Chapter 6. Proposal.

Naya's POV

The door creaked open, and Sabrina walked in, her steps hesitant yet deliberate. She wore a weird look, a flicker of remorse running across her face Or perhaps it was just another act. I couldn’t tell anymore. Nor did I bother to care…

“Naya,” she began, her voice trembling slightly, “I didn’t mean for things to go this far. I was angry, and…” Her eyes darted to Kieran, who stood beside me, arms crossed. He kept a straight face, clearly not buying her act. “It was an accident.”

An accident? That single word grated against me like nails on a chalkboard. My body still ached from her strong shove, and the memory of the fall replayed vividly in my mind. An accident? What a laugh!

Before I could respond, Kieran stepped forward, his sharp voice cutting through the air like a sharpened blade. 

“Save your sob story for those who’ll buy it, Sabrina, because we definitely won’t!”

My sister visibly flinched, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I just wanted to make things right.”

“Right?” Kieran’s tone was venomous, his jaw tight. “You pushed your sister down the stairs. Lied about it. And now you think a simple apology will fix everything? How thoughtful of you… NOT!”

“Kieran…” I whispered, trying to intervene, but his hand shot up, silencing me.

“No, Naya,” he said, his eyes never leaving Sabrina. “She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness. Not after what she’s done.”

Sabrina’s face twisted with frustration. “I made a mistake, okay? But you don’t get to stand here and act like you’re some knight in shining armor. This isn’t about you.”

“It is now,” Kieran snapped back coldly. “Because I’m the one making sure she doesn’t get hurt by you ever again!”

Sabrina opened her mouth as if to argue but seemed to think better of it. Her glare seemed to burn through Kieran before she spun on her heels and stormed out, strongly slamming the door shut behind her.

The silence in the room was almost unbearably suffocating. My chest felt heavy, not just from the lingering pain but from the weight of it all… my sibling’s actions, Kieran’s intervention, and the storm brewing beneath the surface.

“She’s still my sister, you know,” I finally said, my voice barely audible.

“And she nearly killed you,” Kieran replied bluntly, not even an atom of softness in his tone.

“She didn’t mean to,” I murmured.

He let out a humorless laugh while running a hand through his dark hair. “You’re too forgiving and that is going to get you hurt.”

I didn’t respond. Maybe he was right. Or maybe I just didn’t have the energy to hold onto anger anymore.

He pulled back his chair closer to the bed and sat back down, leaning forward with his elbows on the bedside. His sharp blue eyes softened just slightly, though his tone was still serious. 

“Naya, we need to talk.”

I raised a slim eyebrow, unsure of what he was planning to tell me. 

“About what exactly?”

“About your family… Your situation… Everything.”

I shook my head, my automatic instinct to retreat kicking in. “I’ll figure it out, Kieran. I always do.”

“No,” he said firmly, his voice hard. “Not this time, ok. You can’t keep going back to them, letting them pull you apart piece by piece. They don’t care about you, and they never will.”

The truth in his words hit me like a punch to my gut. My throat tightened, but I said nothing, unable to argue against the heartbreaking but glaring reality. He was right. My parents had always wanted to get rid of me in the guise of finding me a mate. 

“And then there’s my situation,” Kieran continued, crossing his legs as he leaned back in his seat. “My grandmother won’t stop pushing this marriage nonsense to me. She’s trying to force me into a match with someone who fits her idea of perfection and not mine,” he paused as he let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m done with allowing her to run my life.”

I frowned, unsure of where he was heading. “What does that have to do with me?”

Kieran moved forward slightly, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “We can help each other. You need a way out. I need a way to get my grandmother off my back. It’s simple.”

“Simple?” I repeated, my voice tinged with disbelief. “What the hell are you saying?”

He continued explaining, his tone calm and reassuring. “We pretend to be together. You become the Omega who bewitched the Alpha, and I’ll play the part of the man who couldn’t resist you.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. “You’re joking…right?”

“Dead serious, Naya,” Kieran replied, a hint of grimness lacing his low, sonorous voice.

My laugh came out bitter and mirthless, “You think I want to tie myself to an Alpha, even temporarily? Do you have any idea how people would treat me? How they’d look at me?”

His expression softened, but his voice remained steady. “It doesn’t have to be real, 

Naya. Just a short-lived arrangement. Long enough for both of us to get what we want.”

“And what exactly do I get out of this?” I shot back, my words laced with skepticism.

“You’ll get away from them,” the young Alpha stated simply, his gaze glued to my face as if he was trying to bore into my thoughts, hoping to convince me. “Your family. The people who’ve controlled and manipulated you for years. This could be your chance to finally be free.”

Free. The word hung in the air like an incredible promise, but it also felt like a trap. Could I be truly free in the end with his proposal? As a matter of fact, can anything in this world truly be free?

“You’re just asking me to step into another cage,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. “What’s the difference between this arrangement and the one I’ve been running from?”

“The difference,” he said, his tone firm but concerned, “is that this will not last long. At the very least, not as long as the time you’ve spent with your family. Besides, you’ll be well compensated, too. Enough for you to start over but far away from all of this.”

My muscles stiffened at his words. “Compensated? So now I’m going to be what? Your hired accomplice?”

Kieran sighed in defeat as he leaned back on his chair. “Call it what you want, but I’m offering you a way out, Naya. A way to take control of your life. To stop letting other people decide for you.”

I wanted to argue heatedly, to lash out, but the truth cannot be denied. He wasn’t wrong. My family saw me as nothing more than a pawn, and Sabrina’s treatment of me had only cemented that fact.

Still, the idea of pretending to be his mate, even for a short time, filled me with fear. The mate bond was a sacred thing. I didn’t know if I could fake something so profound, even if I personally didn’t believe it to be real.

“I don’t know,” I finally muttered, my voice trembling with uncertainty.

“You don’t have to decide now,” Kieran soothingly remarked as he stood up and adjusted his dark sports jacket, which was what he was wearing when he first helped me by offering me his suppressants. “But please do think about it. Really think about it, Naya. This isn’t just about me, anymore. It’s about you, as well.”

He walked toward the door but stopped just before leaving. Turning back, his expression was unreadable, though there was a flicker of something - hope, perhaps - in his eyes. “If you agree, we’ll make it official with a blood oath. That way, you’ll be assured that I mean it when I say it’s just temporary.”

“A blood oath?” I repeated, my heart skipping a beat.

“The ultimate promise,” Kieran mentioned seriously, his lips curving into a faint smile. “No strings, no betrayals. Just a deal, plain and simple.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I leaned back against the pillows, my mind racing. Could I really do this? And could I trust him?

“Dear moon goddess, help me decide… Please!”

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