Free Web NovelChapter 230: Chapter 230
Aria’s POV
“I don’t just not want your help,” I replied coldly. “I advise you to stay out of this.”
Rowland stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
I glared up at him.
For the first time, his tall frame seemed to lose its casual ease. He grabbed my wrist.
My wolf stirred within me, hackles rising.
“Why won’t you accept my help,” he demanded, grip tightening, “even when things are this bad?”
I tried to pull away, irritation burning hot. When I couldn’t, I looked straight into his eyes.
“Rowland,” I said sharply, “remember this—I was your Uncle Nathan’s wife. Even if the marriage is over, legally there’s still a connection and our mate bond hasn’t been severed yet. How do you expect me to accept help from my ex-husband’s nephew?”
My words were like cold, clean, merciless blades.
Rowland opened his mouth to speak but closed it. Pain flickered through his eyes, but his grip didn’t loosen.
“Aria,” he asked quietly, “is it really because of Uncle Nathan?”
“If Nathan weren’t my uncle...”
His gaze burned into mine, desperate to uncover the truth hidden behind my guarded eyes.
My heart skipped but I turned my face away.
“There are no ‘ifs,’” I snapped. “Rowland, stop bothering me.”
After being betrayed by everyone I once trusted, how could I ever love again?
My life now belonged only to Lana.
In those endless nights trapped in a narrow cell, it was Lana’s presence that kept me alive. I had loved once. Reality taught me my love was worthless. I had trusted once, only to be pushed straight into hell.
My heart, once sincere, had been torn apart and left to bleed dry.
I avoided Rowland’s gaze, my voice heavy with exhaustion and disdain. “Say that again,” he said hoarsely.
As always, my answer left no room for mercy.
“Please stop bothering me.”
The words were clean and sharp, like claws drawn across stone. I could see what they did to him. I felt the shift in the air, and saw the way Rowland’s bright, burning gaze finally dulled, like a flame starved of oxygen.
My wolf stirred uneasily in my chest, uneasy but resolute.
I turned and walked away. This time, he didn’t follow.
That hurt more than I expected.
My fingers tightened around my purse as I moved through the crowd, the night wind brushing against my skin. I couldn’t help but think of the bond I refused, the path I cut off. Despite how I felt, I knew I’d done the right thing.
Still...
I was sorry for Rowland.
Nathan’s POV
At Hemsworth Group, I sat behind my desk, flipping through the documents Collins had just delivered. The paper edges brushed beneath my fingers, but my focus wasn’t on the words, it was on the name that kept leaping out at me.
Aria.
My brows drew together, instinctively, the way they always did when something felt... off. Somewhere deep inside, my wolf stirred, restless, as if it too sensed it.
“Aria won the case?” I asked coolly, lifting my gaze.
“Yes,” Collins replied. “Ms. Sophia Darvin, who represented the plaintiff, Lucious Kendrick, was clearly dissatisfied with the verdict and possibly with her own performance. Lucious caused a scene here earlier. I had Ms. Darvin take him back to her office to handle it.”
I didn’t respond right away.
My eyes darkened as they drifted over the stack of files on my desk. On the surface, I was calm. Beneath it, my thoughts were circling like a predator tracking something it didn’t yet understand.
How could Sophia lose to Aria?
For years, Aria’s victories in court had relied on Sophia’s support behind the scenes. Everyone knew it, even if no one said it aloud. This was their first time standing on opposite sides, going up against each other. free𝑤ebnovel.com
And Aria had won.
The air in the office felt heavy, low-pressure, like the moment before a storm breaks. Collins shifted slightly.
“Collins.”
My voice cut through the silence.
He straightened immediately, meeting my eyes.
“Do you really think Aria, who used to claim other people’s achievements as her own, could defeat Sophia in an actual courtroom?”
The words tasted sharp in my mouth.
Aria had lost her law license. Spent an entire year locked behind iron bars. Prison wasn’t a place where skills sharpened; it was where people survived, nothing more. Meanwhile, Sophia had risen quickly under Hemsworth Group’s protection, handling confidential cases, high-profile lawsuits, feeding on experience like a wolf raised in prime hunting grounds.
By logic alone, Sophia should have crushed her.
My wolf growled low in my chest, not in anger but in irritation. The math didn’t add up.
Collins glanced at my tightly furrowed brow, swallowed whatever answer he’d formed, and chose silence. A wise choice. freewebnøvel.coɱ
“Go,” I said finally, waving my hand. “Control the public opinion.”
He nodded at once and left the office.
