Sweet Hatred Chapter 374: How it ends

Kael’s POV

The hotel’s conference hall was windowless, gilded in excess, and suffocating with the sll of expensive cologne and cigar smoke.

Five hours of negotiation, and every word had been a performance, one that ended, as always, with money shaking hands with ambition.

The politicians were courteous, polished, and predictable. They wanted access to XE’s logistics arm, and in exchange they’d "consider" lowering trade tariffs on imported materials. It was theater. They needed us more than we needed them, but I’d learned a long ti ago that the illusion of partnership kept wars quiet.

By the ti the last docunt was signed, my patience was gone.

The mont I rose, the doors opened again.

And there he was.

My father.

My father walked in like he owned the air. The officials straightened at once, all eager smiles and reverent nods.

"Mr. Roman," one of them said, rising to shake his hand. "An honor to see you again."

"Likewise," Ewan replied smoothly, his eyes cutting to just once. "I hope my son hasn’t been too difficult."

A ripple of polite laughter went around the table.

I didn’t laugh.

After a few more formalities, the n excused themselves, leaving us with the echo of their goodbyes and the stale scent of cigars.

I sank back into my seat, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with the slow, deliberate calm of soone forcing down the urge to explode. The first drag burned enough to steady .

"You make good friends," I said dryly, exhaling smoke. "n like that and vultures would get along fine. At least vultures wait until their prey’s dead before they start tearing flesh."

Ewan smiled faintly. "And yet you do business with them."

"That’s because you trained to."

"Exactly," he said. "So don’t act disgusted by your own reflection."

I tapped the cigarette against the ashtray. "Don’t compare to them."

"You already are them," he said mildly. "You just dress your greed better."

I looked at him, half-expecting the smirk that always followed, but his face was unreadable.

"Speaking of family matters," he continued as if we were discussing the weather, "Andrew has requested to oversee the dostic operations of XE Corp. I’ve granted it."

The words hit harder than I wanted them to. "You what?"

"He said he wanted to learn from his older brother," Ewan said, adjusting his cufflinks with practiced nonchalance. "I think it’s about ti you two work together. You’ve kept him on the sidelines long enough."

I stared at him, incredulous. "You think he wants to learn? He wants control. He wants a stage, and you just handed him one."

Ewan’s tone never shifted. "You sound threatened."

"I don’t get threatened," I snapped. "I get cautious."

He smiled, faintly, as though I’d just proved his point. "Then be cautious, but be smart. Andrew should be arriving at the tower as we speak."

A muscle in my jaw ticked. "And you’re just telling ?"

He nodded, completely at ease. "He said he’d like to surprise you. Consider it a family reunion."

I crushed the half-burned cigarette into the tray, the sound sharp in the quiet room. "You should’ve consulted first."

"I don’t consult my sons," he said smoothly. "I inform them."

That was it, the final crack in my composure. I pushed up from the chair. "Then inform Andrew to stay out of my way."

I started for the door, but his voice followed, low and deliberate, each word a blade sliding under my ribs.

"You’ve allowed yourself to get soft, Kael. I saw it the mont she entered your life."

I froze, my back to him.

"It’s the sa mistake you made with Ivan," he went on, tone almost casual. "Attachnt makes n careless. And careless n make corpses."

Sothing cold and violent pressed against the inside of my chest, begging to be let out. But I didn’t turn. Didn’t give him the satisfaction.

"You think you know how this ends?" he asked quietly. "Then tell , son. How does it end this ti?"

I didn’t answer.

Because the truth was, I didn’t know.

I walked out, letting the door slam behind .

Outside, the rain had begun again, streaking across the city’s marble skyline. I pulled the cigarette case from my pocket, stared at it for a second, and shoved it back.

There were too many fires already.

And now Andrew was one more spark waiting to catch.

The city outside the hotel looked washed raw, the marble and glass bleeding silver beneath the rain. I didn’t even bother with the umbrella one of the aides offered. The air was cold enough to bite, and I needed the sting to think.

By the ti I reached the car, my mind was already made.

Andrew.

Back at the tower.

Even when I wanted to be away.

He’d always known where to strike, never loud, never ssy, just patient and precise, like Ewan taught him. If he’d shown up unannounced, it wasn’t to "reconnect." It was to make a point. He was planting himself right in the heart of everything that mattered to . To her.

I slid into the backseat and grabbed my phone off the console. Two missed calls.

Both from Aria.

Each one a sharp reminder that while I’d been across a table from n with too much money and too little soul, she’d been waiting for to simply show up.

I stared at her na on the screen, thumb hovering over it. It would’ve been easy to call. To say I’m fine, I’m on my way back, I didn’t forget you.

But a phone call wasn’t enough. Not this ti.

Not after Sarah’s threat. Not with Andrew suddenly walking into her orbit.

If there was even the smallest chance he’d already found her, I couldn’t leave that to chance or distance.

I pocketed the phone, voice low when I spoke to the driver. "HQ. Now."

The man glanced back, startled. "Sir, your flight—"

"I’ll handle it. Just drive."

The car shot forward, tires hissing against the wet asphalt. I leaned back, pulse still hamring, watching the rain streak across the window until the city blurred into motion.