CHAPTER 4

RUBY

As I closed up from work and walked down the street, my mind was spinning with everything that had happened. The cold night breeze nipped at my cheeks, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the thoughts running rampant through my head. Sebastian’s offer kept replaying in my mind, over and over again. Pretend to be his mate? Could I really go through with something like that?

I tried to focus on something else—anything else. The hum of cars passing by, the distant chatter of people in the shops I passed—but it was useless. No matter how hard I tried, Sebastian’s words clung to me like a shadow.

I hadn’t even gotten far from the café when I saw Lizzy and Graham. They were stepping out of the big shopping store, Lizzy’s arm looped around his, her head tipped back in laughter as if everything in the world was perfect.

My stomach twisted. Graham. He used to be the light in my dark world. When we were together, I thought he was my escape from all of this—the whispers, the cruel stares, the feeling of being an omega. But ever since that night, everything had changed. He’d found his fated mate—Lizzy, of all people. And now... now he was just another reminder of how cruel life could be.

I didn’t want to deal with them. I didn’t want to face them at all, especially after everything that had happened between Graham and me. But, of course, Lizzy spotted me before I could slip away.

“Ruby!” Lizzy’s voice called out, and I instantly regretted not moving faster to catch the bus before they saw me. She unhooked herself from Graham and strode toward me with a smirk on her face.

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you out here,” she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “You waiting for the bus?”

I clenched the strap of my bag, trying to keep my face neutral. “Just heading home.”

“Of course you are,” Lizzy said, her voice laced with mock sympathy. “Not like you’ve got anywhere else to go, huh? Especially now, with everything going on.”

My pulse quickened. I knew she was baiting me, but I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of reacting.

“Hey, Ruby,” Graham said, finally joining Lizzy’s side. His voice wasn’t cold or mocking, but that almost made it worse. The way he looked at me—like I was some distant memory, someone he used to care about but didn’t anymore—made my chest ache. I thought back to when Graham was everything to me, and how made me believed the bond didn’t define us, that we were destined to be together regardless. How he stupid I was to believe him!

“I heard about your scholarship,” Lizzy said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “What a shame. All that hard work, and for what? To get kicked off the board?”

My heart sank. So she knew. Of course she knew. Lizzy always found a way to know every little thing that could hurt me.

“And you must be so proud of your mom,” she added, her voice turning sickly sweet. “I mean, she went through so much to get you that scholarship. All those long nights... using her body to get you a chance at success. And look how it ended up. It’s almost like... it wasn’t worth it.”

The air was sucked from my lungs as her words cut deeper than I could’ve imagined. She was bringing up my mother—mocking her sacrifices, the lengths she went to in order to secure that scholarship for me.

It was a low blow. Too low.

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to steady myself. But the pain of Lizzy’s words stung more than anything physical ever could.

“Lizzy, come on,” Graham finally spoke, but there was no real protest in his voice. Just a weak, half-hearted attempt to stop her, as if even he knew there was no point.

“Graham,” she said, smirking at him, “let’s not pretend we don’t all know how this works. Omegas like her? She’ll never really be anything. It doesn’t matter how hard she tries. It doesn’t matter if she works until her bones break. She's always going to be… worthless.” She spat the word, her voice a harsh whisper in my ear. “Lowly. That’s what you are.”

My chest tightened, and I could feel the sting of tears building behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. I refused to let them see me cry. Not here. Not in front of them.

“I mean, honestly,” she went on, her eyes gleaming with malice, “what do you even have left, Ruby? No scholarship, no future. Just... nothing.” She tilted her head as if she was genuinely curious, but her words were laced with venom. “Doesn’t that feel awful?”

“Maybe if she’d worked harder,” Graham added, his tone laced with a cruel smirk I’d never seen on his face before. “Maybe then she wouldn’t have lost everything.”

My heart shattered at his words. This wasn’t the Graham I knew. The Graham I had been with—the one I thought I loved—wouldn’t have said something like that. But he had, and it hit me like a punch to the gut. The boy who had once been my everything, my light, was now standing next to his fated mate, throwing insults at me like I was nothing.

“You should really just give up, Ruby,” Lizzy said, her voice cold as ice. “Stop pretending like you can be anything more than what you are. People like you... you’ll always be at the bottom.”

And with that, she walked away, her arm slipping around Graham again as they disappeared down the street, laughing and whispering to each other like nothing had happened.

I stood there for a long moment, frozen in place, the weight of her words pressing down on me until I thought I might collapse. Every insult, every jab at my mother, my status—it all replayed in my head on a loop, reminding me just how far I’d fallen. How much I’d lost.

But then, something snapped inside me.

Lizzy had no right—none of them did. I was not worthless. I refused to let her or anyone else decide my fate. If I had to claw my way out of this pit, I would.

And suddenly, Sebastian’s offer didn’t seem so crazy anymore. It seemed like my only way out.

If I became his fated mate—if I pretended, even for a little while—everything could change. My school fees would be covered. I wouldn’t have to worry about tuition. And more than that, I wouldn’t be the omega everyone looked down on anymore. I’d be with Sebastian Kings—star hockey player, future Alpha, and the hottest guy every girl in school wanted to be seen with.

Nobody would dare talk down to me. Not Lizzy, not anyone.

I felt a surge of determination rise up in my chest, pushing aside the pain. I couldn’t afford to be prideful right now. I couldn’t afford to be afraid. I had to survive, and this was my chance.

Before I could second-guess myself, I pulled out my phone and typed a message to Sebastian.

Ruby: I’ll do it. I’ll pretend to be your fated mate.

My thumb hovered over the send button for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest. But I knew that this decision would change everything. It was risky. It was dangerous. But it was also the only way out of the trap I’d found myself in.

I pressed send.

The message went through, and I let out a shaky breath, my heart racing with a mix of fear and resolve. There was no turning back now. I had made my choice.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I might actually have a chance to fight back—to prove that I wasn’t just some worthless omega.