Free Web NovelChapter 98: Chapter 98
Nathan’s POV
Collins hesitated. After I gave him a nod, he opened the door.
Sophia stood there, her eyes shining like she was seconds away from tears.
Collins tried to block her. "Ms. Sophia Darvin, Alpha Nathan is busy. What’s it about?" ƒrēewebnovel.com
But she brushed past him like he didn’t exist.
"Nathan!" she wailed.
Even Collins flinched at the pitch of it.
I set my pen down—again. "What’s going on?" I asked, leveling my gaze at her.
My eyes always get colder when my wolf rises. Sophia froze for a heartbeat before she pushed forward.
"I heard you made Aria stay at Hemsworth Villa," she said, voice trembling with wounded indignation.
She stepped closer, biting her lip like she was auditioning for sympathy. "Nathan, I know Aria doesn’t like me, but I still think of her as family. She’s not into you, and you’re forcing her. I gotta speak up for her."
Collins didn’t move, but the silent eye-roll was practically audible.
I narrowed my eyes. "You’re here to fight her corner?"
I pushed the contracts aside and leaned back in my chair, arms crossing. The shift in posture always changes the air. dominance isn’t something I try for. It just happens.
Sophia swallowed hard, visibly affected. Her scent spiked with flustered admiration.
"Yeah, I am!" she declared.
A humorless laugh escaped me, low and cold. My wolf didn’t like her tone at all.
Everyone else thought I entertained Sophia and showed attention because I wanted it. But the truth was simpler, tolerated her. Nothing more.
Sure, I’d caused a scene at the hospital once over a scratch. My wolf reacts instinctively to injuries—it doesn’t always discriminate. Sophia misunderstood. Humans love to twist moments into fantasies.
But lately, I’d kept my distance.
Because of Aria.
My wolf wanted her protected safe and close.
Sophia must have sensed my thoughts because something dark flashed in her eyes before she masked it with sugary innocence.
She approached, slow and calculated, dressed in something elegant and expensive.
"Nathan, if Aria’s not into it, just let her go," she murmured, giving me those wide, pleading eyes.
My wolf went still.
I let out a low, sarcastic laugh "So she doesn’t want to, and I should just let her off the hook? You think I’m some kind of philanthropist?"
My chair creaked as I leaned back, eyes sharpening like ice. The wolf in me never tolerated nonsense.
"She’s the one who hounded me into marriage," I said, voice dropping. "Now she’s having second thoughts and sends you to beg for mercy?"
Sophia’s gaze traveled over my face. Even though I wasn’t giving her what she wanted, her smile only widened. My wolf bristled at that.
In a sugary, pleading tone, she cooed, "Nathan, do it for me, okay? And..."
She watched my reaction like a hunter checking her trap before springing it.
Then she whispered, "Aria had that baby in prison. Can you really stomach raising an... illegitimate kid?"
The last two words came out like poison.
The temperature in the office plummeted. Even the air felt frozen.
I felt my face go cold, colder than the steel running through my veins.
My wolf went dead silent, which was always worse than a snarl.
But Sophia wasn’t done. Hatred flickered in her gaze like a spark catching dry brush.
She spoke, voice trembling with false devotion.
"Nathan, if you’re still mad at Aria, I’ll take the blame for her. Just please, let her go."
I exhaled slowly, forcing down the urge to bare my teeth.
"Sophia, you’re your own person. Her mess isn’t yours to clean up," I said, voice rough from restraint.
Then I nodded at Collins.
He stepped forward instantly, blocking her line of sight like a loyal sentinel.
"Ms. Sophia Darvin, Alpha Nathan is swamped. You’ll have to leave."
Sophia’s face fell.
She shot me one long, resentful look before storming out.
The door clicked shut.
My gaze stayed locked on it for a moment, heavy and unreadable.
Collins glanced at me but wisely kept his mouth shut.
I couldn’t help but wonder, even if there were issues between Aria and me, Sophia’s behavior didn’t match concern.
Not for a sister.
Not for someone who used to be glued to Aria like a shadow. freewebnøvel.coɱ
No—she was stirring the pot.
Without a word, I lowered my head.
Then the realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.
I yanked open my drawer.
Inside was the dossier Peter had given me.
This time, I flipped straight to the last page.
My fingertips brushed the cover—the texture rough, unsettling.
The file was incomplete, but even the first part made my pulse stutter.
I read it again, my hand tightening around the edge.
Why?
A year ago, every shred of evidence pointed at Aria.
As chief lawyer of Hemsworth Group, she was the only one besides me with access to classified information.
When the company’s secrets were leaked, I—being president—was not a suspect.
Which left her as the only possible suspect.
My vision darkened.
That night, I’d been drugged.
Woke up in a bed that wasn’t mine.
With Aria.
I was hot and wanted her. A blur of instinct I didn’t understand then.
And before I could breathe, I was hit with the news.
I felt betrayed and angry, my wolf snapping its teeth.
I’d ordered her arrest on the spot. My heart thumped hard, too hard.
Against my will, an image surfaced. Aria’s face.
It was delicate and shattered.
It had been raining.
Soft and steady, like the sky was grieving with her.
Her sobs didn’t fade with the storm.
Only when she stopped pleading altogether did the rain finally win.
Right before they dragged her away, she let out a laugh.
It was soft and cold.
Sharp as ice on a mountain peak.
Barely audible, but it still rings in my ears.
And goddess help me...
my wolf remembers it too.
The realization slammed into me like a shockwave—so sudden my heart actually stumbled in my chest.
My eyes narrowed into slits, instincts sharpening like claws unsheathed.
Aria’s reaction... it hadn’t matched anything.
Not guilt, not fear, not the desperation of someone trying to cover a betrayal.
If she had really been in love with me, if every look, every word back then had been real—
then what the hell was her motive?
For the first time in a year, I actually allowed myself to think about her time in prison.
Really think about it.
Questions flooded my mind like a dam breaking, and my wolf paced restlessly under my skin.
"Collins," I said, my voice low and rough.
He appeared instantly—good instincts, that one.
I handed him the dossier. "Dig into what happened a year ago. Quietly. And find the rest of this file—no matter what."
