CHAPTER 5

He had always shared everything with his parents, even if he claimed he could handle things himself. So he told his father every detail of what happened.

“I was going to ask Uncle Mack for help, but I accidentally called Lucian instead. How annoying,” Rayne muttered.

His father leaned back, fingers interlaced as he thought.

“I can see you’ve started to trust your date. So… what do you think about marrying him?”

“Well, yes. I’ll get married since everyone in the university is talking about me anyway,” Rayne admitted.

Hearing that, his father immediately picked up his phone and dialed someone. The moment Rayne heard the name Mack, he knew it was his uncle,Uncle Mack, the genius hacker who could uncover anything within seconds.

His father stood up and left the office, leaving Rayne seated and glancing around.

After a while, his father returned,with his mother and Uncle Mack.

Rayne quickly stood up and rushed to hug his uncle. Even though Uncle Mack was an alpha, Rayne never felt uncomfortable around him. He was like a second father to Rayne.

When Rayne was younger and his parents went on dates, Uncle Mack always kept him company. He had been single back then,and still was.

People said Uncle Mack had unique taste. He liked much older omegas. He even had a boyfriend once and they were supposed to get married… but something happened, and that omega left him.

Now Uncle Mack was alone, despite being so handsome. With his blue hair and matching eyes, he looked like a perfectly sculpted doll.

Rayne always wondered why he didn’t choose an omega to settle down with again.

“I heard what happened. Don’t worry, my nephew, everything’s going to be fine,” Uncle Mack said gently.

He sat on the sofa, placed his laptop on the table, and started examining the photos posted in the university group.

Rayne sat beside him. His mother touched his shoulder to comfort him, and he held her hand with a faint smile.

“Rayne, can you recognize this place in the background?” Uncle Mack asked.

Rayne leaned closer. The photo showed a swimming pool and a luxurious surrounding…But he had never been to any place like that. He was a good omega,he could proudly say that.

“No, Uncle. I’ve never even been to a party, let alone a place like this,” Rayne replied.

Uncle Mack nodded and continued typing, his expression serious. Rayne leaned back on the sofa and noticed the worried expressions on his parents’ faces,even Uncle Mack seemed tense.

Meanwhile, he was the only one sitting calmly, his face blank, as if none of this bothered him. Oh God, he really needed to be more serious in life.

Yesterday his first love betrayed him… and here he was, acting like nothing was wrong.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but whenever he thought about it too much, he felt like crying.

“Guys, look! I found the original image,” Uncle Mack said suddenly.

Rayne quickly leaned in. The photo showed someone else sitting with those men,not him. His face had simply been edited onto it. It looked so real that for a moment, even Rayne had doubted himself.

“Who is this?” he muttered, frowning.

“I and your dad will handle this matter,” Uncle Mack said firmly. “Why don’t you go with your mom and get some fresh air?”

Rayne nodded and stood. His mother walked out with him, but the moment they stepped outside, Rayne froze. Lucian was standing there, waiting.

“What are you doing here?” Rayne asked, surprised.

Lucian smiled easily as he said, “Auntie called me here. She said Rayne’s been feeling down lately, so I came. It’s my responsibility to keep him happy, after all.”

Rayne blinked at him, confused by whatever he was spouting. And more importantly, why did his mom call Lucian here in the first place? When Rayne turned to look at her, she was smiling proudly, clearly pleased with herself. She looked happy about what she did. But Rayne was definitely not happy to see Lucian here.

“Mom must’ve called you by mistake,” Rayne said flatly. “You can go back now. When we get married, then you can come see me. Until then, don’t.”

Before he could even blink, his mom smacked his shoulder. It actually hurt.

“Behave yourself!” she scolded.

Then she turned to Lucian, her tone instantly softening. “Lucian, you seem perfectly fine now. I did hear you used to hate omegas, so I was a little worried things between you two wouldn’t work out. But it seems my son changed you, didn’t he?”

Rayne was shocked. What? Lucian hated omegas? Since when? Because when Lucian met Rayne, he didn’t show even a hint of disgust or discomfort, not toward Rayne, not toward his pheromones, nothing.

“At some point, I needed to move on from everything,” Lucian said calmly. “It’s already time for me to get married. And I don’t hate Rayne at all.”

Hearing that, Rayne’s mom’s face lit up. She hugged Lucian with a bright smile, looking like she just won a lottery. Meanwhile, Rayne stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at Lucian like he’d committed a crime.

Rayne shot him the sharpest side-eye he could manage. He wanted Lucian to feel guilty, even if Lucian hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Still, Lucian came here to Rayne’s company. With whose permission? Did Rayne call him? No. So technically, he had no right to show up here.

“Auntie,” Lucian said politely, “I told my parents that I’m ready to marry Rayne. They’re very happy and want to meet you.”

Rayne’s mom nodded instantly, her smile widening. Of course she did. Lucian was the son of her best friend. No wonder she was happy. Honestly, Rayne doubted their families even needed to “meet.” They probably talked every day, discussing whether their sons were starting to like each other or not.

And then, she actually sent Rayne with him. Like, seriously? It hadn’t even been two days since Rayne met this man, and his mom just handed him over to a random alpha like he was a parcel. So sad. His mom had changed. She didn’t love him anymore. She didn’t care.

Lucian’s voice snapped Rayne out of his tragic inner monologue.

“Hey, what are you thinking while staring at the sky? Are you rehearsing for a drama?” Lucian asked as he opened the car door.