Chapter 180

A week had passed and Cecilia was beginning to show.

Her stomach had grown just a little—a tiny lump that felt hard under her hands. She wondered what it would be like when she was large and round. If the others would still be attracted to her, or if they’d treat her like she was the mother of all their children.

She ached at the thought.

Asher…

“Are you ready?” Her door flung open and Sebastian was standing there, a camera in his hand. He had worked hard to try and get Cecilia an interview on any of the local television stations that had given Evelyn so much attention, but they’d all rejected her. So they had to find an alternate method of making her peace with the situation.

Sebastian set up his tripod in the living room, in front of the large leather chair where Cecilia loved to read her books.

“Do you remember the script?”

Cecilia nodded, recalling the words to mind. “Are you sure this will work?”

“Not at all, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

Cecilia cleared her throat, looking deep into the camera an said, “I’m ready.”

Sebastian began recording. He gestured with his hands as if to tell her she was on. Cecilia took a nervous breath and looked into the lens.

“Hi,” she said with a warm smile. “My name is Viola Moon and I—” But something felt wrong. She wiped her hands up her face and groaned. “Hold on, this isn’t right.”

“What is it?” Sebastian asked, peeking over the screen.

“This just feels so fake. I just—I need to start over.” But she knew that Sebastian hadn’t paused the recording, so Cecilia steeled herself and gazed into the device. “I’m tired of the lies and bullshit,” she said. “The truth is, I am an Omega. I’ve hidden this identity my entire life, but I won’t apologize for it. I’m tired of being beaten down by everyone around me because of something as stupid as…as the pheromones in my body. I’m the same as you—as all of you. And Evelyn doesn’t know anything about me. She’s never known anything about me.”

She felt the fire building up, burning in her heart.

“I know a lot about her though,” she said, her eyes narrowing. She was recalling the moment she had drugged Grayson. How Cecilia had to drag him out of her apartment and to safety. “Omega or not, I never have been and never will be like Evelyn. But it’s not my job to bring her past to light, like it’s not her job to go on television shows and talk about something she has no idea about.” She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to calm down. That making this about Evelyn wouldn’t do her any good.

“This isn’t about that,” she said, nearly forgetting the camera was there. She ran her fingers through her hair, exasperated and said, “This is about the lie I told. And I’m sorry for lying, truly—but I’m not sorry for tricking you all. Because the fact of the matter was, when the world thought I was a Beta, I was loved. For my voice and my songs and my talent—not for my pheromones. So I’m asking for your help. I’m holding a benefit concert, and if you believe in the Omega equality movement, please join me in raising funds for my new charity. I’ll post the information on Facebook as well as my other social media accounts.” She gave a small smile and nodded at Sebastian to turn off the camera.

He ended the recording and stepped back, looking a little overwhelmed.

“I know,” Cecilia said. “We can do it again if we need to, I just—”

“No.” He folded his camera and hit the power button. “That was raw. Exactly what we needed.”

“Really?” Cecilia asked. She was feeling a little sick about it all. “Maybe I talked about Evelyn too much. Let’s just do it again—”

“No,” Sebastian said. “Trust me, it was perfect.”

As much as Cecilia didn’t agree, she did trust Sebastian. So she left him to upload the video on her social media. In fact, Cecilia left him with all her accounts. She wouldn’t be touching them for a while—her nerves were too wrecked and ever since she’d been exposed, she’d had a plethora of nasty comments that she tried desperately not to let under her skin. Eventually, it was all too much. She gave him her log-in details and evaded the entire thing.

The concert was set to take place at the park by her coffee shop—one of Cecilia’s favorite places. It wouldn’t be grandiose or flashy, and without Asher managing things, Cecilia didn’t have high expectations.

In the meantime, she had agreed to attend the animal-rescue event and Asher would hate her for missing out on one of his bookings. So Cecilia gathered herself, tying her hair up in a neat little bun, and dressing in something that would fend off the cold. She arrived with Ryan, to the chatter of dogs in kennels—their little yips echoing into the chilly spring air.

Dozens of guests had already arrived to take in the sight of the cute, furry critters. Cecilia was relieved to be approached by the event coordinator.

“Viola, thank you so much for coming,” she said as she approached with a clipboard. It was strange to be referred to as that after so long of just being Cecilia. Cecilia smiled at her as the woman directed her to a tent in the corner. “I’m going to have you here, singing adoption papers, okay?”

“Of course,” Cecilia said, slipping into her designated seat.

The woman smiled at them both, lingering on Ryan for just a moment too long. Cecilia felt a pin of jealousy in her chest as she watched the woman walk away.

“I think she was into you.”

Ryan gave a small laugh. “You think so?”

“You don’t have to stay,” Cecilia assured him. “This will be pretty boring.”

She felt his fingers slide under the table, hooking onto hers. “I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her.

Cecilia smiled at him. “Could you at least go across the street and get us some coffee? It’s pretty cold out here.”

Ryan obeyed, stepping out from under the tent and vanishing across the street. Cecilia did feel a bit uneasy without him around, but her worries were absolved when she was approached by two little girls who held a small cat in their arms. Their mother was with them—Omegas, by the looks of them.

“We were told to come here for the adoption papers,” the mother said.

Cecilia smiled fondly at the little girls and reached out to pet the cat, her ears soft as velvet under her fingers. “She reminds me of my kitty,” Cecilia said. “I bet you’re excited.”

“Yeah!” the youngest girl exclaimed. “We always wanted a kitty.”

“They sure did,” their mother added, pulling the older girl into her side. “Finally had the money to cover the adoption.”

Cecilia felt a slight sting. The adoption fee wasn’t very much—a measly fifty dollars. But she supposed for a family of Omegas, that money was difficult to come by. She signed the papers and handed them over with a smile. “You’re all set.”

“Okay, let me just pay for that,” the mother began, fishing into her purse for her wallet.

“You’re all set,” Cecilia repeated, thrusting the adoption papers at her.

The woman seemed to catch on, her lips parting just slightly. She took the papers and smiled, dragging her children off to enjoy their new pet.

When Ryan arrived back at the table, Cecilia thanked him for the coffee. “Can I have fifty dollars?” she muttered, sinking on the table with her cheek in her palm. Ryan scoffed and fished the money out of his wallet, dropping a fifty-dollar-bill on the table.

“What, you want another cat?”

“No,” Cecilia said with a sigh. She watched as other visitors went from pet to pet, pupping barking and cats mewling. A little girl walked by with a plump little bunny in her arms. She took the bill and placed it in the cash box with a sigh. “I don’t know how I used to do this before. I guess in a way, I forgot what it was like to be an Omega.” She turned to Ryan and looked up at him with a frown. “I feel like I kind of betrayed them.”

Ryan didn’t seem to understand what was happening, but he slung a strong arm around Cecilia’s shoulders and pulled her into his side, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You’ll change things one day. It’ll just take a little time.”