The Alpha I Hated

Chapter 7 – The Birthday Problem

Caleb strolled into the kitchen, shirtless with his sweatpants hanging low on his hips as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

I had to give him credit—he was fully committed to looking like a walking cliché.

"Morning," he grumbled, slumping into a chair at the table like the human embodiment of exhaustion.

Aunt Wendy perked up immediately, as if she’d been waiting for him to appear. She grabbed the coffee pot, clearly happy for the distraction.

I, however, wasn’t so lucky.

“I know your parents would have wanted you to go to college, Ash,” Uncle Mike started, his tone softer than before. “Your mom—”

But I cut him off before he could go any further.

“They aren’t here,” I said bluntly, my chest tightening at the very mention of them. “And I think they would have wanted me to be happy more than anything else. Streaming makes me happy.”

Silence.

Then, to my absolute shock, Caleb piped up.

"She's right," he said, shrugging casually as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth. “She doesn’t need to go to college.”

I nearly choked on my coffee.

Aunt Wendy and Uncle Mike both turned to stare at him, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and mild suspicion.

Was this real? Was Caleb actually about to stick up for me? Had it finally dawned on him that it was a bit hypocritical of him to point fingers at me for not wanting to go to college when he—

"You don’t need a college education to take your clothes off," he finished smugly.

Aunt Wendy gasped in horror and Uncle Mike looked like he was one second away from hurling his coffee mug at Caleb’s head.

I, on the other hand, was trying very hard not to flip the entire f*****g table over.

"Oh my God! I don’t take my clothes off!" I snapped at him. "You’re such an asshole!"

Caleb grinned, pleased with himself.

Uncle Mike turned his full attention to his son, his voice sharp. “That’s enough, Caleb.”

Aunt Wendy, still looking concerned, glanced at me. “I’ve seen some of your clips, sweetheart, but—”

I groaned. “Jesus, Aunt Wendy, I swear, I am always fully clothed!”

Uncle Mike nodded. “We know, Ashleigh. Caleb, stop giving her a hard time and trying to make trouble.”

Caleb scoffed. “It’s not my fault she refuses to study or get a real job.”

I rolled my eyes, turning back to my pancakes. “Streaming is a real job, dumbass.”

Caleb smirked. “Oh, totally. You sit on your ass and play video games all day. Hard work, for sure," he finished sarcastically.

I clenched my jaw. “I run a community, create content, manage an audience, handle sponsorships, edit videos, and deal with idiots like you. It’s more than just playing games.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved a hand dismissively. “Well, if this streaming thing doesn’t work out, there’s always OnlyFans.”

Aunt Wendy gasped again.

Uncle Mike’s entire face darkened. “That’s it. I don't want to hear anything else about OnlyFans or Ashleigh's streaming attire, understand?” he said sternly as he gave Caleb a warning look.

Caleb shrugged, completely unfazed.

I forced a sweet smile, leaning back in my chair as I watched him through narrowed eyes. “Well, if your online courses don’t work out, I hear your future as a professional couch potato is looking real promising.”

Uncle Mike cleared his throat loudly, the universal sign for shut the f**k up before I kill you both. “Alright,” he said firmly. “That’s enough.”

Aunt Wendy sighed, rubbing her temples like she had a headache coming on. Then, deciding to shift the conversation to safer territory, she forced a cheery tone.

“Speaking of the future,” she said brightly, “your birthday is coming up, Ash! We should do something special for it.”

I froze mid-chew.

Oh no.

I swallowed slowly, setting my fork down carefully, like the wrong move might set off a bomb.

"Special like...?" I asked cautiously.

Aunt Wendy beamed with far too much enthusiasm. Immediate red flag.

“Like a party!” she announced. “Caleb had that big bash for his eighteenth, remember? We could do something similar—”

“No,” I cut in immediately. “Absolutely not.”

Her smile faltered. “Okay… well, not as big as Caleb’s. Maybe just fifty or so people—”

I choked on my pancakes. “Fifty?! I don’t even know fifty people!”

“Alright, alright,” she said, hands up in surrender. “Something even smaller then. A little get-together. Maybe just family and a few friends?”

"What friends?" Caleb muttered under his breath.

Aunt Wendy shushed him without hesitation.

I exhaled, leaning back in my chair. “I’ll think about it.”

Spoiler: I was not going to think about it.

Uncle Mike took another sip of coffee before setting his mug down. “We also need to start sorting out the paperwork for your inheritance soon.”

I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral.

Caleb raised a brow. “Wonder how much you’re getting. Maybe you can afford to move out.”

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Maybe.”

Aunt Wendy shot Caleb a scowl before she turned her attention to me, her lips pursed and concern evident. “You don’t have to rush into anything, sweetheart. You’re always welcome here.”

I knew she meant it. And in a different life, I might’ve stayed. But this wasn’t that life.

Caleb smirked. “So wait, let me get this straight… your big plan is to live off your Twitch money and your dead parents’ cash?”

I slammed my fork down, my patience reaching its absolute limit.

It was one thing for my aunt and uncle to talk about my parents, but I didn't want Caleb to talk about them. And what I planned to do with the money I got from them definitely wasn't HIS business.

“I’m going to my room,” I announced, shoving my chair back.

I could tell Aunt Wendy wanted to stop me. She opened her mouth like she was going to try one last time, but then just sighed, giving me a small nod.

“Okay,” she said softly. “Just… think about everything we talked about, alright?”

I didn’t answer. I just grabbed my coffee, turned on my heel, and left the room.