Sweet Hatred
Chapter 63: She had it coming.

Chapter 63: She had it coming.

I froze.

Her voice wasn’t cracked or hysterical. It was controlled—quiet—but it hit like a knife between ribs.

She was awake. Not just awake—waiting.

I turned slowly to face her. Her eyes met mine in the shadows, her expression unreadable. Her body still bruised, still healing, still fucking stunning. But her eyes? Ice.

She already knew the answer. She just wanted to hear it from me.

I stepped toward her, careful with my movement.

"How much did you hear?"

She scoffed softly. "Enough."

Her gaze cut me clean in half. "I thought I was imagining things when I woke up and heard voices. So I stayed quiet. I expected a lot thing Kael." She paused, as if weighing the truth of her next words. "But what I didn’t expect from you was a status report about my kidnapping being wrapped up like it was a stock trade."

I tilted my head slightly, assessing her—assessing the damage done. "You should’ve been asleep."

"Should’ve," she echoed bitterly. "You knew, Kael. You knew I was going to be taken. And you let it happen."

I exhaled slowly, walking toward the small armchair in the corner and sitting, elbows on knees, cigar still smoldering between my fingers.

"I knew there was a plan in motion," I said. "I just didn’t know how far they’d take it."

She laughed, and it broke something in me. A low, humorless sound. "Bullshit."

I looked up, eyes narrowing slightly. "You’re alive because I allowed them to move first. If I’d tipped my hand too early, you’d be dead right now. They’d have gone underground, and I’d be blind. Instead, they’re gone. Every last one of them."

"You used me."

I didn’t flinch. "I protected you."

"You used me as bait," she snapped.

"I used me as bait," I said calmly. "You’re mine Aria. Anything that touches you touches me. So yes, I made sure I was holding the strings. I made sure the trap was set right. I made sure the fuckers who tried you would end up rotting in a shallow grave somewhere."

I stood slowly, walking toward her. Her back hit the door as I stepped into her space. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t have to.

"You’re angry. You’re hurt. You think I betrayed you. But if I hadn’t done what I did, they’d still be out there. Planning their next move. And next time, they’d make sure you didn’t come back."

"So it’s all just game to you." She sneered. "My life—" She swallowed hard and then "Mia—" she muttered, inhaling sharply after saying the name. Her eyes had begun to burn again. That familiar heat crawling back to the surface.

"Mia died of her own accord." I retaliated. "Her death was a causalty I didn’t see coming."

Aria chuckled bitterly as her eyes flickered downward. Without a word she turned away from me, reaching for the door and stepping outside the room. My stomach knotted as I watched her walk away, swaying like she had nothing left in her.

"Where are you going?" I asked following her as she headed towards the living room. Aria didn’t say a word. Her feet merely moved leading her to the sofa where her belongings laid. "Aria." I called again but she stayed mute picking up her back and checking it’s contents. I knew.

"What do you think you’re doing?" She finally halted and looked at me. But this time something shifted. No fire. No ice. Just a dull empty void.

"I’m leaving." The words fell out of her chapped lips like a faint smoke and she continued digging through her purse.

"Where do you think you can go in this state? I questioned. My voice was calm but my thoughts had begun to spiral. The way Aria looked at me. It triggered something. Something I didn’t like. It wasn’t hate although it resembled it. And there was betrayal but with a mix of something.

"Anywhere away from you."

"Stop being irrational." I said. "I understand you’re shaken but you should understand why I did this for you."

"Shaken?" she finally turned to me. "Shaken?" Her voice grew louder as she inched closer. "I WAS TERRIFIED KAEL!" she screamed. "I didn’t know how long I was out unconscious or where I was or what was going to happen to me. I WAS TERRIFIED THAT I WASN’T GOING TO MAKE IT OUT OF THERE!" her voice shook, eyes glistening as they lit up with anger. "And to you everything was just a fucking plan."

"I never said it was."

"But you sure made it sound like one. Like it was another job for you. And someone died for God’s sake. Mia— Mia’s dead Kael." Her hands fisted the fabric of my t-shirt Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"

"If it wasn’t Mia, it would have been you Aria." Her grip tightened, eyes glaring daggers at me now. "No matter how much you care Aria, Mia would have let you die without a second thought." Her gaze trembled, the life in them slipping away once again, replaced by emptiness.

"And what if I died?" she muttered. "What if they killed me before you even got there? What if they already had their way with me?"

"I wouldn’t have let that happen."

"But you did, Kael!"

Her voice cracked and her fists clenched. "You weren’t there when I screamed. When I couldn’t breathe. You weren’t there when they dragged me out like I was trash. You let me walk into that car and didn’t say anything. Not a fucking word."

I exhaled, jaw tight. "Because if I did, they would’ve known I was watching."

She looked away, pressing her fingers into her temples. "God... This is really all just a game to you, isn’t it?"

"No. It’s a silent war. And in war, sacrifices happen."

"Mia died!" she screamed, her voice breaking. "She died, Kael! And it’s all my fault—"

"Well it’s too bad but don’t beat yourself up Aria. She had it coming" I exhaled.