Magdalene gasps. “Giorgio, how could you?”
He looks at her. “Stop, Magdalene.”
“But you’re my mate, too!”
“Magdalene.” His voice is sharp. “Shut up.”
I can’t breathe as they argue. I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
“I’m going to go.” My voice is weak, barely a whisper. “I have to leave. You both... You have to work this out.”
“We have,” he growls, squeezing my hand. “Allie, look at me.”
I shake my head. I don’t want to look at him.
“Look at me.” His voice is firm.
I take a breath and open my eyes. I blink through tears. My husband looks at me with soft eyes, and Magdalene stares at me with a snarl on her face.
“Allie.” He cups my cheek and wipes my tears away. “We’ll work through this together, okay? I’ll never let you go.”
“But I have to go,” I cry.
“No. We’re a family now.” He pulls Magdalene closer, and she looks at him like she’s afraid he’s going to hurt her.
He holds her and me close, his fingers threading through my hair and hers. I lean into his chest and let his warmth surround me. He smells good, like the man that I love. Like the man that loved me for so long.
I know he will do anything to keep us all together, and I love him more than anything for it. Even if he doesn’t love me as much as he loves her, even if I’ll never have him all to myself, I know that he will take care of us both.
He has done so many wrongs in his life, and I know he’ll do anything to make up for it.
I hold him close and cry into his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
I will forgive him and love him forever, no matter what.
The next few days are grueling.
Magdalene tries to convince Giorgio to take her out of the penthouse, but he refuses. He knows that they’re safer inside. It’s not ideal, but it’s what they have to do.
I try to stay busy, keeping my mind off of Magdalene and how she tries to tempt him.
She flirts with him. She wears tight clothes, showing off her body to him. She tells him about the things they used to do together, hoping he’ll fall in love with her again.
Sometimes I see him watching her, his eyes following her around the room. She looks at him the same way, and I wish I could see it as a good thing.
It’s a good thing that they care for each other, but I feel like a ghost.
He doesn’t sleep with her anymore, and he spends most of his time holding me. But it’s clear to see that they both want each other more than they want me.
I’m the third wheel of this group, and it feels like I’m going to drive off of a cliff at any moment.
I feel like I can’t hold on to the wheel, that I’m losing control and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
Magdalene tells him that she loves him, every day. She tells him over and over, hoping that he’ll say it back.
I try not to let it get to me. I tell myself that he loves me, that he’s mine.
I just need to be patient. I just have to believe that he’ll love me forever.
But the truth is that I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
Will Giorgio still want me?
Will he give into her and decide I’m not enough? Will she leave him alone when he tells her he’s my Alpha?
Will he come to me and tell me that he’s leaving?
I don’t know, and the uncertainty keeps me up at night.
I sleep in his bed, my body pressed against him. He holds me close, making sure that I’m okay. But I’m not.
I feel so alone, even in his arms. I feel like there’s a canyon between us.
I love him so much, but he’s not the man I thought he was. He’s a good person, but he’s imperfect.
I watch Magdalene while I sleep, even though I shouldn’t.
She’s on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket. She stares out the window at the sky, her eyes filled with tears.
It makes me sad to watch her. I wish she’d leave, but a part of me knows that she can’t.
There’s nowhere else for her to go, and Giorgio won’t let her be hurt.
She’s just as lost as me. She just as broken and fragile.
I close my eyes and roll over. My stomach hurts as I look up at my husband. His eyes are closed, his soft breathing a lullaby.
I should be grateful to have him, but instead I’m afraid.
I’m afraid that he’s going to leave me, that I’m not good enough for him.
That I’m too small, too weak, too damaged to be his Omega.
That he’ll find someone better than me, and he’ll leave me with nothing.
I press my face into his chest, breathing him in. I listen to the sound of his heart beating in his chest, letting it lull me to sleep.
I’m so tired, and I know that tomorrow I’ll do the same thing. I’ll watch her, and I’ll watch him.
I’ll lay in bed and hope that I don’t lose him.
And then I’ll do the exact same thing the next day, and the next, and the next.
Until I can’t bear it anymore, until my heart is too broken to keep going.
I wake up before my Alpha the next morning. I stretch in bed, feeling tired. I’m not sure what time it is. There’s a soft light coming in through the windows, so it’s probably sometime during dawn.
My husband snores next to me, and I roll out of bed quietly. I need to use the bathroom, so I walk across the room.
Magdalene wakes up on the couch, looking up at me. Her eyes are soft and tired, just like mine.
I smile at her as I walk past her. She gives me a halfhearted wave, and I go to the bathroom.