Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 156: _ The Lawnmower

Chapter 156: _ The Lawnmower

Finally, I released my hold on Rosario.

She stumbled back with a sharp gasp, clutching her chest as she looked around frantically, as if expecting to see some ghostly spirit floating around.

"Dios me perdone..." she whispered, visibly shaken. "That was a sign. A sign!"

I raised an eyebrow.

Oh?

Rosario suddenly clasped her hands together, her face scrunching into a look of sheer gratitude.

"It’s a blessing," she breathed.

...

A what?

"A sign from above!" she exclaimed. "I was chosen! The Moon Goddess is testing my devotion!"

I nearly lost the will to live.

Was there no limit to this woman’s idiocy?!

Here she was, nearly pissing herself with fear just seconds ago, and now—now... she was acting like she’d been blessed by some holy force.

I couldn’t do this.

I couldn’t do this anymore.

Rosario pressed a hand to her forehead, overcome with emotion.

"I swear to you, mi amor," she whispered to Axel’s unconscious, unknowing body. "I will be strong for you. I will pass this test. I will remain faithful!"

That was it. I was going to kill her.

Well... maybe not.

Hm... how about this?

They would freeze.

Not for a minute. Not for an hour.

Two. Whole. Days.

With no food. No water. No movement. Nothing but silence and the slow, creeping realization that they had been reduced to living statues.

Let them feel my pain.

I sank back in my wheelchair, letting the satisfaction settle in as I gazed upon my artwork. Rosario, frozen in place, eyes wide with terror, her fingers still outstretched toward Axel’s abs like a woman trying to grasp salvation.

And there was Axel; locked in perfect stillness, his stupidly handsome face bland with unconsciousness.

A masterpiece.

I should have been basking in my victory, perhaps even laughing, but instead, a strange hollowness sat in my chest. Because deep down, I knew none of this would change a thing.

Rosario would wake up still worshiping Axel. Still swooning. Still acting like it was an honor to tend to him while she’d spent years rolling her eyes at me.

Axel would wake up to more praise, more admiration, more everything—completely oblivious to how much I loathed him.

And María José...

María José wouldn’t even know what I had done.

I hoped after tomorrow, I’d finally get what I wanted. However, as for tonight, I inhaled deeply, waiting, knowing what was coming next.

The punishment.

The Devil would come. He always did.

He would appear like a shadow in the corner of my room.

And I would suffer. Because I had disobeyed him.

I had gone to see her. I had let my emotions get the better of me. I had failed.

So I sat. And I waited. Although, there was a slight chance he might not show up. I had two other presences here.

He’d never come whenever I wasn’t alone. He hated the sight of others. He considered them below breathing even the same breath as him.

It was my fast pass to avoiding him whenever I wanted to. Hopefully, it worked this time too and I could carry out my mission tomorrow.

.

.

Minutes passed. Then an hour and he was still absent.

Phew! Looks like I ran this one off.

I lay back in my chair, closing my eyes. I would sleep.

And if the Devil wanted me, he would come find me.

******

The dream started beautifully.

It always did.

The air was warm, filled with the scent of fresh grass and wildflowers. A golden glow bathed the landscape.

The sun was in the sky, just on the cusp of setting.

A house stood in the middle of it all; charming, rustic, with white shutters and ivy creeping up its walls. A small wooden fence enclosed the yard, and beyond it was an endless stretch of rolling fields.

Peaceful.

I was standing outside, a lawnmower in my hands, cutting through the green expanse of the yard. The hum of the machine filled the air, blending with the distant chirping of birds.

It was a blissful symphony. I loved being here. Would always will.

It gets better... came her voice.

"Luis!"

I turned, and there she was.

María José.

Barefoot, stepping onto the grass, her dress fluttering around her ankles. Her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders and catching the sunlight like strands of spun gold.

And she was pregnant.

Dios mio... she was carrying a child in her belly. My child.

There was a soft, round belly beneath her dress, her hands cradling it as she gazed at me with a smile.

I felt my throat tighten.

She looked happy. So happy.

"You need to finish before sunset," she said, tilting her head with that gentle, teasing expression I loved. "Come on, work faster."

I grinned. "Is that an order, mi amor?"

She laughed so pure it made my chest ache.

I left the lawnmower behind, moving toward her, arms outstretched to pull her in, to hold her close, to kiss her...

But then, the front door of the house opened.

And he stepped out.

Axel.

Shirtless, because of course he was. And the way María José lit up at the sight of him, It was like I had been punched in the stomach.

She beamed at him.

Not at me.

At him.

And then, before I could even comprehend what was happening, María José walked straight past me.

Past me.

Like I was nothing.

And into his arms.

He wrapped his hands around her belly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she sighed contentedly against him.

Her husband.

Axel was her husband.

I was the worker.

The man who mowed their lawn.

The realization hit me like a blade to the gut. I turned, desperate and searching for some clue that this wasn’t real, that this wasn’t my fate...

But my reflection stared back at me in the window.

I was dressed in worn-out clothes, dirt-stained hands and sweat was dripping from my brow.

A worker. A servant. A nobody.

I took a step forward, but my legs felt like they were sinking into the earth as they were heavy and immovable.

I tried to speak, but no sound left my throat. María José turned in Axel’s arms, her eyes meeting mine.

And she smiled.

"Thank you for mowing the lawn, Luis."

Then she kissed him.

I screamed.

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