Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

36. Lilah

CHAPTER 36

Lilah

Chad perches on the edge of the huge tub, watching me put on my eye make-up. His date was last night, but he hasn’t said much about it like he normally would. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m curious.

“What did you do on your date last night?” I ask, adding eyeshadow to my eyelid and avoiding looking directly at him.

“It was fun,” he says simply, and I meet his steady gaze in the mirror.

“What does that mean?” My stomach sinks as his lips turn up in a pouty smirk. I’m not sure exactly how a smirk can be pouty, but on him, it works. He’s mastered it.

“Just what I said, fun.”

“Chad,” I groan.

He laughs loudly, throwing his head back. “I think you need those lessons I promised. Confidence, Lilah. I’ve seen sparks of it come out. But you need to grab onto that confidence and wear it like armor.”

“Armor?” I choke out. “This isn’t war. ”

His eyebrow lifts lazily. “Isn’t it?”

He pushes to his feet and crosses the space, standing behind me. He tugs on one of my soft curls, before laying his palm on my shoulder. Meeting my eyes again, he twists his lips into a contemplating expression that makes me squirm.

“A fake show, maybe, but not war,” I say more firmly, even though his direct judgment makes me want to run from the room.

His hand glides up my throat, and he tilts my chin higher. “Then you haven’t been looking at it correctly at all. Do you want to be the last omega standing?”

“I thought you wanted to be the one they chose.”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “That ship has sailed. I might not believe in love for myself, but I’d be blind not to see the way they look at you. You’ll make it to the end even without confidence. Because they’ve made their choice, but wouldn’t you rather get there with your head held high? Being the confident, badass omega , I know you are? Make them beg for you, Lilah.”

I swallow, staring at my own reflection. Chad has zero filter, so I know he’s saying exactly what he’s feeling. Exactly what he thinks.

The corner of his mouth lifts in the semblance of a smile. “That’s it. Rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Don’t let any alpha bring you to your knees. You hold the power, and never forget that.”

I’m almost sure he’s telling himself those words. Still, I take them in, realizing that’s exactly what I did with Jared. I let him and Tabby bring me to my knees. Let them both destroy who I thought I was. Allowed them to burn my world down. But I’m rising now, with more strength than I had before. And I know my worth. Chad’s right.

I twist around and face him, tears already attempting to test how waterproof my mascara is, as I throw my arms around his neck. He hesitates a moment before he hugs me back. He’s not a touchy feely omega, but the bear hug he gives me and the friendship he has offered over the last few weeks are nothing short of a miracle. I needed both to heal the wound Tabby gave me. And I didn’t even know it until right this second.

“What would I do without you?” I ask as he releases me and steps back.

An almost shy smile spreads across his face, looking out of place, until he says, “Fail miserably, obviously.”

A laugh bubbles out of me, and I smack his arm lightly. “Shut up. I’m a bad bitch, remember?”

“It only took two months for you to realize that, but don’t worry—you have me now, and I won’t let you forget again.”

Attempting to hang onto the confidence Chad helped me find, I wait for the guys to arrive. Nerves swirl in my belly, and my palms are clammy. It’s been six days. I can’t wait to see them, and I’m almost convinced I need to chain myself to the chair so I don’t launch myself into their arms the second they walk into the room.

My leg bounces, and I check the time again. The seconds are passing by like minutes because it has only been two minutes since I last checked, and they have at least another five.

Someone from production strides into the room, his eyes landing on me. “Thomas told me to come get you, he has a different shot he wants to get.”

I roll my lips together and nod as I pop out of the chair like it’s on fire and follow the guy from the room. He leads me to the library that I’ve fallen in love with at this Villa. Thomas is directing the camera crew as we step into the beautiful room filled with so many different stories that I’d never make it through all of them. It feels like the library from Beauty and the Beast , which makes sense since we are in France and that’s where Belle is from.

“Ah, there you are, sit here—” Thomas leads me to the lounging sofa near the windows. “Now, pretend to read. I’ll count you in. After a few moments of filming, I want you to look up from your book and out the window. Pretend they are arriving.”

“Pretend they are arriving,” I repeat his words slowly.

He sighs like I am giving him a headache. “Yes, and you’re excited.”

I am excited. I sink onto the sofa and open the book he hands me. My mind racing with past seasons and scenes like these, wondering if they were all staged. They probably were. That’s a depressing thought.

“Perfect, keep the wistful look.”

From the corner of my eye, I see him count the cameras silently in. I do my part and flip a page in the book, before looking out the window. Leaning forward, I close the book before going to my feet and approaching the window. The world moves on outside the pane of glass. The gardeners tend the flowers, and someone rides a lawnmower across the grass, painting lines with the cut. It’s all very normal. Still, I smile like I can see the guys. Like they have just announced to the world I’m their omega.

Thomas shouts, “Cut!” startling me out of the daydream, and I step away from the window, facing him. “Perfect. You’re a natural.”

The cameramen start wrapping up the wires and packing up the close up cameras. Thomas turns without another word and heads for the door.

“Wait, when will they be here? ”

He stops, his hand on the doorknob and twists to look at me. “An hour or two. They are being difficult.”

I’m not sure what he means by difficult. With Thomas, it could be anything. As they leave the room, I pick the discarded book back up and read the back of it. Maybe I can lose myself in a book for a few hours.