Aria’s POV
The car door slamd shut behind .
I sat in the passenger seat of Kael’s sports car, my mind spinning. My cheek still burned from Rebecca’s slap. My heart still raced from everything that had just happened.
What was I doing here?
Five minutes ago, I’d been ready to walk away forever. To forget Kael Blood Crown existed. To move on with my life and never look back.
And now I was in his car. Again.
The engine purred beneath us. The city lights blurred past the windows. We drove in complete silence.
I stared at my hands in my lap. They were trembling. I couldn’t make them stop.
Questions tumbled through my head. Why did he co after ? Why did he save from Marcus? Why did he tell Rebecca they were done?
None of it made sense.
This was the sa man who’d paid like a prostitute. Who’d told to disappear. Who’d made it perfectly clear I was nothing to him.
And now he was driving ho like so kind of gentleman.
The silence was unbearable.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. His profile was sharp against the streetlights. His jaw was clenched. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
He looked... troubled.
Good. He should be troubled. After everything he’d put through.
But even as I thought it, my traitorous heart ached. Ached to reach out. Ached to touch him. Ached to ask if any of it had been real.
I turned my face toward the window. Watched the buildings blur past.
Don’t be stupid, Aria. Don’t fall for it again.
The minutes stretched like hours. Each second of silence pressed down on my chest.
I should say sothing. Thank him for saving . Tell him to pull over so I could get out. Anything to break this tension.
But the words stuck in my throat.
What was there to say? What could possibly make any of this okay?
Then Kael sighed.
The sound was heavy. Tired. Like sothing inside him had finally given way.
I looked at him. Couldn’t help it.
He kept his eyes on the road. His expression was complicated. Pain and regret and sothing else I couldn’t na.
"I shouldn’t have said those things to you."
His voice was quiet. Rough around the edges.
My heart stuttered.
"What?"
"That morning." He paused. Swallowed hard. "The way I spoke to you. It was wrong."
I stared at him. Frozen.
Was he... apologizing?
Kael Blood Crown was apologizing. To . The Alpha heir who never apologized to anyone was actually saying he was wrong.
Sothing warm blood in my chest. Sothing dangerously close to hope.
But then he continued.
"We went on a few dates. I understand that might have created certain... expectations." His voice was careful now. asured. "But we’re not the sa kind of people, Aria. We never were. It’s better if we don’t contact each other anymore."
The warmth in my chest turned to ice.
"The money I gave you—that was our agreent. You held up your end. I held up mine." He still wouldn’t look at . "I’m sorry that the ga Rebecca and I were playing affected you. That wasn’t fair."
Ga.
There it was. That word again.
I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.
"But I want you to know sothing." His voice softened. Just barely. "You’re not like your sisters. You’re different from them. You always were."
Different.
Like that was supposed to make feel better. Like being "different" from my trashy family was so kind of consolation prize.
I pressed my lips together. Hard. Forced back the tears threatening to spill.
Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. Not in front of him.
But god, it hurt.
Because for one stupid mont—one pathetic, hopeful mont—I’d thought he was going to say sothing else. Sothing real. Sothing that ant all the pain had been worth it.
Instead, he was just... letting go. Gently. Politely. Like he was ending a business arrangent instead of destroying my heart.
"I see," I heard myself say.
My voice ca out flat. Dead.
Kael finally looked at . Just for a second. Those black-gold eyes searched my face.
What was he looking for? Tears? Anger? Acceptance?
I gave him nothing.
I’d gotten good at that. Giving nothing. Showing nothing. Being nothing.
It was the only way to survive.
The car slowed. I looked up.
We were in my neighborhood now. The familiar run-down buildings. The broken streetlights. The cracked pavent.
Ho.
Such a aningless word.
Kael pulled over to the curb. Put the car in park.
The engine idled softly. Neither of us moved.
I should say sothing. Thank him. Hate him. Sothing.
But all I could think about was how much I wanted to curl up and disappear.
He’d co after . Saved from Marcus. Told Rebecca they were done.
And it ant nothing.
It was all just... politeness. Guilt. The bare minimum of human decency from soone who’d used as entertainnt.
I was still just a ga to him. A ga he felt slightly bad about playing.
The tears were burning now. Pressing against the backs of my eyes. Demanding release.
Not here. Not yet. Just a few more seconds.
"Thank you," I said. The words felt like glass in my throat. "For helping with that guy. You didn’t have to."
Kael was quiet for a mont.
"Yes, I did."
I didn’t know what that ant. Didn’t want to know.
I reached for the door handle.
"Goodbye, Kael."
My voice didn’t shake. I was proud of that.
I pushed the door open. Cool night air rushed in. Freedom. Escape. Just a few more steps and I’d be away from him forever.
I started to get out.
His hand closed around my wrist.
I froze.
His grip was gentle. Not demanding. Just... there.
Warm fingers against my pulse point. The touch sent electricity shooting up my arm.
"Aria."
My na on his lips. Soft. Almost tender.
I should pull away. Should rip my hand free and run. Should protect what was left of my shattered heart.
But I couldn’t move.
Slowly, carefully, he pulled back.
I turned to face him. My breath caught in my throat.
He was so close. Closer than I’d realized. Those black-gold eyes were inches from mine. Burning with sothing I couldn’t na.
His hand left my wrist.
Rose higher.
His fingers brushed against my cheek. The one Rebecca had slapped. The touch was feather-light. Careful. Like he was afraid I might break.
My heart stopped beating.
What was happening?
"Kael—"
He leaned in.
His lips brushed against my cheek.
Soft. Warm. A kiss so gentle it barely existed.
My entire body went still. My lungs forgot how to breathe. Every nerve ending focused on that single point of contact.
His mouth lingered there. Just for a mont. Just long enough for to morize the feeling.
Then he pulled back.
Those black-gold eyes t mine. Filled with sothing that looked almost like pain.
"I’m sorry," he murmured.
The words hung in the air between us.
Sorry for what? For the ga? For hurting ? For whatever this mont was supposed to an?
I opened my mouth. Tried to speak.
Nothing ca out.
Kael’s hand dropped away from my face. He turned back toward the steering wheel. Stared straight ahead.
His voice was quiet when he spoke again. Final.
"Goodbye."
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