Kiara was panting as she raced into the school auditorium. Today is the day Elena, her daughter's school, wraps up the session. She had exited the office an hour ago and sped through the traffic, determined to arrive here before her husband to surprise her daughter. However, Elena didn't look happy to see her. Instead, her sweet little face crumbled with visible disappointment.
"Why are you here, mommy?" She asked loudly, stepping back before Kiara could hug her. Kiara ignored the tightness in her chest and the long glances all the other parents and kids were throwing her way. Since the school was vacating today, all the students are out here and the place was brimming with lots of parents.
"Baby, I'm here to pick you up." Kiara breathed out with as much cheerfulness she could muster, and she stepped closer to crouch in front of her frowning daughter.
She held up a bag of candies and tickets to a favorite cartoon of Elena's showing in the cinema, cracking a smile. "Today, we'll spend the whole day together. Just us ladies. We'll have lots of fun, visit the cinema and spend lots of time together."
Elena pursed her lips and glanced away, still frowning. When Kiara reached out to touch her shoulder, she stepped back fast as she spoke.
"I don't want that, mommy. You aren't supposed to be here!" She cried out loudly, attracting more people's attention.
As a young budding alpha, her daughter has always been very confident, opinionated and never hesitates to speak her mind since she was three.
"Where is daddy? And Nola? They were supposed to pick me up, then we were supposed to visit the aquarium!"
Kiara's face burned brightly from humiliation. Being rejected by one's daughter in public like this was beyond humiliating.
Still, she swallowed her hurt, reminding herself that her daughter was little. Just five years old. She didn't actually mean anything she was saying.
Kiara controlled her tone, sounding patient and calm.
"But baby, it's been long we spent time together. On Wednesday night, you promised me we'd spend today together, remember?"
Her heart shattered all over again at the thought of that day.
Two nights ago was one of the most painful moments in her entire life, which she never wanted to relive. She was at home with just Elena, while Gerald, her husband was out partying as usual with his lover, Nola.
Elena had ran a mild fever, but she refused to let Kiara feed or take care of her, crying and demanding for either her father or Nola to come care for her instead. Kiara desperately tried placating her but she remained adamant.
She had felt beyond useless and on the verge of tears as she watched her daughter's fever worsened after rejecting her help. Because Elena's health was important than Kiara's pride, she called Gerald to tell him about the situation… but he was unreachable, so she left him some texts.
She had checked the facebook update of Nola, her and Gerald were having the time of their lives in a party while her daughter was sick and demanding for them.
After hours and they were still unreachable, Kiara ended up forcefully caring for Elena while the maids helped with holding Elena down while she cried and tried to squirm away from Kiara, like her mother was hurting her, breaking her heart further. Elena might not love her mother anymore but Kiara would not sit and watch her daughter's sickness worsen.
In the middle of caring for her, Gerald returned with Nola, and instantly, Elena had quitened down as soon as her father and Nola began to care for her and fuss over her. Kiara had watched from the side where she was forgotten at, feeling like a stranger in her own house and in the midst of her family.
After the fever had passed and Elena was alone with Kiara, she had looked guilty when Kiara fussed over her. That was when Kiara made her promise her they'll spend the day together once she's better and her daughter had agreed.
The sound of Elena sniffing brought Kiara back to the present.
"I just don't want to spend today with you, mommy. If I go with you, I won't be able to go to the aquarium with daddy and Nola, and I want to! I want daddy and Nola!" Elena was full on sobbing right now and Kiara's eyes widened. Right now, more onlookers were staring at us when Kiara glanced around.
She could hear a low murmur go through the crowd, and that made her almost die from shame.
"Isn't the kid her mother?"
"Weird."
"Does the child hate her mother cause her mother is clearly a scentless freak?"
"I've heard of that relationship of her husband and that professional diver, Nola. So it's not really a PR relationship, but actually a real one.
Kiara ended up tuning the rest of those gossip out when some teachers were already approaching her.
"Is anything the problem, Mrs Cody?" One of them politely
asked as they accessed a crying Elena. They all knew she was my daughter so there's no speculation that she might be here to kidnap her.
"We were just about to leave." She told them in a steady voice, and reached for her daughter's hand, but her daughter wrenched her hand away fast and went to stand behind one of the teachers.
"I don't want to leave with my mommy. I want my daddy and Nola." She cried out, further breaking Kiara's shattered heart. She hoped to the heavens none of this is being caught on recording. Being rejected in public like this was too humiliating but even though she feel the urge to break down, she'll never do that in public.
The teachers looked at Kiara pitifully as one of them spoke. "Why don't you call her daddy, ma'am? It seems she really doesn't want to leave with you."
After that, Kiara remained in the school with the teachers and some parents and kids that were yet to leave, while waiting for Gerald and Nola to come get Elena.
Again, her daughter has rejected her, and this one hurt than two nights ago.
It was like Elena now hates Kiara. Which was absurd cause they used to be literal best friends before Nola. When Nola became Gerald's little girlfriend, she was always present whenever Gerald spent time with his daughter on numerous outings. Always.
Elena hasn't expected that Nola would end up stealing her daughter's heart like she did her husband's. It must have been easy for her, since she was the professional diver who taught Elena how to swim. That was definitely when their bonding started. Because of Nola, Elena now has an intense obsession with the sea and all it creatures.
The sound of a car pulling up pulled Kiara out of her thoughts.
Her stomach twisted at the sight of Nola and Gerald together, his hand around her slim waist. No matter how many times she's witnessed her cold husband treat Nola like a fragile egg, it still always stunned her cause she doesn't remember him being like this with her in ages.
"Daddy!" Elena cried and jumped off the chair she was seated, sprinting into her father's arms.
Kiara watched as Gerald hugged and kissed her, spinning her around while she giggled happily. She was handed off to Nola who kissed her head and hugged her tightly.
"I missed you, Nola. Why did you and daddy take long?"
Elena revealed even though they just saw two nights ago.
"That's my fault, Princess. We were busy with something very important." Gerald stroked Elena's hair as he spoke.
That meant they were fucking like dogs.
The teachers and few parents still present watched curiously.
Gerald finally stared at Kiara. His eyes were cold and devoid of emotions as usual as he nodded stiffly. "You're here. But you shouldn't have bothered."
This is how it's been between them since she could remember. This vast coldness.
"Yes, cause we promised this princess we were gonna pick her up." Nola sweetly chirped in and I scowled at her, a lot of venomous words on my tongue, ready to be lashed out at her.
But Kiara reminded herself she wouldn't let herself lose control in public like that. She was better than that.
She stepped forward and kissed her daughter's head and as usual, she looked a little guilty and avoided Kiara's gaze.
"Goodbye, baby. Have lots of fun, okay?"
Elena nodded.
Kiara stroked her daughter's hair. She wants to hug her but couldn't stomach being rejected in front of Gerald and Nola, so she swallowed her pain down and stepped away.
"We'll spend time tomorrow together, okay?" She called out and Elena nodded at her.
"Okay, mommy."
She grinned at Kiara and waved her off as she walked off, like she didn't just break her heart when she rejected her in front of everyone a while ago.
But at least she agreed to spend tomorrow with her, and she also smiled at her. That means there was still a little hope.
Kiara was yet to fully lose her daughter. She'll not give up until she win her daughter back.
Kiara clung to that little drop of hope as she got into her car and drove off.
Kiara tried not to remember the first time she saw Nola and her husband in bed together.
A year ago.
Their moans had died all at once. Nola's face had turned pale; Gerald's eyes were cold as ice as he leisurely sat up.
"Good thing it's out of the bag now, not that I was hiding it."
Nola had covered herself with the duvet, but her eyes had shown no shame. Not real shame at least.
And Gerald… he had said things she thought he'd never say.
"You're barren. You know that. We've tried for years and nothing. Soon, I'll be needing a son and Nola will provide that."
"And I also needed something more. Someone I'm actually attracted to. You know I'm not actually attracted to you anymore, right? You're scentless, Kiara. Scentless. It's like sleeping with a ghost."
She had stood there, frozen, every word slicing through her heart.
She had always known she was different. Born without a scent, without any designation. Neither alpha nor beta nor omega. Just… nothing. The girl who didn't fit into any rank. The girl who blended into the background.
She believed Gerald loved her in spite of that. She had believed him.
She had wanted to walk out of the marriage that night. She had almost packed. But then she had looked at Elena, sleeping, unaware—and everything changed.
She couldn't tear her daughter's family apart. Not after going against her own family's wishes to marry Gerald. Not after they warned her he wasn't for her, that she was too soft, too scentless, too invisible for someone like him. If she left now, they would look at her with that quiet pity she couldn't stand. Or worse—they would say, "We told you so."
So Kiara stayed. But she pleaded with Gerald to promise that if he wanted to keep Nola, he would do it quietly, away from the press. He would not let it destroy their home either.
He had promised.