𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 || 𝐎𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 || 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏 ✓

𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

So, I did tell you I had old chapters of an older version of this story. lol I decided to grace you with my cringe. 

RANDOM CHAPTER FOR DADDY ISSUES (TAKES PLACE AFTER CHAPTER 3)

In this one, he has his brothers. 

Rome/Roman is Rowan.
Roman was his name originally.
Reiner is Reiner
Karson Carmichael is Mason lol
Max Rey is Valentino.
Daphne is Bianca.
Ross is Ruben.
Roger is Roger lol
Rico is just another random character they knew.

|ROME|

*****

"REINER! IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?" I practically shrieked into the phone, charging out of the club like I was escaping a crime scene.

"Roman—"

"So because Ryder's a stripper, you want me to be a hooker now?" I hissed, earning a side-eye from a passing valet.

"There's nothing wrong with strippers. And no, you're not going to be a hooker. You're going to be a call boy."

"Oh, wow, fancy. A call boy. That's just a hooker with a LinkedIn profile, Reiner. Are you hearing yourself?"

"You act like I'm asking you to sell a kidney. The club's hiring betas right now. I thought I'd do you a solid and offer you a gig. Better than that college nudist modeling plan you had. What was that, 'Artistic Freedom 101'? You were really about to let freshmen sketch your junk for credit."

"You said it paid well!" I snapped, but even I heard the whine in my voice.

"And this pays better. With tips. And lighting. And a bouncer named Tito who will absolutely throw someone into traffic if they touch you weird."

I opened my mouth to argue, but unfortunately, Reiner's annoying logic had a habit of kicking in just when I needed it least.

"I mean," he added, "if you're too delicate for the dancer gig, I can always ask Rico to let you wait tables. Just busting drinks and dodging horny drunks. Totally innocent. Pure."

"That's not what Rico said," I muttered.

A pause. "Wait. What did he say?"

"That he needed someone 'confident and flexible' who wouldn't be afraid of glitter in weird places."

Reiner burst out laughing. "Okay, yeah, that sounds like Rico. Look, I am trying to help you, alright? Unlike Ross, who I'm pretty sure would've suggested you rob a liquor store by now and call it a 'bonding exercise.'"

He wasn't wrong. Ross once dared me to fake faint in a Whole Foods for free granola. It worked. But still.

It hit me then—Reiner really was trying. And I hated how much that got to me. He was the designated screw-up growing up, the one our parents threw into military school like it was a last-ditch detox. He went in wild, came out... still wild, just with better posture.

In a house full of screaming alphas, one dramatic omega, and a beta sibling so quiet we sometimes forgot he lived there, Reiner and I found common ground in chaos.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I'll think about it."

"Huh..."

"What?"

"Nothing," he said in that smug older-brother way. "Just surprised you're not already calling Ross for a second opinion."

Before I could fire back, my phone buzzed twice. I glanced down at the screen—and everything inside me just... stopped.