"My mate passed away three years ago,” Chris began. “And I still haven’t found my second chance mate. I truly like you, and I want to help you. I can’t bear to see you working so hard. I would treat Noah as my own child."

Chris looked at me with tender eyes, and I could feel his emotions. But I couldn’t respond to him.

While I was figuring out how to say no to him, Lila walked in.

"Hi, Chris! I’m Noah’s aunt, Lila. We met before at the parent-teacher meeting!" Lila extended her hand to Chris.

"Hello, Lila."

"A lot of people have pursued Veya before, but she turned them all down. She is not able to forget her mate, Kael. After all, everyone knows that he died saving her..." Lila positioned herself between me and Chris. " I hope you won’t pressure my sister too much."

"Don’t worry, I would never pressure her," Chris replied, then turned to me. "Is what Lila said true, Veya?"

I nodded and politely said, "Right now, I just want to finish paying off Kael’s debt and raise Noah. I’m not considering anything else at the moment."

"I understand."

As Chris walked away towards the yard, Lila grabbed my arm and started ranting.

"Noah is so outstanding; not just anyone can be his father!" She continued,

"Kael treated you so well when he was alive, even willing to die for you. I doubt you’ll ever find another man who loves you as much as he did. I think these men are just after your beauty. Who knows, after marrying you, they might even mistreat Noah. You really have to be careful!"

"You’re absolutely right," I said.

Seeing that she had convinced me, Lila beamed.

"Veya, I’m sure if Kael is watching us from heaven, he would be so proud of you! Since I haven’t found my mate yet, I’ll stay by your side and take care of you and Noah."

"Thank you. You’re such a wonderful sister," I said, my words dripping with sarcasm that Lila failed to catch. Instead, she happily continued decorating the house with balloons.

After that, whenever a man tried to approach me, Lila would step in to reject them on my behalf.

***

As Noah grew older, he became increasingly attached to Lila, who spoiled him.

When Noah got into a fight at school and left another child bruised and battered, Lila praised him for being brave.

When Noah reached adolescence and started spending extravagantly, indulging in materialism, Lila gave him money freely and let him spend as he pleased.

During school breaks, she would take Noah on trips without me.

This led to the deterioration of my relationship with Noah. He often complained that I was too nagging and strict. After every trip with Lila, he used to turn distant and cold toward me.

Once they returned from a trip, I noticed Noah wearing a pair of limited-edition sneakers. Feeling smug, words slipped out of his mouth, which he wasn’t supposed to.

"A good man bought these for me."

It didn’t take long for me to understand: Lila had been taking Noah on trips to meet Kael. The three of them had reunited as a family long ago!

"What man? You shouldn’t accept such expensive gifts from strangers," I asked Noah.

Before he could answer, Lila jumped in, "Relax. It was my coworker. He really likes Noah and said he’s such a smart boy, so he gave him the shoes."

"Anyways, Veya, you can focus on running your company. I’ll take good care of Noah! The debt should almost be paid off by now, right? Once Noah grows up, he can help you manage the company."

"Sounds good," I replied calmly.

So she had been secretly digging into my debt and the company’s situation all along!

But this time, I won’t let them get away with it.

The design company I currently run was originally founded by Kael.

After his "death," the company was drowning in debt. Now, I’ve finally paid off the 10 million owed.

The price I paid was ignoring my needs and my health. I hadn’t taken a single day off in over a decade.

As an Omega, my body isn’t as strong as Lila’s or Kael’s—they’re both Betas. The high workload has made me even more frail.

However, I have a natural talent for design, so the company’s orders kept growing steadily.

When Noah turned 18, he finally shifted and gained his wolf.

Even though I knew he was not my biological son, I still felt relieved.

But his following words pierced my heart.

"Luckily, I didn’t inherit your genes. I’m not a weak Omega. Like my father, I’m a Beta!" He commented.

I thought raising him for 18 years would at least earn me his love. I never expected Noah to despise my Omega bloodline so much.

When I tried to prepare a coming-of-age ceremony for him as a werewolf, he declined.

"There’s no need. I’m going on a safari in Africa with Aunt Lila. You can’t hunt anyway, so there’s no point in you coming along."

I nodded without saying anything and returned to my study to quietly work on preparations for taking the design company public.

Many business partners attended the event on the day of the IPO, including some Alpha pack leaders.

"Veya is truly amazing. After her mate passed away, she single-handedly raised her child, paid off debts, and managed the company. As a woman, I admire her so much." One of the shareholders said.

"There aren’t many women like her these days. I even pursued her once, but her heart was only for her late mate. She couldn’t let anyone else in."

"She’s completely changed my view of Omegas! I used to think Omega women were only fit to be housewives."

Their words of praise floated into my ears as I stood on stage and announced the company’s official listing. Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

My hard work had finally paid off!

As always, Chris brought me lavender. This time, it was an entire truckload.

"Congratulations, you’ve finally done it."

"Thank you, Chris!" I nodded at him gratefully. "Can I invite you to share a bottle of champagne with me?"

Just as we were about to pop the champagne, Lila entered the room with Kael on her arm.

"Kael..."

I feigned surprise.

Over the years, my guilt and love for him had faded entirely.

Remembering the scene of him and Lila in that hotel bed, I fought to suppress my feelings of grievance and anger.

Soon, the crowd started murmuring.

"Isn’t that Veya’s mate? Didn’t he die?"

"I even attended his funeral! We used to be business partners, and he owed me a lot of money before his death."

"What’s he doing here now?"

"And why is he with Veya’s sister?"

...

Amidst the shocked whispers, Lila walked up to me and handed me a paternity test report.

"As you can see, Kael isn’t dead, and Noah isn’t your child—he’s mine and Kael’s. That test-tube baby you thought you had was actually my and Kael’s fertilized embryo. I am Noah’s biological mother!

It’s time for you to return my child to me!"

This revelation hit the crowd like a bomb, and many began voicing their outrage on my behalf.

"How could someone be so shameless? This is no different from a cuckoo stealing another bird’s nest!"

"Veya has been through so much, paying off debts for a man like that!"

"They didn’t just scam her into paying off debts—they also stole her youth and a chance at happiness!"

Even Chris looked at me with sympathy in his eyes.

"Veya, let me throw them out for you."

"No need." I stopped him. "This is my personal matter. I can handle it myself."

I noticed Noah standing behind them. I approached him and cupped his face.

"Noah, will you choose them or me?" I asked calmly.

Noah glanced at Lila as if drawing strength from her, and then responded in a neutral voice.

"Mom, this will be the last time I call you that. Thank you for taking care of me all these years, but Lila’s love for me is no less than yours. In fact, she’s spent more time with me than you have.

And I’m relieved she’s my real mother because if I’d inherited your genes, I’d be stuck as the weakest Omega for life. I hope you won’t stand in the way of our family reunion."

Hearing this, Lila immediately pulled Noah into her arms.

"All my love for you over the years wasn’t in vain."

Lila then turned to mock me.

"Veya, if you want a child, you can find another man and have one yourself. But don’t cling to Noah anymore."

I gave a bitter smile. After all these years, I had only raised an ungrateful wolf cub. So be it. He was never indeed mine, to begin with.

Before I could respond, Kael couldn’t wait to add his threat.

"Back then, I saved you from being attacked and stabbed by a group of rogues. If I wouldn’t reach on time, they would have raped you. " He then turned to the crowd and raised his voice.

"After recovering from my injuries, I faked my death because I never loved Veya—I’ve always loved Lila. I only hid the truth because I didn’t want to hurt her. How was I wrong to do that?"

The crowd buzzed with mixed opinions. Some men seemed swayed by Kael’s words and acting.

Seeing fewer voices of criticism, Kael pressed me further.

"Veya, we’re even now. All I’m asking for is what rightfully belongs to me—this company. It was founded solely by me before we became mates. I’ll give you 100,000 as compensation for managing the company all these years."

He then handed me a transfer agreement.

At this, Chris could no longer hold back. He grabbed Kael by the collar and roared,

"100,000? To repay everything Veya has sacrificed? She helped you pay off 10 million in debt!"

Hearing Chris’s words, one of my business partners immediately offered to find the best lawyer to help me fight this in court.

But Kael remained unfazed by Chris’s fury. Instead, he smeared my reputation further.

"Oh, is this your lover? Looks like you’ve been living quite well since my fake death. You probably paid off those debts by sleeping with these men, didn’t you? I mean, how else could an Omega manage a company?"

Bang! Chris punched Kael square in the face, knocking him to the ground.

In all the years I’d known Chris, he’d always been gentle. It was the first time I’d seen him lose his temper.

When Chris raised his fist to hit him again, I stopped him.

"No, Chris, stop!"

I stepped forward and, to everyone’s astonishment, signed the transfer agreement.

"Fine. I’ll let you have your family reunion."

Lila and Kael were momentarily stunned as if they hadn’t expected me to agree so readily.

"But," I continued, "I have one condition."