Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 165

Aria’s POV

Morning light filtered through the curtains.

Warm. Gentle. The kind of light that made everything feel soft around the edges.

I blinked awake slowly. My body was warm. Comfortable. Safe.

Someone was breathing beside me.

Deep. Steady. The rhythm of peaceful sleep.

I turned my head.

Kael.

He was still here.

Still in my bed. Still in my apartment. Still in my life.

His dark hair was messy from sleep. His face relaxed in a way I’d never seen before. All the Alpha authority gone. All the tension smoothed away.

He looked younger like this. Almost vulnerable.

My chest tightened.

Last night had been... everything.

The confession. The kiss. The way he’d held me after. Like I was precious. Like he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.

We’d talked for hours. About the past three years. About Lina. About what came next.

Then we’d fallen asleep. Together. In my tiny bed. His arms wrapped around me.

I should probably wake him. Should probably—

"Mommy?"

The small voice made me freeze.

I turned my head.

Lina stood in the doorway. Her unicorn clutched under one arm. Her eyes huge and round.

Staring at the bed.

At me.

At Kael.

At us together.

Oh no.

"Baby!" I sat up too fast. The blanket fell away. "Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

She didn’t answer.

Just kept staring.

Her little brain clearly working overtime. Processing the scene in front of her.

Her mommy. In bed. With the man who’d made soup with her.

The man who’d carried mommy home when she was sick.

The man who’d held her on the couch all night.

"Is Kael sleeping?" Her voice was quiet. Careful.

"Yes, baby. He... he stayed over last night. It got late and—"

"Because of the rain?"

I blinked. "What?"

"It was raining." She said it matter-of-factly. "So he couldn’t go home. Because he’d get all wet again."

Relief flooded through me.

"Exactly. That’s exactly why."

She nodded. Seemed satisfied with this explanation.

Then she walked forward. Climbed onto the bed. Settled herself right between us.

"Lina, sweetie, maybe we should let him—"

Too late.

She’d already poked Kael’s cheek with one tiny finger.

"Kael." Poke. "Kael, wake up." Poke poke. "It’s morning. You have to wake up now."

He stirred. Made a sound that was half groan, half laugh.

His eyes opened slowly.

Those black-gold irises finding Lina’s face immediately.

"Good morning, little monster." His voice was rough from sleep. Deep and gravelly in a way that made my stomach flip.

"Good morning!" Lina beamed. "You stayed over!"

"I did." He sat up carefully. Rubbed his eyes. "Hope that’s okay."

"It’s VERY okay." She bounced slightly. "Now you can have breakfast with us! Mommy makes the BEST pancakes. Way better than our soup."

Despite everything, I laughed.

Kael grinned. "I don’t doubt that for a second."

He looked at me over Lina’s head. Those eyes soft. Warm. Full of something that made my heart race.

"Pancakes sound perfect."

---

Twenty minutes later, we were all in the kitchen.

I was at the stove. Flipping pancakes. Trying not to burn them while being hyperaware of Kael’s presence behind me.

He’d borrowed one of my oversized shirts. It was too small on him. Stretched tight across his shoulders. The sleeves barely reached his elbows.

He looked ridiculous.

And absolutely gorgeous.

Lina sat at the table. Swinging her legs. Chattering nonstop about everything and nothing.

"—and then Sally said her daddy could lift a car but I said MY daddy could probably lift TWO cars and she said I didn’t have a daddy and I said—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

I turned around. Spatula in hand.

Her face had gone red. Her eyes wide with horror.

"I..." She looked at me. Then at Kael. Then back at me. "I didn’t mean... I wasn’t trying to..."

"Hey." Kael moved before I could. Knelt beside her chair. "It’s okay."

"But I said something bad." Her bottom lip trembled. "About not having a daddy. Mommy gets sad when I talk about that."

My throat tightened.

"You didn’t say anything bad, sweetheart." I set down the spatula. Walked over. "You were just telling a story."

"But Sally was mean." A tear slipped down her cheek. "She said everyone has a daddy. And I said I don’t. And she laughed."

Anger flared hot in my chest.

What kind of child—

"Sally sounds like she doesn’t know what she’s talking about." Kael’s voice was gentle but firm. "Because families come in all different shapes. Some have mommies and daddies. Some just have mommies. Some just have daddies. Some have grandparents or aunts or uncles."

He brushed the tear away with his thumb.

"What matters isn’t what your family looks like. What matters is that they love you. And your mommy loves you more than anything in the whole world."

Lina sniffled. "Really?"

"Really." He smiled. "Trust me. I’ve seen how she looks at you. You’re her whole world."

More tears fell. But she was smiling now too.

"Okay." She threw her arms around his neck. Squeezed tight. "Thank you, Kael."

He hugged her back. Careful. Gentle.

When he caught my eye over her shoulder, the look on his face made my chest ache.

Love.

Pure, unconditional love.

For my daughter.

---

Breakfast was chaos.

The good kind.

Lina insisted on helping. Which meant flour everywhere. Syrup on the table. Orange juice spilled across the counter.

But she was laughing. Really laughing. That bright, joyful sound that made everything else disappear.

And Kael...

Kael was right there with her. Making funny faces. Pretending to steal bites of her pancake. Playing along with every ridiculous game she invented.

"This one looks like a dinosaur!" Lina held up a misshapen pancake.

"That’s clearly a dragon." Kael said seriously.

"Dragons don’t exist!"

"Sure they do. They’re just very good at hiding."

"Where do they hide?"

"In caves. And sometimes in closets."

Her eyes went huge. "MY closet?"

"Maybe. We should check later. Just to be safe."

She giggled. Shoved another bite into her mouth.

I watched them. My heart too full.

This. This was what I’d dreamed about. What I’d imagined during those long, lonely years.

A family.

Not perfect. Not conventional.

But real. And warm. And full of love.

"Mommy!" Lina’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. "You’re staring again!"

"Am not."

"Are too! With your mushy face!"

"I don’t have a mushy face."

"You do!" She pointed at me. "Right now! All mushy and soft!"

Kael laughed. "She’s right. Very mushy."

I threw a napkin at him.

He caught it. Grinned. That devastating smile that made my knees weak.

God help me.

I was in so much trouble.

---

After breakfast, Lina dragged us both to the living room.

She had a mission. An important mission.

Show Kael ALL her toys.

Every single one.

"This is Mr. Whiskers." She held up a worn stuffed cat. "He’s been with me FOREVER. Since I was a baby."

"He looks very wise." Kael said seriously.

"He IS! And this is Princess Sparkle." She grabbed a unicorn. "And this is Sir Fluffington." A teddy bear. "And this is—"

The introductions went on for twenty minutes.

Kael listened to every word. Asked questions. Made appropriate noises of amazement.

Like this was the most important conversation he’d ever had.

My heart melted a little more with each passing second.

"—and THIS," Lina pulled out a drawing. Slightly crumpled. Covered in crayon scribbles. "Is my family!"

She held it up proudly.

I recognized it immediately. She’d drawn it last month. After a particularly hard day at school.

Two stick figures. One big. One small.

Mommy and Lina.

That was it.

Just us.

"It’s beautiful." Kael’s voice was soft.

"I drew it for Mommy." Lina explained. "Because she was sad. And I wanted her to remember that even though it’s just us, we’re still a good family."

My eyes burned.

"We are a good family, baby." The words came out thick. "The best family."

"I know." She smiled. Then looked at the drawing. Then at Kael. Then back at the drawing.

Her little face scrunched up. Thinking.

"Kael?"

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath. Like she was preparing for something big.

"Are you going to keep living here and be my daddy?"