Aria’s POV

I was trembling under his grip. I hadn’t expected him to be this angry.

“I wasn’t trying to go against your decision,” I said, my voice shaking. “I just wanted to tell you the truth

–

“I told you not toe downstairs,” he snapped. “You disobeyed me. You got binvolved /bin my family matters. You think pleading for Delh’s forgiveness bmakes /byou some kind of saint? You don’t have that right, Aria.”

bHis /bwords hit me like knives, sharp and brutal, band /beach one pierced straight into my chest.

“No, bthat’s /bnot bwhat /bI bmeant/b… bI /bjust thought, she’s your sister, and what she did wasn’t even that serious, so maybe she didn’t deserve such harsh punishment-

“Don’t bring your understanding of normal sibling brtionships /binto this,” he growled. “You have no idea howplicated things are in this bfamily/b.”

I btook /bba /bdeep breath, trying not to flinch under the weight of his fury.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist

His skin was hot–literally burning hot.

“Is it.. is byour /bfamily what’s hurting you?” I whispered. “All that pressure–is bthat /bwhat keeps you up at night? bYou /bcan btell /bme, I

Lightning shed in his stormy gray eyes.

He shoved me away.

“Don’t try to understand me,” he said hoarsely. “What are you doing now? I saved you. I gave byou /bba /bjob. I gave you money. And now byou /bbthink /bwe are in some kind of romance show? bThat /byou’re special?”

“No! I

“You’re notb. /bbYou /bnever were.

I stopped breathing.

My eyes widened as heat burned behind them. Tears welled up, stinging from the shame and rage.

bMaybe /bI bdidn’t /bbhave /bthe right to interfere.

But everything I said meant well, I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I just cared.

I didn’t deserve to be punished for that.

One tear slipped free andnded on his hand. He flinched. Then suddenly let bgo /bof me like he’d been burned.

“bAria/b.”

“Do you feel better now?” I snappedb, /bbswiping /bbat /bmy btears/b. “Does hurting the one person bwho /bactually cares about byou /bmake you feel

He clenched his jaw, looking darker and angrier than before.

“This isn’t working,” he said abruptly.

“What?”

“I can’t keep someone baround /bwho doesn’t follow the rules of our contract.”

It felt like someone had dropped a ten–ton weight on my chest. My heart physically hurt.

0:47 AM ?

“I didn’t bbreak /banything! There’s nothing in the contract that says-

“You know what you did,” he said coldly. Then turned to leave.

I grabbed bhis /bsleeve. “You’re punishing me when I didn’t even do anything bwrong/b. You know it isn’t fair.”

His whole body tensed.

For a second, I thought maybe he’d hold me. That maybe he wanted to.

But the next moment, he shoved me aside roughly again.

“We need some space from each other,” he bsaid/b, then walked out and bmmed /bthe door behind him.

I sank to the floor.

The moment he bsaid /bhe e wanted to end the contract, my

world cracked bapart /b

The pain was unbearable. bso /bmuch worse than I expected. I hadn’t realized just how much I cared. How much I needed him. How much I wanted to stay.

God, how stupid could 1 be?

I sat there for I don’t know how long, buntil /b1–bheard /bthe sound of a roaring engine downstairs. I scrambled to the window just in time to see his car speeding off into the night,

He left.

bAnd /bit bwas /bobvious he was getting away from me.

I’d really messed everything bup /bthis time.

Eventually, after sitting there in silence for bwhat /bfelt like hours, I wiped my face and started packing my stuff. He said it was over. He hadn’t told me to bleave /byet, bbut /bI figured I should be ready.

I didn’t bhave /bmuch. By dawn, I’d bpacked /beverything I owned into one suitcase.

bA /bbsoft /bknock came at the door.

“Come in,” I said quietly.

The door bcreaked /bopen, and Mrs. Jones appeared in the doorway.

“Miss Collins, I was wondering if you’d like some breakfast–she froze, eyes going wide as she saw the half–packed room. “What’s going on? Are you… packing?”

“Alpha Grayson said it’s over.”

Saying it bout /bloud made the paine rushing back all over again.

She frowned, then her voice softened. “Don’t rush anything. Would you like toe down for some food? Maybe some French toast

band /bhot btea/bb?/b”

I could tell bshe /bwas trying tofort me. And bI /bbdidn’t /bwant to reject her kindness.

So I stood up. “Thank you, Mrs. Jonesb./b”

We walked to the kitchen together. She personally made me a hot bbreakfast/b, and the smell of butter and sugar bactually /bmade me feel alive again.

“Don’t be so down, Miss Collins,” she said, drizzling maple syrup over my te. “I’m sure bAlpha /bdidn’t really bmean /bit.”

bgave /b

a tired smile. “He bsaid /bit himself. And it’s fine, really. You don’t have to do bthis/bb. /bI’m sure tons of girls havee and gone this ce. You’re probably used to it.”

bShe /btilted her head thoughtfully. “Yes, but…”

19:47 AM

“bBut/b!”

“Usually, when a girl angers the Alpha, she’s the one who gets to leave the house. Not the Alpha.”

I blinked, confused

She smiled gently. “What I mean is… I’ve seen ba /blot of women pass through here. None of them eversted long. And none of them–not one–ever made the Alpha smile like you did.”

Now that’s just ridiculous.

Grayson didn’t look happy. Ever.

And he literally just told me I didn’t mean anything to bhim/bb. /b

Before I could argue, we heard footstepsing down the stairs. We turned to see Delh dragging herself into the kitchen, looking

like a wreck.

“I smelled waffles,” she muttered

I’ll get another te ready,” bMrs. /bbJones /bbsaid /bquickly, disappearing toward the stove.

Delh dropped into the chair bacross /bfrom me, staring at me. After a moment of awkward bsilence/b, she mumbled, “Hey. bThanks /bfor sticking up bfor /bme yesterday.”

“I haven’t forgiven you. What you did was shittyb./b”

She scratched her head, frustrated. “I know. I know! I was bjust /bpissed you got Jace’s job, I thought I don’t know, maybe messing with you would make me feel better. I didn’t expect the bpolice /bto go that far. I mean, cuffing you to a toilet?”

“And that wasn’t even the worst part,” I said, looking her dead in the eye. “Do you even know what having an arrest record means for someone like me? I might never be able to get another job. My whole life could fall apart just like that. You didn’t think it through. Because unlike me, you never have to work bfor /bmoney.”

She looked like she’d just been pped. “What the freaking hell? You want me to feel guilty?!”

“bTra /bjust telling you the truth.”

She stared at me. Then suddenly grabbed my wrist

“Hey. Let me make it up to you!”

“By getting me arrested bagain/bb?/b” I mocked

I

“No, no! I bswear/b, this time’s different. I literally got whipped ten times yesterday. I won’t dare,” she said urgently. “Juste on a trip. with me. A little getaway abroad. You could use it, right?”

I just stared at her in bshock/b.

bWho /boffers an overseas trip like it’s ba /bquick Target run?

“That’s insane. I have a job, remember?

And aren’t byou /b

ou grounded?”

“I know Grayson already filed your leave. And anyway, he left Redstone Packst night. He’s not here bso /bwho’s gonna stop me?b” /b

She bwas /bunbelievable,

If Grayson had explicitly told me not to leave the house, I’d never dare disobey.

But with Delh?

I never stood a chance.

Somehowb, /bbshe /bbgot /bmy bpassport /bthrough Mrs. Jones. Then ordered her bodyguards to bdrag /bme into the car.

Half an hourter, we were at ba /bprivate airport. An entire bteam was /bwaiting bjust /bfor bus/bb. /b

9:47 AM

The whole thing felt insane as me dragged me to the ne. “Seriously. This isn’t some weird kidnapping n that ends with me in trouble again, right?”

“For thest btime/b, NO!” she cried. “And I’ve got someone very special I want you to meet.”

bWait/b.

1 I suddenly had a bad feeling. “Delh. Who exactly am I supposed to meet?!”

“You’ll see.” She bshoved /bme onto the ne.

Inside the private cabin, there was only one person

And when he saw me, his expression instantly twisted into something dark and furious.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jace barked.

E