Aria’s POV
“I’ll cancel the ride,” I said lightly, “and you can join your Uncle Nathan as a holess duo.”
Rowland’s shoulders slumped, he looked completely defeated.
“I should go,” I added, checking the ti. My tone shifted, becoming instinctively softer. “Lana’s waiting for at ho.”
At the ntion of her na, Rowland sobered up imdiately, watching with reluctant understanding. “Alright. I will wait for the driver and Collins.”
He glanced at Nathan, conflicted. No matter how angry he was, blood was still blood. Family ties ran deep.
“Good for you,” I said.
I turned and walked away without another glance, my wolf steady and calm beneath my skin. The night air outside felt freer, cleaner.
As soon as I got ho, my cellphone rang. It was a strange number. I answered it, curious to know who it was.
“Aria,” the person barked the mont the line connected, his voice sharp enough to scrape skin, “get to Hemsworth Group Private Hospital now! Your sister’s in trouble, do you understand?”
That voice was so familiar it sent a chill down my spine. It was my father’s voice. He has been overseas for business for so years now. Just like my mother, he cared nothing about . Why was he back now and suddenly calling , making outrageous demands?
“As her elder sister, how have I taught you?” he continued, “Sophia never had a father...your mother and I adopted her to give her a family.”
The words slamd into my ears, and my wolf stirred, hackles rising. Sister...family. Those were lies that had never tasted right.
I said nothing.
“Aria, are you deaf?” my father, Patrick roared. “I’m talking to you!”
I could imagine his face. My mum must be there as well because he said in a tone laced with frustration.
“See what a daughter you raised.”
I finally spoke, my voice calm to the point of mockery.
“Dad? Have you ever seen a real father neglect his own daughter just to play hero for a foster child?”
I scoffed softly. “Ask Margaret. I’ve already severed ties with the Darvin family. Don’t think you can order around with that superior tone.”
My wolf curled its lip, baring phantom fangs.
Patrick exploded. “Aria, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to sever ties with too?”
I laughed...a bitter, hollow sound that clawed its way out of my chest.
“Sotis I really wonder if I am even your daughter,” I said. “It feels like Sophia is the only child you ever wanted.”
The words tasted like blood. He was my father yet throughout my stay in the prison, he never checked up on , not even once. He never even bothered to reach out after I left prison. He has been nonchalant towards ever since Sophia ca into the picture. Yet he is calling now, out of the blue, to make demands?
This is utterly ridiculous.
“Let’s just cut ties,” I continued coldly. “I don’t have parents anymore. You’re as good as dead to .”
My fingers clenched around the phone, trembling. Years of resentnt surged up like a volcano finally erupting within . If not for my grandmother, I would have left the Darvin family a long ti ago, cut them off completely, like diseased flesh.
And then he crossed the line.
“You are just like that grandmother of yours,” he sneered. “An uncouth old hag. No wonder she raised soone like you. How could you ever compare to my Sophia?”
Sothing inside snapped.
“Shut your mouth, Patrick!”
The snarl in my voice wasn’t entirely human. My wolf surged forward, furious, my teeth aching to tear sothing apart.
“What right do you have to talk about her?” I hissed. “Sotis I feel like my own father is a stranger. You probably wished you could disown while I was in prison. The Darvin family absolutely disgusts !”
There was a brief pause. Then Patrick’s tone shifted.
“What about your grandmother’s belongings?” he said smugly.
I froze.
“I’ve kept them all,” he continued, confidence dripping from every word. “Sophia needs so blood. Your mum and I are not matches. You have always been a match. Co to Hemsworth Group Private Hospital and give her so blood. If you do, I might let you take them back. Otherwise...” He chuckled. “I’ll burn everything.”
My heart clenched so violently it hurt. My wolf howled inside my chest, pacing, restless and enraged. I hated his arrogance, I hated him, but the ntion of him burning my grandmother’s belongings made my heart ache. They might be worthless to him, but to , they were worth so much.
The phone felt heavy in my hand. Behind , Lana stirred. The ringing phone had woken her, but she stayed quiet, her big eyes watching with uncanny awareness..
My fingers tightened, a tallic taste flooding my mouth as I bit down on my emotions.
My silence made Patrick smug. I could hear it in his breathing, in the way he tilted his chin like a general savoring victory.
“Third floor. Deluxe suite,” he said coolly. “Don’t be late.”
He knew. Everyone in the Darvin family knew how much my grandmother ant to .
I closed my eyes, my wolf growling low and furious.
“Why so urgent?” I asked finally, my voice eerily calm.
“Is Sophia about to die?”
The silence stretched until it beca unbearable, thick and suffocating.
My wolf paced inside , eyes glowing in the dark.
Finally, I spoke. My voice was cold, detached, carrying a darkness even I didn’t bother to hide.
“Let know when Sophia dies,” I said softly. “I’ll consider attending the funeral.”
A sharp, sarcastic laugh slipped from my throat, edged with cruelty.
“If my grandmother were still alive,” I continued, mockery curling into every word, “she’d never want kneeling to the Darvin family for the sake of so old belongings.”
My wolf snarled in agreent.
“I’ll even set off fireworks,” I added lightly. “To celebrate Sophia’s death.”
Click.
I ended the call without hesitation.
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