Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162: 0162

Lorelei POV

"Don’t tell me you’re actually hesitating." Darius’s voice came out cold, and I couldn’t even blame him for thinking that.

The last time he’d offered to execute Chelsea, I’d stopped him.

After everything that had happened today, he probably thought I was about to do it again.

At that, Chelsea’s face lit up with desperate hope as she too must have mistaken my silence for hesitation.

"Oh?" Nala said, unable to hide the amusement in her voice.

Tilting her head slightly, she looked between Chelsea and me before a faint smile tugged at her lips.

"It’s only been a few hours, darling. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten how you were on your knees, begging me to save your friend’s life."

She folded her arms across her chest, her golden eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.

"It would be such a shame if that soft heart of yours started wavering now."

The moment those words left Nala’s mouth, Chelsea’s hope only grew.

She pressed her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white and began begging even more frantically, her voice cracking into a shrill, desperate plea.

"Please! I’ll do anything! Anything you want! Just don’t let them kill me!"

I found the entire display almost laughable.

Judging by the way Nala was biting back a smile beside me, she thought so too. She could read my emotions better than anyone here, which meant she already knew Chelsea’s desperate performance wasn’t stirring an ounce of sympathy inside me.

I took a slow step forward until I was standing directly in front of her.

Looking down, I met her tear-filled eyes without the slightest hint of emotion.

"I did nothing to you when I first came to this estate," I said, my voice calm but cold enough to silence the entire courtyard. "Yet you made my life miserable every chance you got. You humiliated me, threatened me, and hurt me over and over again."

I paused, my eyes never leaving hers.

"But this time, Chelsea... you crossed a line you can never come back from."

Chelsea’s breathing became uneven as she stared up at me in disbelief.

"Do you really think I never had the chance to kill you?" I asked quietly. "I did. More than once. Every single time, I chose to let you live. And look where that mercy got me."

A bitter smile touched my lips while the courtyard remained so silent I could hear only Chelsea’s ragged breathing.

"I hate you, Chelsea. I hate you more than I can ever put into words," I said, every word steady and painfully clear. "And I hope you die."

The moment those words left my mouth, shocked gasps swept through the crowd.

No one had expected those words to come from me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the cold smile that spread across Darius’s face, while Nala let out a quiet, thoroughly amused chuckle beside me.

Immediately, Chelsea’s expression cracked. The fear disappeared from her face, replaced by pure, uncontrollable hatred.

"You bitch!"

With a crazed scream, she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at me, her chained hands reaching for my throat.

But she never got close.

Before she could even touch me, Darius stepped in and drove a vicious kick straight into her stomach.

The force sent her flying backward, and she slammed onto the stone pavement with a sickening thud before curling onto her side, coughing violently as blood splattered across the ground.

It did.

Deeply.

I knew she deserved to answer for everything she’d done. I knew innocent women had suffered because of her choices. I knew Skye had almost died because of her.

But knowing that didn’t make witnessing her execution any easier.

I had seen enough.

I couldn’t stand there and watch the remaining three meet the same fate.

Raven seemed to sense that without me saying a word because she gently rested a hand against my back and guided me away from the execution grounds.

Neither of us spoke as we walked through the cool night air, leaving the distant shouts and commotion behind until we reached one of the quieter gardens on the far side of the estate.

We eventually settled onto a smooth stone bench beneath a vine-covered archway.

For the first time since everything had unraveled, it was just the two of us.

Just Raven and me, sitting beneath the night sky while everything we hadn’t yet said lingered heavily in the silence between us.

Though I had no doubt Paul was standing somewhere nearby, quietly giving us the privacy we needed while still keeping watch.

"How was it?" Raven finally asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper as it broke the silence between us. "What was it like being here? I just... I hope you didn’t suffer too much."

A faint, bittersweet smile tugged at my lips.

I leaned back against the bench and looked up at the blanket of stars overhead, letting out a slow breath before answering.

"It wasn’t always easy," I admitted quietly. "There were days I thought I couldn’t take it anymore. But... compared to what I went through back home, Raven..." I paused, my smile fading. "This place almost feels like paradise."