Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 151

Aria’s POV

"It’s delicious, baby. Really good!"

The lie tasted worse than the soup.

Lina’s face exploded with joy. "REALLY?"

"Really." I forced another smile. Kept my expression neutral. "You two did such a great job."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. Like he was trying to read my mind.

Too bad for him, I’d gotten very good at lying over the past three years.

"If it’s so good," he said slowly, "then we should try it too."

"What?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"The soup." He reached for a spoon. "We worked so hard on it. We should taste our masterpiece."

"NO!" The word burst out before I could stop it.

Both Kael and Lina turned to stare at me.

"I mean..." I scrambled for an excuse. "I mean, you made it for ME. You shouldn’t waste it. I’ll eat all of it. Every drop."

"Mommy." Lina’s eyes went wide. "You’re being WEIRD."

"I’m not being weird."

"You are!" She grabbed Kael’s sleeve. Tugged. "Come on! Let’s try it! I wanna taste what we made!"

Before I could protest again, Lina was already dragging a chair to the counter. Climbing up. Reaching for a bowl.

"Lina, wait"

Too late.

She’d already grabbed a spoon. Already scooped up a huge mouthful of the gray, chunky disaster.

Shoved it into her mouth.

Her whole face changed.

It was like watching someone realize they’d made a terrible mistake.

Her eyes went huge. Her cheeks puffed out. Her expression shifted from excited to confused to absolutely horrified.

She stood there. Frozen. The spoon still in her hand.

Then she turned to me.

Mouth still full.

Looking betrayed.

I tried not to laugh. I really did.

But the look on her face.

"MOMMY!" The word came out muffled. Distorted by the food she was trying not to swallow. "MOMMY THIS IS TERRIBLE!"

She ran to the sink. Spit out the soup. Made gagging sounds that were way too dramatic for a three-year-old.

"It’s SO BAD! SO SO BAD!" She turned on the faucet. Stuck her whole mouth under it. "WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?"

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Laughter burst from my chest. Real, genuine, uncontrollable laughter.

The kind that made my stomach hurt. The kind that brought tears to my eyes.

I doubled over. Clutching my sides. Gasping for air.

"You said it was DELICIOUS!" Lina wailed. Still rinsing her mouth. "You LIED to me!"

"I’m sorry!" I managed between laughs. "I’m so sorry, baby!"

Kael was watching us. Spoon raised halfway to his mouth. Looking confused.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Try it," I gasped. "Please. PLEASE try it."

He looked at the spoon. Then at Lina making dramatic gagging sounds at the sink. Then back at the spoon.

Suspicion crossed his face.

But his pride wouldn’t let him back down.

His expression didn’t change at first.

He chewed once. Twice.

Then his whole face scrunched up.

It was beautiful.

His eyes squeezed shut. His nose wrinkled. His jaw clenched like he was fighting every instinct to spit it out.

He swallowed.

The effort was visible. His throat worked hard. His whole body seemed to rebel against the action.

When he opened his eyes, they were watering.

"This is..." His voice came out strangled. "This is terrible."

I lost it again.

Collapsed against the counter. Laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.

Kael stared at me. "You KNEW it was terrible."

"Of course I knew!" I wheezed. "I tasted it first, remember?"

"Then why did you say it was delicious?"

"Because you both looked so PROUD!" I wiped my eyes. "You and Lina were standing there with these hopeful faces and I just... I couldn’t crush your dreams!"

Lina had finished rinsing her mouth. She turned to glare at me.

"BAD MOMMY!" She shouted. "You’re a BAD MOMMY for lying!"

She launched herself at me. Small fists pounding against my legs.

"Bad! Bad! BAD!"

But she was giggling too. That high, bright sound that made everything better.

I scooped her up. Spun her around. Both of us laughing like maniacs.

"I’m sorry, baby! I’m so sorry!"

"You let me eat POISON!"

"It wasn’t poison. Just... really bad soup."

"REALLY REALLY REALLY bad soup!" She emphasized each "really" by poking my nose.

I glanced at Kael.

He was leaning against the counter. Arms crossed. Watching us with that expression I couldn’t quite read.

Half amused. Half something else.

"Well," he said dryly. "At least now I know never to trust your compliments."

"Hey! I was being NICE!"

"You were being dishonest."

"Same thing!"

Lina wiggled out of my arms. Ran to Kael. Grabbed his hand.

"We’re terrible cooks," she announced solemnly.

"Apparently."

"But we tried REALLY hard!"

"We did."

"So that counts for something, right?"

Kael looked down at her. His expression softened.

"Right," he agreed. "That counts for a lot."

Lina beamed. Then turned back to me.

"Mommy, can we have REAL breakfast now? Please? I’m SO hungry and that soup was SO bad!"

"Of course, baby." I walked to the pantry. Started pulling out actual ingredients. "How about pancakes?"

"PANCAKES!" She bounced. "Yes yes YES!"

I got to work. Mixing batter. Heating the pan. Moving through the familiar motions while Lina chattered beside me.

Kael stayed where he was. Helping with something, but not smooth.

It felt strange. Having him here. In my kitchen. In my space.

But not bad strange.

Just... strange.

The pancakes came together quickly. Golden and fluffy. Actually edible, unlike the soup disaster.

I plated them. Found syrup in the cabinet. Set everything on the table.

"Eat," I told Lina. "Before they get cold."

She dove in immediately. Syrup everywhere. Pure happiness on her face.

I grabbed the soup pot. Started dumping the contents down the drain.

"What are you doing?" Kael asked.

"Getting rid of the evidence."

"We worked hard on that."

"And it was terrible." I rinsed the pot. "But thank you. For trying. For taking care of me last night." I paused. "For taking care of Lina."

He didn’t respond immediately.

I turned to look at him.

He was studying me again. That intense gaze that made me want to squirm.

"You don’t have to thank me," he said finally.

"Yes, I do. You didn’t have to do any of this. You could have just... left me at the ceremony. Called someone else to deal with me. But you didn’t."

I dried my hands on a towel. Fidgeted with the fabric.

"You brought me home. Changed my clothes. Made sure I was safe. Even made soup with my daughter to try to make me feel better." I forced myself to meet his eyes. "That means something."

His jaw tightened. Something flickered across his face surprise, maybe. Or discomfort. Like he didn’t know how to handle genuine gratitude.

"Aria."

"Yeah?"

He opened his mouth. Closed it. Seemed to be wrestling with something.

"No matter what happens..." He took a breath. "I just want you to know I’m not a complete asshole."