Chapter 2: Stress Eating

I sat on the edge of my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest, staring at nothing.

An open tub of chocolate ice cream had melted beside me, next to a half-empty box of cold fries and greasy fried chicken. I wasn’t even hungry. I just needed something… anything to fill the huge, aching hole in my chest.

My swollen eyes drifted to the framed photo on my nightstand.

It was taken at the top of the Burj Khalifa. Jake had insisted we stay until sunset, saying he wanted to watch the city light up with me. Later that night we wandered through the Dubai Mall, eating ridiculously expensive chocolate-covered strawberries while he laughed and wiped melted chocolate off my nose.

I smiled through my tears.

It had been my twenty-second birthday. Jake surprised me with the whole trip. I still remembered him blindfolding me on the way to the airport, whispering “Happy birthday, sweetheart” like it was our little secret.

I had cried that day too, but those were happy tears. We spent three beautiful days together. He took me shopping even when I told him I didn’t need anything. We stayed out until midnight, laughing over desserts and ending the night dancing by the Dubai Fountain.

For those few days, I hadn’t felt like the awkward, skinny girl with glasses. I forgot every cruel comment I’d ever heard. With Jake, I actually felt beautiful.

A shaky laugh slipped out, quickly turning into a sob as another memory hit me.

A man had brushed his hand across my waist in the Gold Souk. Jake didn’t buy the “accident” story for a second. He punched him right in the face.

“Keep your hands off my woman,” he’d growled.

I’d felt so safe standing behind him. Protected. Loved. Cherished.

A tear dropped onto the photograph as my smile faded. That Jake didn’t exist anymore.

“I can’t lose you,” I whispered, clutching the frame to my chest. “I love you too much. What am I supposed to do without you? If only I hadn’t gained all this weight… if only I wasn’t so fat… maybe things could go back to how they were.”

A knock sounded on my door. I barely had time to wipe my face before it swung open.

Mom stopped in the doorway. Her eyes landed on the ice cream, then the fries, then the chicken.

“Lillian!” Her voice was sharp. “Have you lost your mind?”

She marched in and snatched the tub of ice cream off the bed. “Aren’t you big enough already?”

I looked down. “Mom…”

“I don’t want to hear it.” She held up the box of fries like it was evidence. “This is exactly why you’ve gotten this big. You promised me you’d stay in shape.”

Her gaze swept over me, heavy with disappointment. “How do you expect to keep a man like Jake if you keep stuffing yourself with junk?”

I swallowed hard. The truth was, I was broken. Some people drank. Some partied. Me? I ate. Not because I was hungry, but because for a few minutes, the food drowned out the pain. It wasn’t what I needed, but it was the only thing that made the ache feel bearable.

Mom shoved everything back into the takeaway bags.

“Don’t let me catch you doing this again.” She paused at the door. “And wipe those tears. Crying won’t make you any thinner.”

The door clicked shut behind her.

She hadn’t asked why I was crying. She hadn’t asked if I was okay. She didn’t care that my eyes were swollen from hours of sobbing. All she saw was the food. All she cared about was my weight.

“Lillian!”

Abigail’s cheerful voice floated in as she stepped inside wearing a new cream-colored dress. Her blonde hair fell in perfect waves. She looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine.

Then she saw my face. “Oh, Lillian…” She frowned. “What happened?”

Her eyes drifted to the food containers. “Oh.”

Understanding my situation, she took a sit beside me.

“Stress eating is the worst thing you can do right now, you know. It raises cortisol, which makes losing weight even harder.”

She sighed dramatically. “And tomorrow is the mating ceremony.” She pinched my cheek. “Imagine your poor mate trying to find you under all those extra pounds.”

She giggled. Mom laughed along with her. I forced a smile. Inside, my heart was breaking.

Abigail had already found her mate at the first ceremony, Alpha Samuel, a young CEO under the Denzel Industries umbrella. She was everything I wasn’t: blonde, blue-eyed, slender, effortlessly elegant. Standing next to her always made me feel like the universe had made a mistake putting us in the same family.

“Enough crying,” Mom said, tossing a brand-new skipping rope onto my bed. “You need to lose some weight before tomorrow. You’re going to be the biggest girl at that ceremony. We can’t afford to lose Jake because you refuse to control yourself.”

Abigail laughed. “Mom, one hour isn’t going to do much.”

“Then she’ll exercise until tomorrow,” Mom replied, her expression hardening.

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“You heard me.” She pointed toward the door. “I don’t care if you have to run all night. Get changed. You have five minutes to meet me at the training field.”

****

The skipping rope slapped against the ground again and again. My legs burned. Sweat soaked through my shirt, clinging to every curve I hated.

I’d been at it for two hours now. Mom had only given me five-minute breaks before shoving the rope back into my hands. She wasn’t joking, she really planned to keep me out here until sunrise.

“Don’t stop!” she barked.

“Mom… please…” I gasped, lungs burning.

“Keep going!”

My hands shook. The world started tilting. Black spots appeared in my vision. My stomach lurched. I dropped the rope and doubled over, throwing up everything I’d eaten earlier.

Tears streamed down my face as I coughed on my knees.

Mom looked down at me in disgust. “Hmph. Even your stomach is sick of how much you eat.”

She didn’t move to help. Didn’t ask if I was okay.

“Get up.”

“I… I’m dizzy…” I cried.

“Get up!” she snapped. “You’re really going to embarrass yourself while your sister found a good Alpha and you’re about to lose Jake? Pathetic.”

I tried. I planted one foot on the ground, but my knees buckled. I got so dizzy, the field spun.

The last thing I felt was a pair of strong arms catching me before I hit the ground.