Sweet Hatred Chapter 326: Secret pt 3

The second Niko said her na, irritation shot through like a blade. My jaw clenched hard enough I thought it might crack. "What does she want?" I asked, voice low, sharp, nacing.

Niko shifted his weight, straightening like a soldier under command. "She hasn’t stopped calling. Trying to reach you. Every day since you left with Aria. But... I’m not sure what she wants."

A bitter laugh scraped up my throat, though it tasted more like blood. "Of course you’re not sure. She never says what she wants. She just takes."

And then it hit , flashes of that night. Her weight crushing down, the taste of bile at the back of my throat, the way my own body had betrayed when I’d been too broken to fight her off. My stomach rolled and for a heartbeat I thought I’d be sick right there in front of him.

"Sir?" Niko’s voice was careful, searching. "What’s wrong?"

I forced my chest to rise, forced my voice to co out even. "Nothing. I just... I just need Aria. If I’m with her, I’ll be fine."

But even saying it didn’t quiet the fear crawling up my throat.

Niko studied too long before asking, "Do you plan on telling her? About Sarah?"

The question landed like a fist to my ribs. Fear coiled in , sharp and suffocating, pulling that night to the surface again, the tornt, the helplessness, Sarah’s smirk burned into my brain. I shook my head violently, snapping, "No. Aria must never know."

"Sir..."

"Never," I cut him off, voice harsher, final. "This dies here. Do you understand ? It stays buried. If she ever found out, " I broke off, throat tight. I couldn’t even form the words.

Niko’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but he nodded. "As you say. But what about Sarah? How do you plan to, "

"I’ll think of sothing," I muttered, pushing the words out before the panic strangled completely. "But until then, you keep her away from Aria. At all costs. If Sarah so much as breathes in her direction-"

"I understand."

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating, but it didn’t last long. Another guard entered, carrying a thick envelope. He handed it to with a bow of his head.

I tore it open, pulling out a grainy set of CCTV stills. Andrew. My little brother. Slipping into hotels, dark restaurants, all of them with the sa n, powerful investors, shareholders who controlled slices of my father’s empire.

A humorless chuckle escaped as I stared at his face, desperate and smug in equal asure. "Seems my little brother is getting restless. Desperate, even."

I leaned back in my chair, eyes narrowing on the photo like it was already a corpse. "Let him try. He’s playing a ga he doesn’t even understand."

Andrew’s face stared back at from the grainy photos, smug in his little victories. eting with shareholders like a boy playing dress-up in his father’s suit. My lips curled into a thin smile, but there was no warmth in it.

I spread the images across my desk, tracing patterns between the nas of n he’d been courting, n who wouldn’t so much as look his way if they didn’t believe he had sothing sharp tucked behind his back. He was moving too quickly, too desperately. That made him sloppy.

I started mapping out movents, building a web on the table with nas, dates, connections. Each line was a thread I could cut whenever I pleased. I murmured orders into the phone, quiet, efficient. More eyes on Andrew. Spies in his etings. I wasn’t planning on making a move yet. Watch. Wait. Because he’d bite off more than he could chew, and when he did, I’d be there to watch him choke.

Minutes bled into an hour or two in calculation, each thought colder than the last, until my phone lit up.

Ash.

I picked up instantly. "Is Aria okay?" The words spilled before I could stop them, sharper, desperate.

On the other end, Ash’s voice dripped sarcasm. "Relax, lover boy. She’s not dead. You’re a hopeless romantic, you know that?"

I let out a low laugh that didn’t reach my chest. "And you’re still insufferable."

"Mutual," she shot back easily. Then, more lightly: "We’re at El Celler de Can Roca. Juliet seems a little lost without her Roo, by the way."

I pressed my jaw tight, ignoring the stab of longing her words gave . "Watch her until I get there," I ordered.

She humd like I’d just confessed a sin. "Fine, fine. I’ll babysit. Hurry up before I get bored."

I cut the call before she could get another jab in. My decision was instant. I cleared my schedule, shoved papers back into the envelope, and barked for the car. Nothing mattered but her.

The drive blurred. When I finally walked into the restaurant, the hush of wealth wrapped around , polished wood, crystal glass, muted laughter from tables that cost more than most n’s salaries. But I saw only her.

Aria.

Her back was to , delicate fra bent slightly over her plate, fork idly pushing at food she had barely eaten. Ash sat across from her, and the second her gaze lifted, she caught . Her smirk spread slow and dangerous, but she didn’t say a word. She just leaned back, watching advance like she’d planned the whole damn thing.

Aria, oblivious, kept talking until I was only a few feet away. Then she turned, and froze. Shock flickered over her face, not sharp, more like a wave she hadn’t braced for.

Ash rose smoothly, chair sliding back. "Well, my work here is done," she said lightly, brushing her skirt smooth. "I should get back to my boring life." She winked at Aria, who still looked like she hadn’t found her breath, then sidled past .

She stopped just long enough to murmur, "Take care of her."

I didn’t even glance at her. "You don’t need to tell that."

Ash chuckled low, amused, and walked out, leaving standing there with the only woman who could make the world tilt beneath my feet.