Chapter 120 Smoke Before the Fire
Morning did not arrive gently.
Aria woke to the low vibration of her phone against the bedside table. Not once. Not twice. Continuous. A mechanical tremor that did not belong to grief or ritual.
For a second she lay still, disoriented.
Then she remembered.
Second day of Elder Morgana’s funeral.
Victoria’s pregnancy.
Alexander attacking soon.
The phone continued to buzz.
Kane shifted beside her, his hand still resting at her waist. “Ignore it,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.
“It will not ignore us,” she replied quietly.
She reached for the phone.
The screen lit up with a flood of notifications. Messages from council members. From allies. From numbers she did not recognize. Links. Headlines. Mentions.
Her stomach tightened.
Kane pushed himself upright as she opened the first article.
A glossy tabloid banner filled the screen. Beneath it, a photograph of Kane and Victoria from three years ago.
The headline sat in bold across the image.
Alpha Abandons Pregnant Fiancée After Years of Manipulation.
Aria’s expression did not change. Her fingers moved to scroll.
Victoria’s story unfolded in dramatic detail.
She claimed Kane had pursued her relentlessly when her father held significant political power within the region. That he had ended things abruptly when that influence began to wane. That he had humiliated her publicly by choosing ambition over loyalty. That three years ago he had briefly returned to her, promised reconciliation, then left again when Aria’s rising status as a moon healer made her more advantageous.
And now, according to the article, he had abandoned Victoria once more after discovering her pregnancy. Refusing to acknowledge the child. Threatening her silence.
Aria read the final line twice.
He used me when my father could elevate him. And now that she can elevate him further, I am disposable.
The phone buzzed again.
Kane was fully awake now. “What is it?”
She handed him the device without speaking.
He read quickly. Once. Then again, slower.
The air in the room changed.
“This is low, even for Victoria,” he said evenly.
“Yes.”
“She definitely sold this to get sympathy.”
“Yes.”
He exhaled sharply, jaw tightening. “It’s funny how she’s playing the victim when she knows she and her father were blackmailing me into marrying her.”
“I know.”
His eyes lifted to hers.
There was no accusation there. No doubt.
Just assessment.
She reached for her own phone and opened another link. More outlets had picked it up. The phrasing shifted slightly between them but the narrative was consistent.
Manipulative Alpha.
Calculated ambition.
Pregnant woman discarded for a more powerful mate.
Aria felt the weight of it settle, not emotionally but strategically.
“She is not just claiming the child,” Aria said quietly. “She is trying to play the damsel in distress.”
Kane swung his legs off the bed, running a hand down his face. “This will spread beyond gossip channels. Her father still has media connections.”
“Clearly.”
He stood and moved toward the window, tension coiling through him. “She is positioning herself as the wronged partner. It puts pressure on the council. On the elders. On you.”
Aria rose slowly, setting her phone down.
“On the funeral,” she added.
That made him turn.
“Yes.”
Second day of rites. Maximum attendance. Maximum visibility. Maximum leverage.
“She is forcing a narrative before we can establish facts,” Kane said.
“Because once sympathy forms, facts become secondary,” Aria replied.
He watched her carefully. “Are you angry?”
She considered that.
“No,” she said finally. “Of course not. You had no hand in this.”
A faint flicker of something like frustration crossed his expression. “You should be furious.”
“I will not give her that satisfaction.”
He stepped closer. “She accused me of using you.”
“I read it.”
“That I left her for you because you are useful.”
“I read that too.”
She met his gaze steadily. “If you were climbing a ladder, you would not choose someone who argues with you in public and refuses to be managed.”
Despite everything, a breath of restrained amusement escaped him.
“Fair.”
She stepped closer, her hand resting against his chest. “I know the timeline. I know when you ended things with her. I know when you chose me. I do not need a tabloid to define that.”
His shoulders eased slightly.
“But this is not about what I believe,” she continued. “It is about what others will.”
He nodded once.
“And today,” she said quietly, “we stand in front of all of them.”
Silence pressed in.
Grief. Rumor. Ceremony.
Kane’s jaw tightened. “I will issue a statement immediately.”
“No.”
He blinked. “No?”
“If we respond emotionally, we validate the spectacle,” she said. “Today is about Elder Morgana. If we allow this to dominate the narrative of her rites, we look reactive.”
“And if we say nothing?”
“We say very little. That the matter is private. Those allegations are being reviewed. That the focus remains on honoring Elder Morgana.”
He studied her face carefully.
His thumb traced a slow line along her waist, unconscious even in tension. “She accused me of abandoning her pregnancy,” he said.
“If the child is yours, a test will confirm it,” Aria replied. “If it is not, that will also become clear.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime, we do not let her dictate the tone of today.”
He searched her expression again, looking for doubt.
He did not find any.
They dressed quickly, both in black. Mourning attire.
When they stepped into the living area, a senior council member stood waiting, his face tense.
“The story has reached the gathering,” he said. “There is significant reaction.”
“I expected that,” Kane replied evenly.
“Victoria has arrived. She has spoken briefly to several elders.”
Aria absorbed that without visible reaction.
“In tears?” she asked calmly.
“Yes.”
Of course.
Kane glanced at Aria.
This was the moment again. Before he decided alone.
She met his eyes steadily. “We proceed exactly as planned. No deviation. If questioned, we state that the allegations are under review and that today remains dedicated to Elder Morgana’s memory.”
The council member inclined his head.
“And arrange a private request for a paternity test,” Kane added. “Discreetly.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
When the door closed, silence returned briefly.
Outside, sympathy and suspicion were already forming. Narratives hardening. Lines being drawn.
Kane reached for her hand.
Openly.
Not hidden.
She laced her fingers with his.
“This will not be quiet,” he said.
“I did not expect quiet.”
His grip tightened slightly.
“Together?” he asked.
“Together,” she confirmed.
They had chosen each other in private.
Now they would have to hold that choice under full scrutiny.