"Mhmm, peaceful…" I softly whispered, my back leaning against the soft blanket spread on the beautiful lush grass. 

The warm rays of sunshine caressed my skin through the leaves of the tall trees, bathing me in warmth. The birds were chirping happily as the wind softly caused the leaves to rustle, creating a harmonious sweet melody. 

"Hehe, enjoying yourself, Emma?"

Sara, my dear best friend, leaned down to poke my cheek with a wide smile. Her long black hair swayed with the wind, which annoyed her as she quickly stood up again and fixed it. 

"Yes, I'm enjoying it. Running away from the mountains of papers I needed to take care of is nothing light."

"Heh," William, my boyfriend, snorted," Told'cha so. Who wants to be the prisoner of their own office? You gotta smell some air and touch grass, babe."

He put a plate with some sandwiches next to me before plopping to the ground himself, he ushered Sara to sit and helped me sit too as he handed us some food with a carefree smile. 

'Beautiful eyes,' my thoughts wandered to his gorgeous pair of brown eyes. It was beautiful, no doubt about that. My boyfriend was one of the most handsome guys in our area. That alone gave me some pride. 

"Yeah, I agree. This is exactly what we needed!" Sara chirped before nibbling on a sandwich and slowly starting to eat. 

Whoever would see this young woman may think she was the one who was overworked for twenty-four hours per day, not me. 

'Such a lazy bum, pfft.'

A stereotype for most omegas around. Beautiful, lazy, carefree and great to have as housewives or househusbands. Despite being an Omega myself, however, I couldn't find it in me to follow that stereotype. 

'I suppose I'm a little jealous of Sara for being able to indulge into that one. She's happy, and that's all matters now.'

In any case, being an omega, alpha, or even a beta, was nothing to be degraded for. It was the secondary genders that people awakened upon turning sixteen years old, and their physique and traits would normally be more inclined accordingly.

'That was it in essence, so I always wondered why people would put so much weight on these stereotypes. But it is what it is.'

Sara and William were chatting warmly and eating as my thoughts consumed me, letting me drift into a comfortable daze while listening to their jokes. 

Running a company that ruled more than 80% of the country was not a joke; although I appreciated the holiday, I knew it could only last so long. From the moment my grandpa asked me whether I wanted to inherit the Smith family's business and my agreement to that, I had given up any chance of a normal comfortable life. 

'The lives of the slackers isn't my style, so it's not that bad.'

Time passed quickly without me noticing. This delightful picnic was truly something I needed. This mountain retreat was specifically bought by me after weeks of delicate planning, it was serene and secluded from people's eyes. 

"Hey, don't you think we need to do something more fun?" Sara suddenly shook me out of my daze. I blinked, then waited for her to tell me the rest. 

"You see, we've been playing around but it's just the bottom of the mountain. We bought the whole place, how could we not climb it??"

"Great idea!" William joined her, making me raise an eyebrow. He quickly explained, "The most refreshing place should definitely be the top! And in addition, it's not like we will be climbing there physically."

He pointed at my car with a smug smirk. 

"That car can take us for sure!"

"Mm…" something made me uncomfortable, perhaps it was my gut feeling. I looked around me and just then realized—the sky was darkening, the once-clear blue sky was now riddled with clouds. "Are we sure this will be safe? But it's getting weirdly cloudy, what if a storm was coming?"

Sara's lips curled into a pout, she furrowed her eyebrows and whined: "So whattt? These clouds are probably just passing through, it's just a what-if, we will be fine!"

"Sara, I'm not comfortable with—"

"Aye Emma, what's getting ya all worried? Let us go to the top of the mountain. Even if a storm comes, we can just be faster. So no need to delay."

William cut me off and threw his arm around my shoulder. For some reason, my stomach was churning. I really didn't like what was happening, but the two were in agreement and I didn't want to sound like a jerk. 

Thus, reluctantly, I got into the car with them. 

"Thank you so much Emma~! I knew I could rely on you to choose the best hehe~"

Sara flattered me before hopping into the car as well. William sat on the driver seat and started the engine, driving us through the narrow path. The higher we were climbing, the harsher the wind treated us. And before we knew it, droplets of rain started falling. 

"Gosh. See, I was right. It's a big storm. We need to stop and hide. Or better, maybe even go back?"

"Nah, take it easy, babe." William shrugged her off, "You gotta chill a bit. We are so close from the top."

'No, we're in danger, the rain is just getting heavier! We are already unable to see clearly.'

I wanted to blurt that out, but the way Sara and William were agreeing to each other repeatedly made me pause. Why was William listening to her instead of me, his girlfriend? 

'Why, why, why…!?'

Worry consumed me, but I could only focus on the road as one wrong step and we'll be dead. 

"Sara, William, please. This doesn't feel safe at all!" 

"Bruh, just chill, Emma~" Sara cooed, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and whispered: "It's not like you have any reason or anything to be scared. It's nothing but some weather, gosh."

"I said it already, now shut it. I can't stand you two."

I couldn't take it, making me snap at them before gripping my seat and shutting my eyes tightly. Suddenly, a loud thunder startled them and shook the car–it quickly took a sharp turn and struggled to not flip. 

"Fuck!"

"Ah!!!" 

Sara screamed as William cursed in shock, he attempted to regain control, but the tiers skidded on the slick road, throwing our car over the edge of the cliff with a sickening jolt. 

"Ugh!" 

'Everything hurt.'

My world spun as the car tumbled down, bouncing off the Rocky mountain and wild branches of the trees. The sound of metal being crushed coupled with the glass shattering filled my ears, causing me to feel as if I was in an unfamiliar world full of chaos and pain. 

My left leg was screaming in pain, 'Maybe it's broken.'

After that, the world was silent. 

'Painful, so painful…'

My eyes were hurt, I couldn't see clearly any more. Even attempting to lift my body proved to be difficult and challenging. My hand quickly reached into my pocket and I grabbed my phone. 

At the very least, I needed to secure an ambulance. 

Unfortunately, my phone showed a dreadful sign. 

「No Signal」

'Nothing is cooperating with me, darn it!'

But then, I saw some movement. My eyes opened wide, my world was full of hope for a few seconds. It was William! He was crawling out of the car carefully, seemingly without much injuries. Although his face was covered in cuts. 

The relief I had at that moment was immeasurable. I thought, finally I would survive this. So I tried to call, but my voice was too weak. 

"William..?"

He didn't seem to hear me. However, he turned toward the passenger side. So, my thoughts immediately went to him trying to get me out of there… 

But I was mistaken. 

Sara, who was lying unconscious behind me, was gently dragged out of the scene. My boyfriend cradled my best friend in this moment of danger and ran off, not sparing me a glance. 

"William… No… Help me…!"

The jerk didn't look back. He started climbing the slope with great difficulty, while leaving me to die in this car. 

Finally, I snapped and realized what was going on. Panic grew in my chest as I smelled the unpleasant smell of gasoline. 

'He left me! And this cat will explode in no time!'

By then, I couldn't care less about him. A strangled gasp escaped my lips as I forced myself to try getting out of the wrecked car—something pierced my leg, and I'm not sure what it was. 

Terror was great motivation, however. My body was injected with a dose of adrenaline in order to survive, allowing me to ignore all the pain and pull myself away from there. 

The Muddy ground was terrible, but I clawed my way out of it. 

Like a devil crawling out of hell. 

The last thing I remembered out of my struggle for life was the burning, agonizing sensation of my left leg with a loud, paralyzing bang. 

Darkness consumed me and lulled me into its embrace.