Free Web NovelChapter 272: Chapter 272
Nathan’s POV
Margaret stood frozen beside Sophia like a statue. Patrick had just run off seconds ago after the call he had with Aria.
Sophia’s jaw tightened for a second before she pasted on a gracious smile and faced the remaining crowd.
“I’m really sorry, everyone,” she began, her voice wavering just enough to seem sincere. “There was an emergency at the company. My father had to leave to deal with it.”
Her gaze flicked to me, as if checking to see if I bought it, before she continued.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors... about my sister...” She bit her lip, trembling just a little. “Since she won’t come back, we... we have to accept it. I apologize for the trouble.”
She bowed so deeply her hair fell forward like a curtain. The crowd murmured, their righteous anger shifting. I watched as her performance softened them. My wolf snorted, tail flicking with distrust. Something about her didnt sit right with me.
Then a voice cut through the air like a thrown dagger.
“To think we defended Aria! Maybe we backed the wrong person!”
Agreements rippled like a pack falling in line behind a new alpha.
“She’s so disrespectful.”
“Ms. Darvin is the real lady.”
“Poor Sophia, so polite even now.”
Sophia lowered her head, but I saw it, the flicker in her eyes. There was a mix of satisfaction and triumph in it. She fed off their sympathy like a leech.
The mob dispersed eventually, grumbling but pacified. But I stayed.
I couldn’t walk away. My wolf wouldn’t let me. He paced beneath my skin, restless, waiting for Aria.
Sophia turned toward me. “Nathan,” she said softly, hiding her triumph behind gentle eyes. “Aren’t you going to wait for my sister with me?”
Her tone tugged at something inside me. Doubt, maybe. Or guilt. I rubbed my forehead, trying to clear the fog clouding my thoughts.
“Darvin Group is in trouble,” I told her. “You should see if you can help Mr. Darvin.”
She blinked, caught off guard. “What about you?”
“The Hemsworth Group is fine. I’ll wait for her here.” My voice felt rough, even to me. “If you want me to ask her anything, say it now.”
Sophia’s heartbeat quickened, my wolf heard it. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. It was too fast to be calm.
Her cheeks flushed. She lowered her gaze shyly. freewёbnoνel.com
“My sister and the family...” she whispered, her voice cracking, “they’re at odds. But...I don’t want it to be like this. My sister misunderstood our parents.”
A tear slid down her cheek. Perfect timing, like it had been rehearsed.
“She doesn’t have to love me... but please ask her to respect my mother.”
A weight settled in my chest. My wolf’s ears flattened.
“Okay,” I replied, my voice low, a reluctant promise.
I signaled Collins. He led Sophia and Margaret away.
Night fell but I stayed.
The streetlights hummed. My wolf lay coiled under my skin, eyes fixed toward the entrance like he expected her to return.
Crouched near the gate with my hands clasped, I waited. Trying to steady the chaos in me. I didn’t even know why I was still here.
Then I heard the heels. The click of them against pavement. There were sharp, confident and familiar enough to make my breath catch.
Then her scent hit me.
I looked up.
Aria.
She stood like a queen carved from moonlight, her face unreadable, her eyes colder than winter.
Something cracked in my chest.
“Did you bring them here today?” she asked, her voice knife-edged.
Her tone carried the faintest hint of betrayal, and it sliced me open inside.
“It was Patrick” I answered immediately, speaking the truth. My wolf snarled at the idea of her thinking otherwise.
She frowned, confusion flickering, then vanishing as quickly as it came. Her thoughts raced behind her eyes, I could feel it.
She straightened. “Alpha Nathan, how long do you plan to stay here?”
The title was formal and distant. She might as well have slapped me.
“Are you targeting the Darvin Group?” I asked, forcing myself to meet her eyes.
Aria’s POV freeweɓnøvel.com
Nathan’s gaze locked with mine, his eyes like a deep ocean, mine like a winter storm. I could feel the weight of his dominant alpha aura pressing against me, but I didn’t flinch.
A year ago, I would’ve lowered my head, my wolf’s tail tucked like a scolded omega.
But now? My wolf growled inside me, tail high, hackles raised.
I could face him, calmly.
“I’m merely reclaiming what’s mine,” I said, my voice low, sharp. My words sliced the air like claws. If he intended to stand in my way, I wouldn’t hesitate to bare my fangs regardless of whether he was the CEO of Hemsworth Group or not.
The Darvin Group... Patrick built it with the Osborne family’s backs bent beneath him.
He told the world it was compensation for Margaret’s suffering, but I knew the truth. My grandmother helped him out of mercy. The Osborne family propped him up when they should’ve cast him out. Now, everything my grandma had was willed to me. It was time to take back everything that belonged to me.
Without the Osborne bloodline, there would be no Darvin Group, no legacy to steal from me.
A laugh curled in my chest, feral.
If reclaiming what was mine made me the villain, so be it. Even villains have kingdoms.
“Must you be so stubborn?” Nathan asked, his voice tightening. “If today’s events go online, all your clarifications will be ruined.”
“As if I haven’t faced enough rumors?” My lips lifted in a cold smile. “I’ve survived worse than gossip. Hell has teeth, I learned to grow sharper ones.”
The moonlight washed over us. My wolf’s eyes flashed, amber bleeding into crimson for a heartbeat. Nathan stiffened, sensing the shift.
“Aria,” he stepped closer, lowering his voice, “your grudge with the Darvin family isn’t related to Sophia. She’s tried to make peace with you. And you shouldn’t use her late mother against her.”
