Chapter 1

"I deeply apologize for disappointing you but I didn't want to be married or even slightest bit interested to be entwined in any romantic endeavors to anyone." The woman spoke in a clear tone. Her deep blue eyes staring straight into Eleanor. Her face remained calm and almost smiling yet you can see the annoyance hidden within it.

Eleanor smirked and leaned forward.

"What a coincidence," Eleanor replied with a smile. "I fear I am in the same situation." She added as the woman seemed shocked.

Well, it's quite true. Eleanor didn't want to meet this woman let alone get married but due to her mom's persistence, she had no choice but to obliged but, who would have known that the woman in front of her was in the same situation too?

It's quite ironic and yet, Eleanor felt like something meaningful would come out of this supposed "date". Now, she could only feel that the argument with her mother yesterday morning was quite a blessing.

*****

The morning sun shone brightly as curtains failed to cover its might. Drowsy and tired, a woman with long dirty blonde hair stood up with a groan. She looked at the clock standing by her bedside as she sighed.

It's already 7:35 am, and Eleanor Carrington, just woke up from what seems like a dream she had long forgotten.

"I shouldn't have drank that much." She murmured as she stood up, holding her head with a frown.

She and her friend, Vincent Scott, had drank a lot last night to cope with the fact that the woman he's dating got married with another man.

It's truly quite laughably ironic how heartbroken he'd been when that woman was one of his 4 girlfriends. Not like Eleanor mentioned it to him seeing how fragile he'd become, she just drank and drank until she couldn't remember much of what happened.

As she finished washing up, Eleanor heard a knock on the door and frowned. She's inside the apartment above her floral shop and the only one who has keys to her building were her parents. Realizing this, she wiped her face dry with a towel and opened it with a smile.

And much to her surprise, it was her alpha mother, Carissa Carrington, who came alone.

"What brought you here early, mom?" Eleanor asked as her mother smiled and hugged her. It's nothing strange for her mother to do this as she's very affectionate.

"My sweetie, I have good news for you!" Her mother spoke, almost shouting, with a large smile. Eleanor smiled back and let her mother in.

As the two were seated, Eleanor looked at her mother and smiled kindly. "What is this good news you speak of, mom?" Carissa smiled and held her head, looking quite weak and frail which aroused the suspicion of Eleanor.

"Sweetie, as you may know, me and your father are already getting older." Carissa spoke in a gentle tone which made Eleanor shiver, she already knew what was coming. "I know that you suffered a lot after the war, I know you don't want to be with anyone but… We're worried about you." She spoke sincerely as she looked deeply into her daughter's eyes.

"Mom, I already told you." Eleanor scratched the back of her neck and sighed, "I'm okay, I can handle myself." She replied in exasperation.

"But who would take care of you when you get older?" Carissa argued, her tone speaks of worry and gentleness. "You know that there's limits to what you can do alone, right?" She added.

"Mom, I'll be alright and besides, I can manage just fine." Eleanor retorted. "And besides, I still have you Mom and dad." She spoke sincerely.

It's true, without her parents, she wouldn't have even survived let alone have a business on her own. The contributions her parents had given was more than enough for her to fend on her own.

"And what would happen after we die?" Carissa didn't back down as Eleanor was taken aback. Her eyes shook as she scratched the back of neck again but this time, it was intense and almost bruised her glands. Seeing her winced in pain, Carissa gently holds her hand to make her stop from scratching her neck and damaging her glands.

"I'm sorry, mom." Eleanor dropped her head and apologized. She's nothing but a burden to her parents after she retired.

Carissa hugged her daughter and patted her back gently.

"Sweetie," Carissa whispered gently. "I'm sorry if I'm forcing this onto you. I'm just worried about your future and I don't want you to be alone." She explained, tears flowing down her eyes as she clutched her daughter tightly. "We care about you and… You're not a burden to us, it's natural for parents to worry about their children even if they are older. After all, you are still a child in my eyes."

Eleanor cried silently as she held onto her mother. Her mother has always been like this, she would always understand her even without saying a word. She's understood.

After a few minutes of crying, Eleanor had calmed herself down and came back with her usual stoic look. "Now mom, should we continue where we left off?" Eleanor smiled. "What is this good news about?"

Carissa smiled widely as she clasped her daughter's hands. "You're going to meet my friend's omega daughter who's around your age, her name is Elizabeth Hayes."

I looked at my mom quizzically, "Who?" I asked. I don't remember meeting any of my mom's friends whose child has that name.

"Oh, right." Carissa chuckled, "You haven't met her, no?" I nodded as my mom explained to me who Elizabeth Hayes was.

Apparently, she's the daughter of my mom's new friend. The Hayes family just moved into town 10 years ago and my mom only became friends with their family 2 years ago. Since I was busy tending my shop and Miss Hayes was a middle school teacher, we didn't have much time to meet.

My mom's friend had confided in her about their single omega daughter who's already 27 years old and still didn't have anyone. They asked her if she knew anyone she could matchmake with their daughter and my mom eagerly introduced me as a possible match.

The two men seemed delighted from hearing it and agreed on setting a date for the two of us, me and Miss Hayes, to meet. And so, that's why my mother came to me today, to bring good news.

"I have met their daughter before when I visited their house and she's a very nice and beautiful girl, you two would look good together!" Carissa commented excitedly.

"Really?" Eleanor chuckled seeing her mother's youthful excitement. "Then, I can't wait until I can meet her." She added witlessly as her mother's smile grew bigger.

"Oh dear, you don't need to wait." Carissa replied. "As you'll be meeting her tomorrow for dinner at the restaurant 5 blocks away from here." She declared with a smile as Eleanor stared at her in shock.

"But-," Eleanor sighed, resigning to her fate seeing that her mother wouldn't seem to listen to her. "Alright, alright, I'll make sure to get myself ready for this… 'date'." Shoe replied as the two kept conversing until her mother left after she opened the shop for the day.

*****

"What do you mean by that?" Elizabeth asked the strange lady her parents forced her to meet. She didn't want to admit it but this lady in front of her is really her type, she didn't notice it earlier as she's too caught up on the thought of leaving this place as soon as possible that she didn't even bother to admire the beauty in front of her.

It's such a pity she doesn't seem the type who would smile much but when she smirked at her earlier, it made her heart quicken its beat.

"How about we talk about it over dinner?" Eleanor smiled politely as she pulled the chair close to her and offered Mis Hayes a seat.

Dazed, Elizabeth followed suit as she sat back, seemingly captivated by the charm of the woman in front of her. Eleanor decided to take her seat as she sat down and looked at the menu.

"What would you like to order, Miss Hayes?" Eleanor asked with a polite smile.