How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 72: Council Event...

JASMINE’S POV

The car ride to the Council estate was quiet, but not peaceful.

Aiden sat beside me in the back seat, dressed in a black, tailored suit that fit a little too perfectly. The top button of his shirt was undone, no tie, but he still looked like power personified.

He kept glancing at me, probably trying to read something from my posture, my silence, my refusal to look back at him.

I focused on the window. The trees passed in a blur. My reflection stared back, green satin dress, minimal jewellery, and mild makeup. Not for him. Not for anyone. Just armor.

"You look..." he started, then hesitated. "Powerful."

I didn’t answer.

Lyra purred. "Damn right."

When the car pulled up to the massive stone mansion that served as the Council’s estate, a valet opened the door, and we stepped out into the flood of golden lights and elite whispers.

The Council didn’t throw casual parties. This was political theatre wrapped in champagne.

Inside, everything smelled of roses and tension.

We were announced as "Alpha Aiden Stark Frost and Luna Jasmine Heart Frost," the latter of which made a few heads turn. Some raised brows. One or two smiles faded.

Aiden’s hand hovered at the small of my back, but didn’t touch. That made it worse. The almost.

Elena spotted us before we saw her. She moved through the crowd like a dagger in silk.

"Jasmine," she cooed. "Look at you. I almost didn’t recognise you."

I didn’t flinch. "I see you’re still compensating with red."

She smiled wider. "You seem better. I heard you were... unstable. Lots of energy flying around. Very dramatic."

"Just another Monday," I replied.

Elena’s eyes flicked to Aiden, then back to me. "He looks tired. You wearing him out already?"

Lyra stirred in my chest. "I’m about to do something petty."

"Do it."

My aura snapped.

It didn’t glow. It roared.

A cool silver light spread from beneath my skin, touching the nearby guests like a chilly wave. People gasped and took a step back. Even Aiden froze for a moment.

Elena’s eyes widened. "You—" she choked.

"Still think I’m trembling?" I asked quietly.

One of the Councilmen cleared his throat awkwardly and moved in our direction. "Luna Jasmine. Alpha Aiden. If you would join us at the high table?"

I stepped past Elena, not sparing her another glance. Aiden followed, one beat behind.

"You okay?" he murmured under his breath.

"Perfectly," I said.

He didn’t smile, but I saw it in his eyes, pride, maybe. Or relief. Or something heavier that he wasn’t ready to put into words.

At the high table, the Council sat with stiff backs and carefully polite expressions.

"Luna Jasmine," Elder Merrill began with a deep and neutral voice. "We were surprised by your attendance tonight."

I met his gaze. "So was I."

Another Councilwoman leaned forward, her gaze sharp. "We’d also heard about the ritual and its... unintended consequences." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I smiled. "I’d call them necessary consequences."

The table went quiet.

Lyra hummed. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

"Not helping," I muttered in my head.

"Totally helping."

As the event continued, people approached in waves; some were curious, some wary, some clearly waiting to see if I would shatter mid-conversation. I didn’t. I nodded. I responded. I endured.

When I caught Elena watching me from across the room, her expression unreadable, I let Lyra roll the silver light behind my eyes—just for her.

"She’s seething," Lyra said with glee.

"She’ll get over it."

"Doubt it."

By the end of the night, I was exhausted. Not physically. Just... drained. I hadn’t even eaten.

I felt Aiden shift beside me as the guests began filtering out. "You handled that better than I did my first Council event."

"I wasn’t performing," I said.

His eyes searched mine. "You didn’t have to prove anything tonight."

"I wasn’t proving. I was surviving."

When we got home, he reached out, but stopped halfway. "Jasmine—"

"I’m going to bed," I said softly. "Alone."

He nodded once, stepping back. "I’ll see you tomorrow."

I turned and left, my dress whispering across the marble floors.

Behind me, Lyra was quiet.

But satisfied.

—

I woke before sunrise.

The room was dark, quiet, and cold, even with warm blankets wrapped around me. I felt a strange energy in the air, as if something powerful hadn’t fully faded away after my sleep.

Lyra stirred, slow and calm.

"Morning, Sunshine," she said with a yawn. "You slept like the dead. Not bad for your first post-Council power flex."

I didn’t respond at first. I rolled onto my side, pressing my hand into the sheets where the fabric had cooled overnight. Alone. As planned.

Except it didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like a choice I hadn’t entirely wanted to make.

"I thought it’d feel different," I murmured. "Like I’d feel stronger."

"You are stronger. You just also feel everything else more now. That’s the trade."

I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

The house was quiet. ]I hadn’t heard Aiden return to his room, or if he had, he hadn’t been loud enough for me to notice, which was very on-brand for him.

I stood and crossed to the mirror.

My reflection still caught me off guard.

Hair tousled. Eyes... silver-streaked. Even dulled by sleep, they still shimmered faintly. My skin glowed in the softest way. A quiet reminder: nothing about me was normal anymore.

"You still in there?" I asked.

"I’m not going anywhere," Lyra said gently. "But you need to eat. And then you need to talk to him."

"I don’t know what to say."

"Doesn’t matter. Say what’s true."

I changed quickly into a long-sleeved shirt and leggings, tied my hair into a loose braid, and made my way down the stairs.

I smelled him before I saw him.

He was in the kitchen again. This time, he was preparing tea. The scent of honey and ginger clung to the air. The sound of the kettle switching off was the only noise in the house.

I paused at the threshold. He didn’t turn around right away, but I knew he felt me there.

"Morning," he said softly.

"Hey," I said, voice quieter than I expected.

Aiden turned to face me, cup in hand. "I wasn’t sure if you’d want tea, but... I made your usual. Honey. No sugar."

I stepped inside, moving slowly. "Thanks."

He held it out to me. I took it carefully, our fingers brushing.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like my spine is still humming," I said. "And like I might accidentally short-circuit every time someone makes eye contact."

That earned a faint smile from him. "Yeah. That sounds about right."

I sipped the tea. It was warm and familiar, like a tiny anchor in an unrecognisable sea.

We stood in silence for a moment longer.

Then I spoke. "You didn’t sleep in your room last night."

His brow creased. "Were you stalking me?"

I narrowed my eyes, and he quickly replied. "I just had a lot to think about."

I studied him. The lines around his eyes looked deeper. He hadn’t slept either.

"I’m not angry," I said.

"You could be. You should be."

"I’m not," I repeated. "I’m... tired. Confused. And I still don’t know what’s next. But I’m not angry."

He set his mug down. "I know I messed up. Not telling you everything. Not being honest sooner. I thought I was protecting you, but I was just delaying the damage."

"You did delay it," I said. "You gave me space to choose to trust you. But now... I have to decide again."

He looked at me. Really looked.

I held his gaze.

"Last night," I said slowly, "when I released that aura... I didn’t do it on purpose."

He tilted his head. "But you did it."

I nodded. "Lyra did. We did. It felt... right. Like I wasn’t pretending anymore."

His voice softened. "It was incredible."

"I didn’t do it to impress anyone."

"I know."

I sipped more tea. The tension shifted—not gone, but not hostile.

He stepped closer.

"I’m going to fix what I broke," he said. "If it takes days. If it takes years. I’ll earn you back."

"That’s not what this is about," I replied. "It’s not about being earned."

"Then what is it about?" he asked, quiet but firm.

I looked at him, felt the heat behind my eyes, and took a breath.

"It’s about trust," I said slowly. "Like I told you before, you gave me room to trust you... and you not only shattered it, you—" My voice cracked. "You made me feel scared."

His face twisted. "Jasmine, I’m— I’m—"

"I don’t like feeling scared," I said sharply. "The nightmares I had as a kid were bad enough. That constant fear... I spent years trying to grow out of it. And then, just like that night..." I dropped my gaze. "You brought it back."

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. The guilt was written all over him.

I sipped the last of my tea and set the cup down.

I didn’t flinch this time. I just asked, "So... what’s the curse?"