Chapter 2

Julian was always busy, and the next day when Elliot woke up, he found that Julian had already left.

He had cried a lot last night, his eyes were swollen, and he couldn't get them to go down. On his way to class, he put on sunglasses to hide them.

The class he was attending today was an Omega development course that his mother had arranged for him. The families of the Omegas who attended classes here were all well-off, and their Alphas had respectable status. While they were ostensibly attending classes, there was also an aspect of socializing.

But from the start, Elliot felt out of place. During the first lesson, he didn't understand many of the teacher's words, and he didn't recognize some of the characters.

That evening, he gathered the courage to ask Julian. Julian was speechless and said, "You are even worse than the rumors say." It made Elliot feel ashamed, and Julian ultimately suggested that he start with a more basic course. Until he graduated from that program, he wouldn't have made any friends in this class.

As he got on the elevator, Isabella, who was also attending the course, coincidentally arrived at the same time. Her Alpha was a well-known wealthy businessman, and she had good connections, often socializing with the wives of military officers, but she never interacted with Elliot.

She looked at Elliot for a moment, and he averted his gaze.

"Have you... been abused at home?" Isabella asked.

Elliot didn't understand why she thought that and quickly denied it. "No, I just didn't sleep well last night, and my eyes are swollen."

His voice was hoarse as he spoke.

Isabella sighed sympathetically. "You must have it tough. Everyone here knows that your relationship with your husband isn't good, but you can't endure abuse. Do you think you can handle his punches?"

Elliot insisted, "We are doing fine."

Isabella pressed further, "This circle shares everything. I heard that General Hawthorne spent almost half of the year in District A in the first half of the year. He never took you to any important events. We all knew, but..."

They just didn't bother to expose you.

Elliot's face turned red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground.

In the past, he had always claimed that the jewelry and valuable items he bought for himself were gifts from Julian. Every time there was a holiday, he would say that Julian would come to pick him up and take him to a fancy restaurant, even though he always ended up going home alone.

All the false behaviors of an affectionate couple that he had created were actually just his own one-man show, but he had acted it out in front of everyone for several years.

Elliot sat through the entire class feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles. Why did he ever think that people's eyes on him were filled with envy? Now, he felt like everyone in the classroom was staring at him.

Thinking about it now, it was probably because he also felt incredibly foolish.

Today, a nutritionist was coming to give a lecture.

After enduring one session of the class, Elliot played truant for the first time and went to a hospital.

After registering at the door, he saw his husband's cousin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, examining a patient with a few doctors. Elliot didn't recall seeing Nathaniel at this hospital, but now he couldn't avoid it. He greeted him.

"Nate."

"Elliot."

Nathaniel's cold and remote demeanor was similar to Julian's, but he was a bit more polite than Julian.

"Why are you here?" Elliot asked.

"I started working here a week ago."

Nathaniel asked if he was sick, but Elliot shook his head. He was just there to see a friend and left hurriedly.

As Nathaniel was about to leave, he was tapped on the shoulder by a classmate from another department. "Do you know that Omega?"

Nathaniel said, "She is my brother's..."

"Your brother is ruthless. No wonder he fought so fiercely on the battlefield. He has such a beautiful wife, yet he's willing to make her take birth control pills for four years."

Nathaniel frowned. "What are you talking about?"

The person explained, "It was a topic in our department last week. He wanted to have a child, thinking that the issue was his own. That's why he came to the hospital for an examination. It turns out, they've been married for four years, and her husband had her take birth control pills for four years, specifically for Omegas. She thought they were nutritional supplements he was giving her and took them every week. When she heard about it, she was dumbfounded. She probably won't be able to have children in the future. It's quite a pity."

Upon hearing this, Nathaniel immediately turned to look at the figure who had already disappeared down the corridor.

The hospital had a specialized rehabilitation center. When Elliot entered the ward, caregiver Mrs. Foster was reading to Sophia. After updating Elliot on Sophia's condition, Mrs. Foster left them alone.

There lay a young girl peacefully sleeping on the hospital bed, surrounded by many gifts, all of which Elliot had bought.

Elliot sat in front of Sophia, and reached out to touch her face. Sophia had become a vegetative person after a car accident.

"Sophia, it's been a while. I had something last week and didn't come to see you, but today, I brought you another gift," Elliot said as he took out a small doll. "Look, it's your favorite little sunflower. It's adorable, isn’t it? Do you remember our old place, very dirty and messy? You said when we get better we must live in a big house with a garden, filled with sunflowers. When you wake up, I'll take you to the big house with sunflowers, okay?"

As he spoke, Elliot's eyes turned red.

When Elliot left the room, he saw Nathaniel standing there. Elliot's eyes were no longer as swollen, so he put down his sunglasses when he realized Nathaniel was watching him come out of the ward.

Elliot felt nervous. Nathaniel asked, "Is your friend a vegetable?"

Elliot confirmed and told him that his stay was due to an accident some years back, and Nathaniel also suggested that Elliot and Julian should visit his mother for dinner when they had time.

Elliot agreed, but when he left the hospital, he started considering moving Sophia to another hospital. The people of the Hawthorne family were all very intelligent, and it would be disastrous if they found Sophia. However, the cost of a private hospital was too high, and he didn't have enough money; the Sterling family definitely wouldn't help cover the expenses, and he no longer had the face to ask Julian for money.

Julian had always thought he was vain.

As he pondered, the doorbell rang, and Elliot opened the door to find Julian's assistant supporting a somewhat drunken Julian into the house.

Elliot asked the assistant to help Julian to the bedroom, and the assistant mentioned that Julian had a gathering with war comrades that night. Once the assistant left, Elliot began to undress Julian, but as soon as his finger touched Julian's pants, Julian opened his eyes and stared at Elliot.

Elliot quickly raised his hands to explain, "I won't touch you anymore. Go back to sleep."

Their first time was when Elliot took advantage of Julian's drowsiness and got into bed with him. After that, Julian hadn't touched him for a year, and every time Elliot went into heat, he had to endure it alone, and Julian never asked him for help.

Even though they were the closest of relations, they were more distant than strangers.

Later, Julian insisted on using a condom every time they were intimate. Elliot even once poked holes in the condom, and when Julian found out, he was furious.

Elliot had done many things to make Julian dislike him. It was no wonder Julian had made him take the medication.

Elliot wanted to leave the room, but suddenly, Julian grabbed his arm and pulled him onto himself. Elliot tried to get up, but Julian's touch on his body caused Elliot's physical response to change.

If this had been in the past, Elliot might have succumbed to Julian, but once he thought that Julian didn't really want to do it, he struggled to get up. Julian seemed impatient and bit Elliot's neck.

The pheromones quickly softened Elliot's body, and soon his body responded. As Julian undid his clothes, Elliot had barely finished protesting, and Julian was already arousing him.

Alpha has strong sexual needs, and after every time with Julian, Elliot had to lie in bed for a whole day.

Lost in his emotions, Elliot's eyes were red, and his upper body clothing was hanging loosely around him, revealing his round shoulders. He watched Julian sit up and open a condom wrapper.

Gasping and turning his head to look at him, Elliot whispered, "Can't we not use it?"

Julian, with his naked, muscular upper body and a damp forehead, his face still carrying desire, exuded a different kind of sex appeal as he took Elliot's fingers and put on the condom. Then, he entered Elliot, biting his ear lobe and penetrating him deeply, his throat a hoarse voice as he asked, "What are you thinking?"

Elliot's hands twisted around Julian's shoulders, and he felt a chill in his heart. His long, fair legs trembled as they encircled his Alpha's waist.

Yes, what was he thinking?

The next day when Elliot woke up, it was already close to noon, and he didn't know when Julian had left. He was hungry, and his clothes from the previous day were unwearable. He randomly picked a shirt from Julian's closet and put it on.

Finding a bag of bread in the pantry, he sat on the couch, nibbling away. Just then, Julian came out from the study, with another cold and stern-looking Alpha beside him.

Elliot was hanging a shirt that was just long enough to cover him to his thighs, and his neck had hickies, and bruises covered his legs; last night's passionate traces were almost all too evident.

With a mouth full of bread, Elliot muttered, "..."