down to her knees.

She was brought out of her musings when a knock sounded at the apartment door. 

Hello, love! How are we on this fine Monday morning? her best friend Nura said before Aria even opened the door to let her in. 

With her wild, brown, curly hair and fiery personality, Nura was a force to be reckoned with and Aria’s complete opposite. 

She still wasn’t sure how they became best friends since the only things they had in common were their place of work and their questionable pasts. 

They met the previous year when Aria was hired to be a bartender at the ‘The Echo’ club. Nura was already working there and was the one to show her the ropes of the job. 

After that, Nura wouldn’t leave her alone, always asking her out, telling her about her childhood, and trying to befriend her even though Aria spent most of their time together actively ignoring her. 

Aria had been reluctant at first, afraid of being hurt again, but if Nura was anything, it was persistent, and over time, she managed to worm her way under Aria’s skin. 

How can you be so happy on a Monday morning? I will never understand. Aria said absentmindedly while looking for her keys and wallet. 

Well, my dear Ari, you would be too in my place. I spent the night at Nate’s, and guess what!? Nura said, practically vibrating excitedly, reminding her of a puppy preparing for a walk. 

He asked me to move in with him! the girl suddenly screamed, startling her, before jumping up and down around the apartment. 

After getting over the initial shock, Aria joined her friend in celebration and hugged her tightly. She felt over the moon for her since she knew very well how perfect Nura and Nate were for each other, and after all the things that had happened between them, they deserved all the happiness they could get.

Even though Aria was wary of the guys from the club or any guy in general, she considered Nate an exception to the rule. 

You only had to look at how he treated Nura and how much he loved and cared for her to know that he would never even think about hurting her intentionally.

SO, WHEN ARE YOU MOVING? Aria asked her once they were settled on the comfy chairs in their favorite café with cups of steaming coffee warming their hands.

In a couple of weeks, since Nate has that conference in Europe next week, and he doesn’t want me to do everything by myself.

That’s great, Nura. I am so happy for you.

And she indeed was, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but be just a bit jealous of her. 

Even though she tried to keep her distance and all the regulars at the club knew that she was not interested in any sort of a relationship, a small part of Aria still desired someone like Nate, someone who would love and care for her. 

But Aria knew that that would probably never happen, even if she somehow managed to get over her fears and let someone in. She was sure nobody would want her for long after learning how much of a damaged goods she was.

After parting ways with Nura, Aria went to her first class of the day at the local community college where she was studying to be a nurse. That had not been her first career choice since, once upon a time, she wanted to be a pediatrician, but that was, like many things in her life, a long-lost dream. 

The day flew by, and the last lecture finally ended. Aria had just started packing her things, desperate to get home and bury herself under a pile of warm blankets with her favorite book keeping her company, when she felt a light pat on her shoulder. 

She closed her eyes and sighed inaudibly, not even needing to turn around to know who it was.

As soon as she turned, she saw a tall, blond boy smiling down at her with his hand still on Aria’s shoulder, which he was now squeezing lightly, making the brunette wholly uncomfortable. 

Hi, sweet cheeks! the boy said, making her roll her eyes at the stupid nickname.

Brian, I told you not to call me that. she barely managed not to whine out, feeling already fed up with him after mere seconds in his presence while she tried to discreetly move away from his grasp.

I think it’s cute, just like you are, but fine, I’ll stop. Anyway, my friend is having this party tonight, and I was wondering if you would like to come with me?

Aria sighed again, not at all surprised by Brian’s question since this was probably the tenth time he had asked her out. She kept making excuses to try to gently let it known that she was not at all interested because she didn’t want to hurt Brian’s feelings and flat-out reject him, and also because confrontations were never really her forte. Still, the guy seemed unable to take the hint.

I am sorry, Brian, but I have to work tonight, she said and turned around, making her way out of there as quickly as possible without being too obvious about it, lest Brian decided to run after her, which would not surprise her in the least. 

She wasn’t exactly sure why since Brian was seemingly an okay, good-natured guy, but something about him always made Aria’s skin crawl. 

Maybe she was just being her usual paranoid self, and Brian was genuinely interested in her, but she wasn’t even remotely ready to take the chance to find out.

You could never be too careful with people, and Aria had learned that particular lesson the hard way.

She was so lost in thoughts that she ignored her surroundings, which resulted in her running into a man, the impact making him lose hold of the cup of coffee in his hand, which then fell and spilled on the concrete ground beneath their feet. 

She winced and prepared herself for getting yelled at, the apology already at the tip of her tongue.

I am so sorry, Sir, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking... but when she looked up at the man she had bumped into, the words died in her throat as her eyes connected with the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen.

A work of art

WILL SIGHED, STRETCHING his back before getting up and going into the bathroom to clean himself up, leaving the girl spent in bed.

He looked at the mirror, his eyes meeting with a familiar, handsome face.

He was dangerously close to forties, not that he minded since age was just a number in his book and, after all, he didn’t look a day over thirty.

No, he looked fine, but what did draw his attention were the bags under his eyes and the hollow look in them that he was sure only he could see.

None of his supposed friends saw it, and certainly not the blond in his bed.

Not that it mattered, he thought, since the girl was just another one in a long line of blonds and brunettes that have passed through this house, writhing and moaning underneath William’s skillful hands for one night, never more, and then forgotten came morning, as if they were never there.

He splashed some water over his heated face, washing the sweat off it and pretending, for a moment, that he could also do that with his morose thoughts. 

He filled a glass with water, brought it back to the room, and sat beside the sleeping girl.

He watched her for a few minutes, her face looking so peaceful and sated in her slumber, and he couldn’t deny that she was beautiful.

Will was sure that if he bothered to give her a chance, the girl would be very good to him, but he couldn’t. He had made the mistake of trusting someone once before and after what happened; he could not allow himself to put so much faith into another person again.

GOOD MORNING, MR. JONES.

William heard the greeting before he even had the time to exit the elevator. As soon as he saw her, he smiled at the short, middle-aged woman and nodded.

Morning, Maria. How are you this morning? he asked while taking the coffee she offered him as they walked through the main floor of his apartment building. He opened the glass door and motioned with his hand for her to go before him, which earned him a proud smirk from her.

I am fine, Mr. Jones. How about you? Slept well?

Quite well, thank you. The previous evening was indeed delightful if a bit strenuous, he said, a smirk playing around the edges of his mouth as she huffed and got into the car; her opinion about William’s nighttime activities was as far from positive as possible.

And, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Will, Maria? It sounds weird when you call me Mr. Jones; I feel ancient, especially since you are older than me.

There were times in his life when Will was grateful that looks couldn’t kill, especially in his line of competitive work, and the one currently directed his way was one of them.

Not by much. she hissed and took her tablet out, furiously typing something and ignoring him for the rest of the trip.