Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 148

Chapter 143

Aires‘ POV

My eyes are fixed on her, my grip on her chin unrelenting. The coldness in my gaze could freeze water, and I watch her face drain of color under the pressure.

Her eyelashes flutter without her even realizing it, a nervous twitch she cannot control.

Is it satisfaction that I feel? Or anger? I am not sure

anymore.

She lifts her foot and stomps down on mine with all her might. Pain shoots through my toes, but I was already on guard. I take a few quick steps back, dodging the worst of

1. it.

But she doesn’t stop. Her hand swings up, aiming a slap straight at my face.

I am faster. My hand shoots out and clamps around her wrist, halting her movement mid–air. Her arm trembles with the force of her effort, but she cannot break free.

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I don’t make an offort to control my strength enumero

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People see me as cold and detached, but I’m not a man who tolerates being challenged.

Neither am I someone who lets go easily.

She has riled me multiple times now. She has trampled/ over boundaries that should have been respected, and still she pushes.

All I desire is to put her on the spot and watch her give in, to see her understand her place.

Her teeth sink into my arm before I can react. The pain is sharp, immediate, and I feel her jaw clench with a ferocity that catches me completely off guard. She bites down like she means to tear a chunk out of me, her teeth buried deep in my flesh.

I look at her face, and what I see stops me cold. Her eyes blaze with something I have never seen before. Hatred. Loathing. Pure, undiluted fury that transforms her features into something almost unrecognizable.

This is not the Talia who endured my coldness for five years… this is someone else entirely.

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Something strange wells up in my chest. An emotion I

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staggers backward.

But she doesn’t fall. She catches herself, steadies, and stands firm. Her eyes meet mine, and there is nothing in them.

“Aires.” Her voice is low, steady. “I am not your toy that you can mess around with. If you ever try that on me again, I swear I will bite a chunk out of you.” She holds my gaze. “Just to let you know, picking on the weak will not come without a price.”

I stand there, a whirlwind of shock and fury churning inside me. Talia dares to treat me like this? Talia? The woman who has spent five years bending to my will, who has never raised her voice, who has taken every cold word and every missed promise without complaint?

She picks up a disinfectant wipe from the table. Her face is empty as she wipes her chin, then her wrist. Deliberate. Calm. As if I am nothing more than an inconvenience she has just dealt with.

“Why is Mr. Perseus so angry?” She does not look at me. “Did you not use to negotiate with me the same way, ysing Aeson to threaten me?”

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“You are a good teacher, Mr. Perseus. I have merely · learned from you.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. An image flashes through my mind. Talia standing in the living room, her face pale, asking me for something I cannot even remember now. And me, cold and detached, telling her that if she does not comply, she will not see Aeson.

I had forgotten that moment. She has not.

I find it suddenly hard to breathe. I… did threaten her like that. More than once. It was how I always handled things with her. Leverage. Control. The knowledge that she would do anything for our son.

She glances at my expression, and something in her face softens. Not toward me. Toward the advantage she now

holds.

“Your friend’s future and your precious Imema’s life.” Her voice is almost gentle now. Reasonable. “Are these not worth more than material possessions?”

My brow furrows. She is not wrong. Nick’s position in the company, his reputation, his face, Imema’s treatment. All of it hangs in the balance, and she holds the scales.

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But half? Half of everything I have built!

I set my jaw. “I will not give you half my assets.”

Talia’s POV

When I hear his words, a bitter smile tugs at the corners of my lips.

So this is who he really is. Aires’s endless favoritism toward Imema was never about love. It was because Imema never touched what truly matters to him. His money. His power.

But now that his interests are at stake, even Imema is not enough to sway him.

I never truly intended to walk away with half of his wealth. I know better than that. I am simply starting high, giving myself room to negotiate down. That is how these things work. He should know that better than

anyone.

I lift my chin. “Mr. Perseus, I assume you do not want to give me company shares. And as for the house…”

pause, letting the thought hang. “Going through all the paperwork to transfer the title would be far too

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as you are willing to give me one billion dollars, I will not only agree to sign the settlement, but I will also convince Jack to make the antidote for Nick and treat Imema’s

illness.”

I see the flicker in his eyes. Calculation. I press on.

“I can guarantee you that Imema’s condition can be completely cured. Your money will not go to waste.” I keep my voice steady, reasonable. “Mr. Perseus, I imagine you have already spent quite a bit searching for treatments for Ms. Volkov.”

I hold up my fingers, ticking off the points. “This one billion dollars includes everything. My divorce settlement. The damages for this destroyed shop. Compensation for Jack and Robin’s emotional distress. Nick’s future.” I pause, letting the last point land. “And, of course, Ms. Volkov’s life–saving treatment.”

I let a small smile cross my face. “Aires, this deal is good for you, is it not?”

He looks at me with an expression I cannot read, then a smirk touches his lips.

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“You sure know how to play your cards right.”

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I chuckle lightly. “For you, Alpha Aires… anything that can be solved with money is not really a problem, is it? A billion dollars might be a fortune most people could never earn in their lifetime, but for you, it is not even a year’s income.”

I pause, letting that settle. Then I add the final piece. “Robin’s father is rushing back as we speak. Just imagine how he would feel if he knew Nick nearly harmed his own son. Do you think he would let Nick off the hook easily?”

Aires’s frown deepens. “Talia, do not spout nonsense.”

I point toward the surveillance camera by the door. “Aires, why not take a look at how terrifying Nick was at that moment? Robin is just a five–year–old boy, and he was really scared by Nick this time. Without evidence, do you think the police would actually arrest Nick just based on our word alone?”

There are cameras at the entrance of the building.

But inside the room, there are none. When Nick burst through the door, he was immediately doused with a face full of herbal powder.

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Eygn he himself doesn’t realize it was deliberate Hẹ thinks it was just an accident caused by a falling shelf.

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The room falls into silence. Aires does not say a word for a long time. I do not push him.

I know he is weighing his options. He would not hesitate to buy Imema a house worth over a hundred million dollars. Now, if he can both save Nick and treat Imema’s

illness, what is one billion dollars to him?

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