Rebecca

Rebecca

“No!” I screamed, my voice shattering the tension in the dining room. “I will not marry him!”

My father's hand holding the teacup froze halfway to his lips. My stepmother gasped audibly, her hand flying to her chest like I’d just slapped her.

I had never disagreed with them before. Not since my mother's death.

“I will not marry a cripple!” I shouted, hating myself the moment the words left my mouth, but I was unable to stop. “I won’t be paraded around as a pitiful charity case. I’d rather live the rest of my life alone than be tied to someone who can’t even fucking walk!”

My breath came in sharp bursts. My heart was thundering louder than before. But it was not because I was scared.

I was mad.

“You ungrateful brat!” my stepmother spat, rounding the table so fast her apron flared behind her. “The Alpha King is offering you salvation, and you dare to throw it in his face?”

“I don’t need saving!” I snapped back, shaking. “I need my freedom! I want to revive my mother’s company. I’ve studied her notes, I know her contacts, I can rebuild what she left behind—”

“You’re delusional,” my father said, setting his cup down with a soft but evil smile. “Do you think anyone in this world will take you seriously? You have no power. No mark. You are nothing.”

I stared at my father with a strong hate in my heart.

“Why me?” I asked coldly, keeping my eyes fixed on him. “If the Alpha King’s proposal is such a divine blessing, why not offer Amanda instead?”

That wiped the smirk right off my stepsister’s face.

“She’s beautiful, she’s perfect, she’s everything I’m not, isn’t she?” I continued voicing out the anger inside me. “Why not tie your precious reputation to her instead of sending the cursed whore to marry a crippled king?”

The slap came so fast I didn’t see it coming.

My head swapped sideways with the hard hit.

The room spun for a second.

“You insolent little bitch,” my father growled, “You will marry him, or I’ll make sure you rot in the lowest Omega sector for the rest of your miserable life.”

My eyes felt sore with unshed tears. I bit my lip and turned away, holding my injury where my back still hurt from yesterday’s lashes.

“Rebecca,” my father called after me.

I froze, hand already on the doorknob. My fingers trembled at his next words.

“If you don't get married to him, I’ll make sure you lose every right to your mother’s company.”

I found it hard to breathe with my breath caught in my throat.

He knew.

He fucking knew how much it meant to me. He knew that was the only thing keeping me sane in this prison of a house.

And now he was threatening to burn it all to ash.

I didn’t turn around. But I spoke.

“You can erase my name from the papers,” I said quietly. “But you will never erase what she left in me. I am her legacy.”

With that, I opened the door and stepped out of the house.

I had one place left to go. One person I knew would understand. My boyfriend, Richard.

I reached his house and used the spare key he’d given me. Going inside, I was met with silence and the faint scent of citrus, his scent.

The bed was a mess of tangled sheets and I could hear the sound of running water echo faintly from the adjoining bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

‘I need him. Just one second of peace.’

Just then, his phone, lying carelessly on the dresser, lit up with an incoming call.

I blinked.

The contact name was: “My True Love”.

My heart skipped.

Wait…That wasn’t me.

I stared at the screen for a while before deciding to pick it up.

“Hello?” I said carefully.

There was a pause. Then a familiar, honey-slick voice purred through the speaker, sending a chill down my spine.

“Hey, babe,” said Amanda. “Do you miss me already?”

My heart dropped.

I stared at the phone in my hand, confused, as if it had suddenly turned into a snake.

Before I could react, I felt the phone being dragged out of my hands.

“What the hell are you doing?” Richard barked, nothing like the warmth I had come here for. He ended the call without hesitation and threw the phone onto the bed.

I rose to my feet slowly, my entire body trembling. “Was that… Amanda?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and stepped back, avoiding my gaze.

“Answer me,” I said, louder this time. “Were you cheating on me?”

His jaw clenched. Then, with a careless shrug, he muttered, “Yeah.”

I blinked, thinking I misheard him. “What?”

He finally looked at me, and the worst part was that there wasn’t a bit of regret in his eyes. “Yes Rebecca I fucked Amanda last night.”

My knees nearly gave out.

He crossed his arms with his face hard. “What did you expect, Rebecca? You’re just a worthless omega.”

I stared at him, stunned, trying to find a piece of the man I thought I loved. But there was nothing left in his eyes. No guilt. No remorse.

He took a step forward, his voice lowering with venom. “Amanda is everything you’re not. She’s marked. Powerful. Desirable. You? You’re just the girl I pitied.”

“Did you even love me?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer. There was no need.

I nodded slowly, tears hanging in the corners of my eyes but refusing to fall.

“You’re right,” I said, backing away. “I am nothing. But not for long.”

He scoffed. “What the hell does that mean?”

I lifted my head as I took one last look at the man I once believed would fight the world for me.

“It means,” I said, already deciding, “that I’m going to marry the crippled Alpha King.”