Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Aria’s POV

I stood in front of the cracked mirror in my tiny bedroom, pulling my hair into a neat ponytail. Thank my mother’s generous heart—she’d actually given me a room that smelled like a toilet. Through walls thin as paper, Serena and Lyra’s arguing drifted in fragments—something about Serena’s latest romantic disaster. Again.

"He said he’d call!" Serena shrieked.

"He’s never going to call!" Lyra shot back. "You slept with him on the first date. What did you expect?"

"Shut up! At least I can GET dates!"

I closed my eyes. Breathed deep.

God. We really were cursed—their only topics were men, mating, and endless sex. The fighting always circled back to the same things.

I just needed to stay out of it. Their constant battles had become background noise in my life. I’d learned to ignore it years ago.

The door to my room rattled.

"Aria!" Serena’s voice cut through like a knife. "Are you in there?"

I didn’t answer. Maybe if I stayed quiet—

The door burst open anyway.

Serena stood in the doorway. Her eyes swept over me with that familiar poisonous look. The one that made me feel like garbage.

"Going to work?" She leaned against the frame. "Or going to see your new Alpha boyfriend?"

My jaw tightened. "I don’t have a boyfriend."

"Right." She laughed. Sharp. Mocking. "That’s why Kael Blood Crown called you his mate in front of everyone. Because you’re just a piece of trash."

"It’s not—"

"Save it." She stepped closer. Her perfume was cheap and overwhelming. "You know what’s funny? I spent months trying to get close to him. MONTHS. And you just waltz in with your pathetic Omega scent and suddenly you’re his fated mate?"

I grabbed my bag. Tried to push past her.

She blocked me.

"Must be nice," she hissed. "Being a whore comes so naturally to you."

The word hit like a slap.

I shoved past her. Hard. Didn’t look back.

"Don’t forget you’re still trash!" she called after me. "No matter who claims you!"

I was already down the stairs. Already heading for the door.

Lyra sat on the couch, filing her nails. She didn’t even look up. "Running away again?"

I ignored her too.

The front door slammed behind me.

Cool evening air washed over my skin. Finally. A brief moment of relief.

The walk to Moonlit Velvet was my only sanctuary—those precious quiet moments before my shift started. No screaming sisters. No mother trying to sell me off. No memories of Finn and Celestia and everything I’d lost.

Just me and the empty streets.

My feet knew the path by heart. Left at the broken streetlight. Right at the convenience store. Straight through the alley that smelled like garbage and regret.

Home sweet home.

I entered through the back door. Changed into my uniform. Tied my apron. These movements had become muscle memory. The familiar buzz of the busy club formed a soothing rhythm, helping me temporarily forget the madness at home.

Walking behind the bar, my gaze automatically swept across the hall.

Then I saw him.

Kael.

I looked away immediately. My cheeks burned like some lovesick fool.

His presence pulled at me like a magnet, even though I desperately tried to stay professional. That fated mate attraction—since the mating ceremony night, it had grown stronger.

So much stronger.

I could feel him across the room. Could sense his presence like a physical touch. His pheromones—ebony and frost—reached me even from this distance.

Artemis stirred in my mind. Alert. Yearning.

When my shift finally ended, I practically ran to the back changing room. I leaned against the cold metal locker, eyes squeezed shut, trying to calm my racing heart.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

I was being ridiculous. Pathetic. Just like Serena said.

Kael Blood Crown didn’t want me. Not really. I was just a game to him.

That’s all I was.

A transaction.

The memory stung more than it should have.

I gathered my things. Changed back into my regular clothes. Took one last deep breath.

I could do this. I could walk out there, ignore him completely, and go home.

Simple.

I stepped out into the night.

The air was cool. Crisp. The streets were quieter now—most of the late-night crowd had already gone home.

I would walk to the bus stop. Get on the bus. Go back to my mother’s house and deal with the usual chaos. Bury all thoughts of Kael deep down where they belonged.

I sighed, gripping my bag tighter as I walked toward home.

Would he ask me out? Oh no, what was I thinking?

I needed to remember that. Needed to stop fooling myself.

When I turned the corner toward the bus stop, the distant roar of an engine reached my ears. A sleek black sports car appeared, and my heartbeat stuttered—anticipation and anxiety flooding my entire body.

The driver’s door opened. Kael’s tall silhouette emerged, backlit by the streetlamps.

He leaned casually against the car, arms crossed, those black-gold eyes watching me approach.

My breath caught.