Chapter 3

Mrs. Harris placed a hand on her son's shoulder, a flicker of concern in her eyes. "My darling... Is it true? Can you smell her that strongly?" Nigel clenched his jaw, trying to sort through his thoughts. He was an alpha. This kind of reaction wasn't normal.

And yet... something inside him screamed that Ryse was a problem.

A problem he had to eliminate before she destroyed everything he had built.

Nigel was still struggling to catch his breath. His heart pounded furiously in his chest, and the lingering nausea showed no signs of abating. Mrs. Harris placed a firm hand on his arm. "Nigel... talk to me. What's wrong?" He remained silent for a moment, staring blankly ahead. Then, he clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as he tried to contain what he had been suppressing for years. “I can’t…” His voice was hoarse, broken. “I can’t stand the smell of omega pheromones anymore.” Mrs. Harris and Eloise exchanged a surprised look.

“What?” Eloise breathed, incredulous. Nigel closed his eyes for a moment, searching for the strength to explain the unspeakable. When he spoke again, his voice was barely a whisper.

“In the United States… Something happened. Something that changed everything.” Mrs. Harris tightened her grip on his arm, her motherly gaze piercing his defenses. “Tell me, my son.” A bitter sneer escaped Nigel’s lips. He didn’t want to relive that. He had done everything he could to bury the memory, to stop thinking about it. But now that his body was betraying him, that he was violently rejecting the mere presence of an omega, he could no longer deny the truth.

“I was tricked by an omega.” Silence fell on the front steps. Eloise tensed instantly, while Mrs. Harris opened her mouth slightly in shock. Nigel continued, his tone harsher. “She was a colleague… I considered her a friend. But she… She used her pheromones to manipulate me. To subdue me.” His gaze hardened. “I almost lost everything I had built because of her.” His fingers tightened on his trousers, a pent-up rage pulsing within him.

“Since that day…” He took a deep breath, trying to push away the sickening memory. “My body rejects the scent of omega pheromones.” My alpha instincts perceive them as a threat. I can't stand them anymore." He finally raised his head, meeting his mother's worried gaze.

"That's why I distanced myself from omegas. Why I chose Eloise. She's a beta. Stable. Confident." Eloise, who had remained silent until then, knelt beside him and gently took his hand. "I understand..." she murmured. Then, her expression darkened as she glanced toward the door. "And yet, tonight, Ryse let her pheromones spread." She turned her face back to Nigel. "You see what that means, don't you?" Nigel didn't answer right away. His mind was still clouded, but one thing was certain: he couldn't stay near Ryse. Not after what he had just felt.

And especially not if she represented a threat to his fragile equilibrium.

Silence settled in the living room, heavy and oppressive.

When Mrs. Harris returned, she was accompanied by Nigel and Eloise. Her face, usually so warm, was closed off, marked by worry. Nigel, for his part, still seemed troubled. His complexion was slightly pale, and his jaw was clenched as if he were fighting internally to maintain his composure.

Ryse didn't wait to meet their gaze.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest, her thoughts colliding in a chaotic jumble. She knew something was wrong, that Nigel was probably accusing her of something she hadn't done. The unease that had settled in since her return, this visceral rejection… She didn’t have the answers, but she felt the danger bearing down on her like a storm about to break.

So, without waiting for anyone to call out to her, she slipped away. She hurried up the stairs, breathless, and took refuge in her cramped attic room. Once the door closed behind her, her legs gave way, and she leaned heavily against the wood, her trembling hand pressed to her chest.

She didn't understand.

Why had Nigel reacted like this? Why the horrified look? Why the hasty escape, as if his mere presence were unbearable?

And above all… why did she feel this crushing sense of guilt, when she hadn't done anything?

She took a deep breath, trying to calm the erratic beating of her heart.

But only one thought haunted her: Nigel despised her. And tonight had just confirmed it. Ryse hadn't slept a wink all night. Lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she replayed the scene over and over again. Every detail, every expression on Nigel's face, every word Eloise spoke, looped endlessly in her mind, like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

Why? Why had he reacted with such rejection, such disgust?

She knew he had changed after she left, that he had become a different man, a fully realized alpha, but she never would have imagined he could look at her with such hostility.

What was she guilty of, exactly? Of being an omega? Of having existed in the same space as him?

Morning was barely breaking when there was a soft knock at her door. Ryse jumped slightly, jolted from her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment, her instinct telling her not to answer, to remain hidden in her little refuge. But the voice that rose from behind the door made her change her mind.

"Ryse, it's me."

Mrs. Harris.

She quickly got up and opened the door. The matriarch stood there, dressed in an elegant but understated gown, her hair impeccably styled despite the early hour. Her gaze was gentle, yet held a gravity that made Ryse's stomach clench.

"May I come in?" she asked kindly.

Ryse nodded silently and stepped aside to let her in. Mrs. Harris sat on the edge of the bed, observing the small room with its pale walls for a moment. It was a modest room, far from the luxury of the rest of the house, but it was always immaculate, just like Ryse.

A sigh escaped the woman's lips before she turned her attention back to her.

"I came to talk to you about what happened last night." Ryse looked down, uneasy. She had expected reproaches, a warning, perhaps even a drastic decision regarding her place in this house.

But instead, Mrs. Harris placed a gentle hand on hers.

"It wasn't your fault, my child." Ryse jerked her head up, her eyes wide.

"But..."

"Shh. Let me speak."