break me

c h a p t e r t h i r t y s i x

Aria's P.O.V

Mrs Hubbard turned to me, a sad smile on her lips making it seem like she was recalling a sorrowful memory but she quickly snapped out of it which made me wonder what she must have been thinking about.

"I am unable to say. The sons like to keep their lives as private as possible. It is unlikely for you to run into them but if you do, simply address them as sir." The older woman said before flashing me a small smile. "Now let's keep going."

I frowned, feeling annoyed that this information didn't help me in any way. I didn't feel any kind of relief which was what I was hoping when I waited for the answer however now I just felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine Caleb being related to Maxwell Knight. I didn't even want to think about that fact being a possibility.

Besides, it wouldn't make sense. Caleb had pretty much been there for me from the beginning of this journey to find out exactly what happened to my family and unravel what will be happening in the future and surely it wouldn't make sense if Caleb is trying to help me. And if he was the son of Maxwell Knight then all the things I had said about the man must make him hate me but all our moments together... I know he doesn't. I know he loves me.

What does this mean?

I couldn't get the image of that painting out of my head. Then again, it is just a painting so maybe Caleb has a doppelgänger and that must be the son of Maxwell Knight.

Knight...

I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Are you alright dear?" Mrs Hubbard asked. She stopped and turned around to face me, a concerned look in her eyes. "You seem a bit pale." I forced all those thoughts out of my head and decided to focus on the now. I think I needed to do some digging with Caleb before I can make any assumptions about this.

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's keep going." I shot the woman a smile and she nodded before leading me up another flight of stairs and more rooms I was required to clean.

━━━━━ ♛ ━━━━━

I ate lunch with the other employees at the mansion and made a few friends as well. After receiving another talk about exactly what I needed to do, I was given a rota. I worked on Tuesday and Thursday after school from five to eight and then on Saturday morning from nine to twelve. Happy with the hours, I left and told everyone I would see them on Tuesday before heading out.

Climbing onto the bus, I walked over to an empty seat at the back of the bus and pulled out my phone. My eyes widened at the few messages Caleb had sent me. My earlier thoughts about him completely flew from my mind as I began reading them.

Hope you got there safely xx

When are you coming back? x

What are you doing now? x

Are you coming back yet?

Aria, I miss you. x

You've been away for too long.

REPLY TO ME

I laughed and shook my head as I scrolled through my other messages. Noticing another one popping up from Caleb, I huffed and decided to finally message him back.

You must miss me a lot. xx

It took no longer than a few seconds for Caleb to reply.