[Zephyr's pov]

3 years before.

"Don't even think of playing house with me. This marriage will only stay on paper, no one outside this family should know about this. Get it?"

I harshly whispered while staring daggers at the omega beside me. He didn't say anything and just creepily staring back at me.

With that, we signed the paper. I took a glance at the expressionless omega who was sitting next to me. The omega was just silently sitting there, without uttering a single word from the beginning until we finished signing the marriage form. That made me even angrier. The omega's calm demeanour hadn't even changed, not even a tiny flinch.

I glanced at my grandfather who was waiting for us to exchange the wedding ring. I sighed and took the red velvet box that was lying on the cold glass surface of the coffee table in front of us and opened it. In the box, laid a pair of platinum wedding bands. I paid it no mind and quickly slid one of the ring on the omega's left ring finger. I let him do them same for me.

Granddad who was sitting on his wheelchair was looking at us with a wide grin on his face. He opened his arms wide, gesturing us two to come into his arms. I smiled and hugged him tightly. Granddad stopped and turned his head towards the silent omega who was standing still in place, staring blankly at us. I groaned inwardly.

"Come on! Give Granddaddy a hug!" Granddad urged him. Reluctantly, he was coming closer slowly before his frail hand was pulled by Granddad who was two times his size. Our shoulders touched. My entire hair was standing in disgust. I could smell a faint sweet smell from his body. I nearly gagged.

"You sure you don't want any wedding? I think it's too sad to only sign the papers without any wedding," Granddad asked while releasing us from his hug. I sighed from relieve.

The omega nodded. I just stood there in silence. If I was the one who told Granddad that I didn't want any wedding ceremony, he would certainly disagreed and forced us to have a wedding. Ugh. No, thank you. I'd rather run away from home than everybody who knows me knowing that I was married with this orphaned omega.

Thankfully, the omega didn't even want to hold any ceremony and had already told that to Granddad earlier. What was the reason? I didn't care why. The most important thing was I was spared from announcing this stupid marriage to the whole world!

Granddad gestured to Alvin, his assistant and the beta gave him a small royal purple box with a big white ribbon on top. Granddad shifted his eyes towards us and smiled widely. I kneeled in front of him when I noticed that he looked like he was trying to say something.

"This is your wedding gift from me," he said while handed the present box into my hand. I opened the lid and saw a bunch of keys bundled together. One of the keys was tied with a small white ribbon. I looked at Granddad's face in shock and excitement.

"It was the key to your new house in Evergreen Hills. I know you wanted to buy one of those, so I got that as a present for the both of you," he said with a grin.

I was so happy that I ended up hugging him tightly. It was so tight that Granddad was coughing and tapping my back at the same time. Alvin interrupted and made me released the poor choking old man. I grinned. "Sorry."

Granddad took the omega's hand and looked at him lovingly. He then shifted a glance towards me. "I wish you both to be happy. Maybe this marriage was just my selfish wish, but I want to believe that I had made the best decision for both of you." He looked at the omega. "I'm sorry that I was being so rude as intruding on your life."

The omega dropped on his knees and looked up at Granddad. He shook his head. "Thank you for giving me this chance," he said, smiling at the old man who was sitting in front of him. I grimaced when I heard the words. Sure. Of course an omega would be thankful for the opportunity to marry an excellent and rich alpha like me!

Wait.

Was he the one who begged Granddad to marry me?! If not, why would Granddad want me to marry this... this omega with no clear background or any ties with the prominent families?

Granddad stroked the omega's head and planted a kiss on the top of his curly chestnut crown. "You know, I always thought of you as my own grandkid. When I saw you at the-"

My phone rang. I walked away from the two and looked at the caller's name. Vanessa! I smiled with glee and walked out of the room. As soon as the door was closed, I slided on the green icon and answered the call.

"Hello, babe," the voice on the other side greeted me with her usual sweet and cheerful voice

“Hey, sweetie pie.” My heart broke when the reality hit me. I am now married with another person instead of my beloved sweetheart and she didn't even know that. How hurt would she be if she found out that I was married to an omega who was much more incompetent than her?

“Babe? Something's wrong?” she asked with a worried voice.

I forced a smile even though I knew she couldn't see my face from the other side of the line. “Nothing. I just miss you so much.”

I wasn't a lie, though. I missed her. I missed her beautiful smile, her sweet voice, her cute laugh, her warm kisses... I missed her everything. Especially in times like this, when I had no choice but to lie to her. I'm so sorry, Vanessa. I had no choice.

“I miss you too,” she whispered, letting out a soft sigh.

That simple sentence had made all the tremors in my heart disappeared. A smile bloomed on my lips. I looked at the mahogany door on my left. I need to go in before Granddad would be looking for me.

“Vee, I gotta go. I’ll go and see you later.”

“’Kay. I love you,” she whispered lovingly.

I smiled. Oh, how I wish I could just teleport myself to her right now and embraced her in my arms. “I love you more.”

The call ended too soon. I exhaled a long breath before turning my head towards the door. The thick wooden door somehow looked so intimidating in my eyes.

My face froze when I was slapped with the thought of having to live with an omega under the same roof. What if he had his heat in the house? Then, the whole house would be stench with his pheromones.

There would be no way I am going to be seduced by a lowly omega. No! I would not let myself lose control over something stupid as an omega's pheromones!

I inhaled a deep breath and pushed open the door. My eyes met with the amber eyes of the male omega. I glared at him, but the expression on his face was never changed.

●::■::■::●

I opened the main double door and stepped into the house, dragging my silver suitcase with me. The omega was standing two meters behind me, carrying only his small backpack on his shoulders. There was no one would live in the house besides us two. I told Grandad that we need our privacy, so he just let us be without any maids or a butler assigned to us. Of course, I only requested that because I didn't want pretending to be lovey-dovey like a married couple with him.

My assistant, Jason was busy carrying my other stuffs into the house. I directed him to carry the luggage to the master bedroom upstairs. I looked around the house. It had modern and contemporary touches which I loved it very much. It had two living rooms on each floors. The living room on the first floor looked more homey and warm, while the living room upstairs had a more simple and modern look. The kitchen, which I probably wouldn't use was designed with more rusty look with bricks on some parts on the walls and plywood on the others. The counters and stools were also made of weathered woods.

Jason came down the stairs and asked the omega which room would he stay in. By the way, Jason had already knew about how I didn't approve of this marriage.

“I'll just use the one near the kitchen,” said the omega with a slow voice.

Jason was so shocked that his eyes looked like it would popped out of his sockets anytime. He stared at the omega in bewilderment.

“Sir? But there were a lot of nicer and bigger room upstairs. Besides, that room is for servants-"

The omega stared directly at Jason's face with his unreadable face. Very creepy, I would say.

“It's okay. Small rooms makes me feel comfortable,” he shifted his gaze towards the corner heading to the hidden room that he had chose.

With that being said, Jason was left with no choice but to comply. I scoffed and told the beta, “It's his choice, Jason. Let him be.”

I left them and went upstairs to the master bedroom. My body felt very tired from all that was happening during this week. I groaned in relieve as my back hit the soft surface of my bed. My eyes suddenly was hit by the sudden drowsiness that visited without warning. I then drifted off to the dream world.