Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow novel Chapter 382

Chapter 382: Tempest’s Decision

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Chapter 382

~Ares’ POV~

I smirked. "You need therapy, Damon."

"That too," Damon chuckled, walking toward the minibar.

Crystal remained silent, her mind clearly still tangled in a web of uncertainty concerning all this mate bond stuff. _{ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com}

I watched her for a moment before finally saying, "You don’t have to want the mate bond, Crystal. But you owe it to yourself to see what it could be before you run from it."

She exhaled slowly, nodding once. "Yeah. Maybe."

But I knew that ’maybe’ wasn’t a real answer. And I had a feeling Ryland wasn’t going to wait forever.

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~Tempest’s POV~

The apartment was silent except for the occasional crackling of the candle burning on the table. I sat curled up on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest, my face buried in them as silent tears slid down my cheeks.

I wasn’t the type to cry—not over things I couldn’t control, not over fate’s cruel games. But this? This hurt.

Because for the first time in my life, I finally understood what it had been like for Crystal.

What it had been like for me when Koda had chosen Aira over me, when he had looked at her the way I had always dreamed he’d look at me.

And now? Now, I was playing Aira’s role. The woman was caught in between a mate bond and a love that wasn’t meant to last.

A sharp knock on the door startled me, pulling me from my thoughts. I wiped at my face quickly, swallowing down my emotions as I stood up. I had half a mind to ignore whoever it was, but something told me I already knew.

Another knock came, only firmer this time.

I took a slow breath and stepped forward, hesitating for just a second before pulling the door open.

Richard stood there, dressed in a simple blue jean trousers and

His face was unreadable, but his green eyes flickered with something—hesitation, guilt, sorrow. I felt the mate bond tug at me immediately, but I shoved it down.

My chest tightened as our gazes locked, and for a brief moment, neither of us spoke.

Then, instinct took over.

I gripped the door and started to close it.

His hand shot out, stopping me gently. "Tempest, wait."

I stared at him, my jaw tightening. I wanted to tell him to go away, that I didn’t have the energy for this. But instead, I found myself stepping aside, letting him in.

The second the door shut, the tension thickened.

Ryland ran a hand through his hair before turning to face me. "I—" He exhaled sharply. "I owe you an apology. A real one."

I let out a small, humourless laugh while crossing my arms. "For what? Being blessed by the moon goddess?"

Ryland held back the need to laugh and focused. Immediately, his serious expression returned.

"For everything."

I raised a brow. "You’re going to have to be more specific."