Free Web NovelChapter 140: Chapter 140
Nathan’s POV
Her lips curled. “No reason! Don’t forget what you promised me!”
My jaw clenched until I tasted blood. I pressed my lips together and said nothing because the truth was something I couldn’t say aloud:
I can’t let you go.
Her scent turned sharp with frustration, and she began to struggle again. My wolf growled, low and possessive, but she didn’t stop.
Then—I didn’t think, I didn’t plan.
Instinct struck like lightning.
My hand came down once, firm and sharp, against her backside as I struck her buttocks. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
It was a punishment strike.
The kind a wolf gives a mate who refuses to listen.
The sound cracked through the backseat. I couldn’t help but wonder how alluring her body was.
Silence fell and Aria froze.
She lifted her head slowly, her eyes blazing, her cheeks hot, her wolf snarling behind them.
I expected her to bite me. Hell, I would’ve let her. But before she could say a word, a small sound split the air.
A sharp, trembling whimper.
Lana’s round little eyes flicked. The tension overwhelmed her small wolf senses.
Then, she burst into tears.
It was loud and heartbroking.
And for the first time since I stormed into that restaurant, Aria’s fury shifted to raw panic, her arms tightening protectively around the pup.
My wolf stilled instantly.
Because no matter how angry I was...
No matter how desperate...
Lana’s cry pierced through every instinct I had.
Aria’s POV
I forced myself to steady my breathing, rubbing gentle circles on Lana’s tiny back. My wolf finally stopped bristling, her maternal instincts taking over as Lana’s sobs softened into hiccups.
Outside the car window, Hemsworth Villa soon rose into view, massive, cold, and full of memories I didn’t want to face. My stomach tightened.
Just as Collins slowed the car, Lana miraculously stopped crying. Two fat tear tracks still clung to her chubby cheeks, making my heart twist painfully.
“Oh, sweetheart...” I whispered, brushing the wet trails from her face.
She nuzzled into me, her warm scent calming my wolf.
Then Nathan spoke.
“Aria, I broke my promise.”
The words hit me like claws across the chest.
My hand froze in the air. A growl stirred low in my throat, and every instinct screamed to lash out at him, for his shamelessness, for the pain he caused, for everything.
But before I could snarl back, Collins opened the car door.
And Nathan simply lifted me.
“Ah—Nathan!” I yelped as the ground vanished beneath my feet. My arms tightened around Lana, my wolf snapping in alarm. One of my hands flew out, searching for balance, and landed on his neck. His warmth seared through me.
I jerked back like I’d touched live fire.
My legs dangled uselessly, my lower body suspended in the air. I clutched Lana protectively, terrified I’d lose my balance and drop her, even though Nathan’s hold was firm.
From afar, it must’ve looked like he was carrying two wolves—one tiny pup and one furious she-wolf, but he walked as if he bore no weight at all.
He didn’t release us until he carried us through the doors of Hemsworth Villa.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I bolted toward the exit, my wolf screaming run run run.
But he was faster.
His arm swooped in, and before my brain processed it, he’d taken Lana right out of my arms.
The loss stunned me like a physical blow. I froze, my breath caught in my throat, my wolf pinned beneath a crushing instinct of helplessness.
Nathan looked down at Lana, my Lana...who stared up at him with wide eyes, her little wolf calm, silent now.
He went and sat on the living room sofa as if nothing was wrong. I stood there stiff as stone, my fingers digging into my sleeves so hard my knuckles ached.
The crystal chandelier above scattered prismatic colors across his face, deepening the hard angles of his expression. The shadows made him look impossibly distant.
There was just a few steps between us. Yet it felt like a chasm so wide no wolf could ever leap across it.
A tight, stinging ache climbed up my throat. I bit my lip to stop the tremble. My wolf whimpered inside me.
“What exactly do you want?” I snapped, my voice breaking before I could stop it.
Why won’t you let me go?
Why keep me chained when you never loved me? I’ve suffered. I’ve paid. Isn’t that enough?
Why do I still have to bleed for you?
My eyes burned, my vision blurring, but I forced myself to glare at him, unflinching. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Nathan’s gaze was dark and deep, full of a thousand unspoken things. For a millisecond a look of confliction flashed ac
He opened his mouth... but no words came out.
Coward.
The silence between us grew thick and suffocating.
Finally, I wiped my face, straightened my spine, and said coldly, “Since you’ve broken your promise, I’m not coming back. Don’t wait. I’m printing the divorce papers right now. We’re done Nathan, completely!”
I flung my hand aside, needing him to see how little he mattered.
His face darkened instantly.“Divorce?” he growled.His voice hoarse.
“And then what? You’ll be with Rowland?”
