Chapter 357

Elliot

I clench my fists so hard my hands start to bleed.

The blood drips down my palms, warm and wet, but I barely feel it. All I feel is rage that is hot, blinding, consuming as I stare at the smug look on this bastard’s face.

In this day and age, I can’t believe this is still happening.

I shouldn’t have listened to Dr. Wang when he told me to accompany him to his family home. The laws here are completely different.

Omegas can’t leave the country without a chaperone. Polygamy is legal. And once you’re inside the Wang family compound, leaving isn’t really an option.

I should have been suspicious when he kept postponing going back home. When he always had an excuse. Not yet, he said. Soon, he said. I want everything to be perfect for when we go.

I should have known.

Now I’m living in this family home. Everyone treats me like the beloved young master’s second foreign Omega.

Second.

Because the first is standing right in front of me.

He’s burly. Muscular. Alpha-looking for a recessive Omega. His stomach is huge—pregnant, very pregnant, probably due any day.

He’s been here the whole time, apparently. The first wife. The one Wang never mentioned.

So much for Dr. Wang’s so-called love. He got another Omega pregnant.

And now he’s standing there, arms crossed, glaring at me like I’m the one who did something wrong.

"I told you," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "I don’t have time for this."

I try to turn around. To walk away. To find somewhere—anywhere—that isn’t here.

"I’ve always hated you." His voice is low, venomous.

I stop. Turn back.

"I didn’t even know you existed before I got here." I’ve told him this over and over. He never believes me.

He scoffs. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

I want to scream. I want to grab him by his stupid collar and shake him until he understands that I don’t want any of this. I didn’t ask for any of this.

But I calm myself.

"All this stress isn’t good for your baby," I say instead.

"Are you wishing harm on my baby?" His eyes narrow.

I close my eyes. Open them.

"I’ll be back." I walk away before he can respond.

*

Outside the compound, I notice the men following me.

They’re always there now. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to catch. I have the guise of freedom,I can go anywhere in this town, they say. I can shop, sightsee, explore.

But I can’t leave.

I can’t go home.

I walk through the streets aimlessly, my hands still bleeding, my heart pounding. The town is old, beautiful, full of tourists taking photos and eating street food.

I find myself in the tourist section.

And I see her.

Daphne Han.

Impossible.

I blink. Rub my eyes. I must be hallucinating. The stress, the lack of sleep, the constant surveillance—my mind is finally breaking.

I look again.

She’s real.

She’s standing in front of a food stall, laughing at something someone said. And I follow the direction of her gaze—

Vivienne.

Laughing like the world is sunshine and rainbows. Her hand on her stomach. Her pregnant stomach.

No.

No.

I watch as they walk hand in hand, their fingers interlaced, their heads bent close together. They look happy. Radiant. Like nothing in the world could ever hurt them.

It’s not fair.

While I’m trapped here, being made a fucking concubine, while my brother is alone back home, while everything I ever wanted is being handed to her.

No.

I watch them disappear into the crowd, still laughing, still touching, still perfect.

My hands curl into fists again. The wounds reopen. Blood drips onto the cobblestones.

It’s not fair.

***

Dr. Wang

Paperwork.

This is why I left the country. I should be glad, though—at least I’m the director of a hospital here, not back in the family company. A small mercy.

I really didn’t want to come back to this place.

But I needed to. Needed to put a million miles between Elliot and Daphne. Needed to isolate him somewhere she couldn’t follow, somewhere the laws favored me, somewhere he would have no choice but to rely on me completely.

It’s just until he gets pregnant.

Just until the child binds him to me forever.

I stand and leave my office. The hallway is long, sterile, lined with portraits of Wangs past. Everyone bows as I pass—nurses, administrators, even the senior doctors.

In the backseat of the car, I spot a flower shop and tell the driver to stop. I pick out a bouquet—roses, her favorites, white and soft—and imagine the way Elliot’s face will light up when I hand them to him.

He’ll soften, I think. He’ll see that I’m trying. He’ll stop pulling away.

I arrive home.

I head straight for my section of the compound, hoping to avoid—

"Dr. Wang."

I exhale. Too late.

I turn around.

He’s standing there, his huge stomach leading the way, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

The wrench in my fucking plans.

The recessive omega.

Who knew the reason I couldn’t reach him was because he found out he was pregnant and ran to my family?

Smart.

Because he’s a recessive, I would never have taken him as a mate. Not officially. He was always just...convenient. A body. A release.

And now his presence here—his very pregnant presence—has ruined any progress I might have made with Elliot.

I look at his stomach. Round. Full. His child.

How I wish it was the Omega I actually wanted carrying it.I thought it was hard for recessives to even get pregnant. So tell me why I’m having a hard time conceiving with Elliot, a dominant Omega? Why is my seed taking root in this one instead of the one I actually want?

Just my fucking luck.

"For me?" He nods at the flowers in my hand.

I keep my face neutral. "Of course not."

"Not even pretending anymore, honey?" His voice drips with mock sweetness.

I stop. Turn around.

"Mother expects you for dinner." He says.

I twitch at the way he says mother. My parents. My grandfather. They spoil him because he’s carrying the first grandchild. The heir. The precious continuation of the Wang bloodline.

And by default,thanks to the fucking laws here he’s legally my mate.

I planned to use those same laws to trap Elliot. To bind him to me in a way he couldn’t escape. But instead, I got caught in my own trap.

Fortunately, the laws also allow for more than one Omega.

"Sure." I keep my voice flat. "I’ll come by with Elliot."

I see his eyes change for a fraction of a second. Something flickers there—jealousy? Hurt? I don’t care.

I walk away. No sympathy. I’ll never love him.

He was never supposed to be anything more than a distraction. A body to use when Elliot wasn’t available. A convenient hole.