Sweet Hatred-Chapter 460: Safe

The door clicked shut behind Kael, and the world went soft and quiet. I stood there for a long moment, alone in the hotel suite, just feeling the air where he had been.

Then, I moved to the bed. I didn’t just get in. I climbed into the nest of cool, high-thread-count sheets and pulled the heavy covers up to my chin.

I was swimming in his scent, the soft, worn cotton smelling like him, like clean spice and safety and home.

I let my lips fall open just a little. I could still feel it. The warm, firm press of his mouth on mine. Not a memory, but a physical ghost.

A perfect, fading stamp of love right on my skin. I touched my fingertips to my bottom lip, as if I could hold the feeling there.

Buzz-buzz. Buzz-buzz.

The sound was a tiny earthquake in the quiet. My phone, a glowing rectangle on the dark nightstand.

I turned my head on the pillow. The light from the screen seemed too bright, too eager. I reached for it, my arm feeling heavy and sweet with tired happiness.

The message glowed from Ash asking how I felt.

I didn’t just smile. A laugh bubbled up from my chest, a pure, unfiltered sound of joy. My thumbs flew over the screen, the words easy and true.

Me: It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Thank you for coming.

Her reply was instant. A explosion of digital energy.

Ash: ARE YOU KIDDING? I wouldn’t have missed it for anything! Did you love the surprise?

My throat got tight again. Happy tears were close, always so close these days. I let one slide down my temple into my hair.

Me: I cried like five times. Kael is... he’s incredible.

Ash: He BETTER be incredible. I helped him plan the whole thing. You’re welcome btw.

I could see her face. The raised eyebrow. The proud, smug little grin. My heart squeezed, not with pain, but with a fierce, overwhelming love for my friend.

Me: Thank you. Seriously. For everything.

Ash: Speaking of which... I need to take you somewhere tomorrow. My birthday gift for you.

I blinked. The screen blurred. Confusion washed the soft happiness aside for a second. What now?

Me: Ash, those presents you already gave me weren’t enough? The designer bag? The shoes? That ridiculous cashmere scarf that probably cost more than my rent?

I waited. I could almost hear her scoffing through the phone.

Ash: Don’t be ridiculous. Those were just little things.

This time, the laugh that came out of me was loud. It echoed in the big, empty room. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but my shoulders kept shaking.

Little things.

A bag that cost more than I could imagine. A little thing. The absurd, wonderful madness of her life, of my life now, hit me all over again. It was a wave of surreal joy.

Me: You rich kids are insane.

Ash: And you love us anyway. So tomorrow? I’m picking you up at noon. Wear something nice.

I sighed. A happy, defeated sigh. There was no fighting her.

Me: Fine. But no more expensive gifts. I’m serious.

Ash: No promises. Now go have amazing birthday sex with your hot CEO boyfriend. I expect details. NOT explicit details. Just... you know. General satisfaction levels.

Heat bloomed in my cheeks. A different kind of warmth, low in my belly.

Me: Goodnight, Ash.

I put the phone down. Not on the nightstand, but right next to my pillow. The glow faded, leaving me in the soft dark. The smile on my face felt permanent. Etched there.

I let my mind drift. The absurdity was a gift. The overwhelming love was a gift. Ash, with her huge heart and bigger wallet. Sylas, standing in the corner, giving me a look that held a whole goodbye in it, sad, but right.

So right. Olivia’s genuine smile. Lily’s baby, a warm, sleeping weight in my arms. Kaleb’s loud, joyful voice. Even Michael, not useless for once.

They had all showed up. To celebrate me.

The weight of it was beautiful. It pressed on my chest, a sweet, heavy blanket of gratitude.

I sank deeper into the pillows. Kael’s shirt was a second skin. I was wrapped in him. I let myself just feel. I named the feelings in my head, giving them room.

Happy. It was a bright, golden light behind my ribs. Satisfied.A deep, calm pool in my stomach. Grateful.A thick, swelling ache in my throat.

Today. This perfect, impossible day. The breakfast in bed. The dizzying sparkle of the necklace. The doctor’s office. The house. Our house. With rooms for dreams and a nursery with sunny windows. His promise. "Anything you want."

And the party. My God, the party. A room full of my heart, beating outside my body.

And Sylas.

My chest clenched, hard. Not with love, but with a deep, old care. His hug had been so final. His words, whispered into my hair, were a gift and a wound.

"I still belong to you." A piece of my soul would always hold his. A tender, scarred place. But the rest... the rest was Kael’s. Every beat. Every chamber. Full of him. Overflowing.

My hand drifted down. I laid my palm flat on my stomach. Still flat. Still quiet. But in there... our secret. Our future. A little star going supernova in the dark. Terror and wonder, mixed together so tight I couldn’t tell them apart.

Then.

A shadow fell across the sun in my mind.

Cold. Sharp.

Sarah.

The thought was a sliver of ice pushed straight into my heart. That prickling fear at the hospital. The crawling sense of eyes on my back. The ghost that wouldn’t leave me alone.

My stomach turned to stone. The happy warmth fled from my limbs.

No.

I said it out loud to the dark room. "No."

I pushed the thought away. I shoved it, hard. I visualized grabbing that cold, dark fear and throwing it out the window.

Not tonight. Tonight was sacred. It was mine. She could not have this. She could not touch this golden, perfect memory.

I made myself breathe. In. Out.

She was far away. She was nothing. Kael’s security was everywhere. Niko and the others watched the doors. Cameras watched the halls. Kael himself was a wall between me and the world. He was coming back. Soon.

I was safe. The baby was safe. We were a fortress.

I forced my mind back to the light. To the heat. To Kael’s eyes, dark with promise. "I’ll give you everything you want."

The warmth came back, spreading low, sweet and lazy. My hand moved. Not on my stomach, but lower. I slid it under the soft waistband of my pajama pants. My own skin was warm. I touched myself, gently. A slow circle.

But it wasn’t my hand. In my head, it was his. His clever, strong fingers. His mouth on my neck. The way he looked at me, like I was the only woman who had ever existed. A soft moan escaped my lips. The pleasure built, not a frantic race, but a slow, delicious climb. A tease. A waiting. He would be here soon. He would finish this. He would make the world disappear.

I stopped. My fingers stilled. I pulled my hand out and let it rest on my hip, trembling just a little. I wanted to wait for him. The anticipation was its own sweet ache.

I smiled, my body humming. My eyes grew heavy. The best birthday. The best life.

At first I didn’t hear it.

Knock-knock. It was faint, outside the outer space.

I figured I misheard but then it continued. Much louder and clearer.

The sound was polite. Firm.

I froze. Every muscle in my body locked. My eyes flew open.

Knock-knock.

I swung my legs out of bed. The plush carpet was soft under my bare feet. I padded across the huge bedroom, through the living area with its dying party flowers.

The sound got more sharper, clearer.

"Room service." A voice, muffled by the thick wood.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. My heart, which had jumped into my throat, slid back down. Room service. Of course.

I scoffed with a fond, exasperated shake of my head. Kael. He never stopped. Breakfast, snacks, desserts at midnight. The man was obsessed with feeding me. I pictured his serious face, ordering one last birthday treat. A cake. Or those stupid, amazing truffles I loved.

I’ll be as big as a house, I thought. But the thought had no sting. I was carrying his child.

I felt soft. Unraveled. Happy and wanted and tired.

I reached the door.

I should have looked. The peephole was a dark eye staring back at me. I should have asked.

"Who is it?"I should have called, my voice sharp. I should have waited. Kael had told me,a hundred times, "Wait for me. Always wait."

But I was wrapped in a cloud of him. I was drunk on birthday happiness. My guard was down. My mind was soft and slow.

I was not thinking.

So my hand, all on its own, reached out. It found the cold metal of the knob. It turned. The latch clicked, a sound too loud in the quiet.

I pulled the heavy door open.

A smile was already on my face, apologetic, warm.

"Sorry for taking so long, I was—"

The air left my lungs. All of it. Like a punch to the chest.

My voice died. My smile cracked and fell off my face.

A person stood in the bright hall light. Dressed in a hotel uniform. White shirt, crisp. Black vest. Black pants. Hair tucked neatly under a short, black cap.

The uniform was perfect.

But the face underneath the cap...

My blood stopped moving. It turned to ice in my veins. My heart became a frozen rock in my chest.

I knew the pale skin. I knew the curve of the cheek. I knew the cold,flat eyes.

Even without their usual dark paint. Even trying to hide.

I knew.

Sarah.