When Mr. Smith reached home Mrs. Smith was waiting for him in the living room.
" where were you?" She asked.
" I had some stuff to deal with." Mr. Smith replied.
" Just when did your work become more important than your family?" Mrs. Smith yelled.
Mr. Smith was pretty stressed about the Akso, Master Richards and Alan. At this moment the last thing he wanted was an argument.
" I am going to take a bath." Mr. Smith tried to avoid a confrontation.
However Mrs. Smith was very pissed. She went ahead and grabbed Mr.Smith by arm. " I asked you something Roger. Where were you? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to discharge our daughter alone. She didn't say a word to me. Not even a single word...and you were nowhere to be found. Where were you Roger?"
" And I told you I was busy." Mr. Smith yelled too. " Stop it for Christ's sake. Rui will hear you."
" Rui is in her room. She has not said a word. Not a single fucking word. Do you know how worried I am?" She started sobbing. " Roger please...please talk to her. Ask her if she is okay? If she needs anything? Please. I beg you." She knelt on the ground.
Mr. Smith grabbed her shoulder and raised her up. " Stand up, Anna. I can't help you with this. What you did was wrong. Maybe god wanted Rui to hear you confess, that is why she heard all about your plans. But she heard your worries too. So don't blame yourself too much. Ask her for forgiveness. I know, our daughter is not that coldhearted."
" Will you come with me? Please?" Mrs. Smith asked hopefully.
" No Anna. You need to do it yourself. Otherwise Rui will find it hard to trust you in future. My help will only make it worst." Mr. Smith convinced.
" Alright." Mrs. Smith wiped her tears and went to Rui's room. However, she came back running. " Roger, she isn't there! Rui is not in her room!"
Mrs. Smith started running all around the house in panic." Rui! Rui! Where is she? Roger, why aren't you looking for her?" Mrs. Smith yelled at Mr.Smith, who stood there with blank expression.
" Anna, I think I know where she has gone." Mr. Smith said in a calm tone.
After thirty minutes, both Mr. And Mrs. Smith arrived at the old apartment building.
Rui was sitting outside Alan's door. She was staring blankly at the floor. She was so lost in her thought that she didn't even notice her mom rushing upstairs.
" Rui! Thank god! Rui, are u okay? What are you doing here?" Mrs. Smith hugged Rui tightly.
However she gave no response. She turned her head and stared at Alan's door.
Mrs. Smith was about to say something when Mr.Smith interfered, " He isn't home,honey."
This time, Rui looked at her father and spoke, " Where is he?"
" He is...Well...he moved away. The government found his tracks. So, he had to move. He left the city two days ago." Mr.Smith replied honestly. He already swore that he will hide nothing from Rui. She was the victim of a tragic accident. She has the right to know everything.
Rui looked at Mr. Smith with poker face. Slowly, her eyes started welling up. Then, a tear escaped from those lashes. " He is gone? Just like that? But i heard his voice. He asked someone to bite me. I know it was him? Where is he? Dad, where is Alan?" Rui said in a choked voice.
When Mr. Smith saw Rui crying, his heart broke. He immediately wrapped his arms around her. " Honey, Alan has to go away for a while. He must avoid the investigation team in order to survive. He will come back as soon as the matter calms down."
" Investigation team? Here?" Rui paused for a while. " Dad, why now? How did they find him?"
Rui kept asking questions one after another.
" You come home with us, baby. I will answer every question you have in your mind." Mr. Smith assured Rui.
The Smiths went back home with their daughter. As soon as they reached home, all three of them sat in the living room. Mr.Smith showed the footage from hospital's cctv to Rui. When Rui saw Alan's blood splattered on the door, she couldn't hold back her tears. Both Alan and Mark, the struggle between them, the desperate attempts they both made, everything was so evident. Rui kept crying. All the bad memories were coming back to her. Her sobbing was so heartbreaking that her parents enveloped her in a hug.
" I am sorry. I am so sorry." Mrs. Smith kept apologizing.
Rui said nothing. She stared at the screen. In her eyes, there was a reflection of Alan taking Mark away from the ward.
Suddenly, it dawned upon her, " the bonding isn't complete." She stood up and grabbed her mother's hand, " Mom, doesn't an alpha has to mate with his omega to complete the bonding?"
Mrs. Smith was dumbstruck. She was a beta, maybe that's why she failed to notice it. But the bonding between Mark and Rui was incomplete.
Generally, when an alpha mates with an omega. He first bites on the glands to claim his mate and then he goes in mating frenzy. He would do the deed in order to claim his mate from head to toe. Once they both are done with the deed and the bite, the omega will become permanently bounded to the alpha. After that, No other alpha could mate or touch that omega. If they did, the omega's body will secret antibodies against his own cells resulting in autoimmune disease. Hence, the omega will die if mated forcefully by other alpha.
But in Rui's case, the bond wasn't permanent. They didn't consummate.
Mrs. Smith was a nurse. In her whole career, she never heard of a case where the alpha has left a mating halfway. Mrs. Smith stared at the screen and saw Alan hitting Mark. " He did this intentionally. " She murmured.
" Yes mom. Yes! Alan intentionally took away Mark before he went into mating frenzy. He left a way out for me. My bonding...it isn't permanent." Rui finally smiled a little. However, her smile was soon taken away.
" It isn't just yet.". Mr. Smith interrupted. " But soon it will be."
" What is that supposed to mean?" Rui asked in confusion.
Mr. Smith told Mrs. Smith and Rui about everything that Master Richards said to him. He skipped his own identity and threats that he made.
" You agreed to this." Rui shouted. " You want me to get engaged to Mark?"
" I told you. I haven't agreed yet. It's all upto you. I rest the choice in your hands." Mr. Smith emphasized. "But remember it Rui, that man is the only one who can set Alan free."
Rui knew exactly what her father was trying to say. This deal was going to buy Alan's freedom at the cost of her own dreams. And it all depends on her choice.
" i will do it. I will marry Mark." Rui took a long breath." I want Alan to live freely."