Chapter 2: He Loves Her

~Aria's POV~

My legs had gone numb, as if the floor was going to swallow them whole if only I wiggle them a little bit.

Girl who beat me until I vomited blood, who inserted cigarettes in my skin, who made sure that the kids knew I was a lying cheating whore who spreads her legs for every man who has a higher rank than me.

And here she is with him.

"Vanessa, you're such a beautiful person," Adrian almost whispered.

The words cut me deeper as every syllable twisted and turned until they all impaled in my heart.

"He loves her."

I should run. Grab whatever dignity I had left and storm off before someone kicks me in the ass and tells me to remember I'm here, gaping and silly as an omega with a disorder.

"The Omega bitch is a disappointment," Vanessa says, almost uncertain. "Have you popped her cherry yet?"

I think I'm being pushed. Maybe by the air around me.

With pride in his voice, Adrian replied, "Not yet, but Aria accepted the offer. Next Saturday. I have a set up."

My stomach churns. "Set up?"

Vanessa laughs delightedly, announcing the news, "Good! I've been waiting for this for a long time now. We had fun fighting her, but it's getting boring. I need something more exciting."

"I understand what you mean," said Adrian quietly. "Whatever makes you happy, princess." He kissed her temple lightly.

"Oh Goddess no," I gasp, heart skipping a beat.

"I can tell you that," said Vanessa in exceptionally harsh tone. "I want to kill her. I wish whenever she walks these halls, everybody witnessed her worse. I wish no one was there to help her wretched existence."

My eyes water from the warmth and anger of the tears cascading down my cheeks. It was never about love or care. My entire existence had been a horror show for me.

"So what is your plan?" asked Vanessa with a grumbling voice. "I wanna hear."

"I plan to first have dinner in a small restaurant in the edge of the town," replied Adrian. "That restaurant has private rooms, so I'll get her to order 'sujo' - tell her it's sparkling apple juice because she's so nervous and never had any sujo. She has to believe whatever I say. She'll be too drunk to make any scene."

Adrian's smile was a knife in my ribs.

"After she's drunk, I'll take her to my house. My parents are away for few days so it'll be no problem. I have a few brothers who owe me a favor. Mason, Carter, and Blake. They should be more than happy to give me a small favour."

My knees almost buckled after hearing this, but I gripped the wall instead to steady myself. "They're going to...."

"Don't tell me, babe, you're going to do group work with her?" Vanessa's voice was delighted. "Amazing!! I can't even imagine this....Can I see it live...please." She politely begged him.

"No, I'll take pictures for you from every angle," Adrian murmured, "and a video if we can get it. We'll strip her naked completely so everyone can see how much this little Omega whore wanted."

"She will give you whatever you ask for," Vanessa pointed out. "She'll be too drunk to know what's happening with her."

"I imagined even better." Adrian chuckled. "We'll put her in the perfect position to capture photos from every angle. Then, the next morning, when she wakes up, those pictures will be all over the school in every computer and every website. Her drunk face, naked body, legs spread wide...It's gonna be fun."

"Enough." My voice was barely a whisper, but the word still lingered in the air. They didn't seem to notice.

"...I want every photo blown up as large as possible. We'll plaster them all over every hallway and every bathroom. No matter where she goes, she'll be forced to look at them."

"The teachers will probably remove them sooner or later-"

"By then, it'll be too late. Everyone will have already seen them. Everyone will know exactly who she is." Vanessa's voice dripped with satisfaction. "She'll never be able to show her face again. She'll leave the pack in shame. And if she doesn't, I'll make sure every single day becomes unbearable until she finally does."

The venom dripped from her voice, the satisfaction she felt at the prospect of ruining my life...

Something inside me snapped.

Not a little piece, but everything. It was as if a sledgehammer had crushed my heart into many tiny pieces.

Everything I thought.

All the gentle words Adrian whispered to my ear.

All the moments I thought made me feel safe.

It was all a farce.

A well-thought plan to lure me here... and make me the laughingstock of the pack.

He had never loved me. Never cared what happened to me. Never intended to protect me. He was only a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"When do I get to see them?" Vanessa asked. "The photos?"

"As soon as it's done," replied Adrian. "You'll be the first. I'll send them to you before anyone else."

"You're sweet." Her voice was smooth and teasing. "Maybe if everything goes according to plan, I'll think about accepting you as my mate. Would you like that?"

"More than anything," said Adrian.

The longing in his voice was almost enough to make me feel a little sorry for him...if my heart wasn't so broken.

"Then don't disappoint me," Vanessa says coldly. "I want that pathetic little bitch completely destroyed."

"I won't," said Adrian. "By next Monday, Aria Smith will wish she'd never existed."

His words settled in my heart like a lead weight. A fiery rage burned within me, threatening to consume everything.

How could they do this to me? How could they humiliate me, hurt me, ruin my life? I had taken the punches Vanessa threw at me, the insults, the torture. But this...this was too much. And suddenly, I didn't want to be silent and obedient anymore. I wanted to scream, to run up to them and tear the smug look right off Vanessa's face. To make Adrian feel even half the pain he made me feel.

But I couldn't. Not really.

Because I was an Omega. And they were the pack's elite. No one would listen to me.

If I accused them, Vanessa would only sneer at me, tell me to stop harassing her. Adrian would probably punish me for insubordination. I was helpless, utterly and completely at their mercy.

"Why do you despise her so much?" asked Adrian, almost amused by the question himself.

There was a long pause before Vanessa responded, her voice clipped with irritation.

"Because she refuses to bend."

There was a beat of silence.

"She's an Omega with chocolate brown hair and green eyes, as if she's worthy of them, and no matter what I do, she does not plead for forgiveness in front of me. She simply...endures."

Her voice grew harder. "That's not obedience. That's the opposite of obedience. I refuse to tolerate it."

My hands shook, my whole body trembling.

"And there is also another thing," said Vanessa. "She is near Alpha heir, Kieran."

"I saw the way he looks at her," spat Vanessa. "As if she's someone he wants to protect. It makes me sick. That Omega has no right to take his attention away from me."

She actually thought I was trying to win Kieran's heart.

The idea was so ludicrous, if this wasn't such a horrible situation, I would have laughed.

All I felt was heartbreak and an overwhelming sense of irritation.

Kieran had left for overseas studies two years ago, and I was his personal maid until the day he left. Unlike the others, he actually treated me as a human being. He talked to me often and acted friendly towards me.

We became close, in a way.

But it was only friendship. He never tried to court me, so I never expected him to. He was the Alpha's heir, after all, and I was a lowly Omega. The pack hierarchy ensured that I would always be beneath him.

Perhaps Vanessa was so jealous that she couldn't see reason.

"When this is over," Vanessa said venomously, "Kieran won't even spare her a second glance. No one will. She'll be nothing but a laughingstock."

It was all too much. My vision blurred as I tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall, but nothing could stop the feeling of panic that clawed at my throat. I couldn't stay here, not a second longer.

I had to get out of here, out of the pack, out of the academy, before it was Friday and all of this happened.

I would transfer tonight.

I would disappear before they had the chance to destroy me.

I kept my movements quiet as I turned to where the mop and bucket were.

But as I did, my foot caught on the stupid nameplate that was beside the door.

BOOM!

The sound rang through the empty corridor like thunder.

"What was that?" Vanessa snapped.

Footsteps neared and my heart pounded furiously as I reached for the bucket, trying to steady it. The doorknob began to turn.

"No...please..." The door opened.