Page 102 of Begrudgingly Yours
Some cavity deep in my chest seems to unlock and tearsspring to my eyes. I have to focus hard not to let my mother see the emotion it stirs in me.
My dad never said anything about wanting to be an omega. He always seemed very happy with his designation, with being a beta male who could go through life in the background.
Despite the annoyance I feel at my mother showing up here, it feels like she just gave me a piece of my dad back. It feels like there’s a link between us once more, and the existence of it brings tears to my eyes.
“Hello, ole daughter of mine,” she says, whistling and snapping at me like I’m a dog. “Important things, remember?”
I snap at her. “Nothing having to do with you is important to me. You lost that privilege a long time ago.” I steel my spine to get the words out, but my hands are shaking. “So,disrespectfully, fuck off?—”
“Hold your fucking tongue.”
I guess she’s no longer playing nice.The bark immediately grips me by the throat, and even though my rage ignites inside me, I can’t move a fucking muscle. “Good, nowlisten. I know you’ve probably already spent a pretty penny of that inheritance, but it’s time to stop playing now.”
My throat finally relaxes and I open my mouth to curse at her before she puts a finger up to stop me. “We’re not playing a game. And you’re not getting a singlecentfrom me.”
My mother just looks at me, disdain written all over her face. I know she’s trying to calculate how to manipulate me, and I’m not giving her even an inch of wiggle room.
“You have your own money,” I say when the silence becomes too much. “You don’t need any of mine.”
She lets out a dismissive laugh. “You mean what your dad was supposed to leave tome, before his grand deeds of valor got in the way.”
“No, I meanmine. He left it tome,” I respond. “In fact, I’mpretty sure that was always the intention. He only stayed with you because of me.”
“Well, now you’re just speaking nonsense.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Don’t kid yourself, despite what you might believe, he didn’t enjoy being your punching bag. And neither did I. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”
I turn to walk away when I feel her hand clasp around my bicep and tug me back. “Veronica Francine Cromwell, you listen to meright now?—”
“Is everything okay over there?”
We both turn our heads quickly to the voice. I breathe a sigh of relief at the faceless savior, but then the person’s blonde hair comes into view and I have to swallow down a groan. Nicole steps forward, her brows scrunched in on the situation.
My scent literally cannot get any more bitter.
“I’m her mother, so it’s none of your business,” she responds, her hands tightening on my skin until I feel it bruise.
My eyes meet Nicole’s and I’m sure she reads the shame there. I’m just a weak omega in this situation, being bossed around and barked at by her alpha mother. The embarrassment of Nicole of all people seeing me in this position causes a whine to almost erupt from my throat.
“Well, this is my brother’s mate so I do think it’s my fucking business.”
My head whips to her.What did she say?
Nicole continues, “So I suggest you take your hand off of her…right now.”
My mother gives a nasty chuckle. “Was that your attempt at a beta bark?”
I pull myself out of her grip now that she’s distracted and take several steps back. Nicole moves to my side quickly, but keeps her examining gaze on her opponent. She gives awicked smile to match my mother’s and the energy suddenly shifts.
“You can laugh all you want. Just don’t mess with my family and we won’t have any issues. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to be late for rehearsal.”
She looks over at me and gestures over her shoulder. We go to walk away but my mother barks for us to stop.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you’re getting involved in a family situation. I suggest you take your little bow and your designer shoes right to that rehearsal and leave my daughter to me.”
The smile on Nicole’s face slips away and in its place is the meanest scowl I’ve ever seen. When we’re finally able, she turns her head to meet my mother head-on once again.
“You may not know who I am, but I know who you are. I know how you feel. Why you talk to people this way. You feel small, and it’s the only way to feel big.” My mother recoils, a look of horror on her face, but then she recovers. Her jaw tenses as Nicole carries on, “You’re messing with the wrong bitch. You might think you’re untouchable, but my family will put you in the dirt. Donottest me.”
