Sweet Hatred Chapter 330: Obvious

"Sorry, but... are you a celebrity?" she asked, cheeks flushed. "Could we get a selfie?"

I froze, heat rushing to my chest in a way I didn’t want to admit. I wasn’t the jealous type. Not really. But watching them look at him like he was so prize on display? Yeah, I hated it.

Kael didn’t even look at them. He stayed focused on , his face unreadable as he took another slow bite of food.

"You should answer them," I muttered, pretending not to care.

Finally, his gaze sharpened on , cutting through like a blade. "I’m not interested in anyone that isn’t you Aria."

My breath hitched, my cheeks reddening before I could stop them.

But of course, he didn’t stop there. He finally turned to the girls, his smile curling slow and deadly, the kind of expression that sent shivers whether you wanted it to or not.

"You’re bothering . And my girlfriend." He let that word hang there, deliberate, sharp, claiming so easily I almost choked on my drink. "So unless you’re volunteering to clean this table, I suggest you leave."

The sweetness in his voice didn’t match the nace in his eyes. The girls faltered, their giggles dying as quickly as they ca, and within seconds they scattered, whispering nervously to one another as they fled.

"I don’t rember agreeing to be your girlfriend," I shot back, narrowing my eyes at him.

Kael’s smirk deepened. "That’s fine. I don’t rember giving you a choice."

My jaw dropped. "You can’t just decide things for , Kael. That’s not how this works."

"Oh?" His tone was low, mocking, though his eyes glittered with challenge. "But you can just torture instead? Push away whenever it suits you? Pretend I didn’t exist until you felt like dragging back again?"

I froze, his words hitting harder than I expected. My tongue tangled with all the things I wanted to say, defenses, excuses, but he wasn’t wrong. I had punished him for my own cowardice. I had pushed, pulled, pushed again, like so cruel ga, and he always ca back. Always.

My chest tightened. "I wasn’t the only one who kept quiet, Kael. If you’d said sothing, if you’d just said you loved , do you realize how much I wanted to hear it? Do you realize how much I was waiting for it?"

His smirk vanished, replaced with sothing so honest it nearly stole my breath. His face softened into a strange mix of apology and love, a contradiction that ached in my chest.

"I thought I was obvious without words," he said quietly.

And damn it, he was right. Looking back now, he hadn’t acted like we were just friends with benefits.

The way he always ca back, the way he touched like I was glass one second and fire the next, the way he looked at like I was his center of gravity.

He’d been obvious, painfully obvious. But I was too blind, too caught up in my own fear, making excuses so I wouldn’t have to face the truth.

Heat rushed up my neck, my cheeks burning as I realized I was losing this argunt. Kael knew it too, his expression shifted, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he was thoroughly enjoying how flustered I was.

Typical. This was exactly how it had always been between us, the push and pull, him unraveling until I didn’t know which way was up.

But then his voice broke through my thoughts, softer, heavy with a weight that silenced . His eyes were sad, aching. "I didn’t say anything because I was scared too. I didn’t want to make another mistake like I did with Ivan. I didn’t want to confuse control with love. People like ... we’re not built for love, Aria."

My throat tightened at the ntion of Ivan, at the shadow that crossed his face.

"Kael," I whispered, leaning toward him. "You’re not like your father. You’re nothing like Ewan. Kael Roman is different. You’re honest, and you love with your whole damn heart, even if you don’t see it. I’ve seen it, in the way you talked about Ivan, and your mother too. Don’t you ever doubt that you’re capable of love. Not ever."

For a fleeting second, his expression softened so much it made my chest ache. He looked... touched. Vulnerable in a way I had almost never seen. But then, just as quickly, he shifted, hiding it under that calm, dangerous mask again.

"You should eat well," he said smoothly, leaning back with a deceptively casual air. "Because I’m going to pounce on you the second we leave here."

My whole body stiffened, goosebumps prickling across my skin in a way that had nothing to do with fear. My throat went dry. "What... How did we get here? Why am I getting threats?"

His lips curved, slow and wicked. "It’s a promise." He corrected.

....

The walk back to the car felt like a battlefield, except the war was in my chest. Kael’s hand never left , brushing my lower back, his thumb tracing slow circles over my knuckles as if he knew exactly how to set my nerves on fire. Every ti I glanced up at him, he was already smirking down at , his eyes dark with that dangerous promise he’d made back at the table.

By the ti we reached the car, I was sure my body was heated enough to give away. My mind kept betraying , slipping back to the truth I was trying not to choke on: my body was still fragile, still recovering from the loss I couldn’t even say out loud to him yet. And yet Kael’s presence, his heat, the way he looked at like I was the only damn thing alive in the world, it made ache in places I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

The ride back to the estate was torture. His hand rested casually on my thigh the whole ti, his thumb stroking lazy patterns there like it was second nature, while he kept that infuriating smirk plastered on his face.

I tried to keep my eyes out the window, tried not to combust, but all I could hear was his voice in my head, I’m going to pounce on you the second we leave here.

By the ti we made it inside his room, my pulse was a storm. I half expected him to tear down every one of my defenses, to strip bare in every way he could. And when he pulled close, my body braced for it.

But instead... he hugged .