Sweet Hatred Chapter 94: Sweet Hatred

(I don’t do this but... Mr Loverman - Rick Montgory ♪⁠～⁠(⁠´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠))

KAEL (cont’d)

I looked down at her, raising an eyebrow as she pushed toward the door.

Her hand was gentle but firm on my back, guiding out, and I could feel the unspoken tension between us, the push and pull of everything we hadn’t said, everything we couldn’t. Everything we were both trying to hide.

I didn’t fight it.

Instead, I turned back to the old woman, nodding once, my mask slipping back into place.

"Take care ma’am, " I said softly, and before Aria could interrupt again, I was out the door, pulling my coat tighter against the cold of the hallway.

The mont she turned to shut the door, I couldn’t help but watch her. She moved with a kind of hesitance, like she was trying to shake off sothing, though I couldn’t quite tell what. It wasn’t just the way she held herself—so tight, like a coil about to snap. It was her eyes, her gaze flicking around, avoiding mine, her lips pressed together like she was holding sothing in.

She didn’t want here. I could tell. But at the sa ti, I knew she didn’t want to leave. Not really. And that made my chest tight.

But as I stepped outside, I realized sothing strange. I wanted to stay. To see how far this all went. To see the full picture of Aria’s life.

And yet I knew, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t. Because the closer I got, the more I wanted. And that was dangerous. For both of us.

But I stood there, not moving, just... watching her. I could still hear the faint hum of kids laughing and screaming in the background, but all I could focus on was the way she looked, how she tried to act like she was fine but wasn’t fooling for a second.

Sothing in shifted, like a low hum of electricity starting to build. It was a feeling I didn’t know how to place, but I couldn’t push it away. She was so damn real, her awkwardness, her need to hide her discomfort, everything about her drew in like a magnetic force.

My thoughts started to blur together. I wasn’t supposed to think like this. I wasn’t supposed to feel like this. But there I was, watching her, and for just a split second, I imagined what it might be like to have her in my life. A real life.

For one stupid, reckless heartbeat— I pictured it. Her.

Not standing awkwardly by a car, but waiting for at a door I could call ho. Wearing my ring. Holding our kid, sleepy-eyed and clinging to her shoulder.

The image gutted so hard, I almost staggered.

I blinked, a strange feeling slamming into like a gust of wind. I quickly shoved it aside, because no. I didn’t need to go down that road. I wasn’t that guy.

But still, I couldn’t stop the pull.

Then I realized I hadn’t said a damn thing. Neither had she. My throat tightened.

Finally, I couldn’t take the silence anymore. My mouth opened, and a sly comnt slipped out before I could even stop it.

"You have a nice family," I said, my voice softer than I intended, a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips.

She scoffed, shaking her head as she glanced over at . "Don’t be fooled," she said, her voice laced with a dry sarcasm. "We’re always minutes away from coming for each other’s throats."

I chuckled, a real laugh this ti. That sharp, sarcastic tone of hers—it kept on my toes. It made want to dig deeper, pull her out of her shell, see what she’d do next.

"I don’t know," I said, stepping closer, watching as her eyes flickered to mine for a mont before quickly looking away. "Seems like a nice dynamic to . You all seem... close."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, the challenge in them unmistakable. "Yeah, sotis."

I couldn’t help but grin at that. It was a bitter sort of thing, sothing that hinted at old wounds, but damn, it only made more intrigued.

Then, as if the universe itself wanted to ss with , I found myself imagining her again. This ti, my mind wandered farther than I wanted it to. Aria... my wife. A kid of our own.

A sharp breath caught in my throat, and I ntally cursed myself. Where the hell was this coming from? I was not the kind of guy to entertain thoughts like that.

Before I could stop myself, I caught her glancing at again, like she could sense my shift in focus. Her eyes lingered for a fraction of a second, but the mont was enough to make my pulse quicken.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft, like she was genuinely concerned, even though she was doing everything in her power to avoid being close to .

It was my chance to snap out of whatever ntal spiral I was starting to fall into. I cleared my throat, rolling my shoulders as if shaking off the tightness in my chest.

"I’m not okay," I said, my voice suddenly dripping with feigned worry. "I’m not okay because I have to go the rest of the day without your sweet hatred for .."

She rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Ugh. Please shut the fuck up. Don’t think I’ll miss you."

I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to mask the strange ache building in my chest. "Who knows? Maybe you will. It’d be a sha if you didn’t, considering how chard you are by ."

I was teasing her, I knew that. I was always teasing her. But it wasn’t just to get under her skin anymore. It was because I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I didn’t know how much longer I could go on pretending like this didn’t affect .

Aria’s mouth parted, like she was ready to fire sothing sharp back at , but she caught herself. She looked exhausted. Frustrated. And sothing else she was too proud to show.

"Never mind," she muttered, stepping back. "Just... leave."

For a second, I almost listened. I should’ve walked away, gotten in my car, and let it end like that. But the defiance in her voice , the way she was trying so hard to shove out, it set sothing off inside .

Before she could blink, I closed the distance, caught her face in my hand, and kissed her.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet. It was a claiming, fierce, raw, a little cruel in the way my mouth crashed against hers. Her gasp spilled into , and I drank it in, dragging her closer like I needed her under my skin.

For a heartbeat, she didn’t move, she was frozen, stunned and then her fingers curled into my jacket, helpless, clinging without even realizing it. Her lips parted against mine, and the taste of her stubbornness, anger, sothing helplessly sweet slamd into like a goddamn drug.

I forced myself to tear away before I lost every last shred of sense, my thumb grazing her jaw one last ti like I could imprint myself there.

Her eyes were wide, dazed, her mouth slightly open slowly mouthing ’what the fuck?’ but still feeling . Still wanting more.

"Don’t miss too much," I murmured, brushing my thumb against her jaw lightly, almost apologetic. Then I turned and headed for my car, feeling her stare burning into my back the whole way.

I didn’t let myself look back. If I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk away.