Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Aria’s POV

The bus rattled along empty streets.

I pressed my forehead against the cold window. Watched the city lights blur past. Each mile put more distance between me and everything I was running from.

My hand drifted to my stomach. Still flat. Still unchanged. But something was growing inside me. Something that was half him.

I closed my eyes. Forced the thought away.

One step at a time. That’s how I’d survive this.

The bus stopped at the edge of Meridian Territory. The border zone. Where the fancy buildings gave way to older neighborhoods. Where people didn’t ask too many questions.

I stepped off onto the dark sidewalk. My bag hung heavy on my shoulder.

Now what?

I had money. Kael’s money. Enough to disappear. But I had no plan. No destination. No idea what came next.

The only thing I knew for certain was that I couldn’t do this alone.

I pulled out my phone. Scrolled through my contacts. So few names. So few people who actually gave a damn about me.

Then I found it.

Cassius.

The healer who’d treated me after Lilith’s birth. The one who’d been kind when everyone else looked at me like trash. The one who always seemed to appear when I needed help most.

My finger hovered over his number.

Was it fair to drag him into this mess?

Probably not.

But I was desperate. And desperate people didn’t have the luxury of being fair.

I hit call.

It rang twice.

"Aria?" His voice was warm. Surprised. "Is everything okay? It’s late."

"Cassius." My voice cracked. Damn it. "I need help."

Silence. Then: "Where are you?"

"Bus station. Border zone. I—" I swallowed hard. "I don’t know where else to go."

"Stay there." No hesitation. No questions. "I’m coming to get you."

The line went dead.

I sank onto the bench. Let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

Fifteen minutes later, headlights cut through the darkness.

A modest car pulled up. Nothing flashy. Nothing expensive. Just reliable and clean.

The door opened. Cassius stepped out.

He was exactly as I remembered. Tall. Lean. Silver-white hair that caught the streetlight. Those calm gray eyes that always made me feel like everything might be okay.

"Aria." He crossed the distance between us in three strides. His hands found my shoulders. Steadied me. "What happened? You look terrible."

A laugh escaped me. Wet. Broken.

"Thanks. That’s exactly what every girl wants to hear."

He didn’t smile. Just studied my face with those healer’s eyes. Seeing too much.

"Come on." He grabbed my bag before I could protest. "Let’s get you somewhere safe."

---

Cassius’s apartment was small but warm.

Books everywhere. Medical journals stacked on the coffee table. Plants on every windowsill. The kind of lived-in mess that felt more like a home than anywhere I’d been in years.

He set my bag by the couch. Disappeared into the kitchen.

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Not sure what to do with myself.

"Sit." His voice drifted from the other room. "You look like you’re about to fall over."

I sat.

He returned with two mugs. Pressed one into my hands. Hot tea. The warmth seeped into my frozen fingers.

"Thank you." The words came out small. Pathetic.

Cassius settled into the chair across from me. Waited.

The silence stretched.

"Aren’t you going to ask?" I finally said.

"When you’re ready."

God. Why was he so patient? So kind? What had I ever done to deserve someone like this in my corner?

"I left." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "I packed my things and left. My apartment. My family. Everything."

He nodded slowly. "Where were you planning to go?"

"I don’t know." My voice cracked. "Somewhere. Anywhere. I just couldn’t stay there anymore."

"What happened, Aria?" His voice was gentle. No judgment. Just concern.

And suddenly, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Everything came pouring out.

Kael. The dates. The mating ceremony. The way he’d made me feel like maybe—just maybe—I could be something more than Shadow Moon trash.

Then the truth. The game. Rebecca’s cruelty. The money he’d shoved at me like payment for services rendered.

The hospital. The diagnosis.

Pregnant.

By the time I finished, I was crying. Ugly sobs that shook my whole body.

Cassius didn’t say anything. Just moved from his chair to the couch beside me. Put his arm around my shoulders. Let me fall apart against his chest.

"I’m so stupid," I choked out. "So incredibly stupid. I actually believed—I thought maybe—"

"You’re not stupid." His voice was firm. "You’re normal. You wanted to be loved. There’s nothing stupid about that." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"But I fell for it. Again. Just like with Finn. I keep making the same mistakes over and over."

"Hey." He pulled back. Cupped my face in his hands. Made me look at him. "Listen to me. What Kael did—what Finn did—that’s not on you. That’s on them. They’re the ones who chose to hurt you. You didn’t do anything wrong."

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.

"I’m pregnant, Cassius." The words came out broken. "With his baby. And he doesn’t even know. And I can’t tell him. Because if his family finds out—"

"They won’t find out." His voice was steady. Certain. "I won’t let them."

"You don’t understand. Magnus Blood Crown is—"

"I know exactly who he is." Cassius’s gray eyes hardened. Just for a moment. "And I know what his family is capable of. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is keeping you safe."

I stared at him. This man who barely knew me. Who had no obligation to help. Who was offering to protect me from one of the most powerful families in Meridian Territory.

"Why?" The question slipped out. "Why are you doing this? I’m nobody. I’m just—"

"Don’t." He cut me off. Gentle but firm. "Don’t say that. You’re not nobody, Aria. You never were."

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