Sweet Hatred
Chapter 72: Alone pt 2

Chapter 72: Alone pt 2

ARIA

I hadn’t seen Kael in two days.

Not at work, not on a random floor passing by, not even a cold text message on my phone. Just... nothing.

At first, I told myself I didn’t care. It was better that way. That after everything, I needed the distance. But the silence, the absence, it sat in my chest like static—loud and humming. Since when did I need Kael’s presence to ground me?

Michael was home now. And somehow, miraculously, the loan shark situation had just... vanished. The threats stopped. No strange men lurking by our building. It was like someone had pressed delete on the nightmare.

I knew better than to ask how. Kael had promised me it would be handled. And just like always, he’d made good on his word, no matter how twisted the method.

Still, I was the one back at work—running on too little sleep and too many thoughts. If anyone deserved to be curled up in bed avoiding the world, it was me. But I knew if I stayed home, the walls would talk. My head would spin. I’d imagine every awful possibility of what he was doing, where he was, who he was with. Or worse—what he was feeling. And hypothetically if I had a gun, I’d practice using it on myself to end the horror show called my thoughts.

I needed the noise. The normalcy. Even if it all felt... off.

Mid-morning, I found myself standing awkwardly by Rose’s desk—his new secretary. She wasn’t like the others. No fake smiles or glossy red nails. She had a soft face, the kind that belonged in a romance novel—wide brown eyes, curly hair tucked into a bun, and a warmth that felt foreign in this cold glass building.

"Has Kael traveled?" I asked, trying to sound casual. "He hasn’t been around."

Rose looked up from her monitor and gave me a gentle smile. "No, ma’am. He’s been working from home these past two days."

Of course, he had.

"Right," I muttered. "Well, must be nice."

She hesitated, then tilted her head slightly. "Are you alright?"

I blinked. "Me? Yeah. Great. Just tired."

She nodded, but something in her eyes said she didn’t believe me.

I turned on my heel and walked away before she could ask more. The stupid thing was—I meant it. I was tired. Tired of feeling like I didn’t know where I stood with Kael. Tired of pretending I was unaffected. Tired of needing answers from a man who disappeared the moment things got real. Or maybe I was the one who ran away.

And still, part of me kept looking for him. Like an idiot.

I was halfway through a miserable sandwich at my desk when Sarah stopped by, hovering with that familiar blend of nervousness and sympathy. I couldn’t even tell her the reason why I had showed up at her doorstep needing comfort desperately. She never asked too much questions especially when she could tell you weren’t ready to talk and that was one of the things I loved about my best friend. She understood things without needing too much explanations.

"Hey," she said softly, "did you hear? Mia’s wake is today. A few of us are going. I mean... no one really liked her but we still thought it’s the decent thing to do. So I thought maybe you’d want to come too."

I blinked, hands still frozen mid-bite. My mouth was dry. I hadn’t even thought about Mia’s funeral. Hell, I hadn’t let myself think about Mia at all.

It was easier to pretend she just vanished. Like the rest of the world when it got too complicated.

"I..." I started, then stopped. My throat tightened in that stupid way it always did when emotions tried to sneak past my defenses. "I don’t think that’s a good idea."

Sarah gave me a look I hated—soft and understanding. Like I was broken and she could see every crack.

"I get it," she said, nodding. "I’ll text you the address anyway. In case you change your mind."

And just like that, she left me alone with my uneaten food and a thousand things I didn’t want to feel.

By the time lunch break was over, I’d read the address three times. I’d told myself not to go, out loud even, like that would help.

But I found myself standing outside the funeral home anyway.

I didn’t go in. I stayed back—far enough that no one would notice me. Just a shadow behind the hedges, clutching my bag too tight and watching people cry over someone they barely knew.

Then he showed up. Before I even turned, I felt him.

Kael.

Black suit, one hand in his coat pocket, the other holding a single white lily. He looked like a ghost. A beautiful, dangerous ghost who hadn’t slept in days.

I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. I hadn’t seen his face in a while and now he showed up without warning.

He scanned the crowd once before his gaze found me—like he already knew I’d be there.

He didn’t say anything at first, just came up behind me so quietly it startled me when he spoke.

"I thought you might show up."

I didn’t respond. My jaw clenched. My eyes stayed forward.

He stepped beside me, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of something expensive and bitter—cologne mixed with exhaustion.

"I might have been wrong about everything else but I know I’m right when I say you shouldn’t blame yourself," he said softly. "For what happened to her."

I still didn’t answer. I couldn’t. If I opened my mouth, I’d say too much—or worse, start stuttering in front of him.

Kael exhaled and walked away. I watched him move through the crowd like it was all just business, like nothing ever touched him. He bent down, placed the flower at the front, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Then, he did what he always did—played the perfect part.

He comforted two sobbing women, one elderly that I assumed to be Mia’s mother from the striking resemblance and the other much younger. His voice was low, soothing. Like he cared.

But I knew Kael better than that. Or at least I thought I did.

When he turned to leave, I saw the truth.