Free Web NovelChapter 57: Chapter 57
Aria’s POV frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
I lashed out, fists and feet flying in a frenzy. Each strike, each blow was raw, full of pent-up fury that I could no longer hold back. I lost count of how many times my fists collided with her, how many kicks I landed. All I knew was the force, the savage satisfaction of finally being able to act on the rage that had been festering inside me for so long.
I grabbed Sophia’s perfectly styled hair and yanked her head back, slamming my fist into her face again and again. Her screams were like music to my ears.
"Does this feel like a dying old dog gasping for air, Sophia? Pretty pathetic, huh?" I hissed in her ear, twisting her hair so tightly I thought it might come out in my hands.
She gasped, her face flushed with realization."Aria, you’re insane!"
I smirked through the fury burning in me, my chest heaving with every breath. This wasn’t about the slap anymore, it was about avenging kate. This was about throwing those cruel words she had spoken back in her face. The words that had broken me.
I grabbed her face and delivered a final, resounding slap. The force of it left her dazed, and I could see her confusion, the shock in her eyes as it came alive with her wolf.
Before I could do anything more, Margaret rushed in to intervene, her eyes immediately locking on Nathan, full of fear and unease. She reached out, trying to pull me away from Sophia, but Nathan was quicker.
He snapped out of the shock he had been in and moved to separate us, instinctively pulling me behind him like I was some fragile thing he needed to shield. His grip was cold, firm on my wrists, holding me back.
I wasn’t unscathed. My hair was a mess, wild and untamed, the white mask I’d worn slipping off, revealing the scar on my face. Even though it had faded over time, up close, it was still clearly visible. And now, as I stood there, Nathan holding me, I couldn’t help but wonder if he saw it as a weakness.
Ignoring him, I kept my eyes cold as I locked onto Margaret and Sophia, watching them closely. My gaze never wavered.
Margaret froze as her eyes locked onto my scarred face. I could see the shock in her eyes.
Sophia, dazed from the beating, finally came to her senses, her eyes blazing with shock and fury. She didn’t even register her own fear before she spat,"You dared hit me?"
Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face twisted in anger.
While Margaret was distracted, Sophia lunged. Her sharp claws aimed straight for my scarred face, her expression vicious, like she wanted to ruin me once and for all.
I braced myself at Nathan’s side. My hands were still restrained by his grip, my body tense, my eyes shut, preparing for the blow I couldn’t dodge. This is it.
But then, nothing came.
Instead of the sharp pain I expected, I heard the dull thud of a slap against fabric, followed by a muffled grunt above me. I opened my eyes, and my stomach dropped.
Nathan. He had stepped in front of me.
Sophia’s eyes widened in disbelief."Nathan, why... why would you..."
I could feel my spine stiffen, my body frozen in shock. Why would he do that? Why would he shield me?
Before I could process what was happening, Nathan’s calm, shadowed voice cut through the air, his tone colder than I had ever heard it."Sophia, is it worth getting worked up over a lunatic?"
A bitter scoff slipped from my lips, like a curse I couldn’t swallow back. A"lunatic," Nathan had called me that.
The funny thing though is, If I were a lunatic, then what did that make him?
My eyes flickered briefly, but it quickly dulled, swallowed by a hollow, empty darkness. I let it consume me. What else was there to feel, after everything?
I let the mocking smile curl on my lips, the only sign that I was still here, still alive, still breathing. But beyond that, I gave him nothing. No reaction. As if I hadn’t been slapped. As if his so-called protection meant nothing to me.
The shadow above me shifted, and Nathan’s grip tightened on my wrist again, pulling me toward him. This time, there was no subtlety in his touch, he held me as if I were a ragdoll, his fingers crushing my bones, the pressure sharp and unforgiving. It felt like he could shatter me with just one more squeeze.
I tugged twice, testing the strength of his grip, but he wouldn’t let go. My wolf snarled at the weakness and helplessness in my struggle.
My eyes locked onto his, icy and deep, like the frigid waters of an arctic sea.
His gaze lingered on the red marks blooming across my cheek, those marks left by Margaret’s hand and Sophia’s.
Then his voice sliced through the air, low and commanding."Apologize to Sophia."
