Free Web NovelChapter 166: Chapter 166
Aria’s POV
The moment I stepped out from the piano stand after drawing all attention to myself, the air shifted. Hundreds of heartbeats thudded at different rhythms, but I still pinpointed his instantly.
Nathan. His shocked gaze was fixed on me.
Sophia was even more stunned, I could hear the rapid flutter of her heartbeat. Fake sweetness poured into her voice as she rushed toward me. freeweɓnovel.cøm
“Aria, where’s the pianist I hired? You shouldn’t have to do this.”
I didn’t acknowledge her or look in her direction. With a smile planted on my face, I walked past her. My wolf snarled in satisfaction.
After a year of everyone calling me broken, imprisoned, defeated... walking past her like she was nothing felt like reclaiming a piece of myself.
Pin drop silence filled the ballroom . I felt every eyes still planted on me, no one looked in Sophia’s direction.
Their shock rolled over me in waves.
My steps were unhurried, each one echoing in the suddenly chilled air. I tossed my curls back, exposing the line of my neck, an instinctive show of dominance my wolf approved of.
The gown hugged my body like it was tailored perfectly for me. The feathered mermaid hem were layered around my heels, and the slit up my thigh revealed flashes of skin with each stride. The open back left my shoulders bare, where faint claw scars that healed long ago, glimmered under the chandelier.
To me those were not flaws, but proof that I survived.
Whispers rose like wind rustling through leaves.
“Is she an angel?”
“After over a year in prison, Luna Aria should look ruined...but she is absolutely stunning.”
“That’s right...I am jealous. No one in this ballroom matches her...beauty.”
I caught Sophia’s bitter scent. It was filled with a mix of envy and forced sweetness.
She hated this, she hated me
...because no matter how hard she tried, she could never command a room the way I could.
She forced a smile, her voice trembling beneath the sugary veneer.
“Aria, I didn’t expect you to attend my celebration. I’m really touched.”
Celebration...She emphasized it like she needed to remind the room whose night this supposedly was.
Pathetic.
I folded my arms, letting my aura change just a little, enough to make the wolves in the room straighten instinctively.
“You should be touched,” I said lightly. “It’s not that easy to host a celebration at Hemsworth Villa.” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Her brows knitted. She didn’t understand.
So I stepped closer, slowly, like a predator approaching prey. I placed a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under my touch, her heartbeat stumbling.
“Honey...” I smiled sweetly. “Nathan and I are still married. I still have a say in everything that happens at Hemsworth Villa.”
Her eyes widened.
Power thrummed beneath my skin, my wolf stretching, feeling very pleased.
Standing beside Sophia, the contrast was almost cruel. She looked small and insignificant. Like a wilted flower trying to stand beside a storm.
People who had praised her earlier went silent, realizing how mismatched she and Nathan truly were.
The guests watched, breathheld, waiting for what would happen next.
I clapped my hands lightly, letting my voice carry throughout the room.
“Everyone, please continue. Enjoy the music and dancing.”
My wolf pushed through the edges of my aura, and the entire ballroom responded instantly. The tension dissolved, conversations resumed, and music filled the air again.
As if I, not Sophia, were the rightful host.
Sophia’s smile tightened. Her scent soured with jealousy and panic. Good, let her squirm.
Nathan still hadn’t spoken a single word since he realized I was the one at the piano stand..
But his gaze? It was glued to me, hot and restless, like his wolf was pacing inside him.
Sophia noticed, of course she did.
She bit her lip, trying to look wounded. “Aria, you—”
I tapped my chin thoughtfully, pretending to ponder. Then I let disappointment tint my voice. “What’s wrong? Do you mean I’m not welcome? Maybe I shouldn’t have come after all.”
I pivoted to leave.
Sophia’s relief rolled off her like a cool breeze. But before I took two steps, a strong arm coiled around my waist.
My wolf’s ears perked sharply.
There it is.
Nathan’s hand slid from my waist to my wrist, pulling me effortlessly into his chest. His scent wrapped around me. I sucked in a tiny breath as my body pressed against his.
My wolf purred, traitorous and delighted, but I kept my face lowered, hiding the flicker of triumph in my eyes.
This was all part of the plan.
Sophia’s taunts the past days hadn’t been invisible to me. I had let her believe I was weak, clueless and docile.
Stupid girl.
Did she really think I would always be the one getting bullied?
My gaze sharpened into a blade of ice.
Nathan’s voice dropped into a low growl near my ear.
“What are you trying to do?”
