Sweet Hatred
Chapter 207: Tired

Chapter 207: Tired

ARIA

I woke up on the couch with a mouth that tasted like something stale and the inside of a metal can. My head throbbed, dull and heavy, as if someone had stuffed bricks into my skull. I didn’t remember getting there. I just remembered the bottle. The feeling of regret. And then black.

The room was still dark. Still cold. The TV was off, the blanket half on the floor, and my phone was somewhere buried between me and the pillow. When I finally found it, the screen lit up with a stream of missed calls from Sarah.

Six. No, seven.

I stared at them.

A part of me wanted to feel bad, like I should. Another part was too tired to feel anything at all. I’d told her I probably wouldn’t come back last night, and she still called. Because she cared. Because she always cared.

And all I did was disappear.

I forced myself upright. My head spun. My stomach churned.

Still, I got up.

That was the thing with days like this. I didn’t want to exist, but I still did. I still moved. Still showered. Still dressed. It just... felt like moving through mud. Like I was dragging this body I didn’t even want behind me.

Everything was slow.

The water was too cold. Then too hot. Then I didn’t care.

I stood in front of the mirror for a while, just staring. No makeup. No fixing my hair. I looked how I felt... pale, dry, empty. But it was fine. I’d fix it later. I always said that. Later.

I got to work twenty minutes late.

Rose greeted me as I stepped out of the elevator. Her usual soft smile and organized desk felt like whiplash to the mess inside me.

"Good morning, Miss Thorne."

"Morning," I muttered, offering something between a nod and a sigh.

My eyes, stupid traitorous things, drifted to the door beside hers at a distance. Kael’s office.

It was closed. Just like mine always was these days.

I don’t know what I expected, maybe to see him pacing inside, or seated at his desk with his jaw clenched the way it always did when he was reading something important. But it was still. Silent.

I stood there staring like an idiot until Rose’s voice broke through my haze.

"He’s in there, if you were thinking of going in."

My body tensed instantly. "No need," I said quickly. Too quickly. "I’m just... getting settled."

She didn’t say anything else, just gave me that polite look like she knew not to pry.

I turned and walked to my office that was waiting directly across from his. Funny. I once joked about how I could throw paper planes at him through the windows.

Now it felt like a prison I voluntarily walked into.

The door closed behind me with a soft click, and I leaned against it for a second, just breathing.

The silence pressed down on me again. Familiar. Constant.

And then I saw it.

An envelope. Decorated. Cream. Sitting dead center on my desk like a ghost waiting to be acknowledged. I instantly recognized it. The same one Ash handed over to me yesterday.

I stared at it for a long moment. I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Just stood there with my coat still on, wondering if I had the strength to care about anything today.

Because the truth was... I didn’t want to open it.

I didn’t want to do anything.

But I would.

Because that’s what I always did.

Even if it was killing me.

I ignored the envelope and instead, I sank into my chair and let the numbness pull me under. It was easier. Safer. Like pressing the mute button on everything inside me. I told myself I’d deal with it later. I always said that. And somehow, later never came.

My fingers hovered over my phone.

I knew it was a bad idea before I even pressed Olivia’s name. But I did it anyway.

The call didn’t ring. It didn’t go to voicemail.

Just... nothing.

No connection. No sound.

Like I’d been erased.

I stared at the screen, waiting for something, anything, to prove me wrong.

But it just blinked back at me. Cold. Silent.

Blocked.

Maybe it was a mistake. A glitch. Maybe she was just busy. Maybe...

No. I knew what it was.

And all I could see was that moment in the shelter. Her face, twisted with anger. My voice, sharp, cruel. My words cutting her deeper than I meant to.

God.

I hated myself for it.

’I need a drink.’ I muttered to myself trying to snap out of it. Shook my head. Blinked hard. Forced the storm in my chest to curl into a quiet ache.

There wasn’t time for this. I had work to do. I’d figure the rest out later.

Later. Always later.

I’d been in work mode for hours. I don’t even remember what I did, typed things, answered emails, scribbled notes I’d probably forget to read. I functioned. Like a corpse with a heartbeat.

Eventually, I needed to talk to Rose. Something about document transfers and scheduling updates. Normally, I’d just ring her, but my legs felt stiff. My whole body did. Like I was wearing cement.

So I got up and dragged myself to her desk.

I was halfway through listing what I needed when I heard it.

His voice.

Kael.

Low. Cold. Composed.

My stomach flipped like I’d just stepped off a cliff.

He was walking out with two people, an older man and a woman in sharp heels and sharper lipstick. They were smiling, chatty, congratulating themselves on the finalized deal. Something about global market reach and exclusive contracts.

I didn’t catch the rest.

Because all I could hear was him.

That voice. That tone. That impossibly blank expression that gave nothing away.

He looked the same as always, like the world couldn’t touch him.

Our eyes met. Just for a second. And I swear... I stopped breathing.

I looked away first.

He walked closer. Past Rose. Past me. So close I could feel the warmth of his suit sleeve as it brushed mine. So close I nearly flinched.

He stopped at the elevator, watched the two investors step inside, and exchanged a few final words.

Then he turned.

Back to us.

Back to me.

I panicked.

I shoved the rest of my sentence at Rose like it was poison in my mouth and turned to walk away. Fast. Just leave. Just go back inside. Just pretend.

"Aria."

I froze.

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