47. Ben

BEN

I slumped down in my chair, pressing my palm into the back of my neck to try and loosen some of the tense muscles. God, I hoped I could decipher my own handwriting today. I looked down at my battered, definitely worse-for-wear notebook and empathised with its sad appearance.

I was barely into my shift and it had already been one of those days.

My computer screen blurred as I rubbed my eyes, and came back into focus as I blinked. The flashing cursor on the blank patient entry seemed to mock me. What I would give to be back home in Hazel's green nest, hugging her butt as I slept.

But I had to get this done first.

I flicked to the first page with a loud exhale.

And was immediately interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Wha—"

A timid looking nursing student stuck her head in, looking so afraid she was virtually vibrating. "P-Patty sent me to tell you that your parents are here."

The fuck.

I moved to the door so fast she squeaked and lost her balance.

"Sorry," I apologised quickly. "Which way?"

"Down the…" She pointed hurriedly. "By the nurses station."

I heard them before I saw them.

"Doctor Ben Liu. Are you deaf? I told you he's my son and I want to see him."

Oh Christ. My mother had her full bitch mode regalia on today.

I threw Patty an apologetic glance — she waved a hand telling me not to worry about it. But I also knew that everyone on the floor was going to know about this in 0.2 seconds — and strode up behind them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked incredulously. My father had gotten even balder if that was at all possible and should've really just shaved off the last five strands holding on for dear life. My mother had a tight, just-sucked-on-a-lemon expression that transformed when she spotted me.

"Ben, finally."She switched to Mandarin. "Your staff are so incompetent," she added with a disdainful huff.

I'm not sure how a person could be so confidently incorrect. "They're not my staff," I replied in kind, grateful that the people around us wouldn't understand. "And I repeat, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Ben, all this…" Dad gestured between us, strangely unable to find the right words to describe the fucked up situation of them literally selling my sister into three years of bonded hell. "This is enough now, ok? You need to come home."

"Why have your arms gotten so big?" Mum leaned forward, and to my utter embarrassment sniffed me. "You're an alpha? When? Why didn't you tell us?"

"What?" Dad got even more into my personal space than Mum did. "You are! I can't believe it. An alpha son," he said wondrously. He clicked his fingers loudly. "There are social clubs you'll be able to get us into now! That David friend of mine, always boasting about his alpha son taking him to exclusive events. We'll show him, won't we? Also, David's son is very weak-looking, I'm sure you are stronger than him, Ben."

"Yes, yes that all sounds very good." Mum elbowed him aside. "Ben, I need you to look at this letter we got, it says we are eligible for this bonus payment from the government! But we have to apply on this website." She shoved it at me. Then again, more purposefully, when I didn't take it. "You have to do it for us, before it's too late."

Dad forged ahead, oblivious to my mother and still on his same train of thought. "David's son might be very weak but he does help David out each fortnight with a bit of money now that they are getting older. We are not getting any younger either, you know, Ben. Maybe we can set something like that up at the bank?"

I ignored their indignant sputtering as I grabbed them both by the elbow and marched them into the nearest empty room.

"Neither of you have owned up to what you did to Juno," I hissed at them both. I turned to my father. "How could you go on that awful talk show and defend the alpha who bonded her against her will!"

"I know you think I'm the bad guy with the whole situation with your sister," Dad said, trying to mollify me. "But surely now that you're an alpha you understand that omegas need the stability of a pack. I was just looking out for her."

I scoffed derisively. "Nice of you to completely ignore the fact that your gambling debt was erased at the same time."

Dad looked away, his ears and forehead going red. My mum flinched slightly when I swung to face her. "And you! I'm sure Ba will give some bullshit excuse about Juno not being his ‘real' daughter but you just let her go to them? And if you hated Ba enough to have another man's child twenty five years ago then why on earth would you stay together?"

My family drama could probably span a whole week's worth of trashy daytime TV at this point.

"We don't divorce." Mum whispered the word like it was sullying her mouth just to say it out loud. "People would've talked."

I almost had to laugh. "So that's it, huh? Everything you did — hiding Ba's gambling, you having a child with another man, selling your daughter off — it's all fine so long as no one finds out?" I suddenly had a thought and leaned in. "How many of your friends know that I'm a doctor? And how many are you planning to tell that I'm an alpha?"

I didn't even need an answer. The weighty silence said it all. All of them. Because that gave them prestige and social currency.

No wonder they wanted me to move back.

"We are your parents," Dad huffed. "You are our child. You don't have to understand our decisions but you still need to respect us."

I drew myself up to my full height. "I don't have to do jack shit."

Mum gasped. "Don't swear, Ben."

They were never going to learn. Never going to see things from any other perspective other than their selfish narrowed one. "You need to leave," I told them calmly. "You need to get on a plane, go home, and never contact me again."

They exploded in a cacophony of excuses and explanations.

There was a frantic knock on the door before it swung open immediately. Aleks fell in, panting heavily like he had run the whole way from the other side of the hospital.

"Ben, what the fuck, I've been trying to reach you. Did you not hear your phone?" he said in a rush. "Remy's frantic. I think Hazel's in trouble."

Nothing else mattered in that moment.

My omega needed me and I had to go to her.

"Ben, are you going to transfer the money?" Mum called after my retreating back.

I didn't even dignify them with a look back.