CHAPTER 4
Lucian smiled easily as he said, “Auntie called me here. She said Rayne’s been feeling down lately, so I came. It’s my responsibility to keep him happy, after all.”
Rayne blinked at him, confused by whatever he was spouting.
And more importantly, why did his mom call Lucian here in the first place?
When Rayne turned to look at her, she was smiling proudly, clearly pleased with herself.
She looked happy about what she did. But Rayne was definitely not happy to see Lucian here.
“Mom must’ve called you by mistake,” Rayne said flatly. “You can go back now. When we get married, then you can come see me. Until then, don’t.”
Before he could even blink, his mom smacked his shoulder. It actually hurt.
“Behave yourself!” she scolded.
Then she turned to Lucian, her tone instantly softening. “Lucian, you seem perfectly fine now. I did hear you used to hate omegas, so I was a little worried things between you two wouldn’t work out. But it seems my son changed you, didn’t he?”
Rayne was shocked. What? Lucian hated omegas? Since when? Because when Lucian met Rayne, he didn’t show even a hint of disgust or discomfort, not toward Rayne, not toward his pheromones, nothing.
“At some point, I needed to move on from everything,” Lucian said calmly. “It’s already time for me to get married. And I don’t hate Rayne at all.”
Hearing that, Rayne’s mom’s face lit up. She hugged Lucian with a bright smile, looking like she just won a lottery. Meanwhile, Rayne stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at Lucian like he’d committed a crime.
Rayne shot him the sharpest side-eye he could manage. He wanted Lucian to feel guilty, even if Lucian hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Still, Lucian came here to Rayne’s company. With whose permission? Did Rayne call him? No. So technically, he had no right to show up here.
“Auntie,” Lucian said politely, “I told my parents that I’m ready to marry Rayne. They’re very happy and want to meet you.”
Rayne’s mom nodded instantly, her smile widening. Of course she did. Lucian was the son of her best friend. No wonder she was happy. Honestly, Rayne doubted their families even needed to “meet.” They probably talked every day, discussing whether their sons were starting to like each other or not.
And then, she actually sent Rayne with him. Like, seriously? It hadn’t even been two days since Rayne met this man, and his mom just handed him over to a random alpha like he was a parcel. So sad. His mom had changed. She didn’t love him anymore. She didn’t care.
Lucian’s voice snapped Rayne out of his tragic inner monologue.
“Hey, what are you thinking while staring at the sky? Are you rehearsing for a drama?” Lucian asked as he opened the car door.
Rayne looked at him. They were already outside. Snapping out of his acting mode, Rayne climbed into the car.
“So, where are we going right now?” Rayne asked, annoyance clear in his voice. He didn’t even want to be here.
After breaking up with Losif, Rayne felt like he had caught a strange sickness, and it was called ‘stay away from every Alpha’.
“Should we go watch a movie?” Lucian suggested. “I heard couples usually go on movie dates before they get married. We should do the same.”
Rayne nodded, mostly wanting to distract himself from everything. Watching a movie was definitely better than sitting around thinking about his ruined university life.
As Lucian started driving, Rayne’s phone suddenly rang. When he checked the screen, it was Ken.
Why the hell was Ken calling him right now? Still, Rayne decided to answer.
(Rayne) “Why are you calling me again? I know it was you who did that at the university.”
(Ken) “Oh my god, how can you say that? I just saw those photos on the billboard and was worried about you. That’s why I called. But it seems you already figured out it was me. What can I even do now?”
Ken was becoming more and more shameless by the second. Rayne honestly couldn’t understand what his problem was. Why was Ken still after him? It’s not like they ever fought before, no, not even once.
(Ken) “I heard you’re getting married. Your fiancé is really handsome, you know? But believe me, I’m gonna snatch him away from you, just like I did with Losif. No alpha can resist my charm.”
(Rayne) “Aren’t you full of yourself? If you think like that, then go ahead. I’ll even invite you to my wedding. Then we’ll see who wins.”
Rayne hung up the call, blood boiling in anger. His hands clenched into fists. How dare Ken say something like that!
Lucian glanced at him while driving.
“Are you okay? Who was that on the call? Why do you look so mad? And what was that about marriage?”
“It’s nothing. Just keep your eyes on the road, Lucian. Don’t talk to me right now,” Rayne snapped, irritation bleeding through his voice.
Could Ken really snatch Lucian away from him? Rayne didn’t know what kind of charm Ken had, Losif fell for him and ended up sleeping with him. Who knows, maybe Lucian would be the same. To Rayne, all alphas felt the same now.
He couldn’t say anything for sure until they got married. And even then… what if Lucian ended up having a mistress?
And Ken even looked better than Rayne. Every alpha in their class liked Ken, but Ken never paid attention to any of them because his focus was always on the handsome and genius alphas.
Rayne remembered something similar in high school. There was this alpha guy who was really hard to date. Many omegas had confessed to him, but he rejected every single one.
Then Ken made a bet with another omega that he could make that alpha fall for him. And in just two days, Ken was already dating that alpha. What happened after that, Rayne couldn’t remember.
It wasn’t that Rayne was scared of Ken, but you never knew, alphas could go for any omega they liked in the end.
As the car hit the brakes, Rayne snapped out of his thoughts, realizing what he had been thinking about, and why. In the end, it didn’t even matter if Ken managed to snatch Lucian away from him.
After a while, they finally reached the theater. When they went inside and sat down, Rayne’s mood was already ruined.
He didn’t even feel like watching the movie anymore. Ken’s words, Losif’s betrayal, and his own foolishness kept echoing in his head.
Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Everything felt new—new problems, new emotions, new confusion. He was tangled up in all of it, unable to find a single moment of peace.
As Rayne remained trapped in his thoughts, he suddenly felt a touch on his hand. His gaze shifted to the side, and even though it was dark inside the theater, Lucian’s face was clearly visible.
“If you don’t like the movie, you can rest your head on my shoulder,” Lucian said softly.
For a moment, Rayne simply stared at him, unsure what to say. Then, slowly, he leaned over and rested his head on Lucian’s shoulder.
The warmth of Lucian’s body and the faint scent of lemon pheromones calmed him.
Suddenly, everything felt peaceful, like the noise in his head had faded away, and he was lying on soft grass beneath a clear sky.
“Rayne! Kitty, why don’t you wake up now?”
Rayne opened his eyes slightly. The movie had already ended, and the theater lights were bright.
Lucian was looking at him, smiling faintly, while people around them were getting up to leave.
“I didn’t even realize I fell asleep… Was the movie good?” Rayne asked, rubbing his eyes.
Lucian chuckled and nodded. He stood up and reached out his hand to help him. Rayne wasn’t weak or anything, but he still took Lucian’s hand and stood up with his support.
Hand in hand, they walked out of the theater. But as soon as they stepped outside, Lucian’s phone rang.
He answered it, his expression changing slightly. He didn’t say much, just listened for a moment before replying quietly, “I’m coming over right now.”
As soon as the call ended, Rayne tugged on Lucian’s shirt. “What happened? Is everything alright?” he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
“Well, something’s happened at my company. I need to go there and handle it. If you don’t mind, you can come with me,” he replied calmly.
It was Lucian’s company’s problem, not his, but Rayne still nodded and followed him.
When they reached the car, Lucian opened the door for him like a true gentleman.
Once they were both inside, he started the engine, and after a short drive, they arrived at Lucian’s company.
Rayne’s eyes widened the moment he saw the building—it was even bigger than his parents’ company.
But didn’t Lucian say he mostly handled hotel businesses? Then what was this company about? He decided he would ask later.
As he followed Lucian inside, Rayne noticed the employees looking at him with surprised expressions.
He didn’t understand why, so he quietly grabbed onto Lucian’s arm. Lucian led him to his office, which was huge.
Papers and files were scattered across the desk, as if he hadn’t been working for days.
Rayne sat down on the sofa while Lucian remained standing. A moment later, the door opened, and an alpha man walked in.
Rayne instantly recognized him—the same guy who welcomed him at the hotel, served their food, and drove the car yesterday. He must be Lucian’s assistant.
“Is everything ready for the meeting?” Lucian asked.
So, that was it. He had an important meeting. No wonder he rushed here so quickly.
“Rayne, why don’t you look around the company? Coral will show you around,” Lucian said before heading to the meeting room.
And just like that, Rayne was left with Lucian’s assistant, Coral.