“A few months ” Nickolas answered, begrudgingly. “I swear what Asa and I have is nothing like what we do. Please, believe me when I say I have never felt the way I feel about you, about anyone else.”
“Wow, I must be something special.” Jai snorted, a distressed laugh that held no humor fell from Jai’s mouth. “The piece on the side, the wedding ring saved for the right kind of omega.”
Nickolas flinched, “That is not what we are, what is between us is more than I’ve had with anyone,ever.”
“You should not have brought me into this situation,” Jai said with resignation, “What kind of person gets engaged and turns around and starts cheating?”
Nickolas could tell it wasn’t really a question, but he couldn’t have Jai thinking the worst of him. “I swear Jai, it’s not what you’re imagining. Asa and I, have an agreement. Our engagement, our marriage is for our families.”
“Good for both of you. But maybe,nexttime ask the person’s heart you’re involving in whatever your situation is, if they are okay with the arrangement you and your fiancé seem to have. You and he agreed to whatever terms, but I wasn’t given the option. You let me believe you were single. You let me think we had a future.” Jai whispered.
“I haven’t told you any lies, Jai.” Nickolas insisted.
“You lied by omission,” Jai said vehemently, anger making his skin blossom with color. “If you thought I would be okay with this arrangement, you have seriously misjudged me. You should have told me the truth. You even asked if I was seeing anyone. Guess it's my fault for being too stupid to ask the same thing of you.”
“Please stop putting yourself down. You’re not stupid.” Nickolas said.
“I guess it’s just like an alpha to put his needs above everyone else’s. You decided on everything. You decided I would be okay with your status. You never considered I might be betraying everything I stand for, everything I was raised with. You took away my choices.”
“I never meant to. I admit it, I’ve made a horrible mistake,” Nickolas said. Now those were words he had rarely had to utter, if ever. “You enchanted me from the moment I saw you. I swear I tried to forget you. I haven’t been with an omega since I’ve been engaged. But you… you changed everything for me.”
“I clearly didn’t change anything, or you wouldn’t be marrying someone else if I did.” Jai slung at him. “Admit it, I was just a bit on the side, a way to pass the time.”
“You’re so wrong about that. You have no idea how wrong you are. But you’re in no mood to hear it. I think maybe you need a day to calm down. And then I’ll explain everything to you.”
Jai sighed resignedly, “You still don’t get it, do you? Everything you said proves that it’s all about you.Yourconvenience, not mine.”
Nickolas shook his head, not that Jai could see him. “I promise when you hear me out, you’ll see that’s not true.”
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing you say matters. You really don’t know me at all.” Jai said, before standing up and walking to the door.
Nickolas didn’t try to stop him even though he was dying to. He wanted to plead his case, beg the omega to see how stuck in the middle he’d been. How he had decided to break things off with Asa, consequences be damned. His parents’ wishes be damned.
“In case it wasn’t clear to you,alpha, we’re over. Goodbye, Nickolas.” Jai said.
Before he could open the door, Nickolas said, “This is not goodbye. I know I’ve fucked up Jai. But I swear I’ll fix it. We are not over, that’s a promise. I am sorry that I hurt you. What we share, is too big, too important to throw away. That happiness is not easily found. Trust me, I’ve been searching for a lifetime.”
Jai didn’t bother replying, he simply opened the door and walked out. Nickolas had hurt the omega heloved, but he would give him the time and space to calm down. He would not let the best thing to have ever happened to him walk away from him. Nickolas had never felt more like a bastard. He had taken advantage of an innocent virgin, and now he felt like he had tainted someone pure.
Nickolas picked up his phone and dialed the one person who would see his side, or at the very least help him get his omega back, then again, knowing his best friend, Grayson would probably laugh at his misery before being of any help. That was one of the perks of growing up together.
