"Maeve Lester. Isn't that the new Omega who got thrashed today on the Arc? What's with the sudden change of opinions, Valden? Seems completely unlike you, to be honest. I've always said that was the best way to deal with the lot but you've disagreed each time," Rhea smiled coldly, her voice dropping lower. "So what's so different about her that you've decided to send an untrained omega onto the field like that?"
"I just thought it was high time they learned without being spoon-fed, that's all," Valden said, peeling off his gloves. He turned his back to her while switching off the control panels and scanning equipment kept on the counter.
"I see you've been giving special treatment though," she said, dropping her smile. She walked towards him with a predatory gaze until her boots knocked against his, and her voice dropped even lower. "Didn't you have a past with that one, Valden? Are you picking favorites now?"
I shuddered.
How did she even know that we had a past? How would anyone know about it?
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Valden said, turning around and holding her gaze. But his gaze, it wasn't the cold one that he always had on, it was just…something else.
That gaze was enough for her to close the distance between them. Her gloved hands slid down his muscular arms smoothly, like it wasn't her first time, like it was the most natural thing and her body pressed against each and every crevice of his, leaving no cracks. She leaned forward until they were so close as to breathe the same air.
"I see the way you look at her, Valden. But I only hope I'm mistaken. Because I know you want me the most. Tell me, has she ever made you feel this way before?"
Her hand again moved downwards and slipped underneath the seams of his leather pants.
My throat tightened and I slapped a hand over my mouth before the whimper left my lips. I should have looked away. I should have just left but my legs remained frozen in place. And I just watched until my heart was torn open bit by bit.
Valden didn't stop her, as her other hand slid to his waist and she leaned in close to his face, whispering something against his jaw before closing the gap and pressing her lips to his.
She was kissing him and he let her.
No, he didn't just let her, he was kissing her back. Hard and deep, as he grabbed her face and closed his eyes, biting and savoring her like he'd been waiting for it all this time. Devouring her like she was the only thing he ever craved.
Her hands were tangled in his hair and his fingers trailed down to grab her hips closer like he couldn't get enough. Like he was starving and she was his salvation. Like her body shaped all his new memories.
And I…I was still standing there, my eyes stinging and watching. Suffocating in silence.
I squeezed my eyes shut and scrambled back behind the walls, but the sounds only got louder. I could hear them kissing, ravaging each other, the sounds of leather against leather, and a gasping moan…that was just unbearable. It was like a knife twisting into me, burying itself deeper and deeper.
I still had my hands over my mouth, now controlling the sobs that threatened to spill out.
"You're tense," I heard Rhea mutter against his lips. "That girl…is she getting under your skin?"
There was a deep silence.
"She's not important."
That one sentence ripped through and shattered something deep and permanent. I wondered if he knew I was there, hiding behind the window, if this was all a punishment. Did he really not care at all?
"You're lying," Rhea said darkly. "I saw your face when I came in. You looked worried for some reason. Worried for her? Or-"
"I don't want her, Rhea, and she'd never, ever make me feel the same way that you do," he raised his voice. "I don't even know her and I don't care if she was in my life at any point because it's been a long time. And she's not any more important to me than the dirt under my boots. She's just a rat, like the whole lot of them. So just drop it."
My chest hurt so badly again and the tears spilled out with no restraints. My back slid down the cold wall adjacent to the window until my knees touched the floor. I was shaking now. Shaking and crying and dying inside.
So this was it.
This was all I was to him all this time.
Just another omega that he didn't want anything to do with. Each of our memories, just something he didn't care about anymore.
I was stupid enough to believe that there was something between us when he looked at me on my first day. Even after everything that happened, I still hoped that there was a chance. That he just needed help remembering. But I had made it all up because I was just another fool who didn't deserve any of it. I spent three years hoping for what he promised. That he'd still remember me.
Because he had promised.
A sharp cry rang out from the room again but I knew what that was about. It definitely wasn't a cry for help.
Just pure unadulterated pleasure and I hated every second of it. Why did it have to be Valden?
I got up quietly to leave, making sure my boots didn't squeak against the newly washed tiles until I heard the sound of her boots again and the door hissing shut. I scrambled to the side where large tin containers were grouped together and slid behind them before she could see me. As she walked away, I looked at her retreating form from behind the metal container.
She was smiling.