JACOB

Why is this happening to me?

What kind of evil karma have I accumulated in my past life?

Because there is nothing I could have done in this life to warrant such punishment, I guarantee you that.

How come that evil man only surfaced in my life to cause me harm?

How the fuck he detected an undetectable pregnancy?

I mean, it wasn't so undetectable after all, but why was he the one to bring that up?

Couldn't I have one day of peace in my life?

I could have a contract with my prospect, but now, not only do I not have one, but I also don't have a prospect. We all know that no parent in their right mind would negotiate a partnership contract with a boy who is about to be a father with another person.

That is a non-starter for any respectable family, especially the most powerful in the country, who cannot afford any semblance of a scandal. Even my single mother wouldn't negotiate a contract between me and a boy who got somebody else pregnant.

I am not so sure if I could be happy with Skylar knowing that he has a child somewhere being neglected of their father's attention. Trust me, this is not something I would take lightly. It is all too relatable for me to be blasé about it. He should be with the mother of his child.

Maybe this is the Goddess's way of nudging him in the right direction. Perhaps they are fated mates, and that is the only way they could break the curse. Who knows?

Tears come to my eyes.

The pain is unbearable. I am so overwhelmed by a mountain of sadness that I can barely breathe. I have been crying since we were told the news earlier today. I am devastated by the heartbreaking fact that will cause me to lose my Alpha. My beautiful blonde boy.

I was weeping so loudly that Seth got out of his bed and hopped onto mine to hold me. He is sad over the whole thing and hasn't even had the chance to celebrate the fact that his contract with Jayden went as well as could be expected. They are locked and loaded, and I am very happy for them.

If only my heart wasn't broken into a million pieces right now.

It's Saturday night, December 14th. After a busy day, all I have left to do is to sleep through the night. If only the pain of having my prospect be the father of Victoria's baby wasn't crushing my entire being.

Seth tried to comfort me by holding me from behind as I curled into a fetal position, bawling my eyes out.

"Why, Seth? What have I done to deserve this? Why couldn't he be mine?" I wept in such sorrow that I could not control. I don't think I have ever felt pain like this in my entire life...

"I'm so sorry, Jake. I truly thought this was impossible to happen with my brother being so vigilant about contraception methods. He didn't even take a chance with Mandy!" He tried to make me feel better, but mentioning her name was not the right thing to do. Still, I get what he meant by that. She is the least of my problems right now. And certainly, it's the lesser of my triggers at this point.

I cried all night, feeling a never-ending sorrow that I could not contain. All I felt was pain.

I ended up missing breakfast on Sunday morning because Seth did not want to wake me up, so he turned off the alarm clock. I wasn't that hungry to begin with. Thank Goddess it's Sunday. I only have three more days until Winter Break, but that also means I only have three more days with Skylar by my side.

After I woke up, Seth left me a juice box and some chips to snack on before lunch. He is an absolute angel, and I will miss him dearly when we no longer share a room. I do love Skylar with all my heart, but his brother was the true discovery of this place.

I hope we can remain friends even after he has gone to college.

I took a quick shower in the locker room, then dressed for the day. My heart is pounding with heartbreak, and my head is killing me with a migraine. Today is definitely not my day. As I walked out of the Gamma House, I caught most of the students outside on the patio or in the lounge of the first tower. That is when I saw it.

Victoria and Skylar were in a corner talking about the next steps for them. Neither of them looked happy to be there, but they knew only one thing could salvage this event, and that was for them to prospect each other like they were supposed to do in the first place.

I wanted to cry at seeing them together, but I kept myself in check. This is not about me. There is a child who needs to be protected now, and I am all for doing what is better for them. There is no crying over spilled milk. What's done is done.

Roberto showed up in front of me, purposefully blocking my view of them, which was eating away at me. He had a sorrowful expression on his face but an empathizing one.

"I know that right now it seems like your life is over and the heartbreak will last forever, but trust me, this too shall pass. If he is meant to be with you, then he will be. But if he belonged to her all along, there is nothing any of us can do to stop their fate from being fulfilled. You just have to trust that this is what's best for you. And it was better to find out about it now than by January or even February. We all know her belly won't grow smaller." He tried to make me feel better, but at the same time, he knew there was no point in sugarcoating it.

I hugged him for the support in a time of need, only to hear Clark - his new prospect - grunting in annoyance a few feet from us. Really, dude? You prospected him yesterday and are already displaying jealousy? *eye roll*

"If you need a friend, I'm here for you." He smiled at me, and I could see the great guy that he was. Well, I already knew that, but he just confirmed my suspicions. Considering I rejected him a while ago, he could be bitter and trample all over my misery, but instead, he is displaying what great characters are made of. What great men are made of.

"Thank you, Beto. Clark is lucky to have found you before it was too late." I smiled at him weakly.

After that, I stepped away from the lounge and went back to my dorm room. Seth was nowhere to be found, so my guess is he is with Jayden somewhere private. Good for him. People cannot stop their lives because mine got derailed. The show must go on.

By the time we broke for lunch, the students were back at our usual spot. The parents' day was still playing out in their minds, and those who secured a contract were the happiest among us all.

"Congratulations on your contract to Jayden! I'm sorry I didn't say anything yesterday, but I truly am happy for you." I told Seth, trying my best to be happy for him. He smiled at me weakly.

"I get why you didn't say anything before, but thanks. We were the lucky ones." He spoke as humbly as one would expect from a boy who doesn't want to boast while I wallow in misery.

"You both deserved a lucky break. I know your feelings for him, so I am glad you are in a good place. Especially now that you're going to be an uncle." I told him, trying to sound humorous but failing spectacularly. And I do mean it.

Seth looked at me like he saw the amount of pain I was in, deep inside.

"I am sure you will find someone better than my brother for you eventually." He tried to cheer me up, though nothing could. Nothing would, to be honest.

"We both know that's impossible, but I appreciate the thought." I stated, confidently. My facial expression was of pain and sadness, but I didn't want to bring down the mood for the entire student body - especially the ones who were on cloud nine right now.

"I'm serious, he has a ton of faults. Skylar is not that great." He sounded serious as he said that, which only made me laugh at his perseverance.

"Only you could make me laugh when the love of my life got someone else pregnant." I declared, silencing the room for a minute as if this was news to anybody - the whole school had been gossiping about it since yesterday. It's not like our discussion about it yesterday was private...

"Maybe he was not the love of your life. Maybe you were meant to find someone in college. Who knows?" He argued, trying his best to make me feel better.

"Like my mother did? Pass!" I almost cut him off, pressed.

"You know, your parents' story, though heartbreaking, is not the only narrative of what goes on in a college environment. Clark's parents met in college. Victoria's parents also met when she was getting her bachelor's degree. They are still together to this day. Anything can happen!" He argued convincingly.

Clark and Victoria looked at our table for a moment when their names were brought up, but quickly looked away. I get what he is doing. He is trying to show me a different path forward and that what happened to my mother is not the only thing that could happen to a college romance.

"I love you, Seth Stronghold." I am enamored by him and how sweet he is, trying to cheer me up.

"I love you too, Jacob Anderson." He smiled at me tenderly. This could have gone a lot worse if I didn't have any friends. Or whatever Skylar and Kyle are to each other... O.o

In the Alpha section, while most of the students were happy to have secured a contract, some of them looked gloomy.

"Wow. They are so supportive of each other. Your brother is an angel." Kyle noted, sounding impressed by him.

"He is, but you're still not worthy of him." Skylar spoke, taciturnly.

"Thanks for the support. I guess we all have the friend we deserve." He mumbled, feeling aggravated.

"Your father was coming down hard on you yesterday. I only understood a few words since it was mostly in Spanish, but he sounded mad at you. Are you okay, Kyle?" Jayden asked him, empathizing with the attractive Latino.

"Thank you for asking, Jay. He was disappointed in me for not having secured a prospect. Now, I stand to graduate unprospected, and all the effort to put me here has gone to waste. He said I don't deserve to be his son." He spoke, sorrowful. Honestly, that broke my heart more than anything else that happened today.

Jayden got up from his table and walked in his direction, then pulled Kyle into a tight hug in the busy cafeteria.

"You are worthy. You are a great man with the potential to become a great Alpha. I know it's hard to ignore the whispers sometimes, but don't listen to them. If you shut down the noise, you will realize that all you ever needed to hear was your own voice. You are worthy." He told Kyle, who shed a tear as he heard that.

Afterward, they parted from the hug, and Jayden returned to his table.

"He is right. I am sorry for what I said before, but you are worthy of being an Alpha. You are worthy of being your father's son, despite what he might have told you, and most of all, you are worthy of having a great partner." Skylar told him, remorsefully.

"Thank you, Sky. You are going to be a great father." Kyle said, smiling at him.

"I hope so." He mumbled, saddened but hopeful.

After I finished having lunch, I walked aimlessly around the estate, not knowing where to go or what to do. What is my life to be now? I have no one else left to prospect - except for Kyle, who I do not want. I have nothing to do with my time because most of my activities were all linked to Skylar. What am I even doing here at this point?

I caught a lot of couples making out in various corners, reminding me of the bliss of being locked to a partner. I even caught Jayden and Seth cuddled up together in the Gamma House common area.

Everywhere I go, people are celebrating their successful contracts, and I should be right there with them, but I am not. Skylar is back with Victoria, at least on paper, and I have nothing. I am back to square one, still the loser that no one will even look at except to express their pity on me — which is far worse.

https://youtu.be/TJAfLE39ZZ8

A|N: I have taken my time to include a song by this great voice. I didn't expect it to take as long as it actually did, but here it is. One of the greats of this century.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it was important for me that Seth and Jake remained friends despite what happened.

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Love,

Léo.