Sweet Hatred Chapter 321: I love you

(This Chapter contains their POVs, this ti on purpose)

Kael’s POV

I drifted in and out of sleep, the edges of my mind hazy, but sothing anchored .

A touch. Gentle. Soft. Fingers threading lightly through my hair.

And then,

A voice.

Her voice.

Low. Fragile. So quiet I almost believed it belonged to the dream I was having.

"I love you, Kael."

The words slipped into my half-conscious mind and shattered everything. My breath caught in my throat. For a mont, I thought I’d imagined it, because I’d kill to make it reality. I’d sell my soul, burn my kingdom, bleed my fists dry just to hear her say those words and an them.

But then the voice carried on, whispering apologies, broken confessions—words blurred into nothing, because my whole body was locked on those first three.

I love you.

God. Did she really say it? Or had I finally lost my grip on what was real and what was the tornt of my own head?

The haze snapped when I woke fully. My lashes parted heavy, my chest tight, and the first thing I saw was her.

Aria. Awake. Her hand resting lightly on my face.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of mine open, surprise flickering across her face like she’d been caught. And in that mont, staring at her, I felt the ground tilt beneath .

Was it real?

Had I heard right?

Or was it just another cruel dream I’d wake from alone?

Her hand froze on .

I blinked at her, my mind still fogged with sleep, but my chest was caving in with the weight of what I thought I heard. My pulse thundered in my ears, begging to say sothing, anything—yet I couldn’t.

What if it hadn’t been real?

What if I’d only dread it?

If I asked, and she looked at with those tired, hollow eyes and told no, she hadn’t said a damn thing... I think that would destroy more than the silence ever could.

So I stared for a mont, my mind still catching up. And she stared back, her lips parting like she wanted to speak but wasn’t sure if she should.

But then her hand slipped from my face.

It was such a small thing. Just a shift of her fingers, the loss of warmth against my skin. But it tore through like soone had ripped open my chest with bare hands.

No.

Not again.

Not after I swore I heard her whisper those words, words I’ve been starving for, words I’ve buried under every cruel thing I ever spat at her. If I let her pull away now, if I let her take them back with her silence, I’d go fucking insane.

"Aria," I rasped, but it ca out broken, strangled, like my throat had been cut.

She wouldn’t et my eyes, like she was already retreating into herself again, curling into that shell of grief where I couldn’t reach her. And I... I couldn’t take it.

I caught her wrist before she could hide from completely, my grip trembling, desperate. Her pulse jumped under my thumb, and it felt like proof she was still here, still mine sohow, even if she didn’t want to be.

"Say it again." The words ripped out of , hoarse, almost a growl. My chest was heaving, my lungs refusing to work right.

Her eyes widened, her breath hitched.

I leaned closer, my forehead almost brushing hers, my voice shaking with the kind of pleading I’d never allowed myself to give another soul. "Please, Aria. Say it again. Don’t—don’t leave wondering if I dread it. Don’t fucking do that to . I’ll go insane."

I searched her face like a man drowning, clawing for air. "Tell you said it. Tell I didn’t make it up in my head."

ARIA

My heart stopped.

He heard .

The second his eyes locked on mine, I knew. The way his voice cracked, the way his fingers clung to like I was the only thing anchoring him to this world—he’d heard every word.

My chest pounded so violently it was hard to breathe, like my heart was trying to break free from my ribs and escape. I didn’t know whether to run, to cry, to laugh hysterically. A part of wished I could vanish, rewind ti, swallow those words back down. Because now they were real. Exposed.

This wasn’t even my first ti saying those words to a man and yet I was suddenly back in middle school trying to confess to my school crush.

I tried to pull away... instinct, fear, the weight of everything I’d hidden crashing down on . But he caught my hand before I could. His grip wasn’t rough, but it shook, trembling with sothing that made my throat tighten.

Then he pleaded.

His voice... God. I’d never heard Kael sound like that before. Not angry, not cold, not commanding—just broken. Just desperate. Like if I didn’t give him this, he’d shatter right here in front of .

"Please, Aria."

I saw it in his eyes, the kind of tornt that mirrored my own. It was pouring out of him, in his trembling hands, his uneven breathing, the way he leaned into like I was oxygen and he’d been suffocating all his life.

And suddenly I knew. He deserved to hear it. He deserved to know the truth I’d been burying under fear, regret, and grief.

My throat burned, my chest squeezed, but I let it out. No whispers this ti. No hiding.

"I love you," I said it again, my voice breaking, my whole body trembling with it.

His green eyes widened, and I pressed on before fear could silence again.

"I love you, Kael. So much I can hardly breathe."

The words hung between us, raw and naked, tearing apart even as they nded sothing deep inside .

For a second, he didn’t move.

He just stared at . Those dark eyes fixed on mine like I’d cracked his ribs open and shoved my heart into his hands.

The silence stretched, heavy, unbearable. The weight of everything I’d just said ca crashing back down on , and panic clawed its way up my throat. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Why was he just staring at like that?

My mouth parted, ready to scream at him, to demand he say sothing... anything... before the silence destroyed .

But I never got the chance.

Because his lips crashed down on mine, fierce and starving, like he’d been holding himself back for years and finally broke. There was no hesitation, just raw, brutal need.

His weight caged into the mattress, his hands gripping like he was terrified I’d slip away if he didn’t anchor . His breath was ragged, almost frantic, and I could taste the wreckage of everything between us in the way he kissed ... like punishnt, like apology, like salvation.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t tender. It was Kael tearing himself open against my mouth, pouring every unsaid word, every sleepless night, every ounce of tornt into . And God help , I gave it all back, because there was no choice, because I’d already fallen, and he was dragging down with him.

KAEL

For a second, I swore I’d imagined it. My mind refused to believe it, because hearing those words ’I love you’ from her lips was like being handed oxygen after years of drowning. I had to remind myself this wasn’t a dream, wasn’t another cruel trick of my head. This was real. She said it. She loves . Aria loves .

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was on her, pouncing like a man starved, crushing my mouth to hers. Those lips. The sa ones that just gave the only words I’ve ever truly needed in my life.

My chest burned, my heart roared like it was trying to tear out of , and when she threaded her fingers through my hair, I swear I nearly lost it completely. Every emotion I’d been shoving down for months surged all at once, grief, guilt, hunger, love so violent it scared . I loved her. God, I loved her too much.

When I finally tore back, gasping, I saw her face blurred through tears. Tears. Mine. I hadn’t even realized until she cupped my face and whispered it like a prayer while she wiped my face with her thumb, "Kael... you’re crying."

I pressed a shaking kiss into her palm, gripping it like it was the only thing tethering to the earth. My voice cracked when I rasped, "You don’t know... you don’t fucking know how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words from you."

Her eyes widened, lips parting, but before she could speak, she whispered an apology, broken and soft. "I’m sorry... I was a coward."

I shook my head, my own voice just as ruined. "So was I." My thumb brushed her cheek, catching the tear sliding down. "So fucking scared."

And then I reached for lips again... slower this ti, reverent, like she was made of sothing holy. I broke it, teasing her lips with mine, and let the words spill raw and unrestrained between every breath. "I love you Aria." A kiss. "I love you." Another. Again and again, until my voice was hoarse and her quiet sobs were muffled against my mouth. "I love you so much."

And when she choked out I love you too between our kisses, her words soaked into like blood to open wounds... painful, healing, everything all at once.

I didn’t stop kissing her. I couldn’t. Because for the first ti in my life, I finally had the one thing I never thought I’d get, her.