Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Ch 288: The fake and the real
‘This is all my fault. It is all because I made a careless comment about that gang’s boss and how he was a freak for wanting to be with another alpha. I did not know that it would cause so much problem.’

Dawn, a young girl raised outside the gangs and mafia turfs, was blissfully ignorant of the intricate dynamics and unspoken rules that governed the underworld. Her innocence, a stark contrast to the harsh reality she was about to face, only heightened the tension.

So, when she saw another gang, Dawn joked around to lighten the mood.

Little did she know she would ignite the fire enough to cause a war. That had not been her intention, but this was how things happened.

No one blamed Dawn right on her face because they were too scared to do that. But behind her back, everyone cursed the heck out of her. That was why Dawn knew she needed to do something about this.

She needed to prove herself to be an asset and handle this situation.

“Boss, can we count on you to help us out? We no longer want to be in a war with the Rodric gang. They will crush us at this rate, and we will be powerless to stop the mafia. You used to always strike deals with the other gangs, right?

So, we wanted your help-”

“No! We don’t need her help. Boss or not! We got abandoned by her once already. It would be better if we took care of this situation alone. Give me another chance, and I will resolve the misunderstanding.”

Dawn promised with everything she had. She would neither back down nor take ‘no’ for an answer. That was how much she wanted things to do on her own.

But everyone else had a different idea.

Most of the executives looked away when Dawn gave her idea.

“I am afraid this situation is no longer in our control, Dawn. It will be better for us to let the boss handle this situation.”

“That’s right! We are in no condition to go to war with the mafia. If we can avoid it, then we should avoid this war.”

Dawn knew that these people were right when they said this. But that did not mean she had to like hearing these words.

It made her feel powerless against her fate, which was not what Dawn wanted.

“Tsk, fine! Do what you want to. But I will not let outsiders take care of our matters. You people got abandoned once already. What is preventing you from getting betrayed a second time?”

Dawn asked before she disappeared from the meeting room.

Everyone looked at her and shook their head at their newest executive’s childish behavior.

At the same time, they looked at Rika with a guilty look on their faces for making her go through all that.

“Sorry, boss! It seems like Dawn took this situation a little too seriously. I will talk to her and calm her down. She will come around soon enough.”

Shamal sighed as he looked at Rika with a tired sigh.

“There is no need to indulge Dawn like a kid, Shamal. She needs to understand that her actions have consequences as well. If she can’t stop behaving like a kid, we shall treat her like one.”

Everyone looked shocked to hear Pheone say these words.

Out of everyone in the room, she was believed to be the closest to Dawn and treated her like a close friend.

People even believed that Pheone romantically liked Dawn and was just too shy to ask her out.

But Shamal saw the truth in those moments.

‘Ha! Pheone is truly ruthless. She treated Dawn as the boss’s replacement when she could not see the boss. But now that our boss is back, she has returned to her cold self. I assume she will return to her regular kind self as soon as her boss returns to her regular lifestyle.’

That was not even a guess but a fact Shamal knew well.

It was not tough to figure out what Pheone was thinking at a given time either.

But just because he understood her did not mean he liked what Shamal was doing. He would rather have her show her true colors constantly than be this double-faced figure who only cared about one person.

‘It’s not like the boss did not clarify that she already had someone she wanted to go back to. None of us had a chance with her in the first place. It was a hopeless competition, and we all participated in any way.’

Rika Goodwill had a life where she had a lover waiting for her. Shamal and the others knew that as well.

That was why they never tried to press her for answers or to stay with them. But that did not mean they would not try to win her.

…

“Tsk, who does that bitch think she is? Does she think she was just walking in here, and I will hand over my position to her? This is my pack! My family! That imposter has no right to take anything from me.”

Dawn cursed Rika as she stomped her way through the streets.

She knew very well that she was the substitute and not Rika. It had been made very clear to her when she saw people looking at her and seeing someone else.

No one maltreated Dawn, but they did not like her either. People were neutral toward her but never in the way she wanted them to be.

“Looks like I only have one choice left. I will need to resolve this problem I caused and show everyone I am way better than that fake. Once my pack sees what I can do, they will throw that fake away and accept me for the superior choice.”

Even though Dawn said these words, they left a bitter taste in her mouth. She never wanted to be in such a situation, but life had funny ways to make one bend.

Dawn was about to carry out her plan when she collided with something hard, and she fell on her ass. She looked up, and her blood froze at seeing a pair of sharp silver eyes looking at her with a cold expression.

It assured Dawn that she was going to die that day.

‘Ah fuck! This is just my life now. I guess I am dead now. I wanted to tell everyone so much. But there is no longer an option for me to go back and do that. This seems like the end for me.’