3. Taking her side

Somehow, I had managed to head back to my room and collapsed on the bed.

A not-so-friend, Alexa Hardey, had invited me to her housewarming pool party a couple of days ago, and although I’d been planning to skip it, I suddenly wanted to go.

Alexa is a friend from Dominic’s social circle and one of the few ladies I fairly get along with, despite her privileged background and the fact that she regards me as a low-level Omega like others.

If she’s throwing a party, that means she's inviting everyone in Dominic's social circle. What better opportunity to meet them all?

Despite dating Dominic for years, I only managed to meet a few of his friends.

He rarely takes me to these elite functions.

I guess the only thing he liked about me is the fact that I reminded him of his ex, Rosie. And he wouldn't mind caging me up just to be able to see the face of his ex-girlfriend whenever he wishes.

Well, this party can be an opportunity to remind myself that I can breathe and exist outside of Dominic.

And I also want to find a little fun for myself too.

Since I'm off work today, I take a quick shower and head out to my favorite boutique.

Shopping first: new jewelry, new heels, new hair.

Then I headed to the jewelry section to get a gift for Alexa Hardey.

The shop attendant was kind enough to help me select a nice, expensive rose-gold bracelet for her, and when I was done and was about to head to the cashier for checkout, she called me back.

“Miss White,” she calls suddenly, “there’s a jewelry reserved under your name.”

I blink. “Reserved? By whom?”

“It arrived this morning: a pair of diamond earrings. It is an exclusively customized design.”

Exclusively customized design?

My father must have sent the earring. It might simply be a quiet, simple gesture from him that points to him forgiving me.

“Thank you,” I tell the attendant, and put the earring on. The diamonds shimmer against my skin, looking strikingly expensive, classy, and very beautiful.

Removing it, I hand it back to the store attendant and have her pack them up. Then I paid for my order and left.

***

I got to the party a few minutes late. The venue was already booming with lots of popular celebrities and wealthy individuals.

It's a pool party, so everyone is mingling by the massive swimming pool.

Surprisingly, I find Dominic in attendance with his ex-girlfriend, Rosie.

It’s unbelievable that my boyfriend refused to tell or invite me to Alexa's party, but went ahead to invite his ex-girlfriend.

I can't help but notice the flattering jewelry piece on Rosie’s neck; it’s a twin to the one Dominic got for me when we just started dating.

So, he's making us twin with jewelry now?

Unbelievable.

Alexa waves as she walks over to meet me, a fake smile plastered across her face. “Oh, there you are, Jess, you made it!”

"Hi, Alexa," we get into an awkward hug. “I'm sorry I’m late. Congratulations on your new home.”

“Thank you,” she replies, “You look so good.”

I'm wearing a dress my friend, Allister Blackwaters, got for me on my last birthday I spent at Silver-Valley Pack.

I've never thought I would ever wear such a dress in Westwood Pack because the dress doesn't just look exquisite, it is very expensive! And who would believe a low-level Omega like me can afford such a dress?

But since I no longer care to pretend, I figured this would be the first step to announcing the new me.

"Thanks, Alexa," I reply with a genuine smile as my gaze wanders to Dominic, who is now walking towards me with his arm resting possessively on Rosie's waist.

As he approaches us, he quickly retracts his arm from her waist as if he just realized it's been there all along.

Rosie’s expression freezes. She was obviously not expecting him to do that.

Alexa shifts uncomfortably. I have a feeling she only invited me out of courtesy. And since I am dating the Alpha, she wanted to be in my good books. Who knows what tomorrow will hold?

But seeing that Rosie is back, might have caused her to regret extending the invitation.

“Jess," Dominic calls, his ironic smile making him look more stupid than I thought possible. "What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Alexa invited me to her housewarming party." I reply, keeping my voice breezy, despite the storm brewing inside me."

“You didn’t mention you got an invitation. I had no idea you were coming.”

I smile, “Is my presence bothering you?”

He shifts a bit, away from Rosie, flashing an uneasy smile. “Of course not. This is Rosie, an old friend.”

Rosie stiffens momentarily before she smiles at me. “You must be the Omega doctor Dominic mentioned. Well, it's nice to meet you. I am Rosie. Alpha Dominic and I are very close since we were young.” She asks, turning to Dominic, who spares an uneasy glance my way before nodding.

Alexa seems to sense the unease between us, so she clears her throat and attempts to smooth things over by changing the topic and diverting everyone's attention to the gift bag I was holding.

“Jess, is this your gift for me? Can I see?”

I smile and hand it over: “Yes, I hope you like it.”

Alexa hurriedly opens it, and everyone is left in shock.

"The bracelet is so beautiful, I've never seen anything like it before,” Alexa exclaims. “Is it a real Bitton piece? Must go for around $5k.”

Her excitement is suddenly cut off by Rosie’s sharp voice. She tsks. “Isn't it fake?”

Hearing the price of the bracelet I got for Alexa, Dominic snorts, clearly doubting the possibility.

“Jess, you can’t afford jewelry of such an amount. Buying fake jewelry to show off or trying to feel among is crazy.” He turns to Alexa and stretches out his hand towards the gift, wearing an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about this. Jess has never been like this. I don't understand what got into her. I apologize on her behalf for getting you a fake. Just give it to me, I’ll replace it with something original before the end of tomorrow.”

But Alexa shakes her head, waving him off. "It's fine, Alpha. We can't really fault her. I guess this is the one she can afford. I'll just keep it.”

I can't believe any of this is happening. This is ridiculous! I slap Dominic's outstretched hand away.

“My gift is not fake!”

My father unfroze my accounts yesterday. That bracelet barely put a dent in my credit limit.

“Jess," Dominic bites out in between clenched teeth. "Please don’t make a scene at someone else’s party. You barely make enough money from your job at the hospital. So, there is no way you can afford the real thing."

Rosie murmurs in agreement as her eyes fix on the dazzling bracelet that shines even brighter than the one she's putting on.

“Exactly," she adds, her voice reeking of jealousy. "You don't need to pressure yourself. No one would blame you if you didn’t bring a gift. We all know you are poor.”

Tired of the back and forth, I dip a hand into my purse, pull out the bracelet receipt, and hand it over to Dominic.

“This should clear your doubts.”

Dominic stares incredulously at the receipt. He still can't believe it. “How did you…”

“Do you still have anything to say?" I asked in a sarcastic tone. "Are the figures blurry?”

An embarrassed Dominic shakes his head. “If you had the receipt all along, why didn’t you show it earlier?”

Rosie huffs and snatches the receipt from him. Her eyes widen as she reads the numbers on the piece of paper.

“This is so unbelievable. You actually bought this? You must have done something shady for the money. I can't believe you would dabble in shady business just for showoff. How can you embarrass the Alpha like this?”

A voice murmurs in support. Only then did I realize that our little exchange had gathered an audience.

Alexa looks apologetically at Dominic and Rosie. She taps Rosie gently on the arm and says something that I don't make out because I tuned them out once my gaze meets that of Dominic.

He's staring at me, and probably wondering what it is about me that has changed.

Well, for one, I have no plans of watching him humiliate me in front of his ex-girlfriend.

Seething with frustration and anger from whatever Alexa said to her, Rosie downed her glass of alcohol in one gulp, her eyes shooting daggers at me.

I decide to ignore her and focus on celebrating the celebrant, who is now guiding her guests to a seat and having the waiters refill everyone’s drinks.

Later, when the music stopped, and people gathered around the pool to listen to Alexa give a speech, Rosie surprisingly appeared beside me, champagne in hand, wearing a very fake smile.

“I didn’t mean to upset you earlier,” she says softly, catching me by surprise. “But I do think you should think twice before upsetting someone like me. Not everyone is… forgiving.”

Is she being serious right now?

Forgiving?

When I did absolutely nothing wrong.

“You should take your own advice,” I reply, sipping my drink.

Her smile sharpened. “I was hoping you'd be smart, but I guess your brain is as poor as your bank account.”

I was just wondering where she gets the confidence to say that.

She suddenly grabs my wrist.

At first, I think she is losing her balance.

But before I realise what is happening, her heel slips again. Instead of letting me go, her hand tightens on my arm, yanking me forward with her.

The world tilts.

Cold water slams into my body.

The fabric of my dress drags me down, clinging to my skin. My vision blurs.

I can't swim. Dominic knows this. Dear moon goddess, save me.

I scream and thrash in panic, and water starts to flood my lungs.

Is this how it ends?

“Dominic-!”

My throat burns raw from my futile attempts to scream.

Then I notice as someone dives into the pool.

He comes.

It's Dominic. He's coming to save me.

But he swims straight past me.

Straight to Rosie.

I watch helplessly when he wraps Rosie protectively into his arm and pulls them upward to the edge.

He doesn’t even spare me a glance.

The hope inside me shatters.

My movements slow as water fills my lungs. Every breath burns like fire.

They’re really going to let me die.

Just before everything goes black, something surges inside me.

My wolf, Arina, finally answers. She is furious, distant, but she is mine.

With a savage pull, she forces my body to move, dragging me through the water inch by inch until my fingers finally find the edge.

I haul myself out, collapsing onto the cold stone.

My heavy dress clings to me and my makeup is completely ruined.

I shiver violently, my teeth clattering uncontrollably.

And I see him.

Dominic is kneeling on the other side of the pool. He has wrapped a towel around Rosie’s shoulders. His hands are gentle as he dries her hair and his face shows deep concern.

It feels like the whole world has abandoned me as I stand all alone, frozen and isolated.

Rosie looks up and sees me. She points at me accusingly, “You pushed me!”

For a heartbeat, I thought I misheard. But she’s still pointing at me, “She pushed me into the pool!” she repeated. “I was just trying to apologise for misunderstanding her, and she attacked me!”

Gasps, murmurs fill the poolside.

Dominic turns to me, blazing with anger, “Why are you so evil and bitter? I can't believe I'm only noticing the real you right now. How could you? How could you push Rosie into the pool?”

What?