Chapter 2 Shattered Trust

Ellie's POV

I feel an agonizing sensation in my heart, as if someone has taken all the happiness and shoved it within. What is Daniel doing here with Emily? I don't want to believe it but I know I can't turn a deaf ear to what is going on. I shake my head in puzzlement and go back, dread mixing with confusion as I cannot turn around to whatever is going on beyond that door.

I exit the place silently, an ache in my heart and my brain switches off. I thought Daniel was the one person I could really count on, the one person who actually cared. But now, nothing makes any sense.

I step out into the street, allowing the weather to refresh my mind a bit. I'm in a state of discomfort; it is as though the floor has been taken away from beneath me. All this time, I wished to come to terms with this person, who probably did not wish anything for me.

After searching the park for a while, I finally found a bench which I sat on for dusk. I have no experience with it and am dizzy. Hopes and plans, which were filled with all of this night, gradually went away.

But as I sit there, I feel a yearning that swells deep within me. For as long as I can remember, I've had the impression that I was not good enough, that there was nothing to offer me other than that I was a weak omega. It would probably make sense to begin by reversing their words.

I am well aware that tomorrow will be tough and that, no doubt, the rest of the world will be full of gossip. However, I will not let them label me. I will still attend my ceremony, and I will still wear my head up. I will locate my inner strength, whether Daniel is there.

Finally, I got to my feet, my heart aching but my resolve intact. This evening might not turn out the way I had envisioned, but an end that is not. That's only the start.

I felt as if I were a statue with my heart ripped into pieces. The very foundation of my existence seemed to have shifted in no time. I have been looking forward to this day since morning, the ceremony, Daniel's vows, and the beautiful years we spent together. Only this time was all those memories, hopes, everything, wiped out courtesy of the horrifying view in front of me.

It was too much. The view in front of me was incomprehensible. How do you even handle something like that? What do you even feel? Rage, sadness, and especially shock, all of this came over me in turns. My body began shaking uncontrollably, and I noticed that tears I hadn't even been aware of had drenched my cheeks. I took a shaky breath, trying to compose myself. I wiped my face, which was wet with tears, but it was in vain. The tears continued to flow.

Then shuddering, I moved forward and forced my gaze on them. Daniel and my step-sister Emily were all over each other and had not even noticed me standing there. They were in each other, as if nothing of this world existed outside their boundaries. It was pure torture. My heart was in agony when I saw how lovingly Daniel skinned her double cheek, the same way he used to cup my face.

I surged with an unfamiliar zeal, urging myself that I had to witness this treachery, otherwise, I would never accept the truth. I shoved the door wide open and its creaking sound finally made them pay attention. Emily's face turned ghostly the moment she turned and spotted me. She hastily wrapped a blanket around herself and Daniel sat up in shock and embarrassment. There was a short period of silence among us.

The air was still. I almost felt as if I were being suffocated by its intensity. Emily was instantly up and out of the room, elbowing me aside and dismissing me in every sense of the word, including sight. Surely, I thought, there was no way she would simply ignore the fact that she made this mess and run away from it.

Finally, it was Daniel who faced me and, instead of being naked, he had a sheet that covered half his form, showing an expression that moved from shock to a near blankness. He gazed at me, then dropped his head to the floor, unable to look me in the face.

"E-ellie..." the boy stammered the next moment, his eyes pleadingly focused on my lap. "I... I can talk."

I did not think he deserved an explanation, shaking my head instead as I tried to think about how best to articulate my simmering rage. Why should he even try to clarify this? How could he possibly look me in the eye after what he had just done? The same man that so sweetly professed his love to me and vowed to present me as his mate that very night, was caught cheating on me with my step-sister. I felt an ugly, wrenching twist of rage and despair in my heart. All the faith I had in him seemed a huge prank.

Daniel then unexpectedly dropped to the floor begging. Concern and anguish were written all over his face. "Ellie, please. I did something terrible. I don't know what got into me. I... I didn't want this to happen."

The only thing I felt was an overwhelming sense of emptiness, and I just kept looking at him, who was down on the floor and begging with his hands cupped together as in an act of my forgiveness. There was something defensive about the actors' delivery of the lines. It was as if he was afraid of being audibly annoyed and disappointed, and was doing his best to not show it. The entire situation was unreal, more like a bad dream. I inhaled deeply, trying to relax.

"Are you saying that you did not intend for any of this to take place?" I reiterated, more like a whisper. You did not intend to betray me with my step-sister? "And on the day you are guaranteed to present me as your girlfriend?"

Daniel turned his gaze away, the slightest hint of guilt flashed in his face. However, it was only for a few moments, his eyes were back to focusing. "Ellie, please try to understand this, I... I was weak. I don't know why I clung to that girl, but I love you. You are the one I want, not her."