Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Chapter 129

Aria’s POV

"Can you please let me go?"

The words hung in the air between us.

Kael’s hands were still on my face. Still warm. Still impossibly gentle.

For a long moment, he didn’t move.

Just stared at me with those black-gold eyes. Searching. Desperate. Like he was trying to find some way through the walls I’d built around my heart.

"Aria..." His voice was rough. Broken. "I can’t."

His thumb brushed across my cheek. Wiping away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.

The touch sent electricity shooting through my veins.

No.

NO.

I needed to pull away. Needed to run. Needed to get as far from this man as possible.

But my body wouldn’t obey.

His scent was everywhere. Black cedar and winter frost. Wrapping around me like chains. Pulling me closer when I needed to be pushing him away.

"Three years." His forehead pressed against mine. Our breath mingled in the space between us. "Three years I’ve been looking for you. Do you have any idea what that was like?"

I closed my eyes. Tried to block him out.

It didn’t work.

His presence was overwhelming. His warmth. His voice. Everything about him called to something deep inside me that I thought I’d killed years ago.

My heart was pounding. Too fast. Too hard.

This wasn’t fair.

None of this was fair.

"Kael—"

He kissed me.

Not hard like before. Not desperate and claiming.

This kiss was soft. Gentle. A question instead of a demand.

And God help me, I answered it.

My lips parted beneath his. My hands that should have been pushing him away grabbed the front of his shirt instead. Pulled him closer.

The world disappeared.

There was nothing except this. Him. Us.

His mouth moved against mine. Slow and thorough. Like he was trying to memorize the taste of me. Like he was afraid I might vanish if he stopped.

Heat flooded through my body. Starting where our lips met and spreading outward until every nerve ending was on fire.

I was burning.

Actually burning.

His hands slid from my face to my waist. Pulled me against him until there was no space between us. Until I could feel the hard planes of his chest against my body. Until his heartbeat thundered against my own.

A sound escaped my throat. Half moan, half sob.

I’d forgotten.

I’d tried so hard to forget how this felt. How HE felt. The way his touch set my entire being ablaze.

But my body remembered.

Every cell. Every nerve. Every inch of skin he touched came alive with memories I’d buried deep.

His tongue traced my bottom lip. I opened for him without thinking. Let him deepen the kiss until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.

More.

I wanted more.

Wanted to drown in this feeling forever. Wanted to forget everything except the way his arms felt around me. The way his mouth tasted. The way he held me like I was something precious.

Then the memories hit.

Sharp. Brutal. Unavoidable.

His voice, cold and distant: *"We went on a few dates. I understand that might have created certain... expectations."*

The envelope of cash.

His back as he walked away.

The look in his eyes like I was nothing. Less than nothing.

Pain sliced through my chest. So sharp it stole my breath.

I tore my mouth from his. Gasped for air.

"Aria?" His voice was concerned. His hands still on my waist. "What’s wrong?"

Everything.

Everything was wrong.

I was kissing the man who had destroyed me. The man who had paid me off like a prostitute. The man who had made me feel worthless.

What was I DOING?

"I can’t." The words came out broken. "I can’t do this."

He was still the Alpha. Still the most powerful wolf in the territory. Still so far above me that I might as well be an ant trying to reach the stars.

I was nobody.

Let them stare. Let them whisper. Let them think whatever they wanted.

I just needed to get out.

The front doors loomed ahead. Glass and steel. The evening light beyond calling to me like salvation.

I shoved through them. Out into the cold air.

The wind hit my tear-streaked face. Sharp. Biting. A slap that almost cleared my head.

Almost.

I kept running.

My heels weren’t made for this. One caught on a crack in the sidewalk. I stumbled. Caught myself against a lamppost. Kept going.

Behind me, the doors burst open again.

"ARIA!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

His voice. Desperate. Anguished.

The tears were falling so fast I could barely see. The city blurred into streaks of light and shadow. People became obstacles to dodge. Streets became distances to cross.

I didn’t know where I was going.

Didn’t care.

Just needed to get away. Far away. Somewhere he couldn’t find me.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow I would come back to this building. Walk up to Director Black’s office. Hand in my resignation.

I’d tell her it was personal reasons. Family emergency. Anything except the truth.

And then I would leave this job.

A voice.

Female. Sharp. Cutting through the night air.

"KAEL!"

The footsteps behind me faltered.

I heard him stop.

Heard voices. His and hers. Words I couldn’t make out over the pounding of my own heart.

I didn’t turn around.

Didn’t slow down.

Just kept running. Faster. Harder. My breath coming in ragged sobs that tore at my throat.

He wasn’t following anymore.