Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 185

Aria’s POV

The words hung in the air like poison.

"Get out. Get out of this house."

My feet moved before my brain caught up.

I turned. Stumbled backward. Hit the doorframe with my shoulder.

The pain didn’t register.

Nothing registered except the need to leave. To get away. To stop being the thing that was causing more hurt in this already destroyed family.

"Aria—" Kael’s voice came from behind me.

I didn’t stop.

Couldn’t stop.

My legs carried me down the hallway. Past expensive paintings I didn’t see. Past furniture that cost more than I’d ever owned. Past the life I’d stupidly thought I could be part of.

The mansion was huge. Endless. Every turn led to another hallway. Another reminder that I didn’t belong here.

Would never belong here.

My breath came in ragged gasps. My vision blurred at the edges. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Behind me, I heard Kael’s mother still crying. Still screaming. The sound echoing through the halls.

"—demon family—"

"—destroyed my son—"

"—cursed blood—"

Each word was a knife. Sharp. Precise. Cutting deeper than any physical wound could.

Because she was right.

My family HAD destroyed her son. My brother sold him the drugs. My sister gave him more.

Shadow Moon blood. Cursed. Toxic. Ruining everything we touched.

I found the stairs. Nearly fell down them in my rush to escape.

The front door appeared ahead. Massive. Wooden. Beautiful.

I grabbed the handle. Yanked it open.

Cold air hit my face.

I ran.

Down the stone steps. Across the perfectly manicured lawn. Past the fountain that probably cost more than my entire apartment building.

My lungs were burning. My legs were shaking.

But I kept running.

Away from the mansion. Away from Kael’s family. Away from the reminder of what my blood meant. What it would always mean.

I made it to the long driveway before my body gave out.

My knees buckled. I caught myself against a tree. Pressed my forehead against the rough bark.

Tried to breathe.

Tried to think.

Tried to be anything other than what I was.

Shadow Moon.

The name was a brand. A curse. A life sentence.

No matter how far I ran. No matter how much I changed. No matter what I did.

I would always be Shadow Moon blood.

And Shadow Moon blood destroyed everything.

Tears burned behind my eyes. I squeezed them shut. Refused to let them fall.

Crying wouldn’t help. Wouldn’t change anything. Wouldn’t undo the damage my family had caused.

"Aria!"

Kael’s voice cut through the night.

Footsteps pounding on pavement. Getting closer.

"Aria, wait!"

I pushed off the tree. Started moving again.

"Please!" His voice was desperate now. "Just stop! Let me—"

A hand caught my wrist.

Gentle. Careful. But firm enough to stop me.

I spun around.

Kael stood there. Breathing hard. His shirt untucked. Hair messy. Those black-gold eyes wild with something I couldn’t name.

"Let me go." My voice came out broken. Raw. "You need to get back to your family. Your mother needs you. Lucian needs you. I shouldn’t—I can’t—"

"Stop." He pulled me closer. "Just stop running for one second."

"I’m sorry." He said it again. Softer this time. "I’m so sorry she said those things. She was upset. Terrified. She wasn’t thinking clearly."

I laughed.

It came out bitter. Ugly.

"She was thinking perfectly clearly." I tried to pull my hand free. He held on. "Everything she said was true, Kael. My brother sold your brother drugs. My sister just gave him more. My family—"

"Your family’s actions are not YOUR actions." His voice got firmer. "You are not responsible for what they did."

"Aren’t I?" The question came out strangled. "I share their blood. Their name. Their curse."

"That’s bullshit."

I blinked.

"It’s bullshit," he repeated. "You think being born into a family makes you guilty of their crimes? That blood determines who you are? What you’re capable of?"

His hands moved to my shoulders. Gripped tight.

"If that’s true, then what does it make me?" His voice got quieter. Darker. "My father beat my mother. Tortured my brother. Ruled through fear and violence. Does his blood flowing through my veins make me the same?"

I stared at him.

At those eyes that saw me. Really saw me. Even when I didn’t want to be seen.

"My mother spoke from pain." His voice gentled. "From years of watching her son destroy himself. From the terror of almost losing him again. She lashed out at the closest target."

He brushed a strand of hair from my face.

"But that doesn’t make what she said right. And I won’t let you carry that burden."

My throat was so tight I could barely breathe.

"I need to go back." His voice was reluctant. "Lucian needs me. My mother needs me. But first I need to know you’re okay. That you’re not going to run away and disappear on me."

"I’m fine." The lie tasted bitter.

"Aria."

"I’m FINE." I said it louder. Firmer.

He kissed me.

Hard. Desperate. Swallowing whatever else I was about to say.

When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

"I love you." His voice was rough. Raw. "I love you and nothing—NOTHING—is going to change that. Not your family. Not mine. Not blood or history or curses or whatever else you want to throw at me."

He pressed his forehead against mine.

"I know." I pulled away slightly. "You should go. Don’t keep them waiting."

"Yes." I forced a smile. "I promise. I’m fine."

"Call me when you get home." His voice was firm. "Text me. Something. I need to know you’re safe."

"I will."

Watched until he disappeared through the front door. Until I was alone under the night sky with nothing but my thoughts and the weight of my family’s sins.

Then I pulled out my phone.

My hands were shaking as I scrolled through my contacts. Past Sophie. Past Cassius. Past the few other people I’d collected in my new life.

Until I found it.

Serena Shadow Moon.