Sweet Hatred-Chapter 400: True Love

I’ve always been good at waiting you know.

Patience is a skill most people underestimate.

They think love is about grand gestures, about showing up with flowers and declarations.

But real love... true love... is about strategy.

It’s about watching. Learning. Adapting.

And I’d been watching Aria for years. Learning for her. Adapting for her.

Every smile she gave Kael felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

Every time she said his name with that soft, breathy quality, like he was something sacred, I wanted to scream. To tell her that she was foolish. That no man could ever compare to what I’d do for her.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

So I smiled. I nodded.

I played the role of the supportive best friend because that’s what got me close to her.

That’s what kept me relevant.

But then when Aria tossed me aside and I slowly felt desperation crawl over me like bugs, the universe started handing me gifts.

The first gift came wrapped in designer clothes and a British accent.

Ashlyn.

When Aria first mentioned Kael’s "fiancée," I felt something electric shoot through my spine. Finally. Finally. This was it, the crack in their foundation I’d been waiting for.

I watched Aria’s face when she told me, saw the way her jaw tightened, the slight tremor in her hands as she tried to act unbothered.

"She just showed up," Aria said, voice carefully neutral. "No warning. Kael didn’t even mention her."

I made all the right noises. Shock. Sympathy. Indignation on her behalf.

But inside? Inside I was celebrating.

This was going to break them. I could feel it. The distance would grow. The trust would crack.

And when Aria came crying to me, like she always did, I’d be there. I’d hold her. I’d whisper all the things she needed to hear. I’d make her see that Kael was never worth her tears.

That I was the only one who truly understood her.

I even witnessed one of their arguments in Aria’s office. The way Kael’s voice dropped to that dangerous register. The way Aria stood her ground, fists clenched, eyes blazing. The way I got caught up. The tension was delicious. Combustible.

My heart raced like I’d won the fucking lottery. This is it. This is when she comes back to me.

But then Ash turned out to be gay.

Gay.

Not interested in Kael romantically at all.

Their "engagement" was some corporate arrangement, some business deal between powerful families that had nothing to do with love or sex or any of the things that could actually tear Aria away from him.

Even I didn’t see that coming.

I had prepared for a more powerful version of Mia. More cunning. More power to make Aria miserable enough to see that Kael wasn’t worth it.

But my hopes combusted.

Worse than that? Ash befriended Aria.

I watched it happen in real-time. Watched them laugh together over coffee. Watched Ash touch Aria’s arm casually, the way friends do. Watched Aria soften around her, let her guard down in ways she rarely did with anyone.

Only with me.

Another person trying to take her from me.

Another friend she didn’t need.

I smiled through every meeting, every work trip, every time Aria mentioned Ash’s name with growing fondness. I catalogued it all.

Noted the way Aria’s circle was expanding, how she was building a life that didn’t revolve entirely around Kael.

Or me.

That should have been good. That should have been the opening I needed.

But it wasn’t enough.

Then Aria’s father showed up.

I remember the phone call. Aria’s voice tight with anger and confusion. "He’s here, Sarah. After all these years, he just... showed up."

The family drama that followed was spectacular. Aria and Olivia screaming at each other about forgiveness and betrayal.

Olivia defending their father, insisting he’d changed. Aria unmovable in her rage, unable to see past the years of abuse and abandonment.

When Olivia moved out, I was there. Holding Aria while she cried. Stroking her hair. Whispering that she was right, that she didn’t have to forgive anyone she didn’t want to.

I thought the father situation would destabilize her enough to push Kael away.

I was wrong.

But then came the second gift.

Sylas Sterling

Ash’s brother arrived like a summer storm, sudden, intense, impossible to ignore. And for the first time I saw how he laid eyes on Aria, right in front of me, I knew. I could see it in the way he looked at her.

Like she was a riddle he needed to solve.

Like she was something precious he wanted to protect.

The fool fell in love with her.

And Aria? She didn’t love him back. Not really. But she was comfortable with him. She laughed at his jokes. She let him into her apartment. She texted him late at night when she couldn’t sleep.

The triangle formed so naturally it was almost beautiful.

Kael on one side, dark, possessive, all-consuming.

Sylas on the other, light, playful, safe.

And Aria in the middle, torn between the man who owned her body and the man who wanted her heart.

I watched Kael’s jealousy grow like a tumor. He didn’t feel inferior to anyone, not in business, not in violence, not in anything.

But when it came to Aria? When it came to the possibility of losing her?

He was terrified.

And terror makes people stupid.

I thought: This is the opening I’ve been waiting for.

Then her father got himself killed.

Cartel business. Hostage situation. Aria running headfirst into danger like the reckless, self-destructive martyr she is.

When I got the call, I thought she was dead.

Truly dead. And for one horrible, crystalline moment, I felt the world tilt. Because if Aria died, none of this mattered. All my planning, all my patience, worthless. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But she survived.

Her father didn’t.

Kael’s people showed up in time. Military precision, black ops efficiency. They extracted Aria, her sister, the kids. By the time Kael himself arrived, it was over. The cartel boss dead. Aria’s father dead. Blood everywhere.

And Sylas was there.

Sylas, who’d apparently followed her. Who’d held her while she cried over her father’s body. Who’d carried her out when she collapsed.

At the hospital, I saw Kael’s face when he realized. The way his jaw locked. The way his hands curled into fists.

The rift between them cracked wider.

I’d been tracking them both obsessively by then.

Aria’s location. Kael’s schedule. Sylas’s movements. I had a network of information flowing to me constantly, a guy I used for odd jobs, surveillance cameras I’d "accidentally" gained access to, social media geotags.

You might think I’m crazy.

But I did all this for her.

And the truth... I was looking for a perfect opening.

A moment of weakness. A mistake.

And then I found it.

It was the night Sylas came to pick Aria up. They were going out, some rooftop bar, Sylas’s idea. I watched them leave, then made a decision.

I followed.

Not them. Him.

Kael.

Something in my gut told me to track him instead. And there he was, at a small bar across town. With a woman.

Young. Pretty. Unfamiliar.

They were sitting close. Talking. She laughed at something he said.

I was intrigued. And definitely sure of what to do next. Take a video. Send it. But almost like divine intervention, something I never predicted happened.

I remember as Kael and the young girl stood in front of the bar. She was clearly wasted. He wasn’t. The moment became tender as they spoke. I got my camera ready.

And then she kissed him.

Just grabbed his face and kissed him.

My heart stopped.

Not out of shock. Out of opportunity.

But just when I thought this was the best thing that could have ever happened that night, I wasn’t the only one who saw it.

My gaze shifted almost in instinct as the car pulled over close to mine. Aria was there. Across the street like I was.

And Aria saw Kael. Saw the girl. Saw the kiss.

I couldn’t for the life of me explain why or how she was there. But she was.

I watched her face crumple. Watched her stumble backward, hand over her mouth. Watched her stumble back in the car.

Fate is on my side.

Definitely.

Aria fled, but I stayed. Because I needed to know what happened next.

I called my guy, the one I used for surveillance. Told him to get to the rooftop bar where Aria had been. Blend in. Watch her. Record everything that happened afterwards. Because I knew the night wouldn’t pass by just like that. Aria had always been reckless. It was her strength and weakness. She’d definitely do something she’d regret. And just like a knife, she’d hand it over to me and I’d help her drive it into Kael.

Then I watched Kael.

He pushed the girl away, looked confused, angry even. But the damage was done. The optics were perfect. There was no need of the first video I took of them. But I still kept it just in case.

My phone buzzed twenty minutes later.

A video.

Hah! There it was. She’d handed it to me so easily. So very predictable. My Aria.

Her and Sylas. On the rooftop. Kissing.

It wasn’t tender. It wasn’t romantic. It was desperate. Messy. The kiss of two broken people trying to feel something other than pain.

But context doesn’t matter, does it?

All that mattered was the proof.

I had what I needed. Proof that Aria wasn’t perfect. Proof that she could hurt Kael the way he’d hurt her. All I had to do was deliver it. I sent the video to Kael.

Anonymous number. No message. Just a single video.

He had already left when I sent it. And I was still on his tail. I followed him as he drove to the rooftop bar.

Poor little thing couldn’t believe his eyes.

He had to confirm.

And then just like Aria , he turned to the only thing that could numb the pain.

So I followed him still. To a different bar. More exclusive. More old money. Watched him spiral. Watched him drink himself into oblivion, his face a mask of devastation and rage.

He looked exactly like I needed him to look.

Broken.

I waited until he was sufficiently destroyed, then made my entrance.

"Mr Roman?" I said, approaching his table with carefully calibrated concern.

He barely looked at me.

I asked all the necessary questions, feigning my shock.

He didn’t answer. Just stared at his drink like it held answers.

I sat down uninvited anyways. Trying to offer the best help I could.

He resisted at first. Of course he did. But he was too drunk, too shattered to fight much.

Eventually, I got him into a cab. Got his address. Got him inside his apartment.

He could barely stand.

I helped him to his room. Sat him on the bed.

He was muttering something, Aria’s name, probably. They always say the wrong name when they’re this far gone.

I went to the kitchen. Poured water. Slipped the pill in while the glass was out of sight.

Just a little something to make sure he stayed under.

To make sure I could do what needed to be done.

And...

I felt nothing.

That’s the part I need to be clear about.

When I positioned myself on top of him, when I took what I needed, when I arranged the scene just so... I felt nothing.

Maybe temporary pleasure that I couldn’t fight off but that was it.

Nothing else. No guilt. No triumph.

Just... efficiency.

He wasn’t a person in that moment. He was a variable. An equation I needed to solve.

And I solved it.

I took photos. Videos. Evidence for later, in case I needed it. Proof that Kael Roman, untouchable, powerful, terrifying Kael Roman, had "cheated" on Aria.

With me.

Her best friend.

A perfect leash to control Kael.

He was unconscious. Couldn’t consent. Couldn’t fight back.

And I knew he’d never fight back.

Why?

Because I was Aria’s best friend of course.

But that wasn’t relevant to my calculations.

When I left his apartment, the sun was starting to rise.

I felt calm. Clear-headed. Purposeful.

This wasn’t about him. It was never about him. This was about Aria. This was about making sure she had no choice but to come back to me.

Because that’s what love is, isn’t it?

Doing whatever it takes.

Removing obstacles. Creating opportunities. Engineering circumstances.

People like to pretend love is pure. Selfless. Kind.

But real love, true love, is selfish.

It’s obsessive. It’s willing to burn the world down if it means holding onto the one thing that matters.

And Aria mattered.

She was the only thing that had ever mattered.

So I did what needed to be done.

I eliminated the competition.

I created the perfect storm.

And now all I had to do was wait for Aria to come running back into my arms, where she belonged, where she’d always belonged, and realize that I was the only one who truly loved her.

The only one who would never leave.

The only one who would do anything for her.

Even the unforgivable.