The Alpha's False Mate

CHAPTER 2: A Fatal Mistake

I clasp my trembling fingers together when Mr. Chua’s calloused palm kneads my exposed leg. My shoulders clench when he inches his nose closer to my neck, then sniffles me like a hungry dog.

“Are you still a virgin?” he asks with an attempt of seductiveness. “If you are, then I’ll double the twenty-five percent that you need.”

I insinuate myself near the car’s door at the back of the driver’s seat while pulling down the hem of my shorts. Mr. Chua grunts at my action. He grabs my arm then tugs me towards him, which earns a yelp from me.

With gritted teeth, he warns, “Remember, you’re the one who contacted me. You need me. Your father needs my money. Put that in your head.”

A surge of petrifying emotion flares in me when his fat hands cup my bust while his disgusting tongue licks my ear. Burning in disappointment with myself, I fume the instant Mr. Chua untucks the hem of my T-shirt from my shorts.

“No! Stop!”

I clutch his hands then puncture my nails on his knuckles while hauling them away from my body and shirt. However, his size dominates me. He squeezes my wrists and pins them on the car’s glass while he positions himself on top of me. Fear simmers in my chest. I scream at the top of my lungs. One of my shoes falls off of my foot, but that doesn’t stop me from aggressively booting my legs in an attempt to free myself.

“Somebody, help me!”

Mr. Chua forces his weight on me while his hand grips half of my lower face.

“Shut the f.uck up!” he hisses.

The nasty tobacco odor released by his whale-like mouth heightens my anger. Though out of breath and strength, I keep wiggling my body like a worm soaked in salt. His clenched, reddened saggy face is the last thing my vision captures before his palm flies on my cheek. With my throbbing cheek, sweaty skin and drying throat, I close my eyes and let my tears cascade. Mr. Chua doesn’t waste time the instant I stop retaliating. He lowers himself until his protruded belly presses my tiny one. His tongue wets my neck while his fingertips run up and down my torso. When his weight lightens a bit, I sluggishly unfold my swollen eyelids open. Slight bravery tweaks my chest at the sight of him, struggling to slide his stout arms off his leather brown suit. With my remaining, dwindling strength, I shove him off me until he rolls like a ball on the backrest of the passenger seat. At the quickest pace possible, I push the car door open and sprint for my life. I breathe through my mouth, refusing to look back while darting across several parked cars. My dangerously rapid and irregular heartbeats race with my pulsating legs. The chilly wind whacks my face and drifts the messy strands of my hair. Some stare with perplexity, others with compassion and worry, but none dares to offer any help. When I’m out of the parking lot and nearing St. Luke’s Hospital’s gated area, where security guards are scattered almost everywhere, I slow down my pace and glance over my shoulder. Mr. Chua’s car is nowhere behind. Thank goodness, he doesn’t make an effort to follow me. I bend my waist and clutch my knees to catch my breath. Once I feel better, I head my way towards the hospital’s main entrance. Before I could enter its automatic glass door, one of the guards asks,

“Miss, do you need help?”

I appreciate his question, but at this point, I don’t think any help is sufficient to solve my problems.

I look at his concerned eyes and murmur, “I’m fine.”

My words sting my tongue like bees. The guard stares at me for a moment, obviously not trusting what I said. He casts his sight down and glues it on my filthy foot.

“Can I still enter with a missing shoe?” I ask.

With hesitation and pity, he nods then extends his arm sideways to the door.

Inside, troubled eyes stare and unclear words echo, but I ignore them. Still, uneasiness cloaks my entire being as I drag myself onto the stairs and towards my father’s room. That uneasiness escalates to hopelessness as soon as I lay my gaze on my father, who’s lying on the bed unconsciously. A ventilator mask conceals his hollowed face while drips prick through the bulgy skin of his right arm. I shut the door behind me, then take a seat on the stool beside his bed. The extreme silence is too loud, which makes it hard to concentrate. Unheedingly, tears trickle down my cheeks. The burdens, which have been accumulating in my chest for months, uncontrollably cut loose from my mouth.

“Do you see how I look? Do you hear my prayers? Do you feel my pain, papa? I almost fell into a degrading situation for money. I’ve always considered doing it with Mr. Chua. But in the end, I got scared and ran away. Are you mad at me for… for not getting the money that you need?”

I snuffle while wiping my tears with the back of my fingers. By accident, I angle my view at the wall clock hung on the farthest white wall. Weaves of unexplained negative emotions inundate all over me. I can barely think properly, let alone breathe. I’m losing options… or to be more accurate, I don’t have an option. I only have less than twenty minutes left to pay my father’s expenses. Every tick of the clock ripples the anxiety in me. There’s no way I can see my father die after throwing away the opportunity to save him. With that, an unthinkable idea crops up in my head. I rise from the stool, take out my wallet from my pocket, stare at his photo for a few seconds before counting the two one hundred peso bills, a couple of twenty pesos and the one thousand pesos that I received as a tip for cleaning an already cleaned suite. I force them all into my father’s hand, then muffle his body with the thick white blanket before planting a kiss on his forehead.

“I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough to witness all these,” I whisper with a quavering voice.

I draw in and out long heavy breaths as I step out of the room. Just like earlier, relatives of the patients and the hospital staffs gawk at me as if they’re seeing an earthly ghost. Out of embarrassment, I push back the strands of my hair off my face, pull down my creased shirt, then remove my shoe off my foot so I could walk decently. It’s not a wonder that what I did weren’t enough for these strangers to stop gaping and mumbling, but at least I make it apparent that their presence is distressing me. With my head down low, I trudge through corridors and stairs until I reach my destination – the rooftop. I hold my gaze overhead, allowing the cool crisp wind to smudge my exhausted body while appreciating the starless dark horizon. Numbness soon takes over me. I toss my shoe while propelling my feet on the rough ceramic tiles, then I climb over the wrought iron railings until I find myself standing on the ledge. Terror hustles through my nerves the instant I look down. Around five hundred feet from where I stand are tiny cars thronging the busy avenue. If I jump, it’s either I’d hit the paved ground or be crashed by a moving car. Which one is less painful? I chuckle inwardly at the thought. Regardless of the answer, once I jump, I’ll die.

“This is it, papa.”

My decisiveness to end my sufferings gets the upper hand over the pangs of conscience to take on my future. I lift my chin and close my eyes. Slowly and steadily, my soles glide against the ledge’s tiles. My heart bangs my chest while every inch of my body tightens in fear. With one final step, I fall. I scream like I never did before. However, instead of falling forward, I fall backwards. A big strong hand that’s gripping my wrist tugs me back over the railings. The next thing I know, I’m in the arms of the familiar handsome man that I’ve met in the Golden Empire Hotel.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks.

Did he snarl? I’m pretty sure there’s a guttural sound that came out of his throat. I loosen my squinted eyes and set aside my thoughts when his clenched jaw registers in my vision.

“Let me go.”

“No.”

My eyebrows press down low at his response. Since I don’t know where to put the anger I have in my situation, I aim it directly at him.

“How dare you?! Don’t act like you understand what I’m going through?!”

“I’m not acting. I don’t care what you’re going through and what you’re gonna do with yourself. I just don’t wanna see it.”

He looks irked but his voice is calm and controlled. I slant my view to the ledge where I was standing earlier. If I’m being honest, I’m partly disappointed but also half relieved that I was saved.

“I was smoking here alone, peacefully. Then you arrived and walked straight to the ledge. If I didn’t stop you, you’ll be my nightmare for the rest of my life. Do it somewhere where you won’t disturb anyone.”

His harsh words impale an invisible dagger in my chest, stabbing my heart multiple times until it bleeds again.

I respond while fighting back my tears, “Right, I’m sorry. I’ll do it somewhere else.”

I slide my weakened body from his arms. Before I could turn my heels from him, he gently grabs my wrist again, so I could direct my moistening eyes to his unfaltering ones.

“What do you need? I might help.”

It’s fascinating to watch him immediately transitions from an unsympathetic d.ouche to a softhearted savior.

I shake my head and answer, “Nothing. Nobody could help me. I’m beyond help.”

I turn around but he pulls me back, causing the back of my head to hit his hard chest.

“Ouch!” I hiss. “The only help you could give me is to let me go!”

“So you could attempt to kill yourself again?”

I smirk wryly, then ask with sarcasm, “I thought you don't care?”

My question silences him for a moment. When he finally speaks his mind, he counters in a much calmer voice than I have, “I don’t.”

My heart lurches to my feet. Nobody cares about me. That’s the reality I have to chew. It’s only me who can help myself, nobody else’s.

“Have you eaten?”

I raise an eyebrow at him. That’s a question from out of nowhere. Is he trying to pacify the tension between us? Why would he? He doesn’t care, right? Without answering him, I forcefully wave my arm, causing him to release his grip. I stride towards the exit door without looking back. I don’t hear his footsteps nor his voice. I hear nothing but the swooshing of the restless breeze. That tranquility I quite enjoy is soon shattered by a howl from somewhere. A yell of agony bursts from my mouth when a huge black wolf leaps in front of the exit door. I take tottering steps backward. When my agitation could no longer handle my weight, I drop on the floor. Still, I try my best to creep away from the wolf. Its canines are barred, its saliva is dripping and its eyes are ravenous for prey. A scream explodes from me again when it runs towards my direction. I hold the upper half of my trembling body down low as apprehension threshes through my jerking muscles and my shivering bones. I was ready to die earlier, but why am I scared if this wolf eats me alive? Only God knows how long I’m paralyzed at my place. Minutes have gone by, the presence of the wolf suddenly disappears. I lift my gaze with the uttermost reluctance. My heartbeats peal in my ears when my sight slants on the two unbelievably huge wolves, battling each other to death.

“How is it possible that there are wolves in here?”