THE HEARTLESS ALPHA

epi 2 : THE TRAP

"Dad! Please don't go. How am I supposed to spend these days without you?"

I felt sick.

My dad was leaving me alone with my stepmother.

He said he would be back in three days.

"Alen, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner," Dad sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My business with Mr. George is urgent. But you have your mom here, right?"

He gestured to the woman beside him.

Zooi. My stepmother.

The woman who only smiled when Dad was watching. The woman who only pretended to love me in front of him.

"Alen, honey, don't make this hard for your father," Zooi said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

"Come on, tell me about your first day of college."

I forced a smile. The performance had begun.

She quickly filled a plate and led me to the dining table.

"Sit, darling. Eat. And you, my love, go take care of your work.

I'm here. Alen is like my own daughter. You don't have to worry,"

she played the perfect mother.

Dad kissed my forehead and walked out the door.

The moment it clicked shut, she snatched the plate from my hands.

"Listen to me," she hissed. "Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told."

The mask was off. Again.

I said nothing. I went to my room.

Arguing with her only made things worse.

"Oh, and there's a party at Mr. Thomas's tonight," she called after me.

"They need waitstaff. You're going."

She did this every time Dad left. Used me to make extra money.

"I can't. Dad has enough money. I don't need to work as a waiter."

SLAP.

Pain exploded across my face. My ears rang.

For one second, all I could think about was my mom.

I wished she was here. I wished I didn't have to live with this cruel woman.

"How dare you talk back to me?" Zooi's eyes turned to ice.

"I'm not asking. I'm telling you.

You're going to that party tonight. I already took the payment."

Tears burned my eyes.

No matter how strong I pretended to be,

I was just a girl who couldn't stand up to her own stepmother.

I ran to my room and locked the door.

I wanted to bury myself in my mother's old dress.

Because I couldn't bury myself in her arms anymore.

My mother died the day I was born.

Since then, that one dress was the only thing that felt like her.

I wanted to scream at Dad that Zooi wasn't my mother.

That you only get one. The rest are just pretending.

I wished my mom was alive so I could tell her about college today.

I pressed the fabric to my chest and talked to it.

Pretending it could answer back.

But it was just cloth.

It could catch my tears. It couldn't wipe them.

It could hear me. It couldn't hold me like a mother.

So I wiped my own face. I pulled myself together.

I had to get ready.

Tired. Humiliated. It didn't matter.

Zooi wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Because she was a mother in name only.

I lined my eyes with kohl to hide the swelling.

I put on my oldest, cleanest clothes.

In my mother's diary, she had written:

"When you break, my child, don't let them see.

Because if they do, they'll break you all over again."

---

MR. THOMAS'S MANSION - 8:00 PM

I stood in the corner of the massive hall.

Black waiter uniform. Silver tray.

My heart was pounding so loud I was sure everyone could hear it.

I'd done this for Zooi before. But never like this.

Never as a college student. Surrounded by rich kids.

Please don't let anyone see me.

Not after today.

I kept my head down, hiding behind the tray.

The hall glittered. Music played. Glasses clinked.

The party hadn't officially started yet.

Then I looked up.

And my heart stopped.

Bella.

My classmate. The richest, coldest girl in our entire college.

Was this Mr. Thomas's daughter?

My breath caught. My hands shook.

I turned to run. If she saw me like this,

I was finished at college tomorrow.

All because of Zooi and her greed.

"Alen?"

Her voice froze me in place.

I couldn't turn around.

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

What do I do? What do I do? I wished I could disappear.

Footsteps. Then she was in front of me.

She took the tray from my hands gently. And smiled.

But it wasn't cruel.

It was soft.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

I felt ashamed. I wanted to run but I couldn't.

"I understand. You must have a reason for working, right?"

I kept my eyes down. Shame burned my cheeks.

"I don't care if you have money or not, Alen.

You're my classmate. That's all that matters to me."

She covered my hand with hers.

Diamonds on her bracelet caught the light.

"You shouldn't be doing this.

I wouldn't feel right letting someone from my class serve people."

I looked up, stunned.

Was this the same Bella everyone called a spoiled brat?

She took my hand.

"Come with me. Upstairs. To my room."

Panic shot through me. Was this a trap?

But I couldn't speak. So I followed.

Her room was huge. Designer everything. It smelled expensive.

She opened her closet and pulled out a red gown.

It was breathtaking.

"Wear this. It will look amazing on you.

Get ready. Enjoy the party."

I stared at the dress, then at her. Tears welled up.

And for once, I didn't hide them.

For once, someone wasn't looking at me with disgust.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered, brushing a tear away.

"Tears are valuable. Don't waste them."

"I thought you'd laugh at me. At how poor I am..."

"Money isn't something we choose, Alen," Bella cut in.

"And people without it are still people."

"Thank you. But I can't take this.

I'm here to work. It doesn't matter anymore."

I tried to give it back with shaking hands.

"I care," Bella said firmly, stopping me.

"If Ryan or anyone else sees you working, they'll tear you apart.

All the important people are here. Kids from our college too.

Please. Let me help. I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Maybe she meant it.

Maybe I wanted to believe her.

I remembered Ryan laughing at my worn-out uniform.

The whole class laughing with him.

With trembling fingers, I took the red gown.

Maybe Bella wasn't terrible.

"Okay," I whispered.

Bella smiled.

"Good. Hurry. The party is about to start."

In the bathroom, I stared at the mirror.

Puffy eyes. A faint mark on my cheek. The red dress in my hands.

My mother's dress was at home.

Could this red dress give me a new start?

My hand went to the crystal around my neck.

Someone once told me it would change my life.

I didn't believe it. I just wore it because it was from my mom.

I held the gown close and whispered,

"Mom... is this right?"

Silence.

In the mirror, a broken girl stared back.

About to step into her fate... wearing red.

I took a deep breath and walked downstairs.

The gown swept the floor. My hair fell loose.

Soft kohl. Red lips.

The broken version of me was gone.

A new girl walked out.

I had no idea today would change everything.

The second I entered the hall, everything stopped.

Whispers. Stares.

"Who is that?"

"She's gorgeous."

"Wait, isn't that Alen? From college? The poor one?"

Jealousy. Shock. Hunger in their eyes.

And right in front of me stood Ryan.

His face went pale. The guy who called me poor every day

couldn't process what he was seeing.

He stepped forward with a nasty grin.

"Well, well. Where did you steal that dress, Alen?

Or did you find a rich guy to buy it for you?"

His friends snickered.

"Yeah. From rags to princess in one night."

My chest tightened. I looked away.

Then the lights dimmed.

A voice boomed from the entrance:

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our special guest has arrived!"

Everyone turned.

And there he was. The guy from the stairs.

The one I couldn't stand.

Someone gasped, "James."

Black suit. Messy hair. Ice-cold expression.

The richest, most dangerous guy in the city.

Girls swarmed him.

I didn't care. I was starving.

I headed for the food table and collided right into him.

His eyes met mine. And he froze.

For a second, the ice in them cracked.

Surprise.

He looked at me like he'd never seen me before.

Like I was something rare. Something real.

I mumbled sorry and moved to grab a plate.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Time for the main event! MASK DANCE!

Grab a mask and find your partner on stage!"

I dropped the plate and went for a mask.

I didn't want to look desperate.

Applause filled the room.

Bella immediately reached for James's hand.

"James, dance with me."

He didn't take it.

Instead, he looked at me. Walked two steps.

And stood in front of me.

My heart stopped.

The room went silent. Ryan scowled.

Bella's smile tightened. Like she was already plotting something.

James held out his hand.

His voice was low. Cold. But not cruel.

"Will you dance with me?"

My whole body shivered.

I glanced at Bella. At Ryan. At him.

If I said no, they would destroy me tomorrow.

If I said yes, I would survive tonight.

Shaking, I placed my hand in his.

The second I did, his eyes flashed.

Gold.

And between us, for half a second, a thread of golden light.

No one else saw it.

The music started. Masks on.

We moved to the center of the floor.

Red and black. Fire and ice.

His hand in mine sent a jolt through me.

We didn't speak.

We just danced.

It felt like we were the only two people in the world.

We didn't notice that everyone else had stopped to watch.

From the sidelines, Bella smiled.

But her eyes were full of hate.

"You picked the wrong girl, James," she whispered.

Mid-dance, James leaned down. His breath brushed my ear.

"You're mine," he said. "Only mine."

My heart stuttered.

I pulled back to look at him.

What did that mean? He didn't even know me.

Did he mean it?

Or was this just another lie?

The dance ended.

And everyone moved toward the food.

Bella was walking right in front of me.

Two wine glasses in her hand.

"Here, Alen. Drink this," she said softly, smiling.

"You look pale."

"Sorry, I don't drink," I tried to refuse with a small smile.

But Bella shook her head.

"Come on, Alen. It's cold tonight. This will warm you up.

Look, everyone's drinking. Except you."

She gestured toward the hall.

With shaking hands, I took one glass.

The red gown made me feel like a stranger in my own skin.

I drank the wine quickly.

The taste was strange. Bitter.

And then Bella "slipped" as she walked past me.

Red wine splashed all over me.

My chest. My waist.

Spreading fast. Like blood.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, Alen!" Bella gasped, covering her mouth.

"Look what I did! Your dress is ruined!"

The stain kept growing.

"It's okay," I whispered. My face was burning with shame.

"I can clean it."

"No. You can't go downstairs like this," Bella said immediately.

"Come to my room. You can change. I have another dress for you."

I hesitated. The gown was a mess.

"Okay," I agreed.

What I didn't see was the flicker in Bella's eyes.

And the tiny nod she gave to Ryan.

Standing in the corner with his three friends.

end off epi 2