Free Web NovelChapter 147: Chapter 147
Aria’s POV
My heart thudded. My wolf perked up again. Why did she say it like that? Did something happen?
Sophia seized my hand once more, this time with performative desperation.
“Aria, the Hemsworth Group is in trouble. Francis has the manuscript the company needs, but he refuses to hand it over unless you meet him. This isn’t something you can reject because of... personal issues.”
“You can’t blame the company or let it suffer for your problems with me.”
She forced a trembling pout. My gaze snapped to Nathan.
Suddenly everything aligned.
Every word...Every gesture he tried to make...Of course. Of course that’s why he offered to let me see Francis.
A bitter laugh rose in my chest.
He needed me.
He didn’t want me to see Francis because he cared for me or for Lana.
But because Hemsworth Group was choking—and I was the last lifeline.
I felt my wolf curl inward, wounded and furious.
I really overestimated you, Nathan.
Nathan met my eyes, and something like guilt flickered in his scent.
“Aria,” he said quietly, “this is what I meant to tell you. The company needs your help.”
I laughed, but it was hollow, sharp, and cold.
“Does almighty Alpha Nathan actually need someone with a criminal record?”
I tilted my head. “Or are you asking a criminal for help?”
Nathan stiffened, his aura darkening. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
“Aria!”
But this time I felt nothing.
He had put me in a cage. He had thrown me to the wolves, and now he couldn’t stand hearing the truth?
Ridiculous.
I held Lana tightly in my arms and turned toward the hallway.
Just speaking to these two was draining.
My wolf was snarling, her ears flat, her tail lashing with agitation.
Sophia tried to block my path but I shoved her aside with the strength of a wolf defending her pup as I yelled, “Get away!”
She yelped, stumbling. Nathan rushed to catch her.
And then, like always, she collapsed into him with perfect timing—tears, trembling lips, and a lingering glance thrown at me like a dagger.
But the moment she looked at Lana, the pup in my arms with Nathan’s exact eyes.
Her expression changed.
It was filled with a mix of shock, jealousy, fear and realization. This was the first time she was having a very good look at her face, I had always shielded Lana outside.
After I shoved Sophia was pressed far too close to Nathan, her hand lingering on his chest like she owned him. My wolf bristled, claws scraping just beneath my skin.
A year in prison had hardened me. The hard labor, the constant fights...it had rebuilt me from bone to fang. I was stronger now, fast enough to snap a grown wolf’s wrist before he blinked. But even with that strength, I knew damn well Sophia couldn’t have been thrown fifteen feet like she just pretended to be.
She was faking it.
I could smell the lie on her. That pathetic blend of fear and calculation. She was performing for Nathan.
I let a cold smile tug at my lips but said nothing. My silence always terrified her more than my words.
Nathan suddenly stepped away from her, realization flashing across his face.
But Sophia barely noticed. She just whipped her head up and met my eyes.
The moment she realized Nathan wasn’t by her side anymore, she froze and glared at me.
Her fists clenched tightly, her heartbeat stuttering—a delicious rhythm of fear I could hear as clearly as breath.
Nathan cleared his throat, awkward and stiff. “Aria, Sophia is your sister.”
A humorless laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
My gaze slid from Sophia’s trembling eyelashes to Nathan’s self-righteous expression. He looked like he expected me to simply nod and behave.
Males. Always so certain their excuses were enough.
“I see,” I replied lightly, tilting my head. “Do sisters share the same husband too?”
The words tasted like frost. And they hit their mark. Nathan’s expression darkened instantly. Sophia’s lips curled into a smug little smile.
She thinks she’s winning. She thinks she can have him.
Sophia’s voice suddenly trembled, soft and pathetic. “Aria, how could you say that? I know you’re angry at me, but Nathan is your husband. Don’t you even trust him?”
I let out a loud, mocking snort. Not wanting to waste anymore precious time on either of them, I walked down the hallway to my bedroom and slammed the door shut so hard the entire frame shuddered.
There was silence.
I leaned against the door, letting the cool wood press into my spine as I breathed out slowly. The anger, the betrayal, the humiliation, it all churned in my chest like a storm. My wolf paced inside me, wanting to claw, to bite, to drag Sophia out of this house by her throat.
Sophia had guts showing up here after everything she’d done. She really thought I was weak now. She really thought prison had broken me.
I bit down on my lower lip so hard my wolf growled in irritation, the grinding of my teeth echoing faintly in my ears. The metallic taste of blood touched my tongue, grounding me, but not calming the storm inside.
Nathan’s earlier defense of Sophia replayed in my mind like a slap.
His tone, his gaze, his effortless willingness to protect her over me.
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
This is Hemsworth Villa—Nathan’s territory, his den. Even if seeing Sophia in this house makes my wolf gag, what can I do? Walk out into the night with Lana? Challenge her and make her leave?
My wolf snarled, We could, we should.
But I straightened my spine and exhaled sharply.
I turned toward the floor-to-ceiling window. The sunset outside burned in gold and crimson, but the iron bars fitted discreetly into the frame caught my attention instead.
It was pretty to the eye, yet a cage all the same. Just like this place, just like this marriage.
I stared out at the fading sky, my reflection pale against the glass.
I was only a caged bird, I thought. No... a caged wolf.
My chest tightened painfully.
Why is Nathan humiliating me like this? Hasn’t he already taken enough? Even if he hated our forced union, hasn’t he punished me long enough over the past years?
Night fell slowly. After I finally soothed Lana to sleep, exhaustion clung to my bones, but sleep refused to claim me. My wolf paced inside me, restless and agitated.
I slipped out of the bedroom and padded quietly into the hallway. The corridor was dim, lit only by soft yellow lights that cast long shadows against the walls.
As I walked toward the kitchen for a glass of milk, something caught my attention.
A thin, bright line of light beneath a barely cracked door.
Nathan’s study.
My wolf’s ears perked instantly.
And then I heard them...voices. A man and a woman.
I moved closer, my breath silent, my steps soundless.
Sophia’s sugary voice drifted out first:
“Nathan, has Aria agreed to see Francis?”
Nathan’s low hum followed.
I felt my jaw tense.
Then Sophia again,
“What do you think of the solution I mentioned?”
Nathan responded,
“Not bad.”
I rolled my eyes. Sophia could have suggested breathing and he’d praise it.
But then she pushed further, her voice dripping with that manipulative innocence she wore like perfume:
“How does it compare to when Aria was your right-hand woman?”
My heart... stopped.
