7

Pearl Gem

For what seemed like an eternity, His Majesty stood at the doorstep, silent, unmoving.

I kept my head bowed, but I could feel his gaze. Heavy. Burning. His presence pressed down on me like a weight I’d tried so hard to forget.

“You cut your long hair,” He finally said.

That voice. That same deep, commanding voice that once stole my breath and everything I had held dear. It curled around me like smoke, dangerous, intoxicating, familiar.

Slowly, I straightened to meet his eyes. Those golden eyes that once looked at me like I was nothing… now searched me with something else. Disappointment? Regret? I couldn’t tell. Either way, it didn’t matter.

That hair was a relic. He liked it, so I had to let it go. It was my first act of defiance, of freedom.

I couldn’t hold his gaze long. Nor could I ignore the soft, expensive scent of his cologne, rich, dark, and devastatingly familiar. It threatened to reveal memories I had buried deep.

I glanced behind him. His motorcade gleamed under the night sky, his Beta and guards standing in rigid silence. And around them, the shadows of peering Omegas, eyes wide, lips whispering, watching. What was His Majesty doing in the ghetto?

“May I come in?” His voice cane again and it was low, almost… polite.

Not how I expected him to be.

I looked at him, suspicious. Was this a trick? But there was no mockery in his tone. No arrogance in his eyes. Something was… different. That old, unbearable pride he used to wear like armor was gone. And that unsettled me more than anything.

I didn’t speak. I simply opened the door wider and stepped aside.

He walked past me, his steps echoing down the dim hallway. I followed in silence until we reached the living room.

He stopped in the very center, on the same spot where my mother had drawn her last breath.

I watched him, cold and unmoving, wishing I had the power to strike him down right there.

“You have changed,” He said, quietly.

I forced myself to meet his eyes again. There was something too soft in his voice, something too tender and I hated it.

“Why are you here?” I asked, my tone sharp and stripped of anything warm.

He needed to know I wasn’t that naive Omega he once toyed with. I had learned. The world had taught me in the cruelest ways.

He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes stayed locked on me, unreadable. Then, finally, he spoke.

“You are angry,” He said. “I deserve it. I was bad. I used you… to make someone jealous. My lover. I wanted her to come back to me. To make a statement and I used you..”

He looked away for a moment, jaw tightening.

“Do you want an apology?”

His words hit me like a blade to the chest, clean and cruel. But the pain wasn’t fresh. It had been festering for five years. What struck me wasn’t just the confession, but the casualness of it. Like the destruction of my life had been a side effect. Collateral damage.

The air turned razor sharp between us. He waited for a response, but none came.

Then the sound of the front door opening cut through the tension.

“Pearl, I saw the cars of…” Royce’s voice faltered as he stepped into the living room and saw our guest. His expression turned grim. His jaw tightened as his gaze met Kade’s. We had both suffered from the aftermath of His Majesty’s games.

“Your Majesty,” Royce said stiffly, bowing with visible restraint. Then he turned to me. “The dinner’s ready. You should come over.”

I nodded gently, reassuring him without words.

“I will be right behind you.”

“Alright.” He lingered for a breath longer before walking out.

As silence settled again, Kade King turned to me with a strange look.

“I didn’t know you moved on,” He said. “After everything… after you left the castle that night. Was it then?”

His voice was low, but something in it simmered, something tight and possessive.

I looked at him slowly. That flicker in his eyes… wait, was it… jealousy?

“You speak as if what we had was something real, Your Majesty,” I said, my voice cold, clipped.

He stare at me now and then smirked, the corner of his lips twitching upward and I’d swear… Moon Goddess help me… he was still sinfully beautiful. And I hated that my heart fluttered in spite of everything.

“Was that why you entered a real relationship with him?” He asked, his voice taut now, the jealousy no longer veiled.

The fire in his eyes, this time possessive, dark, nearly stole my breath. I swallowed the rising tremor in my chest.

“I owe you no explanation, Your Majesty.” I said flatly.

Silence followed. He nodded once, jaw tight, and took a step toward me. I didn’t move.

His steps were slow, deliberate, filled with a quiet tension that made every nerve in my body scream but then, he reached into his coat and pulled out his phone.

My breath hitched, caught off guard.

“Your contact,” He said.

The words were simple, his tone unreadable.

For a moment, I just stared. Then, carefully, I took the phone from his hand, making sure not to touch him, and typed in my number. I handed it back with a steady hand.

He turned and walked toward the door, but paused at the threshold. His voice, when it came, was calm, but it echoed through the house like thunder.

“We never got closure, Omega. Five years ago… we ended wrong. I want you back.”

A pause.

“This time, I’m claiming you for myself.”

And just like that… he left.

No glance back. No further explanation. Just silence.

I stood frozen, the weight of his words anchoring me in place. Slowly, as if in a trance, I moved to the window. I watched him step into his car, the door closing behind him, and his convoy rolling away beneath the black velvet sky.

My heart thundered in my chest.

Confused. Unmoored. Angry.

What game is he playing now?