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It had been a week since Zayn found out about the pregnancy. He and Elior still talked on the phone every night, laughing, sharing mundane details about their day, pretending at least on Zayn's part that everything was still normal. But deep inside, Zayn was different now. There was a quiet heartbeat inside him, reminding him of every truth he'd been avoiding. He had made a decision: he would tell Elior everything.

But not over the phone. Not in texts.

He wanted to say it to his face.

Zayn had been restless all night, going over every word in his mind, rewriting the speech a thousand times. Rhys noticed. That morning, as they both stood in front of the mirror, Rhys asked, "Are you really going to do this today?"

Zayn inhaled slowly, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "Yeah... I think I am."

Rhys smiled softly, placing a comforting hand on Zayn’s shoulder. "You look nervous."

"Yeah, well... this is the first time I’m proposing to someone."

"Proposing?" Rhys raised an eyebrow. "We’re going from confessions to marriage now?"

Zayn rolled his eyes, chuckling nervously. "Not that kind of proposal... I just want to ask him to be mine, officially."

They walked through the college courtyard, and Zayn spotted Elior approaching. A rush of emotions surged inside him affection, fear, hope, and a strange flicker of something deeper.

As Elior came closer, Zayn took a shaky breath and stepped forward.

"Elior," he called out.

Elior paused, looking curious. Students nearby slowed down, sensing something important was about to unfold.

Zayn began, his voice calm but charged with emotion. "I have known you for around a year now... and I know it's not a lifetime, but these months were the happiest in mine. You taught me how to love myself when I didn’t even know I was capable of being loved. You made me a better person."

The murmurs around them quieted. Everyone had turned to watch.

"Elior," he whispered, eyes locking with his, "I’m pregnant."

The courtyard fell into a stunned silence.

Elior just stared, his face frozen in a look that wasn’t joy or shock it was something colder, darker.

And before Zayn could process what he was seeing in Elior’s eyes, the omega dropped down to one knee.

"So, Elior Blackwood," Zayn continued, forcing a smile, voice shaking, "will you be my boyfriend?"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

This was Zayn Alaric the arrogant, unattached omega who had never dated anyone. He had a reputation for one-night flings, but never for love.

People raised their phones. Videos were being recorded. The air was thick with suspense.

Rhys, standing nearby, watched with hopeful eyes.

Elior stared down at Zayn. His lips parted. The world held its breath.

"No."

A pin could drop.

Zayn blinked. "W-What?"

Elior stepped back, voice ice-cold. "I don’t want to be your boyfriend."

The silence turned suffocating.

Zayn slowly stood up, confusion painted across his face. "Elior... what are you saying?"

Elior’s face twisted into something painful. "Today... my revenge is complete."

Rhys walked up quickly. "What the hell are you talking about? Revenge for what?"

Elior turned to Zayn. "Do you remember Aseal?"

Zayn froze.

That name was a blade.

"He was my best friend," Elior said, his voice breaking but filled with rage. "And because of you... he lost his life."

Zayn's lips parted, but no words came out. His eyes burned, his chest tightened.

Students began whispering, gossip spreading like wildfire.

"You... you were lying to me? All this time?" Zayn asked, his voice barely audible.

Elior turned away, as if he couldn’t bear to look at him. "You made me believe in your goodness, made me laugh, made me feel things I didn’t want to feel. And I hated myself for it. But now... I can finally say it. You are disgusting."

Rhys grabbed Elior's arm. "Elior! You don’t know what you’re saying. He is pregnant, damn it!"

Elior glanced back, eyes glassy but cruel. "Rhys, I respect you. You’re a good guy. But your friend? He doesn’t even have self-respect."

"Stop it," Rhys growled.

"He’s been with 30, 40 guys. And now he suddenly says he’s pregnant? Are we even sure it’s mine?"

"Zayn, are you sure it's mine."he asked mockingly.

A sharp crack rang out.

Rhys had slapped Elior across the face, hard enough that the sound echoed across the courtyard.

"Don’t you dare," Rhys said, breathing heavily. "Don’t you dare insult him like that."

Zayn was standing still, unmoving. His hands had gone numb. His ears were ringing.

And then his knees gave out.

Zayn stood there, frozen. His knees trembled where he had just knelt, heart wide open, soul laid bare for the world to see. And all he received in return was a No. Not just any “No” a cold, calculated, humiliating one.

“Today my revenge is complete.”

Those words kept echoing in his ears, louder than the gasps, louder than the whispering students around him, louder even than the voice in his head telling him to move.

He could barely register Rhys yelling, could barely feel the air that had suddenly become heavy around him. His mind was spiraling, fast and uncontrollably, like the world was spinning but he was the only one still.

Elior’s words had done more than reject his love they had ripped open wounds Zayn had buried long ago.

> “He doesn’t even have self-respect…”

“He’s disgusting…”

“Was it even my child…?”

Zayn's lips trembled. He wanted to say something. Anything. But nothing came out.

His hands instinctively touched his lower stomach, the place where a fragile life now grew. That life the one he had finally started to accept, the one he had dared to dream a future for now felt heavier than ever.

He blinked once.

Twice.

The world around him started to blur as tears filled his eyes. He took a step back.

And another.

And then

He turned.

And ran.

He didn’t know where his legs were taking him. All he knew was that he needed to get away. From the laughter. From the stares. From Elior’s cold eyes. From the truth.

He kept running until his legs gave out.

He collapsed to the ground, just outside the campus, behind one of the large deserted buildings. His breath hitched. His throat felt like it was closing up. And then

He screamed.

A raw, broken, pain-filled scream that echoed through the emptiness around him.

Zayn clutched his chest, gasping for air like he was drowning in emotions he couldn’t name. Pain. Shame. Guilt. Betrayal. And heartbreak.

All tangled into one.

He bent forward, forehead resting against the cold stone wall. His body shook violently as the sobs came crashing down. There was no one to stop them. No one to hold him. And that made it even worse.

> “He was just using me…”

> “He never loved me…”

> “I trusted him…”

Zayn let the tears fall freely. For Elior. For the baby. For himself.

He thought of all the moments he had spent laughing with him, sleeping beside him, letting his guard down for the first time in years. Every word, every kiss, every touch was it all a lie?

He remembered how Elior had gently held him when he was sick during the heat. How he whispered, “You’re safe now, I got you.”

Was that all an act?

Zayn’s stomach twisted violently. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively, rocking back and forth as if trying to hold himself together.

He thought of his mother, who never once looked at him the way she looked at his brother.

He thought of his father, who’d called him worthless more times than he could count.

He thought of the people who never stayed.

And now Elior.

Elior, who he let in.

Elior, who promised to be different.

Elior, who shattered him in front of everyone.

Suddenly, he felt something wet on his hands not tears. Blood. His nails had dug so deep into his palms he hadn’t even noticed.

He laughed a hollow, bitter sound and stared at the red marks.

That’s when he heard footsteps. Soft but hurried.

"Zayn!"

It was Rhys.

He came rushing, breathless, worry carved deep into every line of his face. He saw Zayn crouched on the ground, face pale, lips trembling, eyes swollen.

Rhys knelt beside him, not saying a word. He didn’t need to. He simply wrapped his arms around him tightly.

Zayn collapsed into his best friend’s arms, sobbing harder now, because here was someone who stayed.

“I-I loved him, Rhys…” Zayn choked.

“I know…” Rhys whispered, tears of his own threatening to fall.

“I thought… maybe this time… someone will choose me.”

“I’m so tired…” Zayn whispered, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

“I know,” Rhys said, pressing his hand against the back of Zayn’s head.

"Please take me home." Zayn said and his eyes were shut.

---

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