How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 41: Waking Beside Him...

JASMINE’S POV

The first thing that hit me was the warmth. It wasn’t the soft, gentle kind you feel on a sunny morning that makes you sigh like you were in a Pinterest morning dream.

No, this was a thick, intense warmth—like being hugged by a furnace that actually had a pulse.

My eyes fluttered open, just barely.

Ugh. Everything ached.

My muscles felt like I’d run a marathon in heels while carrying emotional trauma and a gallon of supernatural tension. My head throbbed faintly, and my scar tingled. Not painfully, just... awake.

I inhaled deeply, expecting hospital bleach or magical incense, but instead...

Cedar. Spice. Clean cotton.

My head was pillowed on something warm and firm.

Chest.

I blinked. And then it all came flooding back.

The ball. The dance. Marcus. His prophecy, or whatever it was he talked about. My uncle. The vision. The child screaming. Shadows.

I swallowed hard and dared to tilt my gaze upward.

Aiden.

Sleeping beside me.

Correction: I was curled into him like a very clingy, slightly injured koala, and his arm was wrapped firmly around my waist like I might vanish if he let go.

Gods.

I shifted slightly, trying to extract myself before he noticed, but his arm tightened, just a fraction.

I froze.

Okay. Maybe I wasn’t going anywhere just yet.

I turned my head slowly, angling it over my shoulder, and watched him.

His breathing was steady, his lashes dark against his cheek, and his jawline still infuriatingly perfect even at rest. His dark hair was a little messy, flopped slightly over his forehead in a way that softened his usual icy demeanour.

His shirt was rumpled, the fabric thin, and I may or may not have caught sight of a very nice collarbone.

His mouth—ugh, stupid, perfect mouth—was slightly parted, and I could see the faintest scar on his bottom lip from some past fight. Probably one he won. Because, of course, he did.

The man looked like he belonged on the cover of some dark fantasy novel—Claimed By the Billionaire Alpha or something equally ridiculous.

I watched him for longer than I’d admit. His expression was relaxed in a way I rarely saw when he was awake. No command, no steel in his posture. Just a man. Just Aiden.

I... lingered.

Maybe for too long.

Because without opening his eyes, his lips curved into that familiar smirk, and his voice came low and rough.

"If you’re going to keep staring at me like that, I’m going to assume you’ve changed your mind and want to consummate that Vegas wedding after all, or I might have to charge you for the privilege."

Heat rushed to my cheeks like someone had dumped lava directly into my skull.

"I—what? I was not staring at you like that."

One eye cracked open. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Sure you weren’t."

"Stop flattering yourself," I muttered, shoving lightly at his chest.

"Too late." He finally opened his eyes, sleepy and amused. "I feel extremely flattered."

"I was just looking at you, thinking how stupid and drunk I was when I said ’I do’."

"Is that so?" He shifted onto his back, stretching with a groan, the blankets slipping low on his waist. "Because I remember you saying it pretty enthusiastically."

"I was bribed with champagne and glitter lights."

"Hmmm... I see."

"Yep." I sat up slightly, but not too far, because his hand was still on my waist and showed zero signs of letting go. "Must’ve been possessed. Or dared."

"You did run off with a stranger to Vegas." He tilted his head. "I was very persuasive though, wasn’t I?"

"I’ve blocked most of it out for my mental health."

"Lies," he said smugly. "You remember everything."

"I remember regretting it. Does that count?"

He chuckled lowly, and gods, that sound. "And yet here you are... in my bed. In my shirt."

I looked down.

Crap. I was wearing his shirt.

And I hadn’t exactly thought to check what I was—or wasn’t—wearing underneath.

"You undressed me?"

"I redressed you," he said innocently. "You were unconscious. The ball gown had enough boning to double as a corset. You think I’d let you sleep in that?"

"Still sounds like an excuse to get handsy," I muttered.

"I’m flattered again." His grin widened. "Twice in one morning. I must be dreaming."

I rolled my eyes. "You’re so annoying in the morning."

"I’m charming all the time. You just haven’t accepted it yet."

I snorted, trying very hard not to smile.

For a few moments, the teasing faded, and a soft silence filled the space between us.

His hand was still on my waist, then his gaze... softened.

"You gave me quite a scare last night," he said quietly. "Any idea what happened?"

I sucked in a slow breath.

"I... I don’t know," I said truthfully. "I remember dancing with Marcus. He said some weird things about a prophecy. And then my scar started burning. And then—" I shook my head. "Flashes. A child screaming. Shadows. Something was chanting my name. In a language I didn’t know."

His jaw ticked. "You think it was a vision?"

"Maybe." I rubbed my temple. "Maybe being surrounded by that much supernatural energy messed with my human wiring."

He didn’t answer right away. Just brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for," he said in a low voice. "But we’ll figure it out."

I nodded slowly.

"The healer said you need to rest," he added, sitting up a bit and pulling me with him.

I blinked. "So?"

"So," he said with a grin, "guess what that means?"

I raised a brow. "Please tell me you’re not going to sedate me."

"No." His grin was boyish now. "It means breakfast in bed."

I blinked. "You’re going to cook?"

"No. I’m going to supervise Kaiden while he brings the tray in. Same thing."

"You know, most wives dream of being spoiled by a sexy husband with actual kitchen skills."

"At least I got the sexy part right," Aiden said smugly.

"Pfffttt... stop deceiving yourself."

He laughed, then rolled out of bed with a lazy stretch. The hem of his shirt lifted just enough to flash his lower abs, and I swear the fabric clung to his chest like it had been specifically engineered not to let go.

I tried not to stare.

Failed.

Stared anyway.

Big mistake, because he caught me.

"Eyes up here, Luna."

I cleared my throat, feigning innocence. "I’m making sure you don’t trip. Safety first."

He snorted, then bent down suddenly and pressed a kiss to my forehead. It was brief but intimate... way too intimate for my heart rate to remain respectable.

"Be right back," he whispered.

And then he disappeared through the doorway, leaving me tangled in his sheets, wearing his shirt, with the ghost of his lips still burning on my forehead and my brain screaming, what the hell is happening?!

I let myself fall back into the pillows, sighing out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. My fingers found the hem of the shirt, bunching it slightly as I tried to calm the flutter in my chest.

There was something shifting between us. Something I couldn’t name.

Usually, I’d be trying to plot my next chaos move, make him sweat a little, tease him into snapping, maybe make a mess of his wardrobe again.

But right now?

I didn’t feel like playing games.

I felt like... being here... with him.

And the dangerous part was – it felt nice.

Too nice.

My fingers drifted down to the ring on my hand. I tilted my hand, watching it gleam against my skin.

"So this is what being married actually feels like, huh?" I whispered to myself.