My Convicted Wife is My Mate (Bella and Kane) novel Chapter 31

chapter 26-2
“Oh?” he cut in. “What can you do to me?”

The air around him seemed to thicken, and even I felt a shiver down my spine. His dominance wasn’t visible but it was there.

“Okay! Time to go,” I said.

I quickly grabbed his arm before he lost his patience.

We walked out of the store, leaving them behind. I didn’t look back.

Outside, the night air was cooler, quieter. I finally breathed.

“I wasn’t mean to them in high school or anything,” I said softly, glancing at him. “In case you’re wondering.”

“I didn’t think you were,” he replied simply.

“I could excuse it if I had been,” I said with a small, sad smile. “If I’d been a bully, or rude to them, maybe I’d deserve it now. But I wasn’t. I was just… shy. The only wolf in school. Always focused on my grades. My grandfather expected perfection, so I never really had friends. Maybe that made me look cold.”

He scoffed. “Don’t make excuses for people, Bella. People’s actions speak for themselves.”

I nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. “Okay.”

We cut through the parking lot. Kane walked beside me in silence. Despite everything that happened, I felt strangely… safe.

And though he didn’t say it aloud, the way his hand brushed mine - briefly, accidentally - was enough to remind me I wasn’t completely alone anymore.

NINA’S POV

Wow. Jane hadn’t been joking. That man had been some loser. Dating an ex-con and wearing a cheap set of clothes like that? Seriously?

I tilted my sunglasses down and sneered.

“Look at him,” I said, shifting my shopping bags to my left hand. “That bitch Bella really downgraded. From Alpha heir Damien to that?”

Jane chuckled softly. She was pretending not to enjoy it as much as I did. “You’re terrible, Nina.”

“Oh, come on,” I smirked, “someone had to say the truth.” I grabbed my phone from my purse. “Hey, there they are!” I whispered, spotting Bella and that tall guy leaving the phone store. They looked like a sad couple walking out together. “It’s about time Bella got what she deserved.”

I angled my camera and snapped a photo of them.

“Perfect,” I murmured, zooming in. “I cannot wait to post this online. Let everyone see what she’s been up to.”

I opened my social app, ready to upload, but before I could hit “post,” my phone buzzed with a new text message.

I looked at it and froze.

Bank alert: +$85,000 credited to your account.

“What the hell…” I muttered. That wasn’t possible. I hadn’t sold anything.

Before I could make sense of it, a tall man in a black suit approached me from nowhere. He was polite, too polite,

“Are you Miss Nina?” he asked.

He took a slow step closer then he dropped his voice so only I could hear. “My boss didn’t like your car. It offended his eyes. Perhaps next time, Miss Nina, buy a more pleasant-looking one… lest it get smashed again.”

With that, he bowed then and walked away. His men followed like shadows, leaving behind my ruined car, the smell of smoke, and a crowd of people murmuring in shock.

I stood there frozen. My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t believe what just happened. My beautiful car… gone. My jaw tightened, and I turned to Jane, who looked like she might faint. “Did you- did you see that?”

She nodded weakly. “Who were those people?”

“I don’t know!” I snapped, breathing hard. I looked around. I could feel the fury building in my chest. And then I saw them - Bella and that man, Kane.

They were standing not too far away, watching. Bella’s expression was unreadable, calm even, while Kane’s eyes were a bit dark. He looked dangerous. Too calm. Too in control.

My heart raced. No way. Could it be…? Had he done this?

He looked at me for a brief second. There were no smile, no words, just a quiet, cold look that sent a chill down my spine.

I felt rage pulse in my veins. I had just flaunted my new car to them, and now… now it was a wreck in front of everyone.

My face burned with humiliation. The whispers around me grew louder. People had their phones raised. There were people recording the mess.

Jane touched my shoulder timidly. “Nina, maybe we should-”

“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, jerking away.

My heart was pounding so loud it drowned out everything else. My car, my reputation….it had all been gone in minutes.

I clenched my fists. This wasn’t over.