Chapter 1 The Engagement Party Humiliation
The crystal chandelier’s light stabbed my eyes.
The champagne tower glinted with fake elegance, and the air reeked of overly sweet food and loud chatter. This was supposed to be my engagement party with Richard Gray—until he stepped onto the stage holding another woman’s hand.
The microphone let out a harsh feedback squeal, shutting everyone up.
Richard—my fiancé, the Alpha who once swore he loved me more than anything—wore a cold, fake smile. Next to him stood Lisa Titan—heir to the Titan Family, a stunning but arrogant Alpha.
“Thanks for coming,” Richard said, his voice booming through the speakers. “Today, I’ve got two announcements.”
My chest tightened, heart racing.
“First,” he paused, his gaze slicing through me like ice, “my engagement to Emma Green is over.”
My mind went blank. The room erupted. Countless eyes locked onto me—surprised, pitying, downright cruel—like a pack of wolves circling prey.
“Why?” I heard myself ask, my voice dry, barely audible over the whispers.
Richard scoffed, the sound scraping my ears. “Why? Emma, haven’t you figured it out yet?”
He pulled Lisa closer, his arm tight around her waist. “Look at yourself. Your pheromones are so weak they’re practically nonexistent. A second-rate Omega like you—you think you deserve to be Gray Family’s lady? Your bloodline’s worthless.”
Lisa leaned into him, her voice dripping with fake sympathy “Richard, don’t be so mean. Poor Emma just… wasn’t born into the right family.” She glanced at me, eyes glowing with pride. “Alpha pairs are about power. You get that, right?”
Get it?
This was a setup—a public slap in the face!
Every stare felt like a needle in my skin. My nails dug into my palms, and my body shook—not from sadness, but from pure rage.
Richard twisted the knife “From today, Lisa’s the only woman in my life. Emma, know your place. Stop living in a fantasy.”
Someone snickered.
I stood alone in the hall, a joke. The air felt thick, hard to breathe. Inside me, something hot and wild started building—like a locked door was about to burst open, triggered by this humiliation.
Lisa smirked at my pale face, satisfied. Richard ignored me, raising his glass to the guests.
The party went on, but my shame was already done. I ran out of that suffocating room.
My heels clicked on the cold marble, echoing behind me. Night air hit my face, but it didn’t cool the burn of embarrassment. I stumbled into a moonless rose bed and collapsed, hugging my knees.
Tears finally came—not for Richard, but for the shame. Lisa’s smirk, Richard’s cold words, the guests’ whispers—they played on loop in my head.
“Why me?” I buried my face in my arm, shoulders shaking. “Just because I’m not strong? Because my family’s nobody?”
Sadness and helplessness pulled me under. I could feel my weak Omega pheromones—another joke in the quiet night.
Then, something strange stirred inside me.
