Sweet Hatred-Chapter 245: Back home pt 2

"I’m going on my own," I said as we slowed to a stop.

Kael glanced up from his phone, one brow arching. "I’ll drop you."

"No," I said instantly. "Thanks. I’ll manage."

"Aria." His tone dipped, stern. Annoyed. "Don’t be stubborn."

"I said no," I snapped. "Don’t follow me. Don’t have me watched."

His jaw twitched. "You think I’d—"

"I know you," I cut in. "You’d have me tagged like a parcel if you thought you could get away with it."

We stared at each other. Tension thick again.

But then something odd happened.

Kael exhaled. And... backed off.

"Fine."

I blinked. "Wait—what?"

He slid his phone back into his pocket. "I said fine. You win. Go play reckless civilian for a bit. I’ve got ten board members trying to schedule my soul out of my body anyway."

Suspicious.

I should’ve felt triumphant.

But the weirdest part?

I almost missed the fight.

Kael stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my chin up.

His gaze dropped to my mouth. "You’re really not gonna kiss me goodbye?"

I rolled my eyes. "You were literally tongue deep in my mouth an hour ago."

His smirk was slow. Sly. "So? I need one for the road."

I pushed at his chest, but he caught my wrist. Brushed a kiss against my knuckles like some villainous prince with too much time and charm.

"Be good," he murmured, gaze flicking over my face like a scan. "Or don’t. I like it either way."

I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust my voice.

He let me go.

Got into his car.

And with one last lingering look from behind tinted glass, Kael Roman disappeared back into his empire.

And I was alone again.

Right where I said I wanted to be.

The hangar buzzed behind me...

Wheels turning, people moving, machines groaning, and Kael’s jet glinting under the harsh morning sun like it hadn’t just carried me through hell and back.

I stood at the edge of it all, watching his car disappear down the long stretch of tarmac until it was nothing but a black dot swallowed by distance.

Gone.

I exhaled slowly, thinking finally, finally a moment to breathe without him looming over my shoulder.

I didn’t even take a full step before another car pulled in front of me.

Matte black. Tinted windows. Silent engine.

It glided to a stop.

The window rolled down.

Niko.

Of course.

I didn’t even blink when my phone buzzed.

KAEL: You didn’t really think I’d leave you like that, did you?

I clenched my jaw, thumb tightening around my phone.

Un-fucking-believable.

The car door opened, and Niko stepped out with that same calm, stone-faced energy I hadn’t seen in weeks, maybe even a month.

His suit wasn’t even wrinkled. His gun was probably still warm.

He gave a small, formal bow. "Miss Thorne."

I crossed my arms. "Tell Kael I said no."

"I can’t."

"Why?"

"Because if I disobey him," Niko said without blinking, "he might remove a few of my limbs."

I threw my hands up. "You and your boss are both insane."

"Yes," he replied, totally serious.

I spun around and started walking, but I didn’t get far. I felt him behind me, footsteps light, casual. Following.

I stopped. "Are you seriously doing this?"

He didn’t respond. Just stood there like a shadow I couldn’t shake.

I groaned under my breath and stormed back toward the car.

Fine. Whatever.

I yanked the door open, slid inside, and stared ahead like I wasn’t seconds from combusting. Niko slid in beside me, starting the engine like this was a perfectly normal Tuesday.

"Where to?" he asked.

I sighed.

"Sarah’s."

He nodded once and pulled out of the lot.

I didn’t look back at the jet. Or the hangar. Or the ghost of Kael Roman still clinging to me like smoke on my skin.

I just stared out the window, already bracing myself for what came next.

....

The car rolled to a stop in front of Sarah’s apartment.

I opened the door, stepped out, and turned back to Niko with a grin.

"You know," I said, "this whole thing is kind of hilarious. You, me, both working for the same emotionally stunted warlord. Me as his part-time assistant, part-time..." I trailed off with a suggestive wiggle of my brows. "And you as his loyal human surveillance drone."

Niko didn’t even blink.

I leaned into the open window. "Do you guys have a secret handshake? Do you take turns brooding in dark corners?"

He cleared his throat. "Miss Thorne, with all due respect—"

I cocked my head. "You’re blushing."

His jaw twitched. Barely.

But I caught it. The smallest crack in his polite glacier face.

"Is that a blush, Niko? Or did Kael’s human-shaped combat drone finally experience... a feeling? Don’t worry, I won’t tell, unless you keep being this cute."

"I’m leaving," he said calmly, but not before I caught the faint, tight smile at the corner of his mouth. "Have a good evening."

He drove off.

I laughed under my breath and turned toward the building.

Still warm from the exchange. Still carrying Kael’s scent on my skin like it refused to leave.

....

Sarah’s apartment smelled like coffee, vanilla body spray, and whatever expensive candle she refused to admit she was addicted to.

"Girl!" she squealed the second she opened the door. "I was about to file a missing persons report."

I dropped my bag and melted into her arms. "Sorry. Rich people problems."

She kissed my cheek with a dramatic mwah and pulled me inside. "You better spill every damn detail."

We ended up in her bedroom, her sprawled on her bed while I half-sat, half-flopped beside her.

My eyes lazily scanned the room.

And that’s when I saw it.

A leather wallet. Half tucked beneath a shirt on her dresser.

It looked... familiar. Too familiar.

But I didn’t let my mind linger.

"You’ve got a new man in rotation?" I teased, nodding toward the wallet.

Sarah snorted and snatched it away almost instantly. "Pfft. Just some random hook-up. I went drinking after you ditched me for your luxury island orgy."

"I did not orgy."

She gave me a look. "You disappeared with Kael Roman. That counts."

I winced. "Okay. Fair."

We both laughed. But inside, I felt that small pinch of guilt.

I hadn’t meant to disappear. But I also didn’t know how to explain any of what had happened.

But the wallet...

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