He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

"I'm not lying!" Olivia says in between shrieks of laughter. "My older brother really didn't know that it was him stinking up the house."

Kaiden continues laughing as he listens to the teenager's story, walking slowly with a hand on his stomach.

"He even changed our laundry detergent because he thought it was messing with this body odor or something. Thank goodness he quickly realized that he was presenting as an alpha. Our parents were going nuts!"

Kaiden doesn't say anything; he can't. It's difficult to speak without wheezing in laughter at the image of a panicky Alpha changing the sheets every morning and showering three times within two hours.

"I swear," Olivia says as she continues making fun of her older brother, "how can he be so stupid not to know his own scent?"

"Did he present late?" Kaiden asks after he finally calmed down enough.

"He did," Olivia admits, a little breathless red from laughing too much. "We haven't had an alpha or an omega in our family in two generations, and even his secondary gender examination said he was a beta."

"How did your parents react?"

"I don't remember how they reacted when they took him for another exam." She tilts her head to the side as if it'll help her remember. "I just know they were happy that they could finally close the windows. It was so cold, you know!"

"Did he open all the windows during winter?"

"That blockhead did, screaming about how he keeps smelling a malty aroma wherever he goes. He even blamed me once." She is pouting, but there's a hint of a smile in her eyes when she says, "I don't know what I did to deserve such a stupid older brother."

The two laugh again, filling the corridor with their voices. They continue talking about anything and everything.

Olivia tells him how it took some convincing before her parents allowed her to volunteer at this island, but with her older brother's support, they eventually relented.

Kaiden learns that the teenager is happy that she presented as a beta, mainly because she plans to become a doctor someday. He expresses his approval of her chosen dream, encouraging the teenager to do her best.

They also talk about which activity at the hospital they like best. Kaiden prefers indoor activities, such as trivia night and the monthly movie marathons, since he can't move a lot while pregnant. Olivia, on the other hand, likes the outdoor activities more, especially the badminton tournaments against some of the more active, older patients.

Although, both of them won't dare to join any of the chess games. Why waste her time when Olivia knows she has no chance of winning? Kaiden also knows he will doze off before the game ends.

As they reach the office where Kaiden usually has his checkups, Olivia suddenly exclaims, "I haven't met a lot of omegas before I came here, but you smell the best!" She even extends a thumbs-up to express her approval.

"Do you like strawberries and milk?" Kaiden asks, knowing that there's no hiding the milky undertone in his scent now that he's visibly pregnant.

"I do but not just that," Olivia says with a shake of her head, her dark brown bob swishing side to side. "You smell like the promise of a good day! Like when I don't do my homework and then they announce that classes are suspended."

Kaiden smiles at the comparison. Although he doesn't have a lot of good memories from his school days, seeing Olivia's serene face is enough for him to somewhat understand the sentiment.

"You have a sharp nose," he tells her, releasing more of his pheromones her way.

The teenager hums with her hands on her cheeks. Eyes closed and content, she says, "I'm just young. Pollution hasn't gotten to me yet."

Kaiden chuckles upon seeing her relaxed expression, his melodic laughter further loosening the tension on the teenager's body. Olivia isn't shy at taking deep inhales, her shoulders sagging with every lungful. She's about to come closer to the pregnant Omega when the door next to them suddenly opens.

Olivia jumps, but Kaiden merely turns his head as the female doctor calls for him.

"Nice to see you again, Kaiden," she says from inside the room.

Kaiden greets her as he enters, the teenager following closely behind.

--

"You're 18 weeks pregnant?!" Olivia's voice rises at the end of her question.

Kaiden turns his head from where he's lying, his stomach exposed as the doctor applies a gel on his abdomen. Now that they got the routine questions out of the way, Kaiden won't feel at ease without seeing and hearing the ultrasound for himself.

The doctor chuckles at her question, and Kaiden watches with amused eyes as the tips of Olivia's ears turn red.

"No, I mean—" Olivia fidgets in her seat, eyes flitting back and forth from Kaiden's bump to his face. "My sister-in-law wasn't as big as you when she was at 18 weeks," she says with a low murmur.

The doctor chuckles again, while Kaiden looks at his bump and asks, "Am I big? I thought it was normal."

With her hands up, Olivia is quick to say, "You're not fat or anything. I was just surprised. I didn't notice how b-big you are through the c-clothes you wear."

"This size is natural," the doctor says as she presses a small handheld device to Kaiden's stomach, "and it will only grow bigger than what you're used to."

"What?" Olivia asks with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in understanding.

However, no one answers her question. The doctor closely watches the screen as she moves the device around while Kaiden has his eyes closed.

The procedure is painless, but he can't say that it's pleasant either. There's also his anxiety growing stronger the longer the room is silent.

Usually, Lucy is beside him to calm him down, to reassure him that everything is fine, but Kaiden has to be braver now that she's not around.

It's not easy for him to be brave when he knows it's not only his life that's at risk.

The silence stretches on to a minute, and then two—until Kaiden feels like crying the longer it goes on.

Why is it quiet? Where's that pitter-patter sound that tells him nothing is wrong?

He squeezes his eyes tighter, the nerves making it difficult for him to breathe.

Oh, /gods/. Is this it? Is this where he receives the bad news?