Sweet Hatred
Chapter 177: Best Birthday?

Chapter 177: Best Birthday?

I dragged him toward the towering beast of steel and death that was The Vortex. It loomed above us, a spiderweb of twists and turns, screams echoing from above like ghost warnings. Even I hadn’t touched this one before. Olivia tried once to dare me into it and I almost smacked her.

Now here I was. In front of it. With Kael. The man I’d gifted my soul (and possibly my spine) to just last night.

I hesitated. Just a little.

Kael noticed.

Of course he did.

I felt the heat of his smirk without even looking. "You okay there, tough girl?"

I rolled my eyes and forced a laugh. "Pfft. Scared? Me? Please."

"You hesitated."

"I blinked, Kael."

"Mm-hm."

He crossed his arms, muscles flexing, and I suddenly had the irrational urge to push him into oncoming cotton candy.

With narrowed eyes, I reached for his wrist again. "Get in line before I body slam you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

I tugged him forward. My heart was racing, not from fear, no, definitely not that. It was from anticipation. Yeah. Anticipation.

The line for the rollercoaster was long, hot, and filled with teenagers high on adrenaline and fried food. Kael stood out like a brooding dark lord among them, towering and blank-faced, and I caught more than one girl sneaking glances his way.

Too bad. He’s mine. Even if he’s about to throw up his billion-dollar lunch.

I looked up at the monster of metal we were about to ride and grinned like I wasn’t currently plotting my own funeral.

"Ready?" I asked.

Kael tilted his head, lips curving. "For you to scream louder than last night?"

My cheeks flamed. "Oh my God—"

He chuckled low, and I shoved his shoulder, trying not to smile like an idiot.

God help me, this man was going to be the death of me in more ways than one.

The line barely moved, and the closer we got to the front, the more I questioned my life decisions. Like, why hadn’t I chosen bumper cars? Or water rides? Or literally anything that didn’t threaten to eject my soul from my body?

Kael stood beside me, suspiciously quiet. Too quiet.

I glanced up at him.

His lips twitched. Just a little. "You’re sweating."

"No, I’m not."

"You are. Right here—" he reached, knuckles brushing the side of my neck gently, just below my jaw. "Is that from fear, or from the hickeys you’re hiding?"

My breath caught. "It’s the sun," I muttered, swatting his hand away, "and your ego."

"Mm." He tilted his head, eyes dragging slowly down my body like he was undressing me right there in the middle of a screaming crowd. "You’re clenching your fists."

I shoved my hands into my pockets like a delinquent. "I always do that."

"You’re nervous."

"I’m fine."

"Or should I say terrified?"

"Kael, if you don’t shut up I will punch you in the solar plexus and say it was a wasp."

He laughed then. Full, deep, warm. And it hit me square in the chest how light he looked. Like something in him had unlocked.

"You’re cute when you pretend to be brave," he murmured.

"And you’re cute when you pretend you’re not an infuriating billionaire bastard with too many muscles and not enough self-preservation instincts."

"That’s a long title."

"You wear it well."

The line shuffled forward. The coaster screamed above us again, wheels grinding, steel roaring, bodies hurling through the sky.

I gulped.

He leaned down, mouth near my ear. "You can still back out, little storm."

I jerked away. "You wish."

Finally... it was our turn.

We stepped into the ride seats, and I swear my legs forgot how to function. I gripped the bar like my life depended on it because it probably did and tried not to whimper when the safety harness locked me in.

Kael was beside me, casual as hell. He looked like he was about to close a million-dollar deal, not be yeeted into the stratosphere.

The coaster shot forward with a scream of steel, and my soul shot right out of my ass.

We flew. We soared. We dipped. I shook. I definitely called Jesus and maybe my high school math teacher.

Kael was calm beside me, smirking, the absolute psychopath and living his best damn life.

Meanwhile, I had become one with the seat, clutching the bar like it was my last connection to the world of the living.

We hit the loop.

I swore. I begged. I nearly confessed secrets I didn’t even know I had.

When we finally slowed down and coasted to a stop, my hair was a disaster, my throat was dry, and I couldn’t feel my legs.

I slumped onto the nearest bench like a limp noodle, limbs loose, pride mangled. My heart was still somewhere halfway up that loop-de-loop. What was I even trying to prove? That I was fearless? Cool? The type of girl who could casually survive her man, no, boss laughing through death?

Yeah, no. I was a certified fraud.

Kael disappeared somewhere behind the cotton candy stands and returned a few minutes later with two tall iced coffees in hand, still looking maddeningly fresh. Not a strand of hair out of place. Not a wrinkle in his shirt. Meanwhile, I looked like I’d just come back from war.

"Here," he said, holding out the drink.

I took it with both hands like it was some kind of divine blessing and slurped it down so aggressively I felt my soul return to my body in layers. "Thank you," I croaked.

He sat beside me, watching. Smug. Silent.

I didn’t look at him. I could feel the judgement radiating off his body like sunlight.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, still drinking. "I know. I nearly peed myself. You win."

His lips twitched. "You said it."

I clicked my tongue and glared at him over my straw. "You’re insufferable."

He shrugged and took a dainty little sip from his drink, like a well-behaved royal on vacation. The contrast made me want to fight.

But then something in his eyes shifted. A gentler warmth replacing the amused glint. It melted some of my irritation. I looked at him fully this time.

"So," I asked, softer now. "Are you... having any fun yet?"

He turned his head toward me, expression unreadable for a second.

And then, with a smirk, he said, "Yeah. Watching you scream like a terrified kitten on a kiddie ride? Best birthday ever."

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