Aleida finished reading the papers, but she stopped for a while at the words "Probability of Maternity: 99.99999%." Unable to fully believe that percentage, she read the highlighted names over and over again, looking for some kind of mistake. Maybe it wasn't about her! But "Aleida Esquivel de Ballestero" and "Victor Monroe" stood out too much on the white paper.
She couldn't lie to herself. The boy next to Erminia was her real son. And Noah...
She looked up, feeling a hollow in her chest. Her eyes had a mixture of confusion, sadness... and above all resentment. She didn't know towards whom. To God or life, for allowing this; to whoever had switched her son...; or to that little boy who grew up by her side, taking the place of her real son.
Or maybe she was just angry with herself for not realizing sooner that she had raised a child who wasn't even hers.
With a thousand conflicting feelings, she didn't know how to face everyone present, so she let others continue watching Erminia's spectacle. And she tried to reduce her sense of presence as much as possible, which was difficult because even though she was a recessive omega, she was visually beautiful.
That's when she met Noah's gaze, who at some point had turned back in her direction. Both pairs of gray eyes looked at each other. He seemed to read her like an open book, uncovering every thought that crossed her mind, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Unable to hold his gaze, she tilted her head and focused on Victor, the young man holding Erminia. Aleida realized that with a simple glance, she could find several similarities between the young man and her husband. Similarities that Noah could never have.
Clutching the papers in her hand, she even hated Erminia for causing all this spectacle, but she knew her friend better than anyone, whom she liked to call attention to more than anything. Her motives could be good, but her actions always left something to be desired.
Noah sensed the discomfort his presence represented for Aleida and then said goodbye to his mother. That was probably the last sincere hug they would share. There would be no more complicity, no more weekends at the lake. No more surprise trips. He didn't regret the absence of those things, only the absence of a mother. But now he was an adult and could live with that.
The boy looked down at his feet, covered in sophisticated footwear.
Yes. He had truly returned. Noah almost wanted to laugh.
In his previous life, he had considered this to be his lowest point. Where he lost his power and status. And above all, the exact moment when he lost his family. As the years passed, he could spend whole days recalling this scene, lamenting letting everything explode in front of the guests. Maybe he wouldn't have been so humiliated if everything had been revealed in private, but the past didn't exist and now he found himself here again, repeating the same scene. It seemed that after years of suffering, this wasn't as terrifying as he had believed the first time.
So he glanced at Aleida, promised himself that this would be the last time he longed for her love.
And without remorse, two seconds later, he averted his gaze from the woman who had been his mother for nineteen years, and focused on what he had to do next. He looked at the young man in front of him.
A nineteen-year-old alpha, with brown skin and short, almost shaved hair. Gray eyes and thin eyebrows. Slim build, although with a couple of muscles hidden under his clothes. His overall appearance was youthful and vigorous, as expected of a young alpha.
Victor... his boyfriend for two years, in the current timeline.
Actually, they had been friends since high school, when the alpha - thanks to his intelligence - received a scholarship and was able to attend a prestigious school, where of course, he was bullied, as he didn't have the status or the money to stand out. And where, despite the adversities, he came out on top.
Noah fell in love with that, with his persistence and strength. But he could perceive the hidden contempt in Victor's gray eyes. He thought that if he made an effort to show his sincerity, Victor would eventually see something beyond his status; and as time passed, the young alpha's reluctance decreased...to the point where a naive Noah believed it had disappeared.
What he didn't know was that Victor had only learned to fake and hide everything in his heart.
That's why, for the past two years, he had been able to fake loving looks and sweet words, all to get Noah's financial help. It helped that Noah grew up as a beta and was unaffected by pheromones, making his lies easier. An omega, on the other hand, would have been able to notice that something was wrong in their interactions.
The boy sighed as he remembered all of this. Not because it was necessary, it was still uncomfortable. He had been so naive in his former life that it was almost ridiculous.
"I didn't touch her, she threw herself to the ground," he said disinterestedly after a few seconds. He knew that in any case, he would be framed as the villain by Erminia, but he didn't want to stay silent and let her get away with it so easily.
For his part, Victor didn't expect him to reply to his words and the annoyance was obvious on his face, something that certainly made Noah happy. He never knew that making the alpha angry would be so satisfying.
"Noah!" he shouted.
"Shut up. Don't say my name with your dirty mouth," he complained, almost feeling disgusted. He couldn't believe he had spent years in love with this guy. It was as if death had finally lifted the veil from his eyes. The alpha wasn't even that handsome or outstanding, just smarter than average, and he wasn't the first to strive in a difficult environment, nor would he be the last. What had he seen in him in the first place? The boy felt a little ashamed of his past tastes.
"Could it be because of the protagonist's halo, and then after death I was freed?" Questions swirled in a pile, but they weren't easy to answer. Although certainly, he wasn't so interested in getting an answer. He was just a simple human trying to survive the role that the gods or fate imposed on him.
As long as he didn't make the same mistakes he made in the past, he wouldn't end up the same and would find a happy path for himself. And those mistakes were getting close to Victor, clinging to the Ballesteros, and marrying Jerome. If he didn't do any of those things, he would surely survive his destiny.
And he shouldn't waste any time. His life was too valuable for that. So he had to express his dislike for the protagonist, his resignation to the family, and his reluctance to marriage without hesitation.
He locked eyes with the alpha, and his determination was almost palpable to the human eye.
Victor was taken aback by the cold words of the beta who had always been by his side, almost like a cockroach. He couldn't believe that ruining a simple ridiculous banquet would do what his cruel actions in high school couldn't. Make Noah angry and walk away from him.
A feeling of loss crossed his chest and he had the instinct to let go of Erminia and approach Noah to take him in his arms, reaffirming his place in the other's heart. It's just that when he was about to do it, a delicate hand reached him, causing his effusiveness to die out in less than a second.
Turning, he found the sweet gaze of brown eyes and a feeling of guilt washed over him. Had he really thought that Noah was worth the effort? No. The beta was just a disgusting being occupying his place.
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