Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76
Nathan’s POV
The moment I stepped into the lobby of my company, a prickle ran down my spine. My wolf bristled, anxious and alert, pacing restlessly inside me. I had gotten a message from Collins who told me what was happening.
I swept the lobby with my gaze, my senses sharpening, scenting the air for her.
The crowd parted instinctively when they saw me, their heads bowing, their steps shifting aside.
And then...
There she was.
Aria, my luna.
She was standing alone, exposed, barely holding herself upright.
A jolt of shock punched through my chest so hard my breath caught. My temples throbbed, my wolf snarling at the sight of her swaying, her eyelids drooping. She was near collapse.
My eyes locked on her, disbelief slicing through me.
How? How had it come to this?
My jaw clenched as I tore my gaze away just long enough to meet Collins’s eyes. My loyal assistant and beta looked troubled, guilt-ridden even, as he bowed his head.
Collins has always been meticulous in following orders. He never overstepped.
My instruction had been clear, Aria was to apologize verbally to Sophia. Why then was she standing in the middle of my lobby as a spectacle in front of all my employees?
There were only two possibilities:
Aria did this to herself...or Sophia forced her to do it. freёweɓnovel.com
A flash of fury surged through me, my vision sharpening, my wolf pushing against my skin. I moved toward Aria without hesitation.
"What the hell are you doing?"
My voice cracked like a whip through the lobby.
Aria glared at me with eyes dark and hollow.
"Isn’t this what you and Ms. Sophia Darvin wanted? I have only been standing here for two hours, how much longer should I go?"
Her tone dripped bitterness, each word like a slap.
Ice crawled up my spine as I swung my stare toward Sophia.
She blinked, startled, before twisting her face into some pitiful, fake injury.
"If she didn’t want to apologize, she didn’t have to. Aria insisted on standing there for hours. She was putting on a show for you, Nathan."
Her voice slithered with accusation.
Aria’s eyes widened, hurt flashing across her pale face. She looked like she was being lied against.
"Collins."
I growled his name, my tone low and dangerous.
He stepped forward immediately and laid out the truth.
"It was Ms. Sophia Darvin who—"
Sophia’s lie shattered like glass.
She froze, looking pale.
"Collins’s helping Aria—", she began to stammer but then she met my eyes.
And whatever she planned to say died in her throat.
"Nathan, I..." she whispered.
I didn’t even look at her. My focus was now entirely on Aria.
I stepped closer, desperate to explain—to tell her I never meant for things to go this far. I only wanted her to apologize, to stop fighting, to—
But Aria cut me off with a vicious, broken shout.
"Get lost!"
She staggered, nearly falling. My wolf lunged forward instinctively, wanting to catch her but before I could reach her, she shoved me back.
Hard.
I actually stumbled.
She’d never pushed me like that before.
"Stop being proud and accept help when you need it!"
Her voice cracked, hoarse with pain.
"Pride? Do I even have any left? Didn’t you crush it already?"
Her words hit harder than any physical blow.
She lifted her face, exposing the faint pink scar across her cheek. The scar I’d stared at in the dark more times than I would admit. My chest tightened painfully.
"You..."
It was all I could get out. My throat locked.
"You wanted an apology? I gave it—by standing here."
Her gaze flicked to Sophia, then back to me, flat and defeated.
"So now... keep your promise."
She swallowed hard.
"Let him go."
Those three words were sharp and final.
Like she was closing a door in my face.
She limped away, each step uneven, each breath shallow. She didn’t look back.
Her retreating figure tore something open in me.
The lobby fell into dead silence.
My aura dropped, cold and murderous; as I turned my gaze to Sophia. Collins stiffened beside me. The crowd trembled.
Sophia looked like a rabbit caught in a wolf’s jaws.
And I was the wolf.
I stepped toward her slowly, each footfall deliberate, my fury simmering just beneath my skin. She shrank back.
"Who," I whispered, my voice so low it trembled the air, "...gave you the right to hurt my wife?"
The word wife rang out like a threat.
Sophia’s breath hitched, fear rolling off her in waves. freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Nathan..." she whispered, trembling.
Collins hurried to disperse the onlookers as tension crackled through the building. Even the walls seemed to hold their breath.
Sophia stood frozen, her head bowed.
But me?
My thoughts were already somewhere far beyond this lobby, beyond Sophia, beyond Collins.
All I could see, all I could hear, was the faint echo of Aria’s uneven steps moving farther and farther away from me.
Aria’s POV
The moment I stepped outside, the scorching sunlight washed over me.
It wasn’t pleasant, my skin still prickled with cold but the heat eased the stabbing pain in my legs, just enough for me to stay upright. My wolf pressed weakly against me, snarling at the remnants of humiliation clinging to my skin.
I didn’t look back, I didn’t dare look back.
I just moved forward, one stiff step after another, my limbs numb, my thoughts scattered.
Right as I raised my hand to wave down a cab, my phone rang.
