Free Web NovelChapter 400: Chapter 400
Aria’s POV
“Alright!” Gina said quickly, eagerness lighting her eyes as she stared me down. My wolf recognized the gleam, how anticipation sharpened into hunger. “Since you insist, don’t blame me for pushing you. Call your friend out.”
She believed she already knew the ending.
I didn’t argue. I simply reached into my bag and took out my phone.
The room stilled.
My wolf remained calm, steady, her spine straight. Bluffing required tension. I felt none.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Aria?” Jonathan’s voice came through, warm and even. “Why are you calling suddenly? Aren’t you at the event you mentioned? Is something wrong with the brooch?”
The sound of his voice grounded me. A steadiness settled my wolf, easing the prickle of hostility around us.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Jonathan,” I said softly. “Someone insists the brooch is a fake... and wants to meet you.”
Guilt tugged at me. He had already gone out of his way, finding materials, coordinating craftsmanship and delivering it personally. Asking him to come all the way to Crescent Manor felt excessive.
There was no hesitation on his end.
“That’s fine,” Jonathan replied easily. “Don’t worry about it. Send me the address, I’ll be there soon.”
I hadn’t lowered the volume. Everyone in the room heard him.
Gina let out a short, mocking laugh. I caught the spike of triumph in her scent.
Her anticipation grew, practically vibrating.
Jennifer, meanwhile, looked unsettled. This was not how she had planned her day to unfold. I felt a flicker of regret for that, but it passed. Truth had momentum now.
Then a single word floated from my phone, small and clear.
“Mom?”
My breath caught.
“Lana?” I asked, startled. “Why are you with Uncle Jonathan?”
The room went utterly silent.
Jonathan chuckled softly. “After I delivered the brooch, I thought she might be bored staying alone at Shevron Estates. I didn’t have anything urgent, so I kept her company.”
Nathan’s POV
My fingers clenched into a fist. What the hell was Jonathan doing in Aria’s house? How did he get so comfortable with her to the point of coming and going as he pleased?
Aria nodded in response to what he had said and was clearly ready to end the call, but Grandma moved faster.
She stepped closer, her eyes bright with unmistakable anticipation, and gently caught Aria’s wrist. “Is that Lana?” she asked softly. “Our little sweetheart?”
Her gaze searched Aria’s face, not in a demanding manner, but hopeful one. As if she needed reassurance that the child on the phone truly belonged to both Aria and me. freēwebnovel.com
Something in my chest tightened.
I straightened in my seat without realizing it. I had only seen Lana a handful of times, each encounter brief and carefully controlled. Yet hearing her clear, unhesitating “Mom” echo through the room sent my wolf into sudden stillness.
If Aria and I hadn’t divorced...
Would she be calling me Dad just as easily?
The memory struck without mercy—Lana stumbling over the word “dad” once, hesitant and uncertain. I remembered pretending not to notice, but the ache it left behind clawed up my throat now, raw and bitter.
“Aria,” Grandma said, her hand still firm on Aria’s wrist, “since your friend is watching Lana, why don’t you have him bring her along when he comes?”
It wasn’t a command. It was a wish.
I watched Aria hesitate. I knew that look, it was calculating, as if weighing kindness against caution. Finally, she nodded and spoke into the phone, asking Jonathan to bring Lana with him.
Grandma’s face lit up like a full moon.
She kept hold of Aria’s hand and guided her toward the table. “It’ll take some time to get here from Shevron Estates,” she said cheerfully. “You must be hungry. I’ll have the chef bring out sweets.”
She poured Aria tea herself.
Aria accepted it with composed grace, taking a small sip in a calm, polite manner.
Then Grandma did something that made my wolf tense.
She pulled me toward the opposite seat and gave me a knowing look.
I sat.
Across from me, Aria didn’t react. Not a flicker. Her face remained neutral and distant.
The tea tasted bitter in my mouth.
My mind wandered back to the thought from earlier that tightened my chest even more—Jonathan could move freely in and out of Shevron Estates. He could stay with Lana. He could stand beside Aria without resistance.
And I...
I was kept at arm’s length.
Thirty minutes later, Collins walked in and bowed.
“Madam Jennifer, Alpha Nathan,” he announced, “someone has arrived.”
Grandma immediately ordered the doors thrown open.
Jonathan stepped inside, dressed in a moon-white suit that caught the light softly. In his arms was Lana, my daughter, her eyes wide and curious. He held her as carefully as porcelain.
My breath stalled.
“Sweetheart!” Grandma nearly leapt from her seat.
She hurried forward, her eyes shining. “Look at those eyes! That nose—just like Nathan’s!” She laughed, delighted. “Such a beautiful little thing!”
In that moment, nothing else mattered to her—not the accusations, not the jewelry, not pride...Only Lana.
Jonathan paused, momentarily blocked by Grandma’s enthusiasm, and glanced at Aria with a faintly apologetic look.
Aria stepped forward immediately.
“Mom!” Lana called brightly, extending her arms towards Aria, completely ignoring grandma.
That single word and act disarmed Grandma completely. She returned to her seat without protest, though her eyes never left the child.
Aria extended her arms.
“Careful,” Jonathan said softly as he passed Lana to her.
They stood there together...tall, composed and perfectly matched. To anyone else, it was a harmless scene.
To me, it was a splinter driven straight into my eye.
My wolf snarled, hot and possessive. I wanted to stand, to order Jonathan away, to warn him to stay away from what was once mine. But my fist clenched beneath the table.
I stayed still.
I had signed the divorce papers myself. I had forfeited the right to jealousy, anger and claim.
Regret flooded my chest, thick and suffocating. If I could go back, if I could stop myself from agreeing to that divorce, even a life filled with endless conflict would be better than this quiet exile from Aria and our child.
Anything would be better than watching another man stand where I once belonged.
No one noticed the storm beneath my calm exterior.
No one...Except Jonathan.
As he took his seat, his eyes lifted briefly to mine.
The look we exchanged held no words, only a silent, unmistakable challenge.
