Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Aria’s POV

The car door slammed shut behind me.

I sat in the passenger seat of Kael’s sports car, my mind spinning. My cheek still burned from Rebecca’s slap. My heart still raced from everything that had just happened.

What was I doing here?

Five minutes ago, I’d been ready to walk away forever. To forget Kael Blood Crown existed. To move on with my life and never look back.

And now I was in his car. Again.

The engine purred beneath us. The city lights blurred past the windows. We drove in complete silence.

I stared at my hands in my lap. They were trembling. I couldn’t make them stop.

Questions tumbled through my head. Why did he come after me? Why did he save me from Marcus? Why did he tell Rebecca they were done?

None of it made sense.

This was the same man who’d paid me like a prostitute. Who’d told me to disappear. Who’d made it perfectly clear I was nothing to him.

And now he was driving me home like some kind of gentleman.

The silence was unbearable.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. His profile was sharp against the streetlights. His jaw was clenched. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

He looked... troubled.

Good. He should be troubled. After everything he’d put me through.

But even as I thought it, my traitorous heart ached. Ached to reach out. Ached to touch him. Ached to ask if any of it had been real.

I turned my face toward the window. Watched the buildings blur past.

Don’t be stupid, Aria. Don’t fall for it again.

The minutes stretched like hours. Each second of silence pressed down on my chest.

I should say something. Thank him for saving me. Tell him to pull over so I could get out. Anything to break this tension.

But the words stuck in my throat.

What was there to say? What could possibly make any of this okay?

Then Kael sighed.

The sound was heavy. Tired. Like something inside him had finally given way.

I looked at him. Couldn’t help it.

He kept his eyes on the road. His expression was complicated. Pain and regret and something else I couldn’t name.

"I shouldn’t have said those things to you."

His voice was quiet. Rough around the edges.

My heart stuttered.

"What?"

"That morning." He paused. Swallowed hard. "The way I spoke to you. It was wrong."

I stared at him. Frozen.

Was he... apologizing?

Kael Blood Crown was apologizing. To me. The Alpha heir who never apologized to anyone was actually saying he was wrong.

Something warm bloomed in my chest. Something dangerously close to hope.

But then he continued.

"We went on a few dates. I understand that might have created certain... expectations." His voice was careful now. Measured. "But we’re not the same kind of people, Aria. We never were. It’s better if we don’t contact each other anymore."

The warmth in my chest turned to ice.

"The money I gave you—that was our agreement. You held up your end. I held up mine." He still wouldn’t look at me. "I’m sorry that the game Rebecca and I were playing affected you. That wasn’t fair."

Game.

There it was. That word again.

I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.

"But I want you to know something." His voice softened. Just barely. "You’re not like your sisters. You’re different from them. You always were."

Different.

Like that was supposed to make me feel better. Like being "different" from my trashy family was some kind of consolation prize.

I pressed my lips together. Hard. Forced back the tears threatening to spill.

Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. Not in front of him.

But god, it hurt.

Because for one stupid moment—one pathetic, hopeful moment—I’d thought he was going to say something else. Something real. Something that meant all the pain had been worth it.

Instead, he was just... letting me go. Gently. Politely. Like he was ending a business arrangement instead of destroying my heart.

"I see," I heard myself say.

My voice came out flat. Dead.

Kael finally looked at me. Just for a second. Those black-gold eyes searched my face.

What was he looking for? Tears? Anger? Acceptance?

I gave him nothing.

Such a meaningless word. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

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