At five o’clock in the afternoon, when a light rain begins to fall, the alarm clock not only wakes Aria up, but also reminds her that it is time to get out of bed. The small roadside inn where she was staying was extremely quiet, and she could hear the drops hitting the asphalt, as well as the wooden fences that surrounded the place.

She lazily got up, washed her face and brushed her teeth as she considered whether she had made the right choice or not. Leaving California had been a difficult decision, but it was too late to regret it. After putting on some thick, warm black clothes, she walked out, greeting the old owner, a kindly gentleman named Mosley.

It had been five months since she had been discharged from the military. The last mission, although successful, had left her squadron seriously injured, leading to their early retirement. A week before she was due to return home, she received a call from her aunt, Tyra. Her mother had died. She had left her a few things, including the building she used to run, a hotel in a small town.

Aria had never wanted anything from her mother. And now she had a lot to deal with. She didn’t want any of this and had already decided to sell the place. But when her old squad heard the news from Adine, they all started pestering her to take the place and use it for something else.

So, after much pressure and complaints, Aria decided to turn the place into a bed and breakfast, a difficult task due to her mother’s bad reputation, according to Aunt Tyra’s gossip on the phone.

Still, Aria put it off as long as she could, but even her aunt started pestering her to take a trip to Fort Willder. To be fair, the woman was right: Aria needed to see what the place was like to begin renovations.

That’s why, now, Aria finds herself in this small town, walking through unfamiliar streets.

“So, how’s the city doing so far? What’s it called again? Hm… Fort Willer?”

— Fort Willder. — Aria replied. — Small town, but damn… there are a lot of people here… And from what I’ve noticed, there are even people from neighboring cities.

“Well, that means a lot of customers for the stores, right? Maybe your business will be a success too…”

— Yeah, maybe… — Aria walked slowly as she tried to get to know her surroundings and maybe find a place to eat. — Isn’t there anywhere I can eat except the fancy tourist places?

“Ah, you’re out! Has anyone recognized you yet?”

— Luckily … no. I left this place a long time ago. I was just a child back then… I doubt anyone would recognize me.

“That’s true. Have you checked the place?”

— I just took a quick look there… The structure is good, but it will need a lot of repairs. Do you think Crush could come and give me a hand? He’s good at that kind of thing.

“I’m sure he’ll never say ’no’ to you, no matter what you ask, so don’t worry. I’ll let him know. I guarantee he’ll be there tomorrow morning…”, Adine laughed from the other side.

— Thanks, Dee. — Aria smiled awkwardly and stopped when her eyes fell on a chalkboard with three dinner options outside what looked like a bar. — Well, I think I found a place to eat. A… bar. My favorite place… — Aria clicked her tongue. — I’m not feeling well today… Lord, please keep the drunks away from me.

“You’re like a magnet, Hattie. Good luck, I hope the food is good, and… duty is calling!”

— Yeah, okay. Have a good shift, Dee. Don’t die.

The line on the other end went silent as Aria walked through the bar’s old wooden door.

The bar was nearly empty, except for three elderly people sitting far apart at the bar and the bartender. The TV was on, showing some news report about a fire in a nearby forest. Aria glanced at the bartender, the only employee she could see nearby.

It was, in a way, inviting. It didn’t seem like the kind of place that was usually full of drunks, like the bars in his hometown.

Her heels clicked with every step, catching the men’s attention. If only they knew how badly her feet were hurting right now… She sighed as she made her way to the counter, stopping next to a man in an old greenish baseball cap.

— Hello, are you still serving food? — Aria did her best to sound friendly and polite.

The bartender looked her over from head to toe, then focused on wiping down the counter.

— The painting is still out there, isn’t it?

“Wow, politeness certainly isn’t part of this guy’s vocabulary.”, she thought.

— A carbonara, please. And a bottle of water.

— Right away, madam. — his voice sounded a little too sarcastic in the ’madam’ part.

Could it be because of the high heels?

Aria decided to ignore this and chose to sit at a table near a corner on the right side of the entrance. She pulled a chair close to her and placed her bag, grabbed her laptop, and began working on the project that had brought her to Fort Willder.

As I did so, a message appeared on the screen.

Crush seemed pretty excited about the idea of coming to where she was. In fact, everyone in the group chat seemed excited about the possibility of moving to Fort Willder, even though she had never invited them.

[Crush]: So how long does it take to get there by car?

“More or less…”, Aria’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a while, as her mind calculated how long it would take her. She had this habit of mumbling what she typed. “I don’t know… Fifteen hours? Why don’t you catch a plane?”

[Crush]: And how am I supposed to get around? No offense, but your car is kind of…

“Old man.”, she typed back quickly. “I know. Good luck with your next fifteen hours…”

[JJ]: Dee told me you found a place to eat. Is it good?

“The place isn’t bad, but I haven’t tried the food yet, and the bartender, although handsome, is a bit rude.”

[Dee]: Great combination. Handsome how?

“Dee… Don’t start.”

[JJ]: Come on, Hattie, you’ve been single for a long time! But then again, just the fact that you admitted that the guy is cute is something...

“Oh, fuck you, JJ. I’m sick of you already… and my food is coming.”

Aria closed the chat and the laptop.

The smoke coming from the carbonara brought a delicious aroma to her nostrils. She thanked the man who simply ignored her; she tilted her head, starting to get irritated with the treatment she was receiving.

— Rude… — she muttered.

Aria took a big bite and was surprised. The food was more than delicious. Who could the cook be?

A man at the counter turned up the volume on the TV, and that caught his attention. Rain was not in his plans for this project.

“A slow-moving weather system has brought substantial rainfall to the region, with some areas seeing more than 4 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. Forecasters are predicting the rain will continue through tomorrow. We are now joined by our meteorologist, John Miller. John, what can we expect from this weather system?”

— God, I hate this weather… — complained an older man at the bar, knocking lightly and taking the last sip of his beer. — One more, Max.

— Right away, Don. — the bartender smiled. — What’s so bad about a little rain? It’s the best weather for staying in and relaxing…

— While my crops drown and I have to pray that the mountain doesn’t fall on my house. Yeah, the rain is great.

— No one can do anything about your crops, but Don… you should have left that damn place a long time ago… — another man, a little further away from the first, with an old green cap, laughed. — You’re crazy to live in that… house. Can we still call it home? — he asked the bartender.

The bartender joined in the laughter and Don just gave them the finger, picked up the remote, and turned the volume up a bit, now focusing his attention on the news.

Aria was leisurely enjoying her dinner while watching TV. Halfway through her late dinner, she noticed another customer signaling the bartender to sit at a table near her.

Close enough that she could hear their conversation.

— Hey, Max, have you heard the news? — the newcomer said to the bartender.

— What?

— That old hotel… his heiress is back, apparently.

— Huh… Keeping up your mother’s destructive legacy? Nice. — Max crossed his arms, clearly irritated by this.

Aria remained quiet, listening intently.

There were no hotels in this town. Just inns and a few roadside motels. So what were they talking about?

— Well, maybe she’s different.

— The apple never falls far from the tree. — Max clicked his tongue.

— You don’t know that, Max. Don’t judge someone you haven’t met yet.

— Do you think the heiress of that place will sell it or bring back that hotel? That shitty place was more like a brothel…

— I don’t know… I think we’ll have to wait…

This made Aria drop her fork on her plate. “Is he talking about my mother’s hotel?”

— But I heard that the daughter was raised by her father. So maybe she’s not like her mother. — the newcomer sighed. — She’s going to have a hard time around here…

— Good. I hope she leaves. — Max complained. — That family is definitely not welcome here. That bitch destroyed this town…

Aria smiled. She might be many things, but she wasn’t a quitter. And being compared to her mother sparked something inside her.

She put her laptop back in her bag, secured it, and took some bills out of her wallet. Taking the last sip of her water, Aria took a deep breath and headed over to where Max was.

She slammed the notes down hard on the table in front of him.

Max looked at her, startled; the newcomer jumped at the sound and watched in silence.

— I’m that bitch’s daughter and I don’t plan on leaving this place any time soon. See you around, neighbor.