Sweet Hatred Chapter 315: defiance

Kael’s POV:

The door slamd open beneath my hand, harder than I intended, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered. No one else did. The room was too quiet, and she was right there... sitting upright in the hospital bed, her body covered by white sheets, her hair limp against her pale skin.

For a mont, I couldn’t breathe.

She was... smaller. Thinner. Her wrists looked like they could snap if I touched them wrong. Her skin, once flushed with that infuriating fire she always carried, was so pale it was almost translucent. And her eyes... Christ... her eyes were dulled, hollow, though the sharp bite of her glare still tried to pierce . She looked like a shadow of herself, as if she’d been slowly withering away under my nose and I had been too blind, too consud with my own goddamn jealousy, to see it.

I thought I’d discarded her before she could ruin . But now, staring at her in this bed, it felt like I’d abandoned her instead. And the weight of it pressed down on like a vice.

Her voice cut through , brittle and furious even in her exhaustion. "Why are you here, Kael? Didn’t you already tell what I was? Didn’t you make it clear I ant nothing?"

Every word hit like a blade. Because they were my own words.

She was trembling, but she still sat there, chin lifted, stubborn to the end. That sa fire was still in her, but dimr now, smothered beneath sothing sadder, darker. A grief I recognized too well.

I knew that look... I’d seen it in my own reflection, four years ago, after Ivan. After watching blood and life slip away from soone I couldn’t save. Sotis I still woke up in the middle of the night choking on it. And Aria... she hadn’t even had the chance to heal from her mother before she watched her father bleed out beside her.

God, what had I done to her?

Her words twisted my guilt into sothing desperate, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I leaned forward, closing the space between us, and cupped her face with a hand that trembled despite trying to steady it.

"Aria," my voice cracked, rawer than I wanted. "Please. Just tell what happened to you."

For the first ti, her eyes flicked to mine, uncertain, and for a second, I thought she’d break. But then she pulled in a breath and whispered, "I was just exhausted. Nothing more."

A lie. I knew it. I could feel it in my bones. But she wasn’t going to tell more, not now, and I didn’t trust myself not to push her too far if I kept pressing.

So I swallowed it, even as my insides burned.

"Fine," I said finally, my thumb brushing the hollow of her cheek. "If it’s just exhaustion... then you’re leaving this hospital with ."

Her words ca sharp, her voice cracked but unyielding. "Go back, Kael. I’m fine. I’ll be out of here in a few days. You don’t have to... " she hesitated, "... worry yourself over ."

That last part gutted . As if worrying about her wasn’t second nature. As if I hadn’t already lost my mind the mont I heard she was in this place.

I leaned in, my jaw tightening. "No," I said quietly, but firm enough to slice through her dismissal. "You’re not fine, Aria. And I’m not leaving you here."

She scoffed, a hollow, bitter sound that didn’t belong to her. "You don’t get to do that anymore. You don’t get to control when you please, then toss aside when it’s convenient for you."

Her defiance should’ve lit my amusent, but it only made the dread inside roar louder. She didn’t understand... I couldn’t let her go again. Not like this. Not when she looked like she was one breath away from vanishing.

My voice sharpened, desperation bleeding into command, almost ruthless despite how soft I tried to keep it. "This isn’t about control. This is about keeping you alive, Aria. And whether you hate for it or not... you’re coming with ."

Her eyes flashed, glassy and furious, but she didn’t answer right away. She looked like she wanted to spit back, to push away with the last of her strength. And still, I couldn’t stop, couldn’t back down.

"Don’t fight on this," I said, the plea in my chest twisting into steel on my tongue. "Because I swear to God, I will carry you out of here myself if I have to."

She ignored .

Her back was all I got. A sharp little act of defiance in the way she turned from , pulling the covers over herself like a wall I couldn’t breach. My jaw clenched. I’d spent years commanding n who would rather die than take orders, but sohow this fragile woman’s stubbornness shredded more than all of them combined.

"I’ll be back," I told her quietly, though she didn’t move, didn’t even breathe in acknowledgnt.

Fine. If she wouldn’t tell the truth, I’d tear it from the people who had been watching her bleed while I was halfway across the world.

I left the room.

The hallway outside was a ss. Ash and Sylas were squared off in an argunt, voices raised sharp enough to cut glass, while Sarah sat close by, arms folded tight as she watched with restless eyes.

The mont I stepped out, the air shifted. Everything froze.

Sarah’s eyes found mine first, and a ghost from that night slamd into ... the heat of her hands, the taste of disgust and violation. My chest tightened, but I shoved it down, buried it, because none of that mattered now. Aria ca first. She always would.

I tore my gaze away from Sarah and locked on Ash. "Her condition. Tell ."

Ash faltered, shifting under the weight of my stare. But before she could speak, Sylas cut in with a venomous scoff.

"You’ve got a hell of a nerve showing up here, Roman. After the way you left her? And now you think you can... "

I ignored him, my voice sharper this ti. "Ash."

She fidgeted, clearly torn, words stumbling out but not giving the whole picture. That only made my blood burn hotter. "Where’s the doctor in charge?" I demanded. "I want every detail. And I’m planning to take her out of this place."

Sylas surged forward instantly. "The fuck you are. She’s staying here. With people who actually care about her."

Ash caught his arm, whispering harshly for him to stop, to let it go, but he yanked against her hold.

My patience finally snapped. I turned, locking eyes with him, my voice low and lethal. "You can co for later, Sylas. You want to throw your fists at , take your shot. But right now, the only thing I care about is making her better. So shut the fuck up and get out of my way."

The silence that followed was sharp, heavy.

I didn’t wait for another word.

The doctor’s office was no better... asured phrases, sidelong glances, answers that danced around the truth. He told about her blood loss, her exhaustion, but there was sothing he wasn’t saying. I could feel it in my bones.

Didn’t matter. My decision was already made.

By the ti I was making my way back to Aria’s room, the plan had solidified in my chest like steel. She was leaving with . Whether she wanted it or not.

The hallway was empty leading to the ward was quiet... until Sarah slipped out from a corner like a snake that had been waiting for .

"Kael."

I kept walking. I wasn’t in the mood for her gas.

"You’ve been ignoring my calls," she said lightly, almost sing-song.

Still, I didn’t slow down.

Her voice cut sharper. "If you keep pretending I don’t exist, maybe I’ll tell Aria about that night."

I froze mid-step. My fists curled. Slowly, I turned my head toward her.

Sarah smiled, all teeth. "That’s better. You shouldn’t get too comfortable treating like I’m disposable."

Her voice filled with disgust. "Aria will be fine. I’m more interested in when we’re going to have another fantastic night together. I’ve missed you y’know?" She missed with her head tilting slightly, eyes searching for a reaction I wouldn’t give her."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Don’t be too busy, Kael. No matter how hard you try to steal her away, I’ll always be in the shadows."

Her words twisted like poison in my gut, but I swallowed it down. I had bigger wars to fight. Without answering, I turned my back on her and forced myself toward Aria’s room.

I stopped at the door, inhaled once, twice, pushing Sarah out of my head before I stepped inside.

She was exactly where I left her. Lying on her side, cocooned under the covers, back to , stiff as stone. Pretending to be asleep.

I dragged the chair closer, sat down. My voice was low, steady, though I felt like I was burning inside. "I spoke with the doctor. You’ve lost too much blood. You’re not staying here. Not like this."

Silence. Then her voice cracked through the air, hoarse but sharp. "I’m not leaving. Not with you. I’m done being dragged into your world against my will."

Sothing inside ... what little restraint I had left... snapped.

I rose, tore the blanket back, and scooped her into my arms.

She gasped, twisting, her fists pressing weakly against my chest. "Put down, Kael! Let go!"

But my heart was already breaking.

She was light. Too light. Like carrying air. Like she’d been carved hollow, starved of everything that once made her burn so bright. Her body was fragile, frighteningly so, bones beneath my palms.

Christ. She was disappearing right in front of .

I held her tighter, terrified she’d slip away if I loosened even a little.

Her resistance was frantic, desperate... her voice breaking against as she thrashed. But her strength gave out too fast. Each protest weaker than the last until finally, there was only silence.

Her head dropped against my shoulder, her body trembling faintly. Quiet. Still.

I didn’t loosen my hold. Couldn’t.

Because letting go now felt the sa as losing her forever.

Especially when I had already tried once.