Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Ch 125: That one regret
The Goodwill household was quiet once more. It should have put Natasha Godwill’s heart at peace to have this quietness surrounding her once more.

But in reality, she felt guilty and restless. Her instincts growled at her to move and check up on Rika. But Emily’s words left quite a deep impression on the older alpha, and they rooted her in her place.

‘I need to move. I cannot allow myself to be affected by a young alpha. M-My child needs me!’

Common sense said that Natasha should be able to shrug off what happened and prioritise her child’s needs.

And yet! Her instincts will tell Natasha that she needs to take care of her shocked mate first and then ensure that neither Suzie nor Mark is hurt or uncomfortable.

Her instincts did not even recognise Rika as a part of her pack.

‘I…this cannot be right. I never treated Rika as an outsider or a stranger. My instincts should not be behaving like this. They should consider Rika as family and prioritise her first! It must be because of the shock I suffered! Yeah! That has to be it!’

Natasha knew that she was making excuses for her behaviour right now. The shock had nothing to do with her instincts and how they saw things.

“D-Dear! What do we do now? R-Rika looked horrible, and she even collapsed. W-We cannot let Suzie or Mark find out about what happened here. It would unnecessarily worry them. Suzie might go into shock as well.”

“Y-You know how dangerous it is for Suzie to go into shock or feel threatened. We need to keep this from her-”

Natasha had never snapped at her mate in her life. They had always been a harmonious couple who never did anything wrong.

But this time, Natasha could not control her feelings and slipped.

“Suzie this and Suzie that! Should you be thinking about Rika right now? She is actually in trouble at this time. I…sorry! I lost control of myself there. I did not mean to raise my voice. Are you alright?”

Natasha controlled herself quite fast.

Her husband had a stunned look on his face when he looked at Natasha. It was a look that told her that she had screwed up massively and that there was no repairing what happened.

“I. …am sorry! I did not mean to speak such harsh words to you. My instincts are a little confused about what to feel now.”

Natasha was more confused and terrified at the lack of emotions her instincts made her feel.

She wanted to care about Rika and her condition, but her instincts did not even care about the beta.

Even now, they were forcing Natasha to check up on Suzie and Mark instead of Rika.

Thankfully, her husband understood Natasha’s struggles and helped her make an excuse.

“Don’t worry! It’s not your fault. And I am sure that Rika will not blame us either. I don’t know what is happening with her, but she must not have told us what she is going through for a reason.”

“Rika is a sensitive and sensible girl, so let’s give her some time to come and tell us what is happening with her. Meanwhile, I will check on Suzie and Mark. You should get some rest.”

Natasha watched her husband leave in a hurry. He was avoiding the thought of talking about Rika and trying to figure out what went wrong.

Instead, the omega would put his time and effort into their other two children.

‘I am sorry, my dear! I know you want to avoid this situation and Rika altogether because you feel uneasy. But I cannot abandon Rika just because of this. She is my daughter and someone I love dearly. And this time, I want to put Rika first.’

It was a tough decision for Natasha to make. But her rational side told her that she would regret it if she did nothing right now.

Natasha felt out of her depths for the first time in forever and did not know what to do. But she would figure it out…

She had to figure it out, or Rika would be out of her grasp forever.

…

“This is not fair! Mark, you agree with me, right? That stupid alpha was the one who insulted me, and he kept trying to provoke me. So why do I have to get punished like this?”

Suzie pouted as she punched her pillow out of frustration.

That action made her look adorable in Mark’s eyes, and he almost giggled.

However, since he does not want Suzie to get angry at him, he somehow forces himself to calm down and not laugh.

“He’s a guest of mother’s. She could lose face if she did not take his side during the argument. Do you know that this is not personal, right, Suzie? I am sure you can forgive Mother this one time.”

Mark tried to make Suzie feel better, but she did not look happy even with his assurance.

“B-But this is not fair! I-you and father always told me that I was the best omega in the world and I needed to be careful about my safety because I am irresistible. So why are there three alphas who rejected me? I-I would have taken any of them.”

Suzie complained, and she genuinely looked upset.

The more Mark looked at her, the more he felt that Suzie had turned out like this was his and his father’s fault.

Had they not filled her head with such nonsense early on, Suzie would not be having such a hard time.

“Come on, Suzie! Those alphas do not reject you. They are just playing hard to get with you. You know, no one can resist your charm. How about you try to gain their affection again? But this time, play the long game of push and pull.”

“After all, the more you deprive an alpha of something, the more he aches to gain it. This is especially true of an omega they like.”

“And how can anyone not like an omega such as you? Just trust me on this and be patient.”