The ticking of the clock seemed unbearable, but Eunhyuk didn’t feel like stopping the clock.

In fact, he had no heart for anything at all.

Martha tried to make Eunhyuk eat something, but the alpha didn’t leave the office after he returned from Heechul's house.

And I had an answer for that.

Eunhyuk was locked in the office because he didn’t want anyone to see the weak alpha that he thought it was. He didn’t want Martha, Hyang and even Lion to see how he was sitting on the floor, his face red from crying as he drank a whole bottle of rum.

The alpha cried this way only on two occasions: when his parents died and at that moment he discovered that he would be a father, but he wouldn’t see his child born and raised.

Donghae simply took what Eunhyuk most wanted.

Eunhyuk sniffed and stared at the ceiling. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For a few seconds, pictures of a happy family showed up. Eunhyuk, Donghae and the baby. The perfect scenario of the best thing that could happen in the life of an alpha.

But now...

What is left?

- Idiot... – Eunhyuk whispered and threw the bottle on the other side of the room – Idiot. You ruined everything!

Eunhyuk screamed and buried his fingers in his own hair. And again he cried. He was an alpha that needed someone to comfort him, but there was no one who could take the pain out of his heart.

And it was only his fault.

- You know you can’t stay there forever, right? – Lion's voice sounded through the office and Eunhyuk raised an eyebrow as he saw his cousin come in – You look awful.

- Get out.

- Why?

- Because I don’t want to talk to anyone. – Eunhyuk stood up – I don’t want you to see me like this.

Lion sighed and said:

- I've seen you in worse situations, Eunhyuk. I don’t know why we're having this kind of talk here. – he crossed his arms as he sat on the edge of the table – How long are you going to do this?

- Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to do anything?

- Yes, he did, but you're my cousin, and I don’t think it's fair that you should be shaken because you can’t or won’t make a decision about what to do next. Eunhyuk, you're an alpha!

- And? It seems that this has not helped me much at the moment.

- If you want your child, then go after him. You are an alpha and you have every right to demand that your child grow up next to you. – Lion made a point of pointing this out – Of course there's the omega, but...

- I can’t do that to him. – Eunhyuk sighed and sat down in his chair – If I take the child from Donghae, he'll hand me over to the police without a second thought. And if I force him to stand by me by marking him, he may well break the bond and you know how he would do it.

Lion sighed. Eunhyuk was right in everything he had said.

- But are you going to stand there and wait for something to happen?

- What else can happen? Since Donghae leaves and makes a point of taking my child too far, I can only hope they are well. I'm not going to do something that could end their lives. – and before Lion argues, Eunhyuk said – Now leave me here alone. I don’t want to and I won’t even talk about it again.

Lion rolled his eyes and left the office. Eunhyuk bit the corner of his mouth, buried his fingers in his hair and then sighed. He couldn’t believe how his life changed in less than six hours. He discovered that he would be a father but also discovered that he wouldn’t be able to see his child born and grow up.

Eunhyuk knew he could demand that Donghae stay, but it wouldn’t be fair to drag the omega into a life he didn’t want.

So here was the end of a life that Eunhyuk envisioned that he would have with Donghae.

And again, he was the one to blame.

...O...
Two days later...

Donghae woke up and smiled as he felt the cool air coming in through his bedroom window. He was happy to be on the farm and was very happy to have been able to sleep for a long day without worrying about someone invading his house to drag him by the hair to Eunhyuk. The omega missed Heechul and Jungsu, but what could he do? It was better this way.

- Donghae? – Donghae's mother knocked on the door – You woke up?

- Yes.

- Can I come in?

- You can. – he smiled and sat on the bed, his belly – Good morning, mom.

- Good morning, sunshine. – she smiled and kissed her son's forehead – Are you okay? I was worried when you didn’t come down to dinner yesterday.

- I was truly tired. Heechul brought me here, I cried a lot and then I was afraid to face my grandma. So I fell asleep while talking to my baby. – he smiled – But I'm fine now.

- I'm happy for that. Do you want to eat with us or do you want to stay here?

- I don’t know if I want to see everyone.

- And do you intend to stay in the room until your child is born?

- No, but... It's difficult.

Mrs. Lee raised an eyebrow and sat on the bed, Donghae's leg. She knew her son was insecure, but she didn’t imagine he would be so afraid to face his own family. However, since she didn’t want her son to be alone, she smiled and said:

- Let's go get something to eat. If someone says what they shouldn’t, I'll defend you.

Donghae chuckled, got out of bed and went to the bathroom in his room. Then he went out with his mother and bit the corner of his mouth as he walked into the kitchen. Donghae was very nervous because he hadn’t seen his grandmother the day before and, to make matters worse, his aunt was there. The omega didn’t want his mother to quarrel with her sister.

But when he entered the kitchen, Donghae was surprised as his little cousins ​​approached and hugged him as they asked about the baby. Other older cousins ​​were there too, and they caressed his plump belly as they asked many questions about what he was feeling and how he was feeling about the pregnancy. It was funny, but the omega was hungry and just wanted to devour the cake that was on the table.

- Here, honey. – Mrs. Lee took a slice of cake to Donghae who smiled and thanked – Would like to have some tea?

- Yes, thanks. – he ate some of the cake and sighed – So delicious.

- I knew you'd like it. I did it myself. – his aunt said and that surprised the omega – Why were you surprised?

- I didn’t expect you to bake. I can’t remember when I ate a cake you made.

- Well, I did this because it's your favorite.

- Oh! Thank you. – he smiled and took the cup when his mother set it on the table – Thank you, mom.

- You know I do everything for you, my sunshine. – she kissed Donghae's forehead and saw her mother enter the kitchen – Good morning, mom.

- Good morning everyone. – the elderly woman smiled and almost cried of happiness when she saw Donghae – I would like to talk to Donghae, but alone. – they all left the kitchen while the woman sat in the chair and looked at her grandson – How are you?

- I’m fine. I mean, relatively.

- And the baby?

- Well... I think the baby is very well. I'm not feeling bad, so I think the medicine has helped me a bit.

- That's nice. We want you and the baby to be well. – she pinched her grandson's cheek and then his belly – And how is your heart?

At that moment, Donghae put the fork on the plate and covered his face. He cried. And it was a cry so desolate that his grandmother had to hug him so he would calm down. But that didn’t help. Donghae was very embarrassed and sad.

- I'm sorry... – he whispered – Please forgive me.

- Why, my angel? You don’t do anything wrong.

- I did. – Donghae walked away – I dishonored the name of our family and...

- No, you didn’t. You are the only person who can’t and won’t think so.

- But it's true. I... – he sniffed and wiped his face – I'm here without an alpha and a baby on the way. It's a shame and I know I let you down.

- You never let me down, Donghae. You never let me down and it won’t be now that it will start. You didn’t do anything wrong. – she hugged her grandson and kissed his forehead – Eunhyuk... Does he know?

- Yes. – Donghae looked at his grandmother – He knows, but I've decided he'll never be able to see my child.

- And why did you make that decision?

Donghae took a deep breath and said:

- Eunhyuk is a dangerous man. He is very, very, dangerous. He lied to me. He manipulated me. He... – the omega sighed – He said he loved me and then I found out who he really is.

Seeing that Donghae did not want to go into too much detail, the old woman sighed and asked:

- And is it so bad?

- Yes. He even sent someone to burn the place where I worked so I would never find out who he is. – Donghae wiped his face and took a sip of tea – I feel so humiliated.

- Why?

- Because ... Eunhyuk proposed when we were here and I said yes. I was so happy, mama. We were waiting for the heat to pass so we could talk better about our wedding. Eunhyuk said he would talk to mom and dad and then to you. – and so the omega laughed at himself – After my heat, we talked and made plans. We would get married and Eunhyuk would be my alpha, my... Husband. – he sighed. – We had planned to have babies two years after my graduation. We would have two children and we wanted a girl and a boy. We even chose the names. Now what do I have?

Donghae's grandmother took her grandson’s hands and said:

- You have your family and your friends, but those who truly care. You have a baby on the way and that little precious thing is going to need you. And you have one of the most important things in the world.

- What?

- A force no one else in this family has. – she smiled when he was surprised – Unfortunately you went through this, but fortunately there is a fire in you that will not be erased.

- Do you think so?

- Yes, I'm sure. I helped your mother when you were born. I have taken care of you for a long time to know that there is no one else able to raise your head after falling several times. You're the strongest omega I've ever seen, Donghae. And your baby will be as strong as you. That's the way things are.

Donghae smiled and felt good when his grandmother hugged him and his hair. She always did it, so why change now? And when she looked at her grandson again, she smiled and said:

- I'm sure your cousins ​​will love to piss you off. I know one of them is even putting a crib on your baby.

- And I even know who it is. – they laughed and Donghae sniffed after while playing with his fingers – Staying here is very good, but... Is it wrong for me to miss Eunhyuk? Even after everything he's done, I still miss him.

- And you're thinking of going back to town and staying with him?

- Never. I don’t want to go through this again. – he sighed – I know I can’t forget Eunhyuk, but I don’t want to go back to stay with him either.

- You're the only one who can decide that. – she smiled and his cheek – But we'll stand by you, no matter what decision you make. – and then she got to her feet – I'll see if your cousins ​​can finish what I told them to do. You need anything?

- No, thank you. – he smiled and continued to eat when his grandmother left the kitchen. And when he was alone, the omega caressed his belly and whispered – We can live without him.

And Donghae really was willing to demonstrate that he didn’t need Eunhyuk to live. After all, he lived twenty–two years without the alpha. The next few years wouldn’t be so difficult.

...O...
A few days later...

The days passed slowly after Donghae returned to the farm. He had nothing to do but look after his younger cousins ​​or listen to music with his omega cousins on the porch. The days were boring most of the time and he began to wonder when he would have that life he always liked to have.

Donghae was still ashamed to leave the house because he didn’t want to hear nefarious comments from neighbors. He went out a few times to go to church and that was the only true peace he had. The omega talked to the pastor that advised him and so began to feel good about having made the decision to stay away from his life in the city.

But Donghae still missed Eunhyuk.

It was very difficult to keep him out of his mind because every moment he had with the alpha was good. Obviously Donghae remembered when he had quarreled with Eunhyuk maybe two or three times, but still... He still remembered when they had moments that will never repeat. The brown-haired young man was thinking about how to get rid of these thoughts. He tried to think of the baby more, but then the fact that Eunhyuk was the father weighed on his shoulders and so he cowered in the corner of the room and cried.

His parents no longer knew what to do because Donghae started having nightmares in which Eunhyuk showed up and took the baby away – and because of this, Mrs. Lee slept in the room with her son for a few days because he cried and could only stop when he was dawning.

Some days were really dark for Donghae.

But fortunately, Melissa appeared at the farm and brought gifts to Donghae and the baby. She wanted to visit her friend a long time ago, so she was very happy when she called the omega and he said he would be very happy to have her there.

- Oh, Melissa! That is so beautiful. – Donghae said as he picked up the baby clothes Melissa gave him – You didn’t need to do so.

- Of course I needed to. Do you think babies are easy? Every day they dirty the clothes and God... The amount of diaper that I had to wash in the last months...

Donghae laughed and said:

- You at least had two there, I have only one.

- And how can you be sure there's only one there?

- Because I know? – they laughed – But anyway, thank you very much for the clothes. My mom and my aunts have sewn some, so the baby will have plenty of clothes to wear.

- Better that way. You will see how difficult babies are. – Melissa smiled and picked up another box – But I have a present for you too, and don’t even tell me you don’t have to.

- But you know I'm thinking about it.

- Yes, but I don’t care. – she shrugged and handed him the box – I hope you like it.

Donghae took the box and opened it, widening his eyes and then smiling widely when he saw that Melissa had brought ten books so he could read – and one of the books was his friend's, so he was very happy.

- Melissa! I don’t even know how to thank. Thank you very much. And your book! When was it released?

- Last week. I wanted you there, but I understand why you didn’t go. So I put this copy in a safe place to give you.

- That makes me very happy. – Donghae looked at the other books and most of them were biographies – Thank you. I'm going to start reading today, since I can’t do anything else here.

- Why?

- Because my mother won’t let me do almost anything. She always says I need to rest and these boring things.

Melissa laughed.

- Hae, please, you tell me that you had bad nightmares. Of course your mother is worried.

- Yes, I do understand. The problem is that sometimes I just wanted to go to the lake and put my feet in the water like I did when I was a child. – he sighed – I think she's afraid I'll think about Eunhyuk too much and end up doing something bad against my life.

- And why does she think so?

- Because I still can’t stop thinking about Eunhyuk. As much as I try, he keeps on my mind. – Donghae bit the corner of his mouth and looked at Melissa – You probably want to say that you told me, don’t you?

Melissa arched an eyebrow and said as she Donghae's hand:

- I won’t say that, Donghae. What I have to do is ask you to forgive me for not being understanding at first.

- How so?

- It's just that I forgot you're only twenty-three, and this was your first intense experience with an alpha. – she sighed – I'm almost thirty, and ten years ago I had an experience with an alpha that wasn’t pleasant. At the time I was already fighting for our rights and I went deeper into this cause after what happened to me.

- But still, you didn’t get involved with someone like Eunhyuk. I got involved and I'm afraid now.

- I understand this. I've been right about Eunhyuk all the time, but that doesn’t make me the right person to judge you. And also, I still think that Kyuhyun remains the most suitable alpha.

- Melissa...

- What? – she laughed when Donghae smiled and shook his head – Kyuhyun likes you, but he just didn’t admit it because he knew you had an alpha in your life.

- But I'm not going to throw myself into his arms. I just found out I'm having a baby and I still have a lot of things to do.

- I'm not telling you to throw yourself into Kyuhyun's arms, Donghae. What I'm saying is you can give your heart a chance. It doesn’t have to be now, but in the future. And Eunhyuk is not worth all this suffering.

- But I still love him.

- Do you? Maybe you just love the image that has been on your mind all along: the strong alpha that would protect you and the family you guys would have.

Donghae had never thought about this side. He didn’t know Eunhyuk long enough to say that he was hopelessly in love with the alpha. And now the omega had many thoughts to put in order. But he didn’t want to think about Eunhyuk at the moment.

- Let's stop talking about Eunhyuk, Melissa. Let's talk about why you didn’t bring your babies so I could see them.

Melissa laughed and said:

- Two babies on a two-day trip?

- You could have brought your husband, too.

- He's working and the boys are with my mother.

- I see... Well, I have to go to the city next month for an appointment.

- Then I'll take you to see them. Will you stay at Heechul's? – Donghae nodded and Melissa smiled – So we'll see us there. You'll see how smart and rowdy they are.

They laughed and kept talking, but about other things. Donghae was very happy that Melissa was there, because they had so much fun that afternoon. They had lunch and the omega took his friend to see the farm – and this time his mother didn’t say anything because she was extremely happy when she saw that her son smiled as he hadn’t done for a long time.

With Melissa there, Donghae was able to forget about Eunhyuk for a while. He just needed to distract himself and talk to other people who didn’t think he was planning how he would take his own life. Donghae had to fight for the baby and for himself. He had to continue his struggle for the rights of the omegas and make the world a better place for his child and other babies to be born in the next generations.

And that was what made him lift his head to never give up.

- So, after the baby's born, are you going back to town?

- Yes. After the baby's first birthday, I'm going to move somewhere else. I can’t go with my child to the neighborhood where I used to live.

- I can get you an apartment. What do you think?

- I like the idea. Thank you. – they smiled and Donghae sighed when he saw the sun set – Mel...

- What, Hae?

- Thank you for coming. I needed a moment like this because my life was, or rather, it is very weird.

- I know, but... – Melissa hugged Donghae – We're going through this together.

- We?

- Yes. I'm with you to the end.

Donghae laughed.

- Thank you for supporting me.

- No need to thank. You told me the same thing when we met and I told you what happened to me. – she kissed his cheek – And now let's go inside. I don’t want this cold wind to make you sick.

- Of course... Mom.

They laughed and went back inside. Since Melissa could only leave the next day, Donghae took advantage of that visit and talked to his friend about absolutely everything he needed to know about the baby. And as Melissa liked to overdo everything, Donghae had a great time.

Luckily he had a quality time and didn’t want to change that for anything in this world because Eunhyuk really wasn’t worth that suffering.

...O...
One month later...

Donghae was very excited that afternoon. He finally came with his mother to the city and at that moment was in the hospital to talk to his doctor and check how his health was. But more importantly, he would see his baby for the first time because there was more modern ultrasound equipment. Mrs. Lee was also excited and couldn’t stop smiling. After all, this was her first grandchild and could be the only one, since her son didn’t express desire to have more children.

But she would support Donghae in every decision.

- Lee Donghae. – a nurse called and Donghae stood up, but raised his eyebrow as he stared at her – What happened?

- I... I think I've seen you somewhere.

The woman chuckled and said:

- I think it's impossible. I moved here recently. – she accompanied them to the doctor's office – The doctor comes in a minute.

- Thank you. – they were alone in the living room, and Donghae whispered – I'm sure I've seen that nurse somewhere.

- Why do you always quarrel with people?–

- I’m not quarreling, mom. I've actually seen that nurse somewhere. I just don’t know where. – he sighed and then smiled as the doctor entered the room and said:

- Ah! It's so good to see you, Donghae. – she hugged him and smiled – How are you? And the baby?