Aria’s POV
It rang once.
"ARIA!"
Sophie’s voice exploded through the speaker so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
"Oh my GOD. FINALLY. I’ve been waiting for you to call ALL DAY. How did the interview go? Did you get the job? Why haven’t you updated me? I’ve been DYING here!"
Despite everything, I smiled. "Hi, Sophie."
"Don’t ’hi Sophie’ me! I need details! All of them! Immediately!"
"I got the job."
"YOU GOT THE—" A pause. "Wait. Why don’t you sound happy about that? You should be screaming. You should be celebrating. Why do you sound like someone ran over your dog?"
"I don’t have a dog."
"That’s not the point!" I could hear her pacing. She always paced when she was agitated. "What happened? Tell me everything. Right now."
I leaned back against the couch. Closed my eyes.
Where did I even begin?
"It’s been... a lot."
"A lot good or a lot bad?"
"Both?" I laughed weakly. "Mostly bad. Definitely mostly bad."
"Okay. Start from the beginning. I’m sitting down. I have snacks. I’m ready."
So I told her.
Everything.
The job interview. The late-night preparation. Falling asleep at my desk like a lunatic. The mysterious phone call about the inspection. Lina’s first day at school. Meeting Celestia at the gates. The confrontation.
Sophie made appropriate sounds throughout. Gasps of outrage. Muttered curses. The occasional "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
When I got to the part about Felix calling Lina "human stink," she actually screamed.
"THAT LITTLE MONSTER! I swear to God, Aria, if I ever meet that kid—"
"It gets worse."
"HOW CAN IT GET WORSE?"
"Rebecca Silver Fang is his mother’s friend. Or something. Her daughter goes to the same school."
Silence.
"I’m sorry." Sophie’s voice was dangerously calm. "Did you just say Rebecca?"
"Yes."
"As in Rebecca Silver Fang? The psycho ex-girlfriend? The one who made your life a living hell?"
"The very same."
"And she’s at your daughter’s SCHOOL?"
"Her daughter is. The one who started the whole ’human stink’ thing."
More silence.
Then Sophie started swearing. A creative string of profanity that went on for a solid thirty seconds.
"—absolute GARBAGE human being! No, not even human! She’s a DEMON! A blonde, designer-wearing demon from the lowest pit of—"
"Sophie."
"I’m not done!"
"There’s more."
The swearing stopped abruptly.
"More? What more could there possibly be?"
I took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.
"She mentioned Kael."
The words hung in the air. Heavy. Painful.
"Oh, honey." Sophie’s voice softened immediately. "What did she say?"
"Her daughter..." I pressed my hand against my chest. Against the ache that had settled there and refused to leave. "Her daughter is apparently the ’Alpha heir’s child.’ The ’future princess of Blood Crown pack.’"
Silence.
"Wait." Sophie’s voice was sharp now. Confused. "Are you saying what I think you’re saying?"
"Kael has a daughter with Rebecca." The words felt like broken glass in my throat. "They have a child together."
"But... but you said he wasn’t with her. You said he rejected her."
"That was three years ago." I laughed. The sound was hollow. Wrong. "A lot can change in three years."
"Aria..."
"I knew he’d move on. Of course he’d move on. Why wouldn’t he?" I was rambling now. Couldn’t stop. "He’s the Alpha. He needs a Luna. He needs heirs. Rebecca was always the obvious choice. Everyone expected it. I expected it."
"But?"
"But hearing it out loud..." My voice cracked. "Seeing her standing there with her perfect blonde daughter... knowing that while I was struggling alone, barely surviving, raising Lina in poverty... he was here. Building a family. With her."
The tears came without warning. Hot and fast down my cheeks.
"I’m being stupid." I wiped my face with the back of my hand. "I know I’m being stupid. It’s been three years. He paid me off like a prostitute. He told me to disappear. I have no right to feel anything."
"You have every right." Sophie’s voice was fierce. "He hurt you. He broke your heart. And now you find out he’s playing happy family with the witch who tormented you? Of COURSE you’re upset. Anyone would be upset!"
"I haven’t even seen him yet." I sniffled. "He apparently never goes to the company. So at least there’s that."
"Small mercies."
"Yeah." I laughed wetly. "Very small."
"I miss you." Her voice was small. Vulnerable. Nothing like her usual exuberant self. "I know you need to be there. I know Lina needs this. But God, Aria, I miss you so much."
My chest tightened. "I miss you too."
"It’s not the same without you here. I have no one to judge terrible fashion choices with. No one to complain about my dates to. No one who actually listens when I talk instead of just waiting for their turn to speak."
"Sophie..."
"And now I’m hearing about all these horrible people treating you like garbage and I can’t DO anything about it. I can’t be there to back you up. I can’t be there to help. I’m stuck on the other side of the territory feeling completely USELESS."
"You’re not useless." I gripped the phone tighter. "Just hearing your voice helps. More than you know."
She took a breath. "Rebecca... GOD, Rebecca! The NERVE of that woman! Calling Lina defective? Threatening you? Showing up late to a meeting SHE requested?"
"Technically the school requested it."
"WHATEVER! The point is she’s a monster and I want to strangle her with her own designer handbag!"
Despite everything, I laughed. A real laugh this time. Full and warm. I could picture her. Pacing around her room. Arms waving. Face flushed with righteous fury.
Some things never changed.
"Sophie, it’s okay. Really. I can handle this."
"Of course you can handle it. You can handle anything. That’s not the point!" She took a shaky breath. "The point is you shouldn’t HAVE to handle it alone. The point is I should be there. The point is—"
She stopped abruptly.
Silence.
"Sophie?"
"I’m so furious right now!" Her voice exploded through the phone. "And I miss you SO much! I really want to come see you! Right now!"