Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Chapter 91

Aria’s POV

The drive home was quiet.

Lina sat in her car seat, unusually still. Her little fingers traced patterns on the window glass. I kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror, trying to read her expression.

Was she okay? Had something happened? Had Celestia’s son already done something to her?

My hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Baby?" I asked softly. "You okay back there?"

She looked up. Those black-gold eyes met mine in the mirror.

And then she smiled.

"Mommy." Her voice was breathless. Excited. "Mommy, the kids here are like ME!"

My heart squeezed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" She bounced in her seat. The seatbelt strained against her small body. "There’s a boy and he can run super fast too! And a girl accidentally broke a crayon holder and nobody got mad at her! They just gave her a new one!"

I blinked back sudden tears.

"That’s wonderful, baby."

"And and and—" She was talking so fast the words tumbled over each other. "There’s this one girl, her name is Sage, and she has silver hair like yours used to be! And she said her mommy is an Omega and that’s okay because Omegas are special!"

"That’s right," I managed. My voice was thick. "Omegas are special."

"I KNOW!" Lina threw her hands up. "That’s what I said! I said my mommy is the most special person in the whole world and Sage said her mommy is and then we decided both our mommies can be the most special!"

A laugh escaped me. Wet and wobbly.

"That sounds like a very smart decision."

"We’re very smart." She nodded seriously. "Teacher said so. She said we’re the smartest sunflowers she’s ever had."

God. This child. This perfect, wonderful child.

"Tell me more," I said. "Tell me everything."

And she did.

The entire drive home, she talked. About the classroom with its big windows and colorful rugs. About the snacks they had—little crackers shaped like animals and juice boxes with silly straws. About the playground with swings that went really high and a sandbox bigger than our entire kitchen.

"And nobody was scared of me, Mommy." Her voice dropped. Softer now. Almost wondering. "Nobody ran away when I ran fast. They just ran with me."

My throat closed up completely.

"That’s how it should be, baby." I could barely get the words out. "That’s exactly how it should be."

---

Cassius’s cottage came into view.

The warm lights in the windows. The smoke curling from the chimney. It looked like home. More and more every day.

Lina was out of her seatbelt before I’d even turned off the engine.

"Uncle Cassius! UNCLE CASSIUS!"

She burst through the front door like a tiny hurricane.

I followed more slowly. Taking my time. Letting myself breathe.

She was happy.

My daughter was actually, genuinely happy.

When was the last time I’d seen her like this? Before the preschool incidents. Before the broken chairs and the frightened teachers and the parents who looked at her like she was dangerous.

She’d been so small then. So confused about why she was different. Why people were afraid of her.

Now she knew.

Now she had a place where she belonged.

"—and then he said he could jump higher than anyone and I said nuh-uh I can jump higher and then we had a contest and I WON!"

I walked into the kitchen to find Lina perched on a stool, gesturing wildly while Cassius listened with rapt attention. He was making something at the stove—soup, from the smell of it—but his focus was entirely on her.

"You won?" He raised his eyebrows. Impressed. "That’s amazing, Lina."

"I KNOW!" She bounced on the stool. "And then he wasn’t even mad! He said ’good job’ and gave me a high five! Look, like this!"

She demonstrated. Her small palm slapping the air with enthusiasm.

Cassius dutifully high-fived her.

"Sounds like you had quite a day," he said. His eyes found mine over her head. Warm. Knowing.

"The BEST day," Lina confirmed. "Can I go back tomorrow?"

"Yes, baby." I walked over. Dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "You can go back tomorrow. And the next day. And every day after that."

"FOREVER?"

"Forever."

She threw her arms around my waist. Squeezed with all her tiny strength.

"I love you, Mommy."

The words hit me right in the chest. In that soft, vulnerable place I tried so hard to protect.

Lina couldn’t stop talking long enough to eat. Every bite was interrupted by another story, another memory, another excited declaration about her new friends.

"—and Sage said her favorite color is purple and mine is purple too so now we’re purple twins—"

"—and the teacher has this really cool voice when she reads stories, she does all the different characters—"

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