Free Web NovelChapter 192: Chapter 192
Aria’s POV
Jonathan nodded in agreement. “About that, they were set aside because you insisted on personally overseeing them. But then...” He stopped, choosing his words carefully. “We lost contact with you.”
A shadow crossed my mind.
Prison. That was where I had been for eighteen months. I remembered the cold floors, the scent of despair. My wolf trapped behind silver-strength bars.
I never told Williams about my real name until few days ago. He only knew me by my alias, Selena. Maybe if him and his brother, Alpha Jonathan knew my identity, who knows, they would have interfered and helped resolve my case and set me free. They were powerful alphas afterall.
I swallowed, lifting my head.
“Do you still have the design drawings?” I asked, my voice softer. “If so, I can speed up the samples myself and hand everything off to your team.”
Jonathan’s composure cracked just a little. His excitement rolled off him like heat waves, strong enough that even my wolf perked up.
“I carry your original drawings with me,” he said.
Originals?
My heart thumped once...hard.
Even my wolf stilled, stunned by such devotion.
“But they’re at the hotel where I’m staying,” he continued. “If you don’t mind, I can take you there.”
“That would be wonderful,” I said, unable to hide my smile.
Jonathan’s pulse spiked at my expression.
We drove to his hotel, retrieved the portfolio, and talked through details. His scent filled the car and my wolf kept puzzling over him, circling the edges of my instincts.
We parted outside the boutique Kara had renovated.
“I’ll leave the designs with you,” I told him. “Tomorrow, if you’re free, we can meet here to discuss the new designs.”
Jonathan bowed slightly, his hand over his chest in old-world elegance. “My schedule revolves around you, Aria,” he said.
My wolf raised a brow, flattered but a bit wary.
After he left, the evening wind slid icy claws across my shoulders. My breath fogged in the air as I rubbed my arms, scanning the dim edges of the street.
My phone buzzed with an incoming call.
It was Williams. I smiled and immediately answered the call.
“Aria! Your news is blowing up again!” he groaned through the speaker, his voice exhausted.
Still scanning the shadows, misunderstanding him, I smiled, “I have you and your brother to thank for that Williams.Thanks for clarifying everything.”
“That’s not the news I meant. You should check the entertainment news. They’re accusing you of having an affair...they say you were caught in the act!”
“Caught in the—what?” I blinked. My wolf growled in warning.
Then my phone vibrated with a trending alert.
#AriaSuspectedOfAffairWithCelestyrBrandCEO.
My jaw clenched...Hard.
The comments were worse than venom...they were ignorance sharpened into weapons.
“So that’s why the CEO rushed to defend her!”
“She’s two-timing Alpha Nathan!”
“She’s shameless...he’s old enough to be her uncle!”
“Of course she wanted something from him!”
My vision flickered, my wolf rising, fury burning under my skin. My claws threatened to slip out.
They didn’t know me.
They didn’t know Alpha Jonathan.
They didn’t know anything.
I inhaled deeply, forcing my wolf back, preparing to message Alpha Jonathan and tell him I would handle it.
But before I could type anything...
A message popped up from him:
“I’ll clarify things. Don’t worry.”
My eyes lingered on the screen, I inhaled once then made my decision.
“There is no need,” I murmured, my voice low with finality before sending him a message.
“I’ll take care of it this time.”
Williams’s voice chimed in next, dramatic as always. He was still on the line “Aria, are you listening? Should my brother step in to clarify things? If he does though, there’s a price. You owe me another design. The more the better.”
His excitement thrummed through the speaker like a pup shaking its tail.
“I already have a plan to resolve this,” I said quietly.
Williams’s sigh of disappointment was comically loud. Then came the inevitable curiosity: “Yeah? What’s your plan?”
My wolf prowled with irritation.
“If someone insists on digging up dirt on me,” I said, my voice turning to frost, “the best counterattack is to openly prove my innocence.”
A humorless laugh escaped me. My eyes locked on the drafted statement glowing on my phone. I hovered over “Send,” my thumb trembling with restrained fury... then saved it instead.
“You two don’t need to get involved, Williams. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate” I said firmly and hung up before Williams could whine again.
This is my mess and my fight.
I flagged down a taxi and pulled up the trending reports. The moment I did, I saw some photos. They crystal clear, zoomed in, far too perfect...my blood ran cold.
“Oh, so that’s what they’re using against me...” I muttered, a cold smirk forming on my lips “No wonder people think Jonathan and I are... something.”
My wolf snarled softly at the implication. She hated being misrepresented, hunted and cornered.
I zoomed in on the photos. They were photos of me dining with Jonathan, walking into the hotel. The angles were perfectly taken. freeweɓnøvel.com
Someone stalked me. I had felt a bit uneasy earlier when I was with Alpha Jonathan. I felt like I was being watched. This explains it.
That made my skin prickle. My senses were razor-sharp; they had been after the kidnapping.
Was it a Journalist? A Spy? Or Someone trying to tarnish my name?
My heart thudded once, then twice, heavy and warning.
I typed out a long statement for the public, my tone firm, direct, unapologetic. When I finally hit “Send,” my chest tightened.
If it were only me, I could endure the slander. But Jonathan had helped me. Wolves protected their allies....always.
The driver’s voice jolted me back. “We’re here, ma’am!”
“Thank you,” I said, stepping out of the car.
But the moment I faced Hemsworth Villa, my wolf stirred, my hackles rising.
The villa loomed against the night sky like a massive beast crouched in silence, watching me and waiting.
I inhaled again, trying to settle the unease. You’re stressed, Aria. Too many fights, not enough sleep. That’s all.
But as I walked through the living room, the sensation grew stronger.
Someone was watching.
And then I saw him.
Nathan.
