Chapter 147: Chapter 147 Was he starting to regret choosing me?
Aria’s POV
The entire pavilion went silent.
My grip tightened around the microphone, heart hammering against my ribs.
This was Sylvia’s real purpose—she’d deliberately put me onstage so someone could publicly question my identity, question my relationship with Damian.
Whispers began rippling through the crowd. I caught fragments of cutting commentary:
"So she was married before?"
"Alpha Holt’s Luna? Then she and the Alpha King..."
"She’s Vincent Smith’s illegitimate daughter, after all. Who knows what she did before she came back?"
My gaze involuntarily turned toward where the Blackwood family sat.
Luna Elena almost instinctively started to rise, but Alpha Andrew pressed her shoulder, keeping her seated.
The Alpha King’s expression remained calm and detached, as if waiting to see how I would handle this.
My stomach started churning. Cold sweat dampened my palms.
I opened my mouth to refute him, only to find my throat blocked as if by something physical. Not a single word emerged.
What the man said wasn’t entirely true—Ethan and I never had a real marriage.
That marriage certificate was fake. But if I explained now, I’d have to expose everything about my time at Silver Creek Pack.
I could handle not caring what these people thought of me. After years of cold stares and mockery, I’d built armor around my heart.
But what about Damian? What about the Blackwood family?
I looked up at Luna Elena and Alpha Andrew. They’d treated me so well, welcomed me as true family.
If I revealed that sordid past now, would I embarrass them in front of all these people? Would they regret choosing me?
I couldn’t bear to disappoint them.
"Excuse me, sir, are you certain about what you’re saying?" Sylvia’s voice interjected, feigning shock. "Could you perhaps be mistaking her for someone else?"
Her words sounded perfectly reasonable, but actually gave the man an opening to continue his attack.
Sure enough, the man immediately stood fully, pulling his phone from his pocket. His movements were practiced, as if he’d rehearsed this countless times. Clearly he’d prepared everything in advance.
"I’m not mistaken. I have proof right here."
My heart hammered wildly, nearly bursting from my chest. His phone screen displayed a video—footage of Ethan and me appearing together at some business reception.
In the video, we weren’t remotely as intimate and devoted as he claimed—we’d simply been present at the same event. But under these circumstances, any explanation would sound hollow.
"See? This is Miss Aria Smith, isn’t it?"
His smug voice pierced my eardrums. I wanted to say something, wanted to defend myself, but my throat felt strangled, unable to produce any sound.
Just then, a hand suddenly reached out and seized the man’s wrist viciously.
I heard him cry out. His phone clattered to the floor.
It was Damian.
He stood expressionlessly before the man, then stepped deliberately on the phone screen. The sound of shattering glass rang out crisply. The video cut off abruptly.
"Sorry about that. I’ll get you a new one." Damian’s voice sounded terrifyingly calm, but I could feel the killing intent lurking beneath his tone.
His gaze swept across everyone present, that icy pressure dropping the entire banquet hall’s temperature several degrees.
"N-no problem..." The man whose wrist Damian gripped trembled as he spoke, voice full of fear.
Though he’d obviously been acting on Sylvia’s instructions, what wolf wouldn’t cower before the Alpha King?
But Damian wasn’t finished.
I heard the crisp snap of breaking bone. The man collapsed clutching his arm, writhing on the floor in agony.
"Your Majesty, all our guests are here. There’s no need to get so upset." Sylvia’s voice rang out again as she hurried over with attendants. Her people immediately dragged away the fallen man.
"If this is a misunderstanding, we can simply clear it up. I’m sure Aria wouldn’t deceive you about such matters... You knew about this, didn’t you?"
At her words, whispers erupted around us.
Her words floated lightly, yet stabbed into my heart like a blade.
The surrounding discussion grew louder. I could hear people whispering:
"So the Alpha King knew about her past?"
"If he knew, why would he still..."
I clenched my hands, anxiety clawing at my chest as I glanced at Damian.
I’d told him about my past with Ethan—about believing we were married, about discovering it was all a lie. He’d told me he understood, that it changed nothing.
But standing here under hundreds of judging stares, with my shame laid bare for his family and the entire werewolf elite to witness...
And I know powerful Packs were all the same—they valued reputation above everything. Even if Damian was willing to weather this, they might not accept it.
I didn’t care what strangers thought of me. Right now, all that mattered was Damian’s feelings and his family’s opinion.
"Damian."
I abandoned the microphone and hurried to his side. My voice trembled, heart pounding like it might explode.
But Damian didn’t turn to look at me.
In that moment, my heart felt plunged into ice water.
The cold aura radiating from him seemed to build an invisible wall of ice between us, making me afraid to step closer.
Was he starting to despise me because of that man’s words? Starting to regret choosing me?
Had his intervention just been about maintaining the Blackwood family’s dignity, not about me?
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