Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Kael’s POV

"Okay. I’ll stay."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

What the hell was I doing?

Aria’s face transformed. Relief. Gratitude. Something else I didn’t want to name. Her silver eyes glistened under the suite’s soft lighting.

Fenrir purred in my head. Satisfied. Smug.

I walked to the minibar. Needed something to do with my hands. Something to distract me from the way she looked standing there—vulnerable, beautiful, completely unaware of the effect she had on me.

"Drink?" I held up a bottle.

Her eyes lit up. Actually lit up. Like I’d offered her the moon.

"Yes. Please."

I poured two glasses. Handed her one. Our fingers brushed.

Electric.

My jaw tightened.

Aria took the glass. Drained half of it in one gulp.

"Easy," I said. "That’s not cheap wine."

She laughed. The sound was raw. Broken around the edges. "Nothing about tonight has been easy."

Fair point.

I leaned against the wall. Watched her move to the window. The city lights painted her silhouette gold and silver.

She was still wearing that dress I’d bought her. The navy silk hugged curves I was trying very hard not to notice.

Fenrir growled appreciatively.

I took a long drink. Let the alcohol burn down my throat.

Aria turned. Her eyes found mine. Held.

She finished her glass. Held it out for more.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sure that’s a good idea?"

"Terrible idea." Her smile widened. "Pour anyway."

I did.

We drank in silence for a while. The tension in the room shifted. Thickened. I could feel her heartbeat from across the room. Could smell her scent—moonflowers and rain and something uniquely *her*.

It was driving me insane.

"You know what’s funny?" Aria’s voice had gone soft. Dreamy. The alcohol was hitting her.

"What?"

"I spent five years trying to be perfect." She swirled her wine. Watched it catch the light. "Perfect wife. Perfect mother. Perfect daughter-in-law. And you know what it got me?"

"What?"

"Arrested." She laughed again. Hollow. "My own husband had me arrested. Can you believe that?"

I couldn’t. The rage from earlier flared hot in my chest.

If I ever saw Finn Nightfang again—

"And my family." Aria’s voice turned bitter. "God, my family. Do you know what my mother said when they dragged us out?"

I waited.

"She said she should have drowned me at birth." Aria’s hand trembled. Wine sloshed against the glass. "Her own daughter. And she meant it. She actually meant it."

Something twisted in my gut.

"Serena kept screaming that everything was my fault. Lyra said she hoped I’d rot." Aria’s laugh came out wet. Broken. "And I just... took it. Like I always do. Because that’s what I am, right? The punching bag. The scapegoat. The family curse."

She drained her second glass.

"More," she demanded.

I shouldn’t. I knew I shouldn’t.

I poured anyway.

"You know what the worst part is?" Aria stumbled toward the couch. Collapsed onto it. "I believed them. For years, I actually believed I was the problem. That if I just tried harder, worked more, loved better—maybe they’d finally love me back."

Her voice cracked.

"But they never did. They never will." She looked up at me. Eyes swimming with tears and wine. "Nightfang. Shadow Moon. Two names. Both curses. I hate them. I hate both of them."

The words poured out of her like water from a broken dam.

"Finn’s family treated me like dirt. Like I was something stuck to the bottom of their expensive shoes. His mother—God, that woman—she called me a ’broken incubator’ to my face. Said my womb was as worthless as my bloodline."

She hiccupped. Wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"And I just stood there. Took it. Apologized for existing."

"Why?" The question came out harsher than I intended.

Aria looked at me. Those silver eyes were hazy now. Unfocused.

"Because I thought that’s what love meant. Sacrifice. Suffering. Giving everything until there’s nothing left." She laughed bitterly. "Stupid, right?"

"Yes."

She blinked. Surprised by my honesty.

"Love isn’t supposed to break you," I said. The words came out rough. Uncomfortable. "It’s not supposed to make you smaller."

Where the hell had that come from?

Aria stared at me. Her lips parted slightly.

Then she smiled. Soft. Real.

Uncontrollable. Bubbling. Genuine. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

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