Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 83

Aria’s POV

My first day at Morrison Industries was a disaster.

I spilled coffee on myself. Twice. I couldn’t figure out how to work the copy machine. I accidentally hung up on an important client because I pressed the wrong button on the phone system.

By lunch, I was ready to crawl into a hole and die.

"You’re doing fine," Mrs. Morrison said when she found me hiding in the break room. "Everyone struggles on their first day."

"I’m not struggling." I stared at the coffee stain on my blouse. "I’m failing. Spectacularly."

She laughed. Actually laughed. Like my incompetence was somehow endearing.

"Aria, I hired you because my daughter vouched for you. And because I saw something in your eyes during our interview." She sat down across from me. Her presence was calm. Reassuring. "You’ve been through hard times. I can tell. But hard times make strong people. You’ll figure this out."

I wanted to believe her. Wanted to trust that this wasn’t just another dead end.

But trust didn’t come easy anymore.

Not after everything.

I learned things I’d never needed to know in the wolf world. Spreadsheets. Email etiquette. Corporate hierarchy. The mysterious art of scheduling meetings that somehow never conflicted with other meetings.

It was exhausting.

But also... exciting?

For the first time in months, I had a purpose. A routine. Something to focus on besides the constant ache in my chest.

My desk was in the corner of the executive floor. Small but mine. I had a computer, a phone, and a plant that Sophie had given me as a "welcome to the human world" gift.

The plant was already dying.

"You’re overwatering it," Sophie informed me during one of her visits. She came by almost every day. Sometimes to help. Sometimes to chat. Sometimes just to steal snacks from my desk drawer.

"I’m trying to keep it alive."

"By drowning it?" She plucked the wilting leaves off. "Plants are like people, Aria. Sometimes they need you to back off and let them breathe."

I stared at her. "That’s surprisingly deep."

"I have my moments." She grinned. That infectious smile that made it impossible not to smile back. "So. How’s the job treating you?"

"Good. I think." I saved the document I’d been working on. "Your mom is patient. The other assistants have been helpful. I’m still learning the systems, but I’m getting there."

"See? I told you this would work out."

"You told me I could handle anything because I saved your life."

"Same thing."

I rolled my eyes. But I was smiling.

"Okay, so there’s this café two blocks over that has the BEST sandwiches," she was saying as we walked. "And they make this chocolate cake that will literally change your life. Like, forget everything you thought you knew about chocolate. This is the real deal."

"You sound like a commercial."

"I should be! They should pay me for how much I talk about their food." She linked her arm through mine. "Come on, pregnant lady. You need to eat more. You’re still too skinny."

My hand went to my stomach. Five months now. The bump was visible under my loose blouse. Getting harder to hide.

Not that I was trying to hide it anymore.

Here, in this human world, being a single pregnant woman wasn’t a scandal. It wasn’t shameful. It was just... life.

People were kind. Offered me seats on the bus. Held doors open. Asked about my due date with genuine interest instead of cruel judgment.

It was strange.

Nice strange. But still strange.

The café was exactly as Sophie described. Cozy. Warm. Smelling like fresh bread and coffee.

We grabbed a table by the window. Sophie ordered for both of us. Something about me "not knowing what’s good yet."

I let her. It was easier than arguing.

"So." Sophie propped her chin on her hand. "Tell me more about your life before. You’ve been so mysterious about it."

My smile faltered.

I’d avoided this topic. Deflected every time she asked. Changed the subject or made excuses.

But Sophie had been so good to me. She’d gotten me this job. Given me a friend when I had no one. Treated me like a person when I’d forgotten what that felt like.

She deserved the truth.

Or at least... part of it.

"What do you want to know?" I asked carefully.

"Everything!" She leaned forward. Eyes bright with curiosity. "Where did you grow up? What was your family like? How did you end up pregnant and alone in the worst part of the city?"

"That’s a lot of questions."

"I have a lot of curiosity." She grinned. "Come on, Aria. We’re friends now. Real friends. And real friends share their stories."

I took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

Where did I even begin?

"I grew up poor," I said finally. "Really poor. My mother was... not a good person. She used me. Used all of us. My sisters learned from her. Became just as selfish. Just as cruel."

Sophie’s face softened. "That sounds awful."

"It was." I picked at my napkin. Shredded it into tiny pieces. "I tried to escape. Got married young. Thought it would be my way out."

"And?"

"And it wasn’t." A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "My husband was worse than my family. He didn’t love me. Never loved me. I was just... convenient. A means to an end."

The memories hit harder than I expected.

Finn’s cold eyes. His dismissive voice. The way he’d touch me like I was property instead of a person.

"He had a girlfriend," I continued. My voice was steadier than I felt. "The whole time we were married. She was beautiful. Refined. Everything I wasn’t. He would leave me alone for weeks. Months. Only came back when he needed something."

Sophie’s hand found mine across the table. Squeezed tight.

"I had a daughter with him." The words hurt. Actually hurt. Like broken glass in my throat. "Lilith. She’s five now. And she... she doesn’t want me."

"What do you mean?"

"She chose his girlfriend over me. Called her ’mommy.’ Told me she hated me." Tears burned in my eyes. I blinked them back. "The last time I saw her, she pushed me. Screamed that I was evil. That she wished I was dead."

"Aria..."

"I know she’s just a child. I know she was manipulated. But it still..." I pressed my hand against my chest. "It still hurts so much."

Sophie was crying now. Actual tears streaming down her face.

"That’s horrible," she whispered. "That’s so horrible."

"There’s more."

"More?"

I nodded. Forced myself to continue.

"After my marriage fell apart, I met someone else. Someone who made me feel like I mattered for the first time in my life."

The memory of Kael flooded through me.

His black-gold eyes. His rare smiles. The way he’d held me like I was something precious.

And then...

"He lied to me too." My voice cracked. "Everything we had. Every moment. It was all a game to him. Entertainment. When I found out, he paid me. Like I was a whore. Told me to disappear from his life."

"HE WHAT?!" Sophie shot up from her chair. The whole café turned to look. She didn’t care. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HE PAID YOU?!"

"Sophie, sit down—"

"NO! I WILL NOT SIT DOWN!" Her face was red with fury. "What kind of piece of garbage does that?! What kind of absolute MONSTER treats a woman like that?!"

"It’s complicated—"

"COMPLICATED?!" She slammed her hands on the table. "There’s nothing complicated about it! He used you! He hurt you! And then he threw money at you like that made it okay!"

I’d never seen her this angry.

It was almost... funny?

No. Not funny.

Touching.

No one had ever been angry on my behalf before.

"And this baby?" Sophie gestured at my stomach. "Is it his?"

I nodded.

"Does he know?"

"No."

"Good!" She crossed her arms. "He doesn’t deserve to know! He doesn’t deserve ANYTHING from you!"

"Sophie—"

"Listen to me." She leaned in close. Her eyes were fierce. Determined. "If you ever see that scumbag again, you punch him right in his stupid face. You hear me? You punch him so hard his teeth rattle. And then—" She made a kicking motion. "You kick him right in the crotch. As hard as you can. Make sure he can never use that thing to hurt anyone ever again."

I stared at her. "Sophie..."

"And THEN—" She wasn’t finished. "You put on the highest heels you own. The pointiest ones. And you stomp on his foot. HARD. And then you walk away. Head high. Shoulders back. Like the absolute queen you are."

"That’s... very specific."

"I’ve thought about it." She sat back down. Still fuming. "A lot. Since you started hinting about your past. I knew it was bad. I didn’t know it was THIS bad."

I couldn’t help it.

I laughed.

The sound surprised both of us. But once I started, I couldn’t stop. The laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside me. From the place where I’d buried all my pain and fear and anger.

"What?" Sophie looked confused. "What’s funny?"

"You." I wiped my eyes. "You’re just... you’re so..."

"Amazing? Brilliant? Incredibly supportive?"

"Crazy." I was still laughing. "You’re absolutely crazy, Sophie. You know that, right?"

"I prefer ’passionate.’"

"You just told me to assault someone."

"He DESERVES to be assaulted!" She threw her hands up. "After everything he did to you? He deserves way worse than a kick to the balls!"

I shook my head. Still smiling.

She didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand. In the wolf world, things weren’t that simple. You couldn’t just punch an Alpha heir. Couldn’t kick him. Couldn’t do anything except submit and survive.

But here, in this human café, with this human girl who cared about me for no reason at all...

I could pretend.

I could imagine walking up to Kael Blood Crown. Looking him in those black-gold eyes. And letting all my anger out in one satisfying punch.

It would never happen.

I knew that.

But the fantasy was nice.

"Thank you," I said softly.