Sweet Hatred Chapter 353: Waves

After the shower, Aria was tucked into my chest, wrapped in the blanket I’d pulled over her, her breathing steady and soft against . I kissed the crown of her head once before sleep dragged under.

But when I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t in my room.

The air was thick, smoky. The sky bruised with gray. I knew this place... not by na, but by feeling. War-torn. A country we’d been sent to years ago. The kind where every shadow could an death. The kind where you stopped believing in peace after the first gunshot.

I looked down. Combat boots. Gear strapped tight across my chest. My rifle weighed heavy in my hands. My body knew the uniform before my mind caught up.

And then I heard it.

Waves.

I turned, disoriented, and there it was: the shoreline. A beach that didn’t belong in this battlefield. The sea restless, dark, foaming white. And soone, soone was sitting at the edge of it, their back turned to .

My throat seized.

No. No, it couldn’t be.

But it was.

Ivan.

His broad shoulders. That familiar curve in his spine, the way he always hunched forward like he was listening to sothing no one else could hear. His dark hair catching the dull light.

I froze. I couldn’t breathe. After he died, for a whole year I’d prayed—begged—for this. To see him again, even in a dream. Just to touch him once, to hear his voice. To tell him how much I missed him. Loved him.

My lips trembled as I tried to form his na. "Iv—"

But before I could finish, he turned.

His face. Exactly as I rembered. That smile that wasn’t quite a smile, those grey eyes that had seen too much but still held warmth.

And then he spoke.

"You broke your promise, Kael."

The words hit like a bullet.

I staggered, my chest caving in, tears blurring my vision. My heart twisted, desperate and aching, because he was here and yet it felt like I was losing him all over again.

"Ivan," I choked out, stumbling forward, boots sinking into the wet sand. My hand reached toward him before my brain could catch up, desperate just to touch him, to make sure he was real.

But his voice cut through , low and steady.

"You lied to , Kael."

I froze, my hand hanging in the air. My chest caved in. "What are you talking about?" My voice cracked, already begging. "I never—"

"You lied." He finally turned fully, and the look in his eyes... cold, wounded, accusing... gutted . "You swore you’d never leave behind. You swore we were in this together. And now..." his jaw clenched, his tone breaking between fury and grief, "now you’ve abandoned . You’ve forgotten everything we had. All that’s in your head, Kael, is her."

"Aria?" The na fell out of , shaky. I shook my head hard. "No. Ivan, that’s not true. I haven’t forgotten. I couldn’t—"

"Liar!" His voice thundered, louder than the crashing waves. The softness vanished, rage replacing it like a storm breaking. "You’re lying to , Kael! I died because of you. I died saving you!"

My knees buckled. Tears stung my eyes as I staggered closer. "Don’t—please don’t say that. Don’t—"

But when my hand finally touched his arm, his body shifted, twisted, as though the air itself was tearing him apart.

He was no longer Ivan sitting at the shore.

He was Ivan the way he’d died.

Blood soaking through his gear. Bullet holes riddling his chest. His lips pale, his grey eyes glassy, the sa lifeless stare that had haunted in the mud that night.

"No—" My scream tore out of as I stumbled back, stumbling, tripping...

And when my head smacked the ground,

It wasn’t sand.

It was my mattress.

And the weight crushing wasn’t Ivan.

It was Sarah.

Her body pinning mine down, moving on top of , her head thrown back in sick, twisted pleasure, her smile splitting into sothing cruel as her eyes locked on mine.

Her voice, poisonous and soft, slithered out:

"When are you going to tell Aria the truth?"

I shot upright, lungs clawing for air like I was still drowning. My skin was damp, my heart punching against my ribs. For a second, I didn’t know where I was—sand, blood, Sarah’s weight, Ivan’s eyes.

I whipped to my side.

Empty sheets. No Aria.

My stomach dropped, ice-cold panic seizing . I threw the blanket off, feet hitting the floor hard as I staggered up.

"Aria!" My voice ca out raw, desperate. No answer.

The walls closed in. Was I still trapped? Was this still the nightmare?

"Aria!"

The door clicked open.

And there she was.

Barefoot, pajamas sitting loose, limping slightly as she balanced a plate piled with pastries stuffing her mouth with a cupcake mid-bite.

Her eyes widened when she saw , half-choked with surprise. "Kael?"

I didn’t let her finish. I lunged to her, wrapping her in my arms, crushing her against like I’d just clawed her out of the grave.

The plate clattered against the side table, cupcakes tumbling. She stiffened, startled, then instantly softened, one hand cupping the back of my head, the other stroking through my hair.

"Kael," she whispered, gentle and worried, "what is it? Why were you panicking?"

I pressed my face into her neck, breathing her in, trying to ground myself. But my throat wouldn’t form the words.

"It’s nothing," I lied, the tremor in my voice betraying .

She frowned against my temple, ready to push again but then my phone rang, sharp and shrill, cutting through the air.

We both ignored it at first, her fingers still combing through my hair, calming down inch by inch. But it kept ringing. Persistent.

Aria sighed softly. "Kael...maybe you should pick it up."

Reluctantly, I pulled back just enough to reach for it on the nightstand.

The na on the screen: Kent. The head of my father’s security.

A chill went through before I even answered.

"This better be important," I growled into the receiver.

"Sir," the voice ca, clipped and formal, yet edged with urgency. "Your father—the chairman... has collapsed."