667: MAKING IT CLEAR, NO GOING BACK

ARIEL'S POV I nodded, ready to walk away and put some much-needed distance between us. But Luke wasn't done. He grabbed my arm again, his touch sending a familiar jolt through me. "Ariel, wait," he said, his voice pleading. "Can't we at least be friends?" I turned back to face him, a mixture of emotions swirling inside me. "Friends? Luke, we're divorced. I don't think that's a good idea." "I know, I know," he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "But I just want to be around you, Ariel. I miss you." I shook my head, my heart twisting painfully in my chest. "Luke, you know that's not possible. We can't go back to the way things were." "I'm not asking for that," he said quickly. "I just want to be in your life somehow, even if it's just as a friend." I sighed, feeling the weight of our past pressing down on me. "I don't think that's a good idea. It's too complicated." He looked crestfallen but didn't give up. "We can make it work, Ariel. I promise I won't hurt