Ch. 4 Betrayed

Odette’s POV

The door of the principal’s office swung open with a harsh creak, the sound echoing ominously in the silence. I was dragged in, my rival’s hold on my arm hard enough to cut my breaths for several beats before he loosened his grip.

My eyes were filled with tears, but I could still make out the principal’s figure behind his desk. He was on his phone, his voice raised in a heated argument.

“There has been a misunderstanding!” he barked into the receiver. His other phone was ringing incessantly, adding to the mess. “Come on, are you guys going to believe your kids over me? You can’t do this to me.”

The moment his gaze fell on me, a growl of anger escaped his lips. He abruptly ended his call and silenced the ringing phone. His eyes, cold and hard, met mine. My rival stepped forward, dropping the ultrasound image on the desk with a triumphant smirk.

“This is proof that Ms. Brown has ruined our university’s reputation with her sinful acts,” he spat out, his voice rumbled with hatred. “How the fuck are we going to explain this shit to the parents? She is a single omega. She should have known better than to get pregnant for someone else’s mate.”

“Enough! I don’t remember inviting you into this conversation.” The principal snapped and held up a hand, silencing him. For a moment, I dared to hope he was on my side. But the hope was short-lived.

“Ms. Brown,” He began, his voice icy. “You know I have always seen you as family, but you have caused a lot of damage. Students have informed their parents about your... situation. It’s not a good example for the teenage she-wolves you are teaching—”

“Y-You can’t fire me, I won’t let that happen,” I cut in, my voice cracking ever so slightly. “This school can’t do without me. I have been working hard for years to get to this point, and my lectures are always sold out. I’m your star teacher.” I protested. But it was like pleading with a statue.

A rolling sigh escaped his throat, and he ran his hand through his hair. “As much as I don’t want to fire you, the parents have been calling non-stop. They are threatening to withdraw their kids. You are…fired.” He said, his voice heavy with regret that didn’t reach his eyes.

“What about the time you had someone drug me so you could have your way with me? Do you think I have forgotten? How about I go out there and tell the students how much of a pervert you are?” I inquired.

A laugh of disbelief escaped his lips. “Wait a minute? Do you think they would believe you? After all this? Do you even have evidence that I tried to fuck you?”

Shit! Shit! Shit! Was this the end of my career?

The tears broke free then, carving hot trails down my cheeks. My rival’s laugh, a sound as cold as ice, filled the room. I turned to him while he was laughing at my downfall.

“If your career was so important, you should have known better. For your information, there is something like a condom, if you had used it, you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, but you just had to do it raw, didn’t you?” he taunted with a grin.

My pain crisped, turning into anger. I slammed my fist into his face. Blood spurted from his nose, and the satisfying crunch of bone chased away the ugly remnants of his laughter. He clutched his nose, his face screwed into a mask of pain.

“What was that for? You pregnant whore!” he screamed. I ignored his remarks and marched out of the office with my head held high, leaving behind a stunned silence.

***

I pulled up in front of my apartment, my makeup smeared from the tears that had been my only companions on the drive home. The thought of suicide was a dark cloud hovering over me. I was pregnant, and I had cancer. I didn’t have the money for treatment, I was drowning in despair.

As I stepped out of my car, the sound of shouting reached my ears. I walked towards the front door, my heart pounding in my chest. Before I could even reach the doorknob, the door burst open.

My mother stormed out, her arms loaded with bags and boxes. May was hot on her heels, trying to reason with her. “Stop Mom! You can’t turn your back on Odette now that she needs you the most!”

Confusion creased my brow. “Mom, what is going on?” I inquired, my voice barely above a whisper. She ignored me, tossing a bag in my direction. It hit me square in the chest, spilling its contents onto the dirty floor. It was—it was my clothes!

May looked at me, her eyes wide with fear. “Ody, please stop her, she has lost her damn mind,” she pleaded. But before I could react, my mother was back out of the house, this time with my makeup sets and books. She tossed them onto the front porch, her face twisted in disgust.

I ran to her, grabbing her hand. “Mom, what are you doing? Why are you throwing my things out of the house?” I inquired, my voice trembling. She yanked her hand out of my grip, slapping me across the face.

The sound echoed in the quiet street, drawing the attention of our neighbors. They gathered, drawn by the fight, their eyes wide with curiosity and judgement. “How could you do this to us? To me? I thought you were better than your sister, but it turns out I was wrong!” she spat out, pointing an accusing finger at me. “How could you bring such shame upon our family?”

“W-What are you talking about?” I stammered, my confusion as thick as the tension in the air.

“Do you like the stupid life your sister is living? She got pregnant in high school and brought disgrace to the family name, she can’t even secure a job, and on top of that, the father of her child is nowhere to be found!” The words came out rough and scratchy, as if it hurt her to speak. “Who is the father of your child?”

A cold rush of shock flooded me. “W-Who told you that I was pregnant—” she cut in.

“It doesn’t matter who the father is,” she snapped, cutting me off. “I don’t want you in this house anymore. Not until you figure out what to do with that pregnancy, because I am not taking in another bastard child.”

“I… I don’t know what to do. I… I just found out that I was pregnant.” I murmured.

“Mom, you don’t know shit about what she is going through, she...” May tried to speak up, to tell our mother about my cancer, but she was silenced with a sharp glare.

“I don’t want to hear another word from you,” she said, her voice cold. “Don’t come back to this house, not unless you abort that thing.” Her words stung, and I tried to move closer, to beg for mercy. But she turned quickly, nearly tripping over the clothes scattered on the floor.

“What are you blockheads staring at?!?” May yelled at the onlookers to go away, but I barely heard her. All I could hear was the sound of my world shattering around me.