He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

Lucy carefully raises the cup of coffee from the table.

The room is frozen not because of the chill—no, but because even a breeze does not dare enter without the Beta's permission.

A man in his late 60s anxiously waits for Lucy to finish drinking her coffee. His features, although old, boasts of the attractiveness he held in his youth. His salt and pepper hair is slicked back, away from his face and exposing his wide forehead. The reading glasses he usually wears sit atop the desk behind him.

As he sits on the sofa, he is grateful that the scent patches plastered on his scent glands hide his nervousness. As an Alpha, he sometimes can't believe that he's being intimidated by a Beta woman who is not even half his age.

He holds his breath as he watches the steam float in front of the blonde's impassive face, wishing for a crack in her expression to appear. Anything, really, that will let him know if he's about to receive a bomb or a blessing.

After all, he has learned since the first time he mistakenly read her mood. He won't live this long if he can't even do that.

Lucy crosses her legs, leans forward on her seat, and puts back the cup on the table in one fluid motion. The slight thud of the cup on the wooden surface is loud, but not loud enough to hide the gulp that the man swallows. They both pretend not to notice.

Then, without a preamble, Lucy says, "I'll be leaving in a week."

The man wants to jump in joy, but he contains his ecstasy into a small smile. "That's a pity," he says with as much sadness in his tone that he can muster, "how long will you be out for?"

They both know he's faking it, but Lucy doesn't point it out. Instead, she opts not to directly answer his question by saying, "There's a lot of work waiting for me, but I'll be checking in from time to time."

The man doesn't say anything because he doesn't know what to feel. It's not as if having Lucy around is detrimental when in fact, the opposite is true. The hospital has seen major improvements since she has gotten involved in management. The staff seems to be happier and the workflow was reduced after she proposed upgrading several amenities. All this, she managed to do without straining the hospital's budget.

He's certain that the more authority she has, the better it will be not only for the staff but for the patients as well.

Lucy's presence is more of a boon than a curse. It's just that as the director of the hospital, he has interacted with her the most. He has seen how unrelenting she can be to get what she wants, and how she doesn't blink when forced to make a decision he would normally hesitate on.

Her aura and attitude can intimidate even a veteran like him, so although he's relieved not to have her constantly barking orders, he still acknowledges the loss for what it is.

"Thank you for accommodating my requests," Lucy says after a while, unaffected by the silence from Director Kim.

'Request' is a modest way of putting it, especially because a separate ward is currently being built at the hospital. There is also some new equipment that costs more than his annual salary on its way. Aside from those, he has also called upon old connections to hire a team of doctors that specializes in male omega pregnancy, all for one person.

However, despite the effort he exerted, the hospital director is willing to do it again.

This time, Director Kim doesn't need to fake anything. His smile is genuine when he says, "Kaiden is the son of my family's savior. There's no need for thanks".

Then, with a hint of exhaustion, he adds: "Doing this much is only natural. After all, this place belongs to him."

Lucy knows where this conversation is headed because it's the same one that she has been deflecting since the director brought it up. Her answer then is still the same as her answer now.

"As I said before," she says before the director's familiar words are spoken, "Kaiden has no interest in administration."

The smile visibly drops from the director's face upon hearing that, as if Kaiden didn't reject the offer at the first chance he got.

"Please refrain from bringing this up again," Lucy says with an edge to her tone. "There's no need to stress Kaiden during his pregnancy."

Truly, Lucy can't understand how the director thought it's a great idea to have a pregnant Omega working despite the high risk, but she also can't say that she's completely ignorant of the director's woes. It's difficult to pretend not to know when the man isn't shy in expressing his desire to retire.

"I understand," Director Kim says with a sigh. "I shall let this matter rest."

When Lucy stands up to leave, he follows her while saying, "Give my greetings to Jean."

Lucy extends her hand for a shake. When Director Kim accepts it, she says, "I will."

She closes the door as she leaves, and the director hopes this will be the last he sees of her in a while.

It's a short goodbye, more out of courtesy than necessity, yet it feels like a decade has passed between the first knock on the door and Lucy's fading steps in the hallway.

--

There's something soft on top of Kaiden. It's a great contrast to the plastic bench below him.

When he shifts slightly to his side, it glides down to the floor. He tries to reach for it with his eyes closed, wanting to be covered again, but someone beats him to it.

Even in his sleep, Kaiden realizes that someone put a blanket on top of him, and it brings back a familiar feeling.

However, before he can grasp on to that fading memory, a hand on his shoulder gently stirs him awake.

"Don't sleep here," a quiet female voice says near his face, "go to your room."

Kaiden tries to protest, not wanting to move away from where he's dozing, but when the voice calls him again, he has no choice but to open his eyes.

With bleary eyes, a familiar face slowly comes into his sight: dark brown eyes and platinum blonde hair.

There's a small smile on her face, but from this close, Kaiden can see the dark circles that her concealer can't hide.

He rubs the sleep off his eyes, dislodging the blanket that Lucy tucked him in with, as he mumbles a soft whine.

Lucy rubs his arm up and down with a warm hand as if she's soothing a child. When the blanket falls off to reveal the tiny bump on his stomach, her movements falter a bit. It's barely noticeable, if one doesn't take a second look, but it's enough to make Lucy hesitate.

She treats Kaiden like a child because, in her eyes, he is one. He's too young to be carrying a child of his own, yet she's about to leave. What will happen to him if she's gone?

She can't bear the thought of something bad happening again, especially not after receiving the fake news of his death.

Lucy is not strong enough to go through that for a second time.

"Are you leaving?" Kaiden asks her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

When Lucy nods, she tries to put a reassuring smile on her face. The longer she looks at Kaiden's red eyes, the more she wants to stay. Her instincts are urging her to hover around the Omega, at least until he safely delivers, but she knows she can't.

Bigger things are waiting for her away from this island—things Kaiden doesn't need to know about, so she says, "I'll be back before your due date, and I'll constantly check on you."

Kaiden laughs, the sound faint as he has yet to fully wake up, before he says, "Will you call every day like Auntie Jean?"

"We'll call you together."

"I forgot that you're working for her now," Kaiden says while he stretches, rubbing his neck that is sore from sleeping upright. "What do you do, anyway?"

It's been on Kaiden's mind for a while now. Lucy used to be the Head Secretary, so will she be in a similar role?

"I'm an executive assistant," she says, confirming Kaiden's thoughts. "Now, come on. Let's get you back to your room."

He doesn't ask why his aunt needs her, or how they met. He simply smiles when Lucy pulls him up from the bench.

He readies himself for the nagging that will come—scolding him for sleeping in such a place, but not before he takes another look at the reason why he keeps coming back.

On the wall across from where he fell asleep hangs a framed picture of an attractive young woman. Her hair is the same color as his; her eyes a pale orange shade instead of his red. Below the photo is a plaque that reads: Katherine Yves, Founder.