Aria woke sometime later when the sun sank beyond the city line. She was reluctant to get out of bed; part of her wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, but the other part wanted to hear whatever excuse her husband had to give. She was sure it was a good one.

"You concern me Aria," she uttered as she lowered her voice to mock his.

Snorting in annoyance, she turned onto her back. Yes, she was still mad. She had every right to be. And yes she wanted to condone his actions as being nothing more than a concerned husband, but she also wanted Albert to understand how hurt she was. Being a nurse was her passion and because of him, Aria was being viewed as unstable, incompetent in her career.

Perhaps she would do her best to ignore Albert, at least today; her mindset wasn't good enough to tolerate him at the moment. But she was extremely thirsty.

With a sigh, Aria sat up and crawled out of bed. She checked on her notes by the computer and hummed as she noticed them lying there untouched. She knew that Albert was home and that he came into the room while she was asleep; her shoes were missing, but perhaps he didn't notice them. Good. Aria didn't want him to pester her about it. She gathered them and shoved the papers in her drawer beneath her underclothes, then left the bedroom.

As she crossed through the living room, she noticed the door to Albert's study was ajar; she knew that he was awake, but at the moment she didn't care. Aria went to the cabinet, noticing the wine bottle was in the trash; Albert must have poured out the rest. Of course. She snorted and took down a glass, pouring water from the tap into it. As she drank it down, she heard the door to the study shut. Her heart pounded in her chest, knowing that her husband was sure to see her. He crossed the living room seconds later, noticing her resting against the sink.

Aria narrowed her eyes. She tried to be nice, but she could not control her mouth.

"I wasn't aware you and Ethan were such good friends," she stated.

Albert tightened his jaw. He wanted to choke the moron for involving him.

"Now isn't the best time to have this conversation," he mentioned.

For some reason, Aria was more annoyed that Albert swept the conversation aside, instead of expressing his concerns to her. She pegged him wrong. Setting the glass down on the counter with a clank, she puckered a brow.

"Oh no, I'm ready to have this conversation. I don't see what the problem is; you have no issue bringing my boss into our personal life," Aria argued.

Albert sighed.

"He called me, and I told him the truth."

The truth? Aria glared at him.

"That I am unable to do my job? Is that what you think?" She asked.

Albert needed a moment to think. He walked over to the sink and picked up her glass pouring the water down the drain; she didn't need to drink from the tap anyhow. On one hand, he could admit he was wrong and tell her how sorry he was, but the taste of that didn't sit well in his mouth, so he chose another option; one that would set her off; that she needed to hear.

"I think that you are obsessing too much about these attacks. It's driving you insane; to the point that it's filling your head with theories that don't make much sense. Were you aware that you left the door unlocked when you came home?"

Aria was aware. Tears burned her eyes, and she shrugged.

"I'm not insane."

Albert hummed.

"What do you think is happening?" He asked.

She honestly didn't know. Her instincts told her something was amiss though, and she was doing everything to prove that she was right. So why didn't Albert support her? Perhaps telling her the truth was his way of doing that. Fuck, it hurt. Shaking her head, Aria pushed off the counter.

"Thanks for being honest."

Returning to the bedroom, she laid down on the bed and buried her head into her pillow. She wanted Albert to stay away from her for the night; not because of the fight, but because a part of her considered that he may be right. What was she doing? Did she even know?

I'll look into the information I found online and maybe call the crematorium in Stone Ville. If I don't find any new information, I'll stop looking.

Aria knew that she wasn't going to fall back to sleep right away, but she shut her eyes and listened to the house come to life until sleep consumed her at last.

The low creak of the bedroom door coming open woke Aria. She opened her eyes and peered over the covers as Albert came into the room. What was he doing awake? A look at the clock on the bedside table told her that it was mid-morning; her husband had to work. She turned her back to him and faked being asleep, at least until she heard his vehicle peel out of the driveway. Turning onto her back, Aria took an anxious breath. She hated the idea of lying to Albert, but he made it clear he thought she was delusional; she had to do what she thought was best, at least until she had the answers.

Aria got out of bed and picked up her phone from the table, then retrieved the notes from her drawer. Her phone needed to be charged, but she had enough time to make a call. Dialing the number to the crematorium in Stone Ville, she waited for someone to answer, thankful that it was open.

"Hi. My name is Aria Wesker. I work at Raccoon Gen––"

The call ended.

Did they hang up on me?

Aria redialed the number. Again, someone answered.

"Sorry, I think––"

"Don't ever call this number again," the voice of a woman sneered.

The line went dead.

Aria puckered a brow in concern. What was that about? She was sure the number was for the crematorium; the receiver answered the phone confirming so.

Stone Ville isn't far from here, Aria told herself. Perhaps she could get more information from them face to face.

She shook her head; yes, she opted to visit them instead. Getting dressed, Aria hurried into the kitchen where her purse was. She searched for her keys, but for some reason, they were not where she last saw them. Searching around the house, she came up short and groaned in annoyance. Strange. But no matter. Aria took out her phone and messaged her sister.

Are you up for a road trip? She asked.

Kathy would never let her down.