Chương 3: I'm Getting Married?

My life has been nothing but pain. Father punished me every day of my life for as long as I can remember. My birth killed my mother and his wife so I became her replacement. Naomi Okazaki was a beautiful woman... a strong dominant omega who could use electricity at will, a power only those of the Okazaki bloodline could have. Father even took her surname as was tradition.

Even though I'm not a woman, I have the powers. The catch? It hurts when I use them and even when I don't use them it hurts. The electricity builds up inside of me. During lightning storms, I feed off of it making it even worse. I've only willingly used my powers once... and that was to protect my childhood friends, Ikuto and Akita.

A sibling pair both with dark hair and purple eyes. During all the abuse and being treated as a replacement for my mother... a wife to Father... meeting them was the only good thing that happened. They were being abused too. Ikuto always had bandages and broken bones while Akita... poor little Akita... she was being groomed. The last time I saw her, her tummy was getting bigger. That was what killed her too.

Why am I mentioning them? Well, Father announced something shocking to me. "You're getting married to the king tomorrow." I stared at him like he had two heads. I'm being fitted for a dress today like always as Father liked to dress me up as a Lolita doll. "... I'm getting married." I echoed dumbly. "But... the king is..." Ikuto had become the king years ago. He has a family: a wife and newborn twins. Why am I suddenly marrying him?

"You remember Kenichi right?" I shuddered. Of course, I remembered him. He's Ikuto's father. "Well, we agreed to have his oldest son and my daughter marry each other in the figure. Now that you're of age, it's time." He smirked in amusement. He loved this. "Since you're an omega and... well trained... you'll be perfect as a pretty little bride. You can even produce a couple of children for him too."

I grimaced at the idea. Yes... Ikuto was and still is the man I love. I haven't seen him since Akita's funeral, but he will always have my heart. He was the first person to show me kindness and give me something to look forward to instead of just being Father's wife all the time.

On the day of the wedding, I'm nervous with butterflies in my stomach. Will Ikuto recognize me? Or is he expecting me as I used to be... as Naki instead of Nala? The maid that help me get dressed looks concerned as they see the state I'm in.

Because of both my powers and the fact I was starved a lot as a child, I can't eat much. I don't even feel hunger anymore and forget to eat so I'm very thin. I'm not exactly skin and bones. As I look at myself in the mirror, I think I'm getting a bit chubby. Being conditioned to be doll-like and petite, I always see myself as a little chubby though. I don't think about it and no one asks as they put on my dress.

In the mirror I see my little brother peeking in on me. His mismatched eyes are wide and fearful, but when he sees me watching him, he scowls and runs off. He is Father's favorite... when I look at him, my skin crawls. I'm haunted by the pain of that night... the wails after being split open. I can't bring myself to love him... every time I see him, I can't feel anything but fear. How could I be afraid of a little thing like him? My baby brother... Ayato.

He doesn't like me either though and always picks on me. He gets praise from Father when he manages to hurt me. One time he threw a plate at my head and made me bleed. At first, he was fearful but then Father praised him for it and all the fear vanished. The darkness in those eyes only brought fear into my heart.

Once I'm dressed and ready, Father walks in. His green eyes go over my body and I feel like he's undressing me with my eyes. How sick... he then smirks. "It's time to go. While I hate letting you go... I think this will be the best thing for everyone." For him to be this happy... that means Ikuto doesn't want this. He doesn't know it's me... if I told him, would he be happy? Would he believe me?

"Don't do anything stupid?" I tense as Father pulls me close. "Let's go, Nala." He purrs that name like it's sweet honey and I shudder. How disgusting... as he walks down the hall and the doors open... my breath hitches. There he is... those purple eyes... this cool feeling... he's grown up to be a handsome young man. As I'm given to him, I can see him much better... and my heart sinks.

He's so indifferent... and he looks angry. It's clear that he doesn't know who I am... and even when he takes the veil off, there's no recognition. Nini... why can't you see it's me? It's Naki! Please... please don't hate me...