Free Web NovelChapter 151: Chapter 151
Aria’s POV
Francis’s eyes narrowed. He reached into his briefcase, pulled out a thick manuscript, and slammed it on the table.
This time, his smile vanished entirely.
“My oversight,” he said coldly. “After all, Alpha Nathan handles thousands of matters daily. We nobodies can’t expect to fit into his precious schedule.”
The sarcasm was sharp enough that my wolf bristled, and my brows furrowed deeply.
Francis rarely lost his composure.
Which meant something here was far more volatile than I realized.
Nathan’s face darkened so sharply that even the air around him seemed to drop in temperature. My wolf went still, her ears flattening, sensing the Alpha tension radiating off him.
He stood abruptly, his shadow falling over me. “You’ve seen him,” he said, his voice low and firm. “You should go home.”
Home. He emphasized it like a claim, like a wolf circling a boundary and marking it for all to see..
My wolf snarled inside me.
Francis’s gaze flicked between us, confusion slowly settling in his expression. He hadn’t seen either of us for over a year. He was still stuck in the past, before everything collapsed. Before Nathan and I became whatever... this was.
Back then, Nathan tolerated me at best. Barely looked my way. Never restricted me.
But now?
Francis studied me more closely as if wondering if I was in danger so he could swoop in for the rescue.
I gave him a tiny wink, an unspoken I’m fine. Then I faced Nathan with calm steel.
“I’m not busy,” I said. “Alpha Nathan, you have thousands of matters waiting for you. You should go to work.”
Nathan didn’t like that. His jaw tightened, and unease flashed beneath the coldness.
I could sense his agitation like static in the air.
“No.”
He threw the word like a command.
I met his stare without flinching. My wolf raised her chin.
“Then,” I said smoothly, “I’ll use the condition you promised me yesterday. If divorce isn’t allowed, Nathan, are you also going to forbid me from seeing my friends?”
Nathan froze. His eyes widened just slightly but enough for my wolf to taste his shock.
To him, I must have looked like a caged bird lashing out.
But the truth? He was the one rattling the bars.
I knew he’d give me anything I asked for— money, jewels...But all I wanted... was a little time with Francis. Something so small, something so harmless. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Yet it knocked the breath out of him.
Nathan stared at us, his gaze dark and unreadable.
Then, suddenly, he smiled. Not the warm kind.A cold one..the kind that made the wolf inside me bristle.
He gritted out, “Fine.”
Then he turned and walked away so fast that a gust of wind followed him, ruffling the papers on the table.
Francis reached out calmly and pressed them down so they wouldn’t blow off.
His composure made me smile faintly.
When Nathan finally disappeared, Francis shifted closer, his presence warm and grounding, so different from the storm Nathan always carried.
He asked, his voice low with concern, “You mentioned divorce. What happened?”
Before I could answer, he continued, his brows furrowing.
“You were so set on marrying him. Why divorce now? Is this because of what happened over a year ago? Or did something else happen?”
His growing seriousness tugged at my heart. Francis had always looked out for me even when I didn’t deserve it.
I inhaled, letting the truth spill out in softened words. Not everything, but enough. Enough for him to understand how much of myself I had lost.
He listened, his eyes shadowed by both sorrow and relief.
“Aria...” he said quietly. “I’m glad you’re finally choosing yourself.”
Then he suddenly stood, moved my untouched steak aside, and said, “Let’s go.”
I blinked. “Where?”
“To eat real food,” he said, lifting his car keys. “I still haven’t sold my place in Asterfell. I had the driver bring my car. Come on—I’ll take you to that home-style place we used to go. You never liked fancy food anyway.”
My chest tightened. Kate, my grandma used to cook meals like that. Warm, gentle and comforting. Her absence still ached like an old wound.
Just the thought of that familiar little restaurant stirred something bright in me. I stood with a burst of energy.
Francis led me downstairs and we slid into the car. I opened the window, letting the breeze rush over my skin.
I felt light and free.
But then, my eyes caught movement.
Nathan.
He hadn’t left yet. He was standing a short distance away, rigid and unreadable.
Sophia and her advisor stood behind him, their expressions a blend of surprise and tension.
My wolf stiffened, golden eyes narrowing.
Francis followed my gaze and saw them too. He reached across me and calmly rolled up the window.
Without a word, he started the engine.
And we drove away.
Leaving Nathan standing behind us in silence, watching.
I pressed my lips together, trying to steady my breathing as the city blurred past the window. My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, claws scraping, sensing the storm I was pretending not to feel.
Calm down, I warned her.
But she only growled softly, unsettled by Nathan’s stare.
Francis kept sneaking glances at me through the rearview mirror.
He didn’t say anything, but his eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the stiffness in my shoulders, the way my heartbeat refused to settle.
I knew he felt something was off.
Francis always noticed the cracks I tried to hide.
He finally looked away and focused on the road, driving us toward the small home-cooked restaurant that had once become our sanctuary after long, stressful days.
But when the car rolled to a stop, my stomach sank. The storefront was different.
There were new colors and a new sign.
The place was gone, replaced.
Just like almost everything else in Asterfell.
“How about we just grab something else?” I asked softly, even though disappointment tugged at my chest. My wolf whined, missing the warm, familiar comfort the place used to give us.
Francis shook his head, determined.
“No. I’ve been craving this place ever since I left the country.”
His stubbornness made me smile faintly.
Even my wolf huffed in amusement.
Francis pulled out his phone to look up the new address, tapping quickly.
A few seconds later, he froze.
Not his whole body, just a subtle flutter of his eyelashes. The kind only someone who knew him well would notice.
I leaned forward a little. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
But on the bright screen in his hand...
The new location glowed:
Hemsworth Group.
My heart stuttered.
Francis didn’t hesitate, not even for a second. He simply turned the wheel with cool finality and drove us straight toward the place I least wanted to be.
