Broken Trust, Renewed Love

On our anniversary, my alpha prince boyfriend, Cyrus, cancelled our dinner date for his youthful omega crush, Lilith.

I found out through a social media post from Lilith herself, deliberately posted to showcase their intimacy. It showed Cyrus rare genuine smile beside her at an extravagant pool villa gathering. Since they were both elites in the Braveclaws Pack, the post went viral, with comments begging Cyrus and Lilith to become a real couple and ditch an ordinary girlfriend like me.

[Thank you, Mr. Alpha Prince, for always making me your number one :)]

Their fans gushed over their chemistry. Even at work, I couldn’t escape the news about them. In the restroom, I overheard two colleagues gossiping:

"Did you see Lady Lilith's post yesterday?"

"Yes! Her posts are getting bolder every day! She was practically glued to Prince Cyrus! Ah!" one squealed.

"I know, right? They're SO cute together! I can’t believe they’re not official yet!"

The bitter taste of betrayal filled my mouth as I rushed out of the restroom, the echo of their laughter still ringing in my ears.

The memory of our missed anniversary dinner was a knife twisting in my chest, pulling me deeper into the abyss of sadness.

***

Cyrus: [Rhea, something just came up. I’m going to be home late. No need to wait for me.]

I gripped my phone tighter at the news. The time display noted that Cyrus sent the message at [3:15 PM] earlier.

[Alright, safe trip.] I sent the reply, closed the phone and let out a long sigh.

I had just arrived at the villa after a long day of finishing my deadlines. When I finally plopped onto the bed, I remembered that I hadn’t touch my phone since the minute I arrive in the office.

Ah… I shouldn’t have given too much hope in Cyrus’ promise yesterday.

I was looking forward to tonight’s dinner. It was supposed to be our little anniversary celebration today, but I guess he forgot about it, again.

Cyrus was my boyfriend for five years. We started dating in the latter half of our second year at the senior academy, but we kept it a secret until after we graduated. When the news finally broke, it sent shockwaves throughout the entire academy… and even more so throughout the Braveclaws Pack.

Why did our relationship stir up so much uproar in the pack?

Because Cyrus wasn’t just anyone—he was the sole heir of the Tangler Clan, the pack alpha’s bloodline.

Yes, Cyrus Tangler was Braveclaws’ alpha prince.

And who was his girlfriend at the time? Me, Andrea Clerkston, an ordinary omega from a typical white-collar family.

Before I started dating Cyrus publicly, I had never been part of the elite social circles, let alone the powerful and influential ones.

Cyrus had two people who were always by his side. One was Patrick, an alpha he’d known since childhood, hailing from the renowned Finiteson family, the most famous jewelry designers on the continent. The other was Lilith, an omega from the centuries-old Dicelore Clan, whose shipping empire was one of Braveclaws' main financial pillars.

Though Lilith met Patrick and Cyrus a bit later, the three of them had been close friends since elementary school.

Given their backgrounds, the general expectation among netizens was that if Cyrus ever dated someone, it would be Lilith. They were the ultimate power couple, shipped by fans and hyped by gossip media.

So when Cyrus announced he wasn’t dating Lilith but me instead, my DMs exploded. Some people just wanted to know more about me, but a lot of them sent threats.

Fortunately, Cyrus, Patrick and Lilith publicly showed their support for me at the time. Patrick and Lilith, in particular, frequently voiced their approval of my relationship with Cyrus. The four of us often met up, sharing pictures of our gatherings on social media to highlight our close bond.

But unfortunately, the negative comments didn’t vanish entirely...

Especially when Lilith posted a picture of her and Cyrus together without me in the frame.

Like her recent post just two minutes ago from her Tattle account, @Lilith_Dicelore:

[What a night! It was all so last minute, but we made it happen! Huge thanks to these wonderful people who came through for me—especially you, Cyrus @Cyrus_Tangler!

Patrick @Not_Patrick_Stars! I've called you a dozen times but you didn't even bother picking up, Next time, you're not getting out of it!

And Andrea @Rhea_and_rea, you're the best for lending Cyrus to me for the evening! I owe you one, big time! Good luck on finishing your project—I know you'll crush it!

Beneath the text were pictures of a night sky, taken from a pool villa perched somewhere high on a hill. The remnants of a small barbecue buffet were visible in the background.

In the same thread, there was another post with a caption written in a foreign language I couldn’t fully understand. The only word that stood out to me resembled “business partnership.”

Underneath that caption was a video capturing the lively atmosphere of the gathering at the villa. In the clip, Cyrus was laughing beside Lilith as they conversed with what appeared to be foreigners.

I was stunned after watching the video.

I had never seen Cyrus laugh like that before. In fact, I never imagined he even could!

Cyrus had always come across as serious, with a cold charisma that drew people in. Even when he bantered with Patrick, the most expression he would show was a sharp glare, a raised eyebrow and maybe an annoyed jab to Patrick’s shoulder with a faint smile on his lips.

But never a hearty laugh.

My eyes eventually drifted on the comment sections:

[@CyrilithForever:

"Lilith and Cyrus look so good together! I swear they’re soulmates. Why aren’t they dating already?!"]

[@DramaAlert:

"Did anyone else notice how Cyrus laughs with Lilith? He never looks like that with Andrea… just saying."]

[@PowerCoupleWatcher:

"I always thought it would be Lilith and Cyrus in the end… That laugh! He seems so happy with her. "]

[@ShippingQueen:

"Andrea is so lucky that Lilith is so cool about this! But honestly, it’s hard not to ship."]

Tears stung my eyes and soon enough, I was sobbing while sitting on the edge of the bed. Checking social media that day was a terrible mistake. My heart felt utterly shattered.

This wasn’t the first time Cyrus attended an event at Lilith’s request. I should’ve seen this coming and never allowed myself to fall for him in the first place.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself one last time.

Then, I picked up my phone and called Cyrus.

He answered after the first ring. “What is it, Rhea?” he asked in that cold, monotone voice.

In the background, I could clearly hear the sounds of lively chatter and fireworks.

“Where are you?” I asked, fighting to keep the tremble out of my voice.

“I’m at a business meeting. What’s the matter?” He seemed to have moved away from the noise, but another burst of fireworks echoed in the distance. “Rhea, are you crying?” Cyrus asked, his voice still calm.

The fact that he wasn’t even trying to lie, combined with his detached tone, made it even harder to understand what was going on in his mind.

I couldn’t help but start to believe what Patrick had warned me about. Was this really Cyrus’s way of playing with my feelings?

I couldn’t take it anymore...

I took another deep breath, steeling myself to say what had been lurking in the back of my mind for months. “Cyrus, let’s break up.”