HEAT |OMEGAVERSE|

Crossing the Line

ALEX'S POV

Dad lets out and exasperated sigh, his face settling into bitter disappointment. "I didn't want to believe it was true."

A sudden burst of anxiety churns my insides. "...Believe what was true?"

His eyes narrow, hardening into a cold glare. "That you'd leave a proper woman like Veronica for... an omega. Some half-rate, piss-poor nobody."

Those damn words... trample me, and the rage I feel inside only swells. My jaw tightens, the all-too-familiar ache of belittlement weighing heavy on my shoulders. Of course, Veronica would wait, running to him the second she knew her knowledge of Jasper and I could work to her advantage.

"Dad, you don't even know him—"

"Oh, I know enough," he snaps, cutting me off. "What's he really after, Alex? Are you really that naive? And you accuse Veronica of chasing money," he scoffs. "Do you think this boy would give you a second look if you weren't ignorant enough to plant a baby inside him?"

My fists clench. I'm past done, my brows pulling together a scowl twisting on my face. "He's with me because he cares," I seethe, "because—for once, someone actually wants me to be happy. Maybe that's worth something. But that's right, you don't remember what happiness feels like—do you?" I spit out at him.

Dad lets out a sharp, disgusted scoff. "Happy? How could you be, after what you're throwing away. You think this omega is going to give you the life you deserve, especially this child he carries? You've worked hard for everything, and now you're... handing it over to someone who's only looking out for himself—trapping you with this distasteful situation."

Hard work? Like Jasper hasn't worked himself into the ground, like he hasn't had to fight for a fraction of what I have. And trapping me? What a fucking joke.

I take a breath, trying to remain calm, but the control I've held onto for so long is slipping away fast. I could crawl over this desk right now and slap the shit out of a dying man, and I don't think I'd feel guilty about it.

"I don't need you, or anyone else, deciding what's best for me," I say, my voice steady, venom wrapping my words. "I'm with Jasper because...actually—you don't even deserve an explanation further than what I've given. He cares about me, and not once did he ever try "trapping" me after finding out about our son."

Dad's face freezes for a moment, and for the first time in this conversation, I see something unexpected—a flicker of surprise in his eyes. It's brief, gone almost immediately, replaced by a deep, calculating look. His jaw tightens, and for the first time, I'm not sure if it's frustration or something else entirely.

"A son?" he says, his voice quieter now, as if unsure of his own thoughts. "My... grandson?"

I blink, stunned. Of course Veronica would leave out that detail. The shift in his tone is hard to pin down. Is he... suddenly interested? Not in me, not in my happiness—but in the idea of a grandson? His bloodline carrying on. His "legacy" furthering if the child is born non-omega.

I'm surprised, more than I'd like to admit. After everything, I thought this would be the moment he would write me off entirely. I was almost ready to pack my things and walk out, but now... there's something different. Not warmth, no. But an odd sense of possibility that I can't fully explain. He isn't dismissing the idea of a grandson as quickly as he did with everything else.

But I know better than to think he cares about anything but what this child could mean for him. It's a strange and definitely bitter thought. The legacy. The name. The future. That's what's most important to him. I remember how he reacted to a granddaughter—and even worse when he found out Sadie was a beta. Suddenly my sweet daughter became irrelevant in his life, and his piss poor dying man excuses won't ever make up for that. I clench my jaw, pushing down the sudden unexpected surge of frustration.