Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 39

Aria’s POV

Warmth.

That was the first thing I noticed when consciousness slowly pulled me from sleep. A delicious, bone-deep warmth that had nothing to do with blankets or sunlight.

I kept my eyes closed. Let myself float in that hazy space between dreams and waking.

Last night.

The memories came flooding back. Finn’s attack. The terror. The pain. And then—Kael. Bursting through that door like a dark avenging angel. Fighting for me. Protecting me.

And afterward...

My cheeks burned. My whole body flushed with heat that had nothing to do with the morning sun streaming through the window.

We’d... we actually...

I couldn’t even finish the thought without my heart racing. My fingers curled into the sheets. The phantom sensation of his hands on my skin. His mouth on mine. The way he’d looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.

A smile tugged at my lips. Small. Private. The kind of smile I hadn’t worn in years.

Maybe ever.

Was this what happiness felt like? This bubbling, effervescent thing rising in my chest? This lightness that made me want to laugh for no reason at all?

I reached out without opening my eyes. My fingertips brushed across the mattress where Kael had been.

Cold.

Empty.

My eyes snapped open.

The space beside me was vacant. The sheets were rumpled but cool. He’d been gone for a while.

Confusion clouded my joy. I pushed myself up on my elbows, clutching the sheet to my chest. The room spun for a moment—residual effects from whatever drug Finn had given me—before settling.

Where was he?

Then I saw him.

Kael stood on the balcony. His back was to me. He leaned against the metal railing with casual grace, like he owned the sunrise itself.

Golden morning light poured over him. It painted his broad shoulders in warm hues. Highlighted the muscles of his bare back. He wore only his underwear, and the sight made my mouth go dry.

God, he was beautiful.

My heart swelled. Joy flooded through me again, washing away the momentary panic.

He hadn’t left. He was right there.

I slipped out of bed, wrapping the thin blanket around my naked body. My feet were silent on the hardwood floor as I padded toward the balcony.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. Nervous. Excited. Like a teenager approaching her first crush.

What should I say? Good morning? Thank you for saving my life? Thank you for last night?

I stopped a few feet behind him. Close enough to touch. Close enough to wrap my arms around his waist and press my cheek against his back.

I wanted to do exactly that. Every nerve in my body screamed for contact. For reassurance. For proof that last night had been real.

"Hi," I said softly. The word came out shy. Almost breathless.

Kael didn’t move.

Didn’t turn around. Didn’t acknowledge me at all.

The butterflies in my stomach turned to lead.

"It’s done." His voice cut through the morning air. Cold. Sharp. Like a blade made of ice.

I froze.

What?

My heart stuttered. I stared at his rigid back. At the tension in his shoulders. At the way he gripped the railing like he was trying to strangle it.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

"Did I..." I swallowed hard. My voice trembled. "Did I do something to upset you?"

Please say no. Please turn around and smile and tell me everything is fine.

Please.

Kael finally turned.

His face destroyed me.

The tenderness from last night—the warmth, the passion, the way he’d looked at me like I was precious—all of it was gone. Erased. Like it had never existed.

In its place was cold indifference. His black-gold eyes swept over me with the bored disinterest of someone examining a piece of furniture they’d already decided to throw away.

I’d seen this look before. On Finn. On my mother. On everyone who had ever decided I wasn’t worth their time.

But from Kael?

It broke something inside me.

"Listen," he said. His voice was flat. Emotionless. Distant as a stranger’s. "There’s about twenty-five thousand on the table. Payment for those dates I promised."

I stared at him. My brain refused to process his words.

"What?" The word came out as a gasp. Barely audible.

My gaze followed his gesture to the side table by the window. A thick stack of cash sat there. Green bills. Crisp and neat.

My eyes snapped back to Kael. Panic clawed at my throat.

"I don’t understand," I admitted. My voice cracked. Shattered.

Kael sighed heavily. He ran his fingers through his hair like this conversation bored him.

"What part don’t you understand?" he snapped. Impatient. Irritated. "I paid you for three dates. The money’s there. Take it and disappear."

Reality tilted. Collapsed. The floor seemed to drop away beneath my feet.

Disappear.

My lips trembled. The first tear spilled down my cheek before I could stop it.

"What did I do wrong?" I begged again. My voice fractured into pieces.

Kael’s gaze locked onto mine. But there was no warmth there. No hint that he was the same man who had held me. Kissed me. Made love to me like I mattered.

"Jesus Christ," he groaned. He brushed past me, snatching his shirt from a chair. "Don’t make this into something it wasn’t, Shadow Moon. You just had the bad luck of being chosen to amuse Rebecca. The whole thing was just a game to entertain her."

My world collapsed.

My knees buckled. A wounded cry tried to escape my throat. I clapped my palm over my mouth, desperately trying to contain the sound.

I failed completely.

Tremors wracked my entire body. The devastation hit me like a physical blow.

A game.

I was their toy.

Their entertainment.

Tears flooded my vision. They poured down my cheeks in an unstoppable stream.

Every moment with him replayed in my mind. Every look. Every touch. Every word.

All of it fake.

All of it calculated.

All of it designed to amuse his ex-girlfriend.

"You..." I choked on the word. "You and Rebecca planned this?"

Kael shrugged. Actually shrugged. Like destroying someone’s heart was a minor inconvenience.

"She wanted something fun for her birthday. Picking someone and pretending to date them was her idea." He buttoned his shirt with casual ease. "I just went along with it."

The mating ceremony. When he’d called me his mate in front of everyone. When Fenrir had recognized me as his fated pair.

Had that been part of the game too?

"But at the ceremony—" I started.

"Fenrir got carried away." Kael cut me off. His voice was dismissive. "Wolves do that sometimes around Omegas in heat. It didn’t mean anything."

Didn’t mean anything.

Those three words echoed in my skull. Over and over. A hammer striking the same bruise.

Like I hadn’t felt his hands tremble when he touched me. Like I hadn’t heard him whisper my name like a prayer. Like I hadn’t seen the gold in his eyes blazing with something that looked so much like—

No.

I’d imagined it. All of it. Seen what I wanted to see because I was desperate and stupid and so pathetically eager to be loved.

Just like with Finn.

The realization hit me like a knife to the chest.

I’d done it again. Fallen for another man who saw me as nothing. Who used me. Who threw me away when he was done.

What was wrong with me? Why did I keep making the same mistake?

"The money’s on the table," Kael repeated. He grabbed his jacket. "Take it. Use it to get away from your family like you wanted. Consider it a parting gift."

A parting gift.

Like I was a service he’d utilized and was now tipping generously.

Something inside me snapped.

The tears kept falling. I couldn’t stop them. Didn’t even try anymore. But underneath the grief, underneath the devastation, a spark of anger ignited.

"You think money fixes this?" My voice came out stronger than I expected. Raw with pain but steady. "You think you can just... pay me off?"

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that what you wanted? You agreed to the deal. Three dates for twenty-five thousand. I delivered. You delivered. Transaction complete."

Transaction.

That word. That horrible, clinical word.

"I’m not a prostitute," I whispered. The words burned my throat.

"Never said you were." He shrugged again. So casual. So indifferent. "But you did accept money for your company. What would you call that?"

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself. Armor against the cold emanating from him.

My phone sat on the nightstand. I grabbed it with shaking fingers.

My eyes caught the stack of money one more time. Twenty-five thousand dollars. Enough to start over. Enough to escape my family. Enough to build a new life.

Blood money.

I left it where it was.

I couldn’t touch it. Couldn’t take anything from him. The thought of spending a single dollar of that cash made my stomach turn.

I’d find another way. I’d always found another way.

The door seemed miles away. Each step took enormous effort. My legs shook. My vision blurred with tears.

Don’t break down. Not here. Not in front of him.

I reached for the handle.

"Aria."

His voice stopped me. My hand froze on the doorknob.

Hope—stupid, stubborn, pathetic hope—flickered in my chest. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe he’d apologize. Maybe he’d tell me it was all a lie, that he hadn’t meant any of it, that last night was real after all.

I waited.

"Don’t forget," Kael said. His voice was casual. Bored. "You should probably get checked out by a doctor. After what Finn drugged you with. Just to be safe."

That was it.

That was all.

Medical advice. Like I was a patient he was discharging.

The last flicker of hope died.

I didn’t respond. Couldn’t. My throat had closed completely.

I yanked open the door. Stepped through. The hallway stretched before me—endless and empty and cold.

I started walking. Then faster. Then running.

My bare feet slapped against the floor. The blanket I’d forgotten to drop trailed behind me. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t wipe them away.

I just ran.