The Alpha’s Forbidden Mate

chapter 3

I’m still sitting, hugging my own body in the corner of the couch, trying to breathe between the pain, the dizziness, and the fatigue. While the man stood a few steps away from me, his back turned, gathering all the clothes scattered on the floor and putting his shirt back on. Then he bent down and looked at his phone on the table. I don’t know what he was reading on his phone, only that his body tensed immediately.

“So I slept with the wrong woman?” Even though softly, I could hear his words.

“Impossible!” I whispered. He stared at me, still sitting on the couch, clothes wrinkled, tears not yet dry on my cheeks. I only stared back, not understanding what was really happening. Or perhaps he had just realized that I wasn’t the escort he had hired?

“Who are you really?”

I did not answer. I didn’t even know what to say.

He stepped back a few paces, his face growing tenser. “ Oh, Shit..” he whispered, then rubbed his temples harshly. “I am crazy.”

I looked at him with tearful eyes. “Now you realize, Mr. Lucan Fiermox?” my voice cracked, while I stared at a name near the whiskey bottle, and I was certain it was his name.

He remained silent, staring at me for a long moment, then finally spoke softly but firmly, “I don’t know. I thought you were the woman I was sent to sleep with tonight. You really made me lose control.”

My chest felt tight. I bit my lip, holding back tears. “And because of that, you think you can treat anyone as you please? Even though I’ve explained that I was mistaken about entering.”

The man did not answer. He just stood there, as if out of words. A few seconds later, he took a long breath and lowered himself a little. “I can’t undo what happened. But as a responsibility, I’ll compensate you for what happened.”

I looked at him coldly. “What do you mean?”

He sighed, then spoke in a flat tone, as if trying to hide his guilt. “Tell me how much you want? Money, a house, whatever. I’ll give it.”

“You think it can all be resolved with money?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “Money solves a lot of things. You need it too, don’t you? Look at you, his clothes are cheap, your shoes are even torn at the edge. Tell me how much you want..”

His words slapped me harder than anything that just happened.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

He moved closer to my body. “That’s stupid. The world shows no mercy to people like us.”

“People like us?” I repeated softly.

He looked at me again, this time his cold face showing again.

“Don’t be stubborn. Accept my offer. I just want to fix the situation. You don’t have to reject the help.”

I’m again confused by his stance. So quick to change? Odd.

“I don’t need pity.”

I turned away, looking at my reflection in the window glass. My hair was a mess, my eyes swollen, my lips cracked. The woman in the reflection looked like someone else. Not me.

“Pity?” his voice sounded cynical. “I’m talking about responsibility, not pity. I......”

“Nothing can be fixed!” I cut him off quickly. I stared at him again, this time with the last of my courage I had. “Whatever happens tonight, I will bear it myself. I don’t want any of your money to touch my life.”

His eyes narrowed, jaw set. He stepped closer, but I stepped back, then another step back.

“Don’t come any closer,” I said softly but firmly. “I’ve had enough of this. Don’t make me lose what little dignity I have left.”

I bent down, picked up my small bag from the floor. The strap of the bag was torn at the end, but I still held it tight as if it were the only grip left in my life.

Without waiting for his reply, I headed for the door. Every step felt heavy, my legs trembled, my vision spinned a little. The alcohol I drank at the bar earlier still took effect in my body.

As I touched the door handle, I heard his voice again.

“Miss, you haven’t told me your name yet…”

I stopped, but did not turn around. Let him not know who I am.

“The world will not pity you,” he said softly. “You will come back to me someday. Because only animals know how to live among animals.”

I bit my lip hard, holding back the tears that were about to fall. “If that’s the case, I hope I don’t need to become a beast like you,” I answered softly.

Then, without waiting for a reply, I opened the door and stepped out.

This morning, sunlight pierced through the thin blinds of the cramped room that has now become my refuge on the run. I sit at the edge of the bed, hugging my knees, staring blankly at the wall filled with sticky notes. Fortunately, I still have Risa, a college friend who offered me a place to stay so I wouldn’t become a homeless person out there.

And now, it’s been three days since I’ve left my room; even for a meal, Risa is the one who knocks and brings food inside.

My head still feels heavy, not only because I lack sleep but also because of the weight pressing on my chest. Every time I close my eyes, the night’s vision haunts me again.

The door to the room was knocked softly, followed by a voice I knew very well.

“Lira, are you awake?”

I didn’t answer. I kept silent, staring at my fingers intertwined in my lap.

A few seconds later, the knock came again, this time a little louder.

“Lira, come open the door. I know you haven’t had breakfast.”

I took a deep breath, then slowly got up and opened the door. Standing at the threshold was Risa, my college friend since semester one. Her face looked worried, but her smile remained gentle as usual.

“You look pale,” she said, peering at me from head to toe. “You haven’t even changed clothes since yesterday?”

I just shrugged. “Not enough time.”

Risa stepped in, placing a tray of bread and a glass of milk on the small table near the window. “You’ve been gone three days, Lira. Everyone is starting to wonder. I even had to lie to your lecturer that you were seriously ill.”

I bowed my head. “I just need time.”

“Time?” Risa looked at me. “Lira, I know something happened to you, but you can’t keep this up. The world doesn’t stop just because you got fired.”

I glanced at her, then quickly shifted my gaze to the window. “If only he knew that what’s happening to me is worse than that,” I thought.

“Then get ready now,” her tone shifted, no longer gentle, but firm and serious.

I stared at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Risa crossed her arms. “Today, you must go to campus. No more excuses. Our Intro to Psychology class is being replaced by a new lecturer, and attendance is mandatory for everyone today. I’ve even gotten a message from the class group that anyone absent without explanation will be considered dropping the course.”

I was stunned. “Replaced? That fast?”

Risa nodded. “Yeah. They said the old lecturer moved to another country, and the replacement lecturer is said to be young, but disciplined. He doesn’t seem like a pushover.”

I nodded slowly. “Sounds intimidating.”

“That’s not it. You just need to go, sit in class, and pretend everything is fine.”

Risa stood up, looking at me with a half-assertive, half-supportive look. “Now, wash up. I’ll give you fifteen minutes. If not, I’ll drag you to the bathroom myself.”

I sighed, then smiled faintly. “You’re really naggy.”

“And you’re really stubborn,” she replied, but her tone carried a sense of relief. “Come on, hurry up. I’ve even pressed your clothes last night. So you have no excuse not to go.”

Risa stepped out of the room, leaving me standing in front of the mirror.

“new lecturer ?” I muttered softly. Somehow, a strange feeling crept into my chest.

I shook it off, trying to act normal and prepared as Risa asked. For the first time in three days, I tried to be myself again.

The campus atmosphere felt heavier that morning than usual. The air seemed heavier, whether due to nerves or simply because I wasn’t used to walking these halls again after three days of confinement. And I still didn’t know how long I would study here when I still hadn’t found another job to pay my tuition later.

Risa walked beside me, hugging her notebook.

“Come on, Lira. Today is just an introduction. Sit in the middle rows, listen, and then we’ll have lunch together, okay?”

I nodded, though my heart was still heavy. We entered a large classroom whose walls were covered with digital whiteboards. The room was already crowded. Some students were trying to find the best seats, some in the front to catch the lecturer’s attention, and some in the back to avoid being seen.

I chose to sit in the middle, next to Risa.

“The new lecturer is said to be from abroad,” whispered a female student behind me. “His name sounds European.”

“Yeah, they said he’s very handsome,” another friend chimed in with enthusiasm. “But also cold, like he doesn’t have emotions. Some other lecturers even seem to dread him.”

I listened without wanting to join the conversation. But when they mentioned cold, a chill ran down my spine.

Before I could process the feeling, the classroom door opened.

The sound of polished leather shoes echoed confidently across the floor. I straightened up instinctively.

Then I saw him.

The man walked in calmly, wearing a black shirt and a gray suit jacket neatly matched. His body was strong, his movements commanding, and as his eyes met the room, my heart seemed to stop beating.

The man who had slept with me three nights ago. The man who, with coldness, had offered money as if my body could be bought.

I froze in place.

Meanwhile, the entire class suddenly fell silent, as if the room’s air stiffened with his arrival.

He scanned the students with a sharp, calm, authoritative gaze.

There was no smile on his face, only a cold blue gaze that seemed capable of piercing anyone who faced him.

His eyes swept the room briefly, and when they finally stopped, they rested on me.