Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Chapter 117

Aria’s POV

My lungs were on fire. My feet were screaming in these ridiculous heels. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might actually explode right out of my chest.

But we didn’t stop.

Not until the streets got brighter. Not until we saw people. Not until we found a bus station with actual humans waiting under the fluorescent lights.

Sophie collapsed against the station sign first. I crashed into it right beside her.

We stood there. Bent over. Hands on our knees. Gasping like fish out of water.

"Oh... my... GOD..." Sophie wheezed between breaths. "I think... I’m dying..."

"You’re... not... dying..." I panted back. "Dying... would be... quieter..."

"Rude!"

We looked at each other.

Mascara running down our faces. Hair sticking up in every direction. Dresses wrinkled and dirty from the alley. Masks askew. Looking absolutely, completely, utterly insane.

And we started laughing.

Not polite laughing. Not normal laughing.

Hysterical, uncontrollable, can’t-breathe-properly laughing.

Sophie snorted. Actually snorted. Which made me laugh harder. Which made her laugh harder. Which made us both double over again, clutching our stomachs, tears streaming down our already-ruined faces.

"Your FACE!" Sophie wheezed. "When you—when you threw yourself at that guy—"

"ME?!" I gasped. "What about YOU? Screaming ’SOMEONE HELP’ like we were in a horror movie!"

"WE WERE! That WAS a horror movie!" She wiped her eyes. Smeared mascara everywhere. "Oh my god, I look like a raccoon."

"You look like two raccoons had a baby with a panda."

She shoved me. I shoved her back. We both stumbled and almost fell, which set off another round of hysterical giggling.

The other people at the bus station were staring at us.

We didn’t care.

"Okay. Okay." Sophie held up her hands. Trying to breathe. Failing. "Be honest with me. On a scale of one to ten, how close did we just come to dying?"

"Probably an eight."

"EIGHT?!"

"Could’ve been a nine if he hadn’t shown up."

Sophie’s laughter died slightly. Her eyes got that worried look.

"Hey. You okay? I mean, really okay?"

I considered the question.

Was I okay?

I’d just been attacked in an alley. Nearly assaulted. Saved by the man who broke my heart three years ago. Had to hide my face and run away like a criminal.

And somehow, standing here with my best friend, looking like a disaster, laughing until my stomach hurt...

"Yeah," I said. "I think I am."

Sophie studied my face. Then nodded.

"Good. Because I need you to know something."

"What?"

"Tonight was absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent the craziest experience of my entire life." She paused dramatically. "And I loved every second of it."

"WHAT?!"

"Okay, not the almost-getting-attacked part! Obviously!" She waved her hands. "But the rest of it! The arena! The fighting! The running! The dramatic rescue!" Her eyes sparkled. "Aria, we’re like action movie heroines! We survived an actual adventure!"

"Sophie, we almost got kidnapped!"

"But we DIDN’T! And now we have the best story ever!" She grabbed my shoulders. "Do you realize how boring my life is normally? I go to work. I go to lunch. I go home. That’s IT. Tonight, I got to see a hot guy beat someone up AND run from bad guys AND get saved at the last second! This is peak entertainment!"

I stared at her. "You’re insane."

"I’m ALIVE." She grinned. "There’s a difference."

A laugh escaped me. I couldn’t help it.

"You know what?" I shook my head. "Our experience tonight could literally be made into a movie. The crazy night. The underground fight club. The attack. The mysterious hero."

"OH MY GOD, you’re right!" Sophie’s eyes went huge. "We should write it! We could sell the script! We could get RICH!"

I linked my arm through hers. Started walking toward the bus that was pulling up.

"Come on, movie star. Let’s go home."

"Fine." She let me pull her along. "But I’m just saying, we’re sitting on a goldmine here."

I rolled my eyes. But I was smiling.

We climbed onto the bus. Found two seats in the back. Collapsed into them.

The ride home was quiet. Sophie leaned her head against the window. I watched the city lights blur past.

My arm still tingled where he’d grabbed it.

Stop it, I told myself. Stop thinking about him.

"Hey." Sophie’s voice was soft now. "You’re thinking about him."

I didn’t answer.

"It’s okay, you know." She reached over. Squeezed my hand. "To feel stuff. Even about people who don’t deserve it."

"I don’t feel anything."

"Uh huh."

"I don’t!"

She just looked at me. That knowing Sophie look.

I sighed. Leaned my head back against the seat.

"Fine. Maybe I feel... something. But it doesn’t matter. It’s been three years. He’s moved on. I’ve moved on."

I huffed. Crossed my arms. Stared out the window.

Sophie didn’t push. She just kept holding my hand. Warm and steady and there.

That was the thing about Sophie. She always knew when to push and when to just... be.

The bus stopped near our street. We got off. Walked the last few blocks in comfortable silence.

My apartment building appeared ahead. Small. Old. But mine.

We stumbled through the door like zombies.

Sophie kicked off her heels first. They went flying across the living room.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify