How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 82: Test Drives and Breakfast...

JASMINE’S POV

"I’ll crash it," I said with one hand still resting on the hood of the matte black Aston Martin, like it was a loaded weapon.

Aiden didn’t blink. "Then I’ll buy you another one," he said without waiting a breath.

I looked up at him, really looked, and for the first time since he’d told me about the curse, about the ticking clock wrapped in bloodline and betrayal, I smiled.

Just a little.

"You’re ridiculous," I said.

"I know."

"And reckless."

"I hope so." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

I circled the car once in a slow, deliberate manner, like I was stalking it, or maybe it was stalking me. Either way, I could feel the purr of the engine before it ever turned over, like it already knew I was coming.

This wasn’t about speed.

It was about control.

And I was ready to take some back.

Lyra purred, practically lounging in the back of my skull like a cat with a martini. "Now that’s foreplay."

"Not helping," I muttered under my breath.

She snickered. "Oh, I am helping. Your mate just gave you a 1.5 million dollar apology with wheels. If that’s not courtship, I don’t know what is."

"You want to drive it now?" Aiden asked in a casual tone, stepping beside me, eyes gleaming like he already knew the answer.

I raised an eyebrow. "You’re trusting me behind the wheel again?"

His smile turned crooked, teasing. "Only when it’s not near a pool."

That made me laugh. Actually laugh.

It startled both of us.

"Alright," I said, slipping into the driver’s seat like it was a throne. "Let’s see if she can handle me."

Aiden slid into the passenger seat, and the moment the engine purred to life beneath my fingers, a rush of adrenaline surged through me like fire.

The world narrowed.

The road called.

And I answered.

—

We pulled onto the open road in a blur of matte black and low thunder. I didn’t ease into it. I accelerated like I meant it, like I was racing something invisible: expectation, anger, history.

Aiden barely reacted, just bracing one hand on the centre console, the other resting loosely near the door.

"Are you gripping something or just preparing to eject?" I asked, shifting gears with a grin.

He gave me a look. "Neither. I’m admiring."

"Oh, gods," Lyra moaned. "He’s got the voice. That calm, gravel-wrapped-in-silk thing. I swear, if he says ’good girl’ in that tone, I’m throwing us off a cliff."

"Focus," I muttered aloud.

"I am," Aiden said. "You?"

I flicked him a sharp smile. "Always."

He nodded, and I could tell he believed me.

The car roared onto the next stretch of highway smoothly. The wind caught my hair through the sunroof, and the sun broke low over the hills in the distance like gold spilled across the sky.

"You look better like this," he said suddenly.

I glanced at him, arching a brow. "Like what? Windblown and vaguely unhinged?"

"Like you’re alive."

That silenced me more than I cared to admit.

I let the car eat the road for another few miles before the world slowed enough to feel real again.

"Breakfast?" he asked.

I shot him a sidelong glance. "You mean you’re not just going to feed me metaphorical freedom and sleek engines?"

"There’s a café about fifteen minutes from here. Best waffles in three counties."

I pretended to consider. "You say that like you’ve taken other girls there."

His grin was immediate. "Nope. Only brought one other person. My beta. He cried over the coffee."

"Sounds promising."

—

The café was quiet. A boutique-style breakfast nook tucked into the edge of nowhere, with large bay windows and a menu written in perfect cursive on chalkboards.

We sat at a table by the window. Aiden ordered for both of us before I could argue: black coffee for him, oat milk latte for me, waffles, eggs, and something with too many herbs.

"Still bossy," I noted.

"Still right," he replied.

Lyra sighed dreamily. "Look at him. Perfect stubble. Wolf king demeanour. And now he feeds us."

"Can you not fall in love with him in my head?" I whispered back.

"It’s a shared custody situation. I’ll respect visitation hours."

I sipped my latte and tried not to smile.

The waffles came out ten minutes later, and I nearly wept.

"I forgot what real food tasted like," I mumbled, cutting into the stack with an exaggerated sigh.

"Training diet too brutal?" Aiden asked, leaning back in his seat, sipping his coffee like the morning was just for us.

I glanced at him over my fork. "More like transition plus corporate sabotage leaves a girl too tense to remember syrup exists."

His smile dimmed, just a little, but enough for me to notice. "You were right," he said. "About yesterday. About everything."

"Didn’t say I wasn’t."

"But you need to hear it. From me."

I met his gaze, fork hovering. "I’m listening."

"I should’ve told you about the curse from the start. I should’ve trusted you to decide what to do with the truth, even if it scared me."

"You were scared?"

"I still am," he admitted. "But I’m not going to hide behind that anymore."

A heavy silence hung between us, but it wasn’t unbearable.

Then I nodded. "Good."

He let out a breath like he’d been holding it since yesterday.

"You’re still on a trial basis, Frost," I warned. "This isn’t a win."

"I know," he said, soft and unbothered. "I’m not trying to win. I’m just trying to stay in the game."

Lyra fanned herself dramatically. "Someone tattoo that on my ribcage."

I shook my head and returned to my waffles, still mentally cautious.

But eating breakfast with the man who, despite everything, still showed up, it felt more refreshing than I care to admit.

—

The syrup on my waffles was thick, golden, and didn’t deserve the existential weight of the conversation hanging over it.

But somehow, it all still worked: the food, the tension, the careful truce drawn between us over caffeine and confession.

Aiden hadn’t moved his gaze from me since I nodded. Not in a possessive way, not even in the usual alpha way that screamed I need to protect her. This was different.

Quieter.

Like he was still trying to memorise me. Not for dominance. But in case I vanish again.

"You ever going to stop staring?" I asked between bites.

His lips quirked. "Probably not."

I rolled my eyes, but some part of me, deep and unwilling to admit it aloud, relaxed at the words.

We ate in comfortable silence for another few minutes before Aiden set his mug down and leaned back slightly, his posture still relaxed, but his expression shifting.

"There’s something else," he said.

I sighed. "Isn’t there always?"

He didn’t laugh. Just waited.

I raised a brow and motioned for him to continue with a flick of my fork.

"The old Heart building. The first headquarters," he said.

My hand froze mid-bite. "What about it?"

"Well, we were supposed to go check it out before things got... crazy under the moonlight. I’ve had Kieran keep an eye on it. Quietly. Just in case." He paused. "There was movement yesterday. Someone stalking the place or something."

I set the fork down. Carefully.

"That’s a hell of a coincidence," I said. "Because I was planning to go there later today."

His brows lifted. "You were?"

"Yeah. With Sophia."

A beat.

"Sophia?" His voice shifted slightly, still calm, but with that edge that always came right before something sharp. "You’re going there with Sophia?"

"Yes," I said, slowly, trying to decide if this was a conversation I wanted to have or another argument disguised as concern.

"I think I told you I told her. About me. About our... world."

"Maybe," he said. "But that’s not the point."

I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms. "Then what is?"

"You were planning to go without me?"

There it was. That storm beneath the surface. Not rage. Not even jealousy. Something worse.

Disappointment.

Possibly fear.

I didn’t flinch. "Yes. I was. I mean, you’re busy, and I wasn’t sure if there was gonna be a long, extended meeting today again for you. Just wanted to keep time manageable."

Aiden looked away, jaw tightening as he stared out the window. "You think I don’t want to keep things manageable?"

"I think you want to fix things," I said. "And this isn’t something you can fix. This is something I have to see. For myself. For my family."

"And you don’t trust me to go with you?"

"I didn’t say that, Aiden."

He looked back at me. "What does that mean?"

I took a slow breath, letting the air fill my lungs like armour. "It means everything between us is already bleeding from old wounds. I’m trying to walk into a building full of ghosts and legacy without dragging our drama in behind me."

The words lingered between us like fogged glass—transparent yet fragile.

Aiden nodded slowly, the tension in his shoulders a careful wire just barely held in place.

"Oh... I see," he said.

And Viola replied with a "Ooopss... I think he feels hurt."