All Chapters of The Rejected Omega: There Were Times I Wished You Were Dead : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

AmberThe courtroom wasn’t what I expected.It was colder. Quieter. A looming silence, only broken by the shuffle of papers and the creak of benches as people took their seats. High ceilings. Fluorescent lighting. A lone judge perched behind the bench, half-obscured by the mahogany podium before him.We took our place on the left side of the room—Ina, Evalie, and I. Ichika, Ken and Ian sat quietly behind us, their presence a fortress of calm I didn’t know I’d need until this moment.Across the aisle sat Rayne and Reed.Rayne looked like stone, his jaw locked tight and his hands folded, knuckles white. Reed, by contrast, looked like he belonged in a different kind of arena—like he was auditioning for an award instead of preparing for legal war. That smug little smirk never left his face.I focused on Evalie, who sat quietly beside me with a coloring book Ichika had brought along to keep her busy. Her small hands moved the crayon slowly across the page, completely unaware of the storm g

AmberThe courtroom was thinning out—people filling out steadily, murmured conversations fading into hallway echoes. The judge had long since left, and yet I still stood frozen in place, Evalie’s small hand clutching mine tightly, as if grounding me in this moment.I was tired. My head pounded, not from the proceedings, but from everything that had come before and everything I knew would come after. I wanted nothing more than to get Evalie in the car, drive away from this building, and breathe. Just breathe.But as we turned toward the exit, Evalie tugged on my sleeve and tilted her face up at me, green eyes shining with hopeful excitement.“Mummy,” she said, her voice soft but clear, “can I meet my daddy now?”I stopped dead in my tracks.The question hit harder than I expected. Not because I didn’t know it was coming. I had promised her. I told her she would meet him today. But hearing her say it aloud—so innocent, so trusting—struck something deep in my chest that I hadn’t braced f

AmberThe second we got back from court, I wanted nothing more than to collapse. My body hurt. My brain hurt. My heart? That was a special kind of mess I couldn’t even begin to sort through yet.Evalie was with Ken in the living room, watching cartoons. I didn’t even have the strength to kiss her forehead. I just told her I needed a nap, and she nodded, already busy laughing at whatever chaos the animated characters were getting up to.So I slipped into my room and melted into the bed. Eyes closed. Breathing steady. I could still smell the courtroom somehow, that cold, sterile scent of wood polish and tension. My pillow smelled better—lavender detergent and the faintest trace of Ichika’s favorite room spray.And then… my phone buzzed.I ignored it.It buzzed again.Still ignored.But it buzzed again. Then again. And again.With a groan, I reached for it, heart starting to pound a little with every ring. The number was unfamiliar, just a string of digits I didn’t recognize. But somethi

AmberShe placed the cup down, her voice growing quiet. “Anyway… I always had this feeling that, like his father, Rayne would have a destined mate. Alphas and Omegas only make up twenty percent of the population. Mate bonds are even rarer. But still, I believed someone out there was made just for him. So when he threw that away—for what was clearly lustful infatuation, driven by confusion—it hurt more than I can explain.”She locked eyes with me.“Rayne never told me he had found you. Or that he had even marked you. If he had, believe me… I would have found you. I would have made him take full responsibility. Then maybe… we wouldn’t have ended up here.”Her words struck something in me, and for a moment, I allowed myself to wonder—what if?What if Rayne had told her? What if she’d found me, and made him do the “right” thing?We would’ve been forced to marry and I would be Luna.He would’ve hated me.I saw it so clearly. Like a living nightmare painted right before my eyes: 18 year old

ReedRayne got out of the car first, slamming the door harder than usual, his broad back stiff with barely-contained energy. I followed silently, not even bothering to speak. What was I supposed to say?We stepped into the house. It felt too quiet—too cold. Like the walls were holding their breath.Rayne walked straight to the bedroom, not even glancing back to see if I was following. I trailed after him like a shadow, every step echoing with dread.When we got inside, he started stripping his jacket off, the muscles in his shoulders tight and twitching under his shirt. I stood near the door, fidgeting, twisting my fingers until the knuckles turned white. My stomach churned, something bitter and sharp rising up in me like bile.I forced my voice out. “About what Amber’s lawyer said in court, I…”Rayne cut me off without even looking at me. “You don’t have to say anything, Reed.”His voice was low, even, but brittle. Like glass about to crack.“The accusations were upsetting,” he said,