Chapter 7. Disapproval.

Kieran's POV

I watched her beg, miserable tears rolling down her cheeks as she tightly clutched the hem of her garments. Her curvy lips were trembling as she pleaded pitifully, begged continually to be given an acceptable option.

“Please, just don’t reject me, Richard. I…I have nowhere else to go.”

Her raspy voice cracked under the weight of her desperation, her frail sobs tearing through the sickening silence of the room. She looked so small, so defeated, kneeling at the feet of a man who towered above her like a god, his face devoid of any expression.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I crouched in the shadows of the staircase, my small fingers folding into a fist. I wanted to rush to her, to shield her from the venomous words that would surely follow, but I was powerless. Just a twelve-year-old boy, watching his mother break down, piece by piece. 

“You’re embarrassing yourself, Lila,” my father spat, his tone dripping with disgust. He didn’t even glance at her. His eyes remained on the whiskey glass in his hand, swirling the amber liquid as if it was far more interesting than the woman falling apart before him. It was quite obvious that his heart was very frigid, and he had no intention of hiding this from hair.

“But I’m your mate,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

He finally looked at her, but there was no love, no recognition in his gaze. A flicker of disgust ran across his face, his loose grip tightening on the glass he held. Anger simmered within his gaze. How my father hated being reminded that he was stuck with a weakling for a mate: my mum.

“You’re just an Omega,” he scoffed derisively as he finished his drink, his seething stare never leaving my mother. “A mistake. You were never meant to be anything more.”

His words struck like a painful physical blow, and I flinched along with her. She gasped, her hands trembling as she clutched at her chest.

“I can be better,” she murmured, as if trying to convince herself. “I can change. I can be the better version of myself, just to please you. Please, Richard, don’t leave me like this.”

But the tall and proud Alpha already had left. If not in actuality, then in his heart and mind, he already had been away from her a long time ago. Besides, he does plan to leave and was not even going to think twice about it. He considers her beneath him, not even worthy to view him from afar.

“An Alpha has no business with an Omega. You’re pathetic,” he muttered before turning and walking away, his steps echoing in the empty hall. “ You’re nothing but a weak and worthless Omega, Lila and I’ll be happy to be rid of you.”

I stared at my mother, my chest rising and falling, shallow gasps escaping my lips as I fought to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape my lips. She collapsed onto the floor, her body trembling with silent cries, her shoulders shaking as she clutched at the cold marble beneath her.

I wanted to scream at her. Shake her and plead with her to stop humiliating herself. Didn’t she see the truth? He didn’t care. He never did and never will!

I jolted awake, my heartbeat increasing and growing louder as the vivid images of the past little by little retreated into the deep recesses of my mind. The sheets were damp with sweat, clinging to my skin as I sat up, raking a hand through my scattered hair. 

“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath as I saw the sunrise slowly coloring the horizon from my suite’s window.

It had been years since that day, but it haunted me still. Her voice, her tears, the utter devastation on her face… it has remained a non-stop nightmare that I have wished to but could never escape from.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet meeting the cold marble-tiled floor. I realized that I had fallen asleep after bringing Naya here. It was then that I remembered that I had already paid for her hospitalization since she had already agreed to my proposal after her doctors have given her a clean bill of health. And since I no longer want her to expose herself to her family, I brought her home with me so we can put my plan in action. 

I poured myself a glass of water, but it did little to quench the fire burning in my chest. Anger. Pain. Guilt. It was all there, bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to consume me.

The knock at my door was a welcome distraction. I quickly composed myself, setting the glass down before calling out. 

“Come in. The door is unlocked.”

The butler, an older man with kind eyes, stepped inside. His presence was a quiet comfort, though I didn’t show it.

“Your grandmother has just left, Alpha,” he informed me, his tone neutral yet tinged with hesitation. “She spent some time speaking with Miss Naya before departing.”

I tensed at the mention of my grandmother. “And?”

“She…disapproved, as expected,” he remarked a little hesitantly. “But she seemed to like her, despite her disapproval of your choice.”

I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. “But, of course she would. After all, liking someone and approving of them for a certain role are two entirely different things in her opinion.”

The butler paused then added, “Although miss Naya seemed upset after their conversation, Alpha. I thought that you should know, by the way.”

My jaw tightened, a surge of protectiveness rising within me. “What did my grandma say to her?”

“Nothing too harsh,” the elderly man replied, though his expression said otherwise. “But it might be difficult for Miss Naya to ignore the underlying implications of your grandmother’s statements, I’m afraid.”

I exhaled sharply, “Damn it, Doris.”

“Your father's matriarch likely meant no harm,” the butler said softly. “You know how she is. Always driven by her…past.”

I looked up at him sharply. “And what about mine?”

The butler’s gaze softened, 

“Alpha, if I may… Miss Naya is not your mother.”

His words, no matter how gently said they were, still managed to strike a nerve. I swiftly turned away, pacing the room as sizzling anger burned just beneath the surface of my consciousness.

“I know that,” I snapped a little too forcefully. “But do you know what it’s like to watch someone beg for love? To see them destroy themselves for a man who couldn’t care less?”

The butler’s silence was just the right answer for my question.

“I hated her for it,” I admitted, my voice tinged with emotion. “I hated her for being weak. For clinging to him like he was her lifeline, even when he treated her like trash.”

“She was only human,” he said gently. “And she was your mother.”

“She killed herself,” I spat out, my declaration leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. “She left me behind because she couldn’t handle the pain. Do you know what it’s like to wake up and find your mother’s lifeless body hanging from the rafters of the very house you shared and grew up in?”

The butler flinched, his face slightly going pale. “Alpha…”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “And I am quite aware that the only reason I was even brought back here to my grandparent’s home was because there had no heir. Otherwise, they would have left me to rot in the shadows, just like her.”

Awkward silence settled in the room... 

“Your mother was never weak,” the butler finally said, his voice steady despite the weight of my words. “She was just…broken. And perhaps she saw no other way out.”

I turned to him, my jaw hardened. “And what about me? Do you think I’ll end up the same way?”

“No,” he replied firmly, meeting my gaze. “Because you’re stronger than you think. And because you have someone now who might just be able to remind you of that.”

His final words lingered long in my mind even hours later after he left the room.

I sat back down, taking a deep breath as my thoughts ran wild yet still it focused on Naya in the end, “Hopefully, our blood oath would eventually end my nightmares while it will give my Naya the kind of freedom she truly deserves,” I sighed.