A car drove through the city streets to a studio that would be used as a filming venue by a brand for an item they were producing.
And in that car, as usual Axel drove with Daren sitting next to the man. Daren still felt confused and suspicious about what he heard yesterday at the door of his bodyguard's room.
What exactly was Axel up to?
He had no idea what the man was talking about, but Daren had a feeling the Alpha was hiding something.
Occasionally he glanced at the man who was focused on driving down the road. 'I wonder what's in his head? What's he thinking right now and... Who did he call last night?' he thought in confusion.
"Hey," he called out.
"What?" responded Axel who was still focused on the road in front of him.
"Do you still have family members? I mean where are they?" asked Daren trying to sound like nothing happened.
The man was silent for a moment, before finally answering, "I have a mother. I grew up with just her," replied the bodyguard as he turned the car around.
"A mother? So you don't have any siblings? Isn't your mom lonely because you left her to work like this? Especially since you're with me 24 hours a day," the Omega asked again.
"She died, 10 years ago when I was 16."
"Huh? Oh-- Sorry, I asked you a question like that." Daren sighed as he felt guilty for asking about it. He lowered his head.
However, at the same time he knew that Axel no longer had a family, which meant he didn't call his family.
"You don't have to apologize, it's been a long time and I don't really like her either."
Daren turned to look at Axel who was just wearing his usual flat expression. 'So their relationship isn't so good apparently. Just like me with mom and dad.'
Not long after, their car stopped in front of a shooting studio for this commercial. They both got out of the car and walked towards the place.
It turned out that there were already a lot of people inside, luckily Daren didn't arrive late and he was immediately directed to the make-up room to get dressed up.
There were already several actors and actresses who were mostly Alpha and Beta. As soon as Daren walked in, their eyes fell on him.
'Why are they looking at me like that?' he thought with some trepidation.
'Isn't that the actor who rose to fame because of his family name? Heh you losers,' they thought as they glanced sarcastically at Daren.
However, their glances instantly turned to fear as Axel who was behind Daren stared at them. The man's Alpha aura was powerful and terrifying, making them feel scared. Unlike Daren who had gotten used to Axel's pheromones which were still within reasonable limits.
As Daren prepared himself, the actors and actresses began to engage him in conversation. "You must be Daren, right? Your name is being talked about a lot," said a Beta. "My name is Otis, I'll be in the scene with you later."
"Otis? Oh right, Otis Dabora. I remember you were in the script. Nice to meet you, Otis," said Daren, trying to look friendly.
"I'm Nora, Nora Sanmo. Nice to meet you, Daren," said the very pretty Omega.
They chatted about their daily lives and what they were up to after filming this one.
"What about you, Daren? What are you going to do after this?" asked Otis to Daren who was fixing his hair.
"After this I'll probably go to take pictures for my family company's products," he replied.
"Oh right, your father owns the Marabella brand, right? Must be nice to have a wealthy family?" Nora asked him.
Daren just chuckled because he honestly didn't like it that much. All his parents could think about was their company without thinking about their children.
His parents only wanted their children to follow their wishes by continuing the company even though they also had a dream.
"Of course, having a wealthy family is great. Everything will be easy, right? Even to climb into the eyes of the world, you just have to pay without having to have any talent."
Daren turned his head, feeling confused by what they were saying.
'Pay to rise to fame? Who are they talking about? Me?' he wondered as he heard them laughing.
Everyone in the room laughed except for a few people who didn't care.
"When one struggles to get to the top. A rich kid climbs up with his family's pile of money for all to see!" they laughed.
"What are you talking about? I didn't do that. I did it on my own. I didn't use my family's money for that!" retorted Daren who was laughed at by several people in the room.
Axel watched them while standing near Daren, he couldn't suddenly defend his employer because it was beyond his duty. They hadn't physically attacked Daren, so he didn't think it was any of his business.
They kept laughing about it and belittling Daren as if he couldn't do anything without his parents' wealth.
However, Daren kept trying to defend himself that he did it himself.
"I struggled on my own, day and night following the shoot from a small commercial to this far. I didn't... I didn't use my family for my career!"
What Daren said was true and Axel was witness to Daren's struggles from the time he became the man's bodyguard the first time, the Omega was only playing small commercials that weren't even worth filming.
Until he finally made it this far, Axel saw Daren's passion and dreams. Hearing their jeers, slowly made the dark-haired man become annoyed.
'They don't know anything about him, but can easily say bad things in front of him? They must be crazy,' Axel thought.
Irritated, Axel growled softly while clenching his fists. Even Daren himself got up from his chair and walked over to Otis.
"What's wrong, you want to scold me now, hmn?" the Beta male teased and stood up from his chair. "You're just a spoiled brat who--"
PLAK!
In front of everyone, Daren slapped the man's face in annoyance. He even pulled Otis' collar because he couldn't contain his emotions anymore. Everyone was shocked to see that.
"You dare slap me?!" he shouted angrily as he raised his hand to slap Daren back.
But before he could slap him, a hand grabbed Otis' wrist firmly.
"Don't you dare do it."