The Alpha's Secret Heir Chapter 20

My mother called me. She asked if I had fought with Luca.

"He hung up on me the other day, and now I can't reach him. I admit our family wronged him back then, but we've given him enough over the last five years. You've spoiled him until he has no manners..."

Back then.

What happened back then?

Since so much time had passed, the Wolf Queen had no intention of keeping secrets anymore.

When I learned the full truth, I felt cold all over.

I had hated Luca for his cold heart and ruthlessness.

But I never thought to ask if there was a reason.

I dreamed of the child we lost back then.

We were both so young.

I couldn't stop blaming him, taking my anger out on him.

But I never considered that the Omega standing next to me was just as young.

He stood alone in the fog, just as lost as I was.

I canceled all my work and began a search with no destination.

I wanted to apologize to Luca. For the child we lost, and for my five years of arrogance.

I went to Luca's hometown first, that small border town.

In the dilapidated old house, only his elderly mother sat on the porch, clutching a polished old silver bangle.

I knew Luca was soft-hearted. Over the years, he occasionally sent money to help his mother and her new family.

But the woman just looked at me blankly. "Luca hasn't come back in a long time."

"He said we are all too cruel. He's afraid."

The wind blew from the alley, carrying the smell of dirt, stinging my eyes.

Too cruel. Did that include me?

I walked aimlessly through the town's streets.

I passed the public school Luca attended as a child, and the convenience store he used to visit.

Every place held his traces, but I couldn't find him.

I took out my phone and went through every contact related to Luca.

From friends to former colleagues, I called them one by one.

The answer was always the same: "Haven't heard from him in ages. Don't know where he is."

I stood there blankly, looking at the square patch of sky, realizing I didn't even know which direction to search.

Finally, in that moment, I realized I had truly lost the person who loved me the most.

Not now.

But five years ago. Or maybe even earlier, when I first mocked him.

I had naively thought that as long as I didn't let Luca get pregnant, he would never leave.

We would have so much time to make up.

Deception, suppression, arguments, tears...

I thought once I vented the hatred from the past, we could go back to how we were.

But I forgot that even the strongest, softest heart has a day when it breaks completely.

I stumbled toward where I parked my car, looking like a lost soul.

The dirt road was muddy, and every step was difficult.

It felt like I was walking over all the mistakes I had made over the years.

I fell into the mud.

I closed my eyes.

Mud and sand filled my ears, blocking out the sounds of the world.

Snowflakes fell gently on my face.

It felt like everything had returned to ten years ago.

The rumored gloomy, silent Omega stood on his tiptoes on a snowy morning and kissed me.

Epilogue

Dominic found me three years later.

His nature was as obsessive as ever.

He tried to use the so-called contract to drag me back.

Maybe my years in Europe had brought me peace, because looking at his disheveled appearance, I didn't feel much emotion.

Naturally, I refused to go with him.

He trapped me in the manor, crying and begging, apologizing to me over and over.

"We can have children again, right? I had the reversal surgery, Luca. Let's start over, okay?"

I looked out the window at the evergreen trees and spoke slowly.

"Have you forgotten? My reproductive cavity and glands were ruined long ago."

"We can never have children again."

Because of the years of drug stimulation, my health was poor. I was often in pain and couldn't eat much.

To Dominic, it looked like I was on a hunger strike against him.

A hunger strike that lasted a long, long time.

I refused to return to the States.

So, Dominic flew to Europe often to see me.

He said he would wait until the day I was willing to turn back.

But I only felt annoyed.

The moment his face appeared, I felt unhappy.

On my thirty-fifth birthday, he cleared his schedule, bought a cake, and flew over to see me.

The light in the living room was dim.

The flickering candlelight reflected in the glass window, stretching our shadows.

He took off his mature black trench coat. The candlelight blurred the sharp angles of his face.

For a split second, I thought I saw the eighteen-year-old Alpha again.

The cold, proud, favored son of heaven.

The one who held my hand so naturally during my insecure teenage years, unafraid of anyone's judgment.

He was the courage that helped me grow up.

Year after year, he became the most important person in my life.

Perhaps that young love should have stayed frozen ten years ago.

I dazed out for a moment, then snapped back. "Can any wish come true?"

His gaze was stubborn and sincere. "Yes. Any wish."

After I blew out the candles, he heard my wish in the darkness.

My voice was light. Calm.

So calm it held no emotion at all.

"Dominic, for the next few decades, let's not see each other again. Okay?"

His heart seemed to stop.

Hot tears rolled down from his red-rimmed eyes.

He never expected that my wish for my thirty-fifth birthday was to leave him forever.

Before he left Europe, Dominic transferred a massive sum of money to me. Enough for me to live without worry for the rest of my life.

He walked with me in the park one last time.

It was the first time in all these years we had walked together so peacefully.

There was an Omega reading a book on a bench.

She was very pretty, maybe seventeen or eighteen.

Her clear eyes stared at us.

I naturally assumed she was looking at Dominic.

His bone structure was superior, and his pheromones were S-tier. He was an elite among Alphas, easily attracting attention just by walking down the street.

Later, I realized she was looking at us.

The girl asked Dominic, "Are you two together because of compatibility, or because of love?"

He smiled, his voice strained. "Love, of course."

It was just that too much had happened.

Young love had turned sick and obsessive, finally leading to an irreversible end.

The hot summer wind blew through the tall camphor trees.

In a lush park in a foreign land, the young Omega blinked, her face full of envy.

"Then you must be mated, right? You must be very happy."

The face in front of us was young and innocent.

She was holding a copy of Twilight.

In the late summer breeze, I heard his voice, low and serious.

"Yes. We are."

He tried hard to lift the corners of his lips, forcing a smile for her.

But as he smiled, tears fell from his eyes.

We aren't happy at all.