Aria’s POV
I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to piece together the haze before I blacked out. I rembered the waiter bumping ... the sudden dizziness... then the heat rushing through my veins like fire. My wolf had whimpered inside , claws scraping for control.
"You helped ?" I asked quietly, tightening my hold around Lana. I didn’t know how to face Nathan, especially with the faint remnants of that humiliating heat still clinging to my skin.
"Yeah."
He stood up, his tall fra casting a shadow over , blotting out the overhead light.
I didn’t know whether to thank him or run from him.
"Thank you," I forced out, my voice rough. I stared at the bedsheet instead of his face. Even the gratitude felt awkward on my tongue.
He snorted. "Don’t force it if you don’t an it."
My jaw tightened. Of course. That was Nathan, being his usual cold and dismissive self.
"If there’s nothing else, please leave, Alpha Nathan."
I lifted my chin. Even disoriented, even exhausted, I refused to cower. My ssy hair fell around my face like a shield.
Nathan let out a sharp little laugh. "That’s your gratitude? Use and toss aside?"
"Use you?" My brow creased. What was he even talking about?
He dragged a chair forward and sat down, his posture infuriatingly confident. He lounged there like he owned the room, like he owned the air I was breathing.
"You were drugged," he said, resting an arm on the back of the chair. His eyes studied calmly and intently. "Pretty heavily."
My stomach dropped.
Drugged...
My wolf snarled at the word, offended and alard.
"Drugged... with an aphrodisiac?" I whispered. The world swayed. I whipped my head toward him. "Then how did you—"
But the words died on my tongue.
Nathan lazily adjusted his half-unbuttoned collar and my heart almost stopped.
Mortification crashed into so hard I nearly retched. My face burned hotter than the drug ever had. My wolf shrank back, horrified.
But then he spoke—
"I had the Hemsworth family doctor handle it," he said coolly.
Relief hit so hard my shoulders sagged. I exhaled shakily.
Nathan’s eyes narrowed at my reaction, a dangerous spark appearing there.
Why?
Why was he upset I was relieved?
"Aria." His voice dropped. "Do I need to remind you we’re still legally married? Even if I had..."
His gaze slid over , sharp enough to cut.
"It would’ve been within my rights."
My wolf bristled.
Rights? Over ?
I lifted my chin, anger slicing through the remnants of humiliation. "And do I need to remind you the divorce papers have been ready for ages? They just need your signature."
For a mont, he simply stared.
Like he didn’t recognize .
Good.
I wasn’t the sa woman he had married. And I sure wasn’t going to let him walk all over .
Nathan looked away, rubbing his temple. "Aria, keep playing these gas, and even I will get tired."
"This isn’t a ga," I said with a cold laugh. "The divorce papers will be on your desk soon. Then we’ll see who’s playing whom."
I held my head high, the old scar on my cheek stinging faintly, a reminder of everything I’d survived. I wasn’t fragile. I wasn’t ek.
Nathan’s eyes darkened, a storm building there. He lifted a hand sharply. "Don’t even think about it."
That tone...
That command...made my wolf growl under my skin, resisting him.
He leaned forward to say sothing but then froze. His lashes trembled.
A thought must have crossed his mind because he relaxed and let out a long exhale. "Co back to Hemsworth Villa with ."
I blinked.
What?
No...No... that wasn’t the plan. I’d been pushing him, baiting him, doing anything to get him to sign the papers.
Why was he switching the ga now?
"Go back for what?" I asked, clutching Lana tighter. My voice cracked with bitterness I couldn’t hide. "To face your staff’s cold stares? Or to wait for you every night like a fool?"
My smile twisted, bitter and self-mocking.
Nathan rubbed his temple again. "If the staff bothers you, tell . I’ll handle it."
Then his voice softened, unsettlingly so.
"And as for waiting up for ... I’ll make ti."
For a second, my gaze t his.
There was sincerity in his tone. It startled so much I quickly looked away.
My thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm.
Why now?
What changed?
"Nathan," I said finally, my voice steady. "Ever heard the saying?"
His brows drew together. "What?"
I t his eyes, my wolf standing tall inside .
"Love that cos too late is worthless."
I lifted my chin, letting the defiance settle over like armor.
"I don’t know if you’re trying to lure back so you can tornt again," I said, voice sharp as a claw swipe. "Or use as so twisted prop for you and Sophia. Or maybe this is just a sudden pang of conscience."
I tightened my hold on Lana, my pup, stepping back as if distance alone could shield us from him.
"But let make one thing clear..."
I pointed to the door, my wolf snarling through my voice.
"I don’t want you. And you need to get out. Now."
The air between us crackled, icy and tense.
He didn’t move, of course he didn’t.
Nathan stood there like a mountain planted in my path, rubbing his temple with a weary sigh as if I was the unreasonable one.
Then he spoke... his voice carried a patience I’d never heard from him.
"Do you really think this drugging was an accident?"
His words slamd into like a blow.
My wolf froze.
My breath caught and my pulse stuttered.
No...
He was right.
A drug like that wasn’t sothing anyone could slip into a drink casually. And why would a random waiter target ?
Unless the target wasn’t random at all.
I lifted my gaze to his, letting my suspicion cut into him.
Nathan’s lips twitched into a wry grimace. "I’m not that desperate."
I hated that he said it so casually and hated that it made sense.
I pressed harder anyway. "Then why are you here, Nathan? Why do you keep showing up?"
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