Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 66

Kael’s POV

Rebecca’s voice still echoed in my ears.

Shrill. Desperate. Pathetic.

"You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, Kael!"

Those were her last words before she stormed back to her car. Tires screeching. Engine roaring. Disappearing into the night like the nightmare she was.

Good riddance.

I stood alone on the empty street. The cold air bit at my skin. My breath fogged in front of my face.

The thought of touching Rebecca made my skin crawl now. Everything about her felt wrong. Her scent. Her voice. The calculating look in her eyes.

I’d frozen because part of me was still trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

Standing outside Aria’s building. In the middle of the night. Like some lovesick idiot.

I looked up at her window again. Still dark. Still silent.

Was she sleeping? Was she okay? Had she eaten anything since leaving the hospital?

The questions gnawed at me. Relentless. Maddening.

I needed to know she was alright. Needed to see her face. Hear her voice.

Even if she hated me.

Even if she slammed the door in my face.

I just needed to know.

My feet started moving before my brain could catch up.

Across the street. Up the cracked sidewalk. Toward the entrance of her building.

The building was old. Decrepit. Paint peeling from the walls. The front door hung slightly crooked on its hinges.

This was where she lived. This dump. This hellhole.

I climbed the stairs. Each step creaked beneath my weight. The hallway smelled like mold and something else I didn’t want to identify.

Third floor. Second door from the left.

I stopped.

My hand rose. Hovered in front of the wood.

What was I going to say?

"Hi, I know I treated you like garbage, but I think I might be in love with you?"

"Sorry for paying you like a whore. Want to grab coffee?"

"I stood outside your building for an hour like a stalker because I couldn’t stop thinking about you?"

All terrible options.

But I was here now. No point in turning back.

I knocked.

The sound was too loud in the quiet hallway. It echoed off the walls. Bounced back at me like an accusation.

Seconds passed. Then more seconds.

Nothing.

I knocked again. Harder this time.

"Aria?" My voice came out rough. "Aria, it’s me. Please. I just want to talk."

Still nothing.

Maybe she was ignoring me. Maybe she’d looked through the peephole, seen my face, and decided I wasn’t worth opening the door for.

I couldn’t blame her.

I raised my fist to knock a third time.

The door swung open.

Not Aria.

A woman stood in the doorway. Young. Maybe early twenties. Her hair was a mess. Her makeup was smeared. Her dress was so short it barely covered anything.

She looked familiar.

Then it clicked.

Serena. Aria’s sister.

She stared at me. Her mouth fell open. Her eyes went wide.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then she screamed.

"OH MY GOD!"

The sound was piercing. Ear-splitting. Like someone had stepped on a cat.

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"

I winced. "Could you maybeâ€""

"KAEL BLOOD CROWN!" She clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack. "THE KAEL BLOOD CROWN! AT MY DOOR! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!"

"Keep your voice downâ€""

"MOM! LYRA! COME LOOK! YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE WHO’S HERE!"

So much for subtlety.

Behind her, I could see the apartment. My stomach turned.

It was a disaster.

Empty bottles everywhere. Clothes scattered across the floor. Stains on the carpet that I didn’t want to examine too closely. The smell of cheap alcohol and cheaper perfume hung in the air like a toxic cloud.

And somewhere in the back, I could hear other sounds. Rhythmic. Unmistakable.

Someone was having sex.

In the middle of all this chaos.

While I stood at the door looking for their daughter.

This was Aria’s family. This was what she’d grown up in. What she’d tried so hard to escape.

No wonder she never wanted to talk about them.

Serena finally stopped screaming. She was fanning herself now. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes sparkled with something predatory.

"I can’t believe it." She leaned against the doorframe. Pushed out her chest. "I just can’t believe it. The Alpha heir. Here. At our humble little home."

"I’m looking for Aria." I kept my voice flat. Distant. "Is she here?"

Serena’s expression flickered. Annoyance crossed her features before she masked it with a flirtatious smile.

"Aria? Why would you want to see her?" She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "She’s so boring. So plain. I’m much more... entertaining."

I ignored the obvious invitation.

"Is she here or not?"

Serena pouted. "You’re no fun."

"Answer the question."

"Fine, fine." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she came back a little while ago. Looked like a ghost. Didn’t say a word to anyone. Just went straight to her room like always."

Relief washed over me.

She was here. She was safe.

"Go get her."

Serena blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said go get her." I met her eyes directly. Let her see I wasn’t playing around. "Tell her I need to speak with her. Now."

For a moment, Serena looked like she might argue. Her mouth opened. Closed.

Then she shrugged.

"Whatever. Your funeral." She turned and headed toward the stairs. "Don’t go anywhere, handsome. I’ll be right back."

She disappeared up the staircase. Her hips swayed dramatically with each step.

I waited.

The sounds from the back room continued. I tried not to think about it. Tried not to imagine Aria growing up in this environment. Hearing these things every night. Living in this chaos.

How had she turned out so different?

How had she become this gentle, fierce, beautiful woman while surrounded by... this?

The minutes stretched.

I shifted my weight. Checked my phone. Looked at the cracked ceiling.

What was taking so long?

Footsteps on the stairs.

Serena reappeared. But something was different. Her confident swagger was gone. Her face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Well?" I asked. "Where is she?"

Serena stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Scratched her head.

"That’s weird."

My blood chilled. "What’s weird?"

"She’s not there." Serena shrugged. "Her room is empty. Like, totally empty."

"What do you mean empty?"

"I mean empty." She said it slowly. Like I was stupid. "Her clothes are gone. Her bag is gone. All her stuff is just... poof. Disappeared."

The world tilted.

Serena looked genuinely puzzled. "Maybe she went out to play or something? She’s weird like that. Always running off without telling anyone."

"Hey." Serena’s voice pulled me back. She was leaning against the doorframe again. That predatory gleam back in her eyes. "Since she’s not here... do you want to come in? I can make you a drink. Keep you company while you wait."

She reached out. Her fingers brushed my arm.

I pulled away.

"Don’t touch me."

I turned away. Started walking.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Serena’s voice followed me down the hall. "Don’t you want to stay? I’m way better company than her! Everyone says so!"

I didn’t look back.

Where would she go? Where could she go?

My chest constricted. Pain radiated through my ribcage. Sharp. Suffocating.

Every step felt heavy. Wrong. Like I was moving through water.

The bad feeling in my gut grew stronger. Darker. More insistent.

Something was very, very wrong.