Chapter 4

Loretta's POV

No one at the company knew Zane and I were mates.

I didn't answer Josephine. She said impatiently, "Fine. I'll arrange for someone to take over your work."

"Finish the financial analysis for New Crest before lunch."

Even after I had been demoted to the lowest position in the office, Josephine kept dumping work on me that wasn't mine. I had always accepted it all.

But I knew none of it would make Zane look at me twice.

I completed the analysis, then gave Josephine both the digital file and a printed copy. After that, I ordered lunch for delivery.

I didn't want to go anywhere crowded. I couldn't stand people staring at my swollen body.

A few coworkers returned from lunch, talking excitedly as they entered the office.

"Alpha Zane's girlfriend is so young. Is she still in college?"

"Probably. She's gorgeous. She looks like a doll. And you can tell by the way she carries herself that she comes from some rich, important family."

"Did you see the way Alpha Zane looked at her? He was so gentle. I never knew such a stern, cold Alpha had a romantic side. It was like something out of a novel."

They noticed me at my desk as they passed.

I stiffened under their gazes.

My phone rang at just the right moment. It was the delivery driver, so I got up to meet him downstairs.

As I left the office, I clearly heard their scornful laughter.

Then one of them muttered, "She looks like a pig."

I walked faster.

When I reached the lobby, I saw two restaurant employees asking the receptionist for directions. One carried a bottle of wine worth about $2 million.

$2 million was nothing to someone as powerful as Alpha Zane. He could make that much in less than a minute.

I carried my greasy-smelling pizza upstairs.

At two that afternoon, Josephine came to my desk.

"The CEO wants to see you," she said coldly.

My stomach dropped. My wolf sensed danger.

She was right.

The moment I reached the door to the CEO's office, the suffocating presence of a top Alpha rolled over me. My wolf cowered inside me.

I stopped in front of his desk and lowered my head. "Alpha Zane."

Zane looked up, his handsome face hard and flawless.

He raised a thick stack of papers and hurled them at my face.

"This is your idea of an analysis?"

The sharp edge of an A4 sheet scraped my cheek, leaving a sting behind.

I stared at the papers scattered around my feet. It was the report I had prepared that morning.

Supporting my high belly with one hand, I struggled to bend down and gather the pages.

I could feel him looking down at me with utter contempt.

I checked the report carefully and spotted several numbers that were wrong.

I fought to keep my voice from shaking. "Alpha Zane, this isn't the report I prepared."

"Enough. I don't want your excuses. If you can't do the job, there are plenty of people who can."

I gripped the papers until my fingertips turned white.

Zane knew what I was capable of. It wasn't that he refused to hear my defense. He simply didn't care about the truth. He was content to let me take the blame.

To be hated this much by the mate I loved was both tragic and ridiculous.

I drew a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I forced myself to meet his gaze.

"I kept a backup. I can send it to you right now. You can decide whether to reprimand me after you read it."

Zane narrowed his black eyes. Violent anger flared in them.

My whole body tensed.

As an Omega, I was instinctively afraid of Alphas, especially when Zane's face turned cold. In the past, I hadn't dared argue with him at all.

But now I forced myself to stay calm. He would reject me as his mate soon. I would leave, exactly as he wanted. I would never set foot here again, and I expected nothing more from him.

What was there left to fear?

"You feel wronged?" His voice was as sharp as chips of ice, thick with mockery.

I stared into his cold eyes. My nails dug into my palms, and my voice grew stronger.

"You blamed me without asking what happened. Don't I have the right to prove the truth?"

Zane's face went completely dark. His dominant Alpha aura exploded through the room.

"You deserved it! If you can't take it, get out!"

The words struck my heart like a blow. Agony ripped through the mating bond, and the blood drained from my face.

Just then, the door to the private lounge opened quietly.

A girl stepped out in a pink silk slip. Her long hair shone gold against luminous skin, and her beautiful features held my gaze.

Dark red love bites covered her pale neck.

"Zane..."

Her voice was soft and warm as a spring breeze.

At last, I saw her face clearly. She was so beautiful that I felt ashamed of my own appearance.

I had looked at her for only a second when Zane's icy shout hit my ears.

"Get out!"