TEARING HIS LOVE IN PIECES

There was a deafening silence for over a minute. Only our bated breath was heard, repulsing each other.

There was surprise in his face it was the first time I was speaking to him in this maner. I'd always been the loyal lickspittle, ready to forgive and forget every nonsense he threw at me.

He thought I needed to keep him as my Mate, so it was a taboo to react. So he was more surprised than angry.

His pink lips parted and he cocked his head to one side. Then closed his mouth, his eyebrows crinkled in perplexity.

The oven beeped, breaking the unbearable silence. I took the cake out and sat at the table, miserable and angry. This cake was meant to celebrate my 25th birthday. I'd just began kneading the final dough when I got an anonymous text on my phone: "An unpleasant surprise awaits you in the lower floor." Then I'd gone and beheld my Mate under the sexual touches of Naomi.

"Is today … your birthday?"

I ignored him.

In a flurry of guilty activities, he rushed to get candles, muttering apologies and promises.

I stopped him. "This isn't necessary, Santiago. Accept the rejection and let me get out of here."

My voice was hard and my expression resolute.

He stared at me. "You're just angry," he started.

In a burst of rage I pushed at his chest. As expected, he didn't move an inch. "I refuse to made a fool of. You can't just toss me around like some yo-yo. Accept the fucking rejection, Alpha Santiago. I do not want to be your Mate no more!"

His eyes burned into mine. Then he scoffed. "Lyraea, the moment I accept your rejection, you're gone for."

He paused, letting it sink in.

"From thenceforth, your life will become continuously miserable, tough, bloodily unsafe. You'll be battered down so much you'll walk on your knees, and your foes will think you aren't low enough."

I suppressed a shudder, my jaws grinding against each other. A lump formed in my throat.

The irony of this decision was that he was mostly right. I had nothing else left if I left his mansion. Who do I go to? A crackhead mom who just wants money for drugs, status and makeup? Do I go back to the company I'd resigned from because Santiago had said so? My savings were zero and my future was dimmer than milkless coffee.

After considering all of this, I said, "Alpha Santiago, please accept my rejection."

A bitter smile flashed on his face. He turned to the cake, lifted it and then let it drop on the floor. At the same time he was reaching for his ringing phone.

He raised it at me. "Oops."

He slammed the door after him and ran downstairs.

My nostrils flared and I bit down on my lower lip.

After cleaning up the mess, I checked my phone.

Naomi just posted. "What could cure a clumsy beauty than a swifter Alpha? My stubbed toe got the suck it deserved!" It was followed by a picture of her toe in a man's mouth. She scarcely covered his face with an emoji.

In the comments, Santiago, who had ignored me even when I was in a car accident, wrote: "Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you."

Then a call came in from him. I answered. "Come clean Naomi's room," he said. "I'm taking her to the hospital. Tidy up the entire rooms, and there's a couple of laundry she's got. Deal with it. You're an Omega and shall remain so. Naomi is a fucking Gamma!"

The line went dead. I didn't go downstairs till they'd driven off. Pushed by curiosity, I went down and looked around the room.

Naomi's bathroom was soaked with water and in the trash bin, there were three used condoms. A wave of disgust hit me.

No wonder Santiago had been working overtime so much lately. It appeared he'd spend some time with Naomi downstairs every day before returning home upstairs.

I glanced around the bedroom. It was filled with luxury brand items and expensive skincare products.

I still remembered how, just a few days ago, I had asked Santiago for a lipstick as a birthday present.

He had looked at me with utter disdain while said, "Twenty-five years old and you still have the nerve to celebrate? Are you trying to act young? Just stay home and do your chores. No amount of expensive makeup will make you twenty again."

I took pictures of everything in the room, making a voiceover explaining the scenario. Then I returned upstairs to pack my things.

In the seven years we had been together, Santiago had given me a few gifts. French kitchenware, a vacuum cleaner and a knife set, just making sure I stayed close to the floor.

As I threw my dresses into a bag, Omni began to bleed again. The thoughts that I had endured these seven years, just hoping that my Mate would get to love me, were too much to bear. Breaking the mate bond was as painful as losing a limb. The sadness was overwhelming.

When I was done, I called my best friend, Sara, who was in Canada. After three missed calls, she finally picked up.

I held back my tears and said, "Sara, I've broken my bond with him. I shouldn't have given up my career and my life for Santiago. I regret it. I want to come find you."

"You walked right into it," she said, calmly, and ended the call.

I crashed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Sara had always tried to make me leave Santiago. She was locked up by him on one occasion.

I was lying on my back, gazing at the bland ceiling when a new message popped up on my phone.

When I checked it, I was surprised.