Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 170

Aria’s POV

Kael’s hand caught mine as I reached for my jacket.

"Stay." His voice was low. Intimate. "Let me stay tonight."

My heart skipped.

He pulled me closer. Those black-gold eyes dark with intent. "We can make dinner together. Put Lina to bed. Then..." His lips curved into that devastating smile. "Then I can show you exactly what I’ve been thinking about all afternoon."

Heat flooded my face. My body remembered. The wall. The desk. The way he’d—

Stop it, Aria.

"Absolutely NOT."

He blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." I pulled my hand free. Crossed my arms. Tried to look stern. "Tonight is girls’ night. No boys allowed."

"Girls’ night." He repeated the words slowly. Like he was trying to understand a foreign language.

"Yes." I nodded firmly. "Sophie and I have plans. Video call. Gossip. The works."

His brow furrowed. "Your friend from the human world?"

"The very same."

He opened his mouth. Closed it. The disappointment on his face was almost comical.

"But I thought... after this afternoon... I assumed I’d be staying." His hand reached for my waist again. "We could continue what we started. Without interruptions this time."

The promise in his voice made my knees weak.

Focus, Aria.

"You assumed wrong." I forced my voice to stay steady. Stepped back before I changed my mind. "Tonight, you go home. Lina and I need quality time. Just us girls."

Lina appeared beside me. Arms crossed. Mimicking my stance perfectly.

"Yeah!" She nodded seriously. "Girls’ night is very important. No boys. That’s the rule."

Kael looked between us. His expression shifting from disappointed to resigned to almost amused.

"I’m being kicked out." He said it to the ceiling. He sighed dramatically. "This is what happens when I let women into my life. They form alliances. Gang up on me."

Despite everything, I smiled. He looked so genuinely put out. Like a puppy being denied a treat.

"Tomorrow." I reached up. Straightened his collar. "You can come over tomorrow. Take us out. Spoil us. Whatever you want."

His eyes darkened. "Whatever I want?"

"Within reason."

He kissed me. Softly this time. Gently. The kind of kiss that made my toes curl and my heart ache.

He turned to Lina. Crouched down to her level. "Take care of your mommy tonight, okay? Make sure she doesn’t miss me too much."

"Okay!" Lina threw her arms around his neck. "Bye, Kael!"

"Bye, sweetheart."

---

An hour later, we were settled on the couch.

Lina was in her unicorn pajamas. I was in my comfiest sweats. A huge bowl of popcorn sat between us.

My laptop was balanced on the coffee table. The video call screen showing "Connecting..."

Then Sophie’s face appeared.

And she SCREAMED.

"ARIA! OH MY GOD! ARIA!"

I jumped. Nearly dropped my phone.

Lina giggled. "She’s LOUD!"

"HI LINA!" Sophie waved frantically at the screen. "Look how BIG you’ve gotten! You’re so PRETTY!"

"Thank you!" Lina beamed. Waved back.

"Okay, okay." Sophie took a breath. Tried to compose herself. Failed. "SPILL. EVERYTHING. RIGHT NOW."

I laughed. "Hello to you too, Sophie."

"No time for hellos!" She leaned closer to her camera. Her face filling the entire screen. "I got your text! The mysterious text! The one that said ’I have news’ and then NOTHING ELSE! You’ve been torturing me for HOURS!"

I took a breath. "Okay. So. Remember how I told you about... him?"

"The hot Alpha asshole who broke your heart three years ago?" Sophie’s expression turned serious. "Yeah. What about him?"

"He’s... we’re..." I struggled to find the words. "We’re together now."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Sophie’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

Then—

"WHAT?!"

The scream was so loud I had to pull the laptop back.

Lina covered her ears. "OW!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Sophie didn’t look sorry at all. "But WHAT? ARIA! You can’t just drop that bomb like it’s casual information! EXPLAIN! NOW!"

So I did.

I told her everything. About finding Kael again. About working as his assistant. About Rebecca’s lies and exile. About the confession in the rain.

About this morning.

Sophie’s face went through a dozen expressions. Shock. Anger. Happiness. More anger. Then happiness again.

"Wait wait WAIT." She held up her hand. "Let me get this straight. This ASSHOLE—"

"Sophie, language." I glanced at Lina.

"This BUTTHOLE—"

"Better."

"This butthole shows up AGAIN after three years. Makes your life complicated AGAIN. And now you’re just... together? Just like that?"

"It’s not just like that." I tried to explain. "He’s changed. He’s different now. He—"

"He BETTER be different!" Sophie’s voice got fierce. Protective. "Because if he hurts you again, Aria, I swear to GOD I will fly down there and kick him so hard in the—"

"SOPHIE."

"—in the SHIN!" She corrected quickly. Glanced at Lina. "Very hard. Multiple times." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Sophie declared. Then her expression softened. "But seriously, babe. Are you happy? Really happy? Not just caught-up-in-the-moment happy?"

I thought about it. Really thought.

About this morning. About Lina asking if Kael could be her daddy. About the way he’d held us both.

About turning him away tonight and already missing him.

"Yeah." The word came out quiet. Certain. "I’m really happy."

Sophie’s whole face melted. "Oh, honey."

"He’s good with Lina." I continued. "He makes terrible soup but he TRIES. He protects us. He—" My voice caught. "He makes me feel safe."

"Okay." Sophie wiped her eyes. "Okay. But I still need to meet him. Properly. Face to face. Make sure he’s actually worthy."

"You want to come visit?" Hope bloomed in my chest.

"DUH!" She threw her hands up. "Of course I want to visit! My best friend has a hot Alpha boyfriend now! You think I’m going to miss that?"

Lina bounced on the couch. "You’re coming HERE? To see US?"

We talked for another hour. About everything and nothing. Sophie filled me in on the human world. On her job. On her love life (or lack thereof). On all the gossip I’d been missing.

It felt normal. Easy. Like I’d never left.

Finally, Lina started yawning. Big, jaw-cracking yawns that made her whole face scrunch up.

"Someone needs bed." I said.

"Nooooo." Lina rubbed her eyes. "Not sleepy."

She yawned again. Immediately contradicting herself.

Sophie laughed. "Go put that adorable child to sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow."

I closed the laptop. Smiled at the memory of Sophie’s fierce protectiveness.

Then I scooped up Lina. Carried her to bed. Tucked her in with gentle hands.

"Night, Mommy." She mumbled. Already half-asleep.

"Night, baby."

I turned off her light. Pulled the door mostly closed.

Walked back to the living room.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The sound cut through the quiet. Sharp. Unexpected.

I froze.

Who would be knocking at this hour?