Ashly

It was Ashly's last year of high school, and she couldn't be happier. But this year would be different. You see, Ashly went to Central High, one of the biggest art schools in Thailand, along with her best friend Allen. Ever since Ashly could remember, Allen was there from the very beginning. Ashly never knew her birth parents. She was adopted by a man named Adom Seth and adored him so much.

Her adoptive father was a big-shot producer and had the money to prove it. But Ashly was never the type to flaunt the fact that she had money. She dressed nicely, of course, but she earned every penny in order to afford her clothes. Adom is a humble parent and taught Ashly at a young age that you have to work for what you want in life, and Ashly does just that.

Her adoptive father pays for her school's tuition, yes, but everything else Ashly pays for herself. She works at a nice bakery on the corner of her street and absolutely loves it. She has just her, Adom, and a boy named Man. The owner is an elderly lady who used to babysit her when her father had to go away for business trips. Ashly didn't mind; she loved Sophia like she was her grandmother.

She would rush home to talk to her whenever there was a problem, and she would do the same. Allen, Sophia, and Adom were all she had, and she couldn't be happier, but she felt as if something was missing from her life. Which brings her to her next problem. In order to graduate, she must perform at the school's talent show. Five winners would be offered a record deal with two of the biggest labels in New Thailand.

But those two labels were the only ones except for those handsome Alpha boys—maybe an attractive one or two, but mostly handsome—and Ashly was an Omega. As you could see, that is a huge problem—not for her, though. She loved his being an Omega. She owned her title proudly, and whoever had an issue with her gender could kiss her perky ass. When she was younger, Adom told her that being Omega was special. Omegas are the most cherished of them all because they're rare to find. If anyone harmed an Omega, they would be put in jail. But some Alphas and Betas treat Omegas like a piece of sh*t and say they're not good for anything. Adom says it's bullshit, and Ashly agrees with him.

But when her father told her that she needed to find an Alpha before she graduated high school, Ashly thought she might throw up.

"But dad! Not only do I have to perform in front of the entire school, but I also have to find a freaking idiot as my mate! How the hell am I supposed to do that? If you haven't noticed, the people at my school treat me like shit! And I only have two friends! I don't want to leave them to join some sh*t! Please don't make me do this!"

Adom sighed and pulled Ashly in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Mouse, but I'm not going to be around to protect you all your life. I need you to be looked after while I'm gone. I don't want you to feel alone."

Ashly looked at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean you won't be here? What's going on, dad?"

Adom held her tighter.

"I have terminal lung cancer. I'm dying. I only have five months to live. I've tried to fight this as long as I can, but I am tired. I just want my baby girl to be happy, and I know you aren't happy. I could sense when you were sad. I know you feel like there's this ache in your chest that you can't scratch, and I know why."

Ashly has tears in her eyes when she hears that her father is dying. She didn't think she would be able to handle this, but she listened to what her father was saying to her.

"When I adopted you..." he took a deep breath. "When your birth mother was pregnant, she was pregnant with twins. You have a sister, Ashly. But after you presented as an omega kid, they got rid of you. Not wanting any omegas in their family. Your sister presented as a beta, so they kept her. I was best friends with your birth parents, but after they tossed you to the side, I took you in and raised you as my own. I never spoke to them again or even worked for them. I quit Circle Records and started my own company, Ashly, Inc. Which surpassed their label, and they have hated me ever since. But never has the balls to confront me. Not wanting to ruin their precious image. But their perfect image would be ruined if word got out that they gave up a child because of her gender. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before; I just couldn't die without you knowing this."

Ashly wiped her father's tears from his eyes and sat him down carefully on the couch. She stretched his legs out so he would be comfortable. Ashly sat on the edge, staring into her father's eyes with a smile. Ashly was blessed to have this man in her life. A man who gave up everything for her and didn't care about his image of raising an omega kid. She couldn't be more proud. Ashly kissed Adom's forehead and wiped his father's tears away; they just kept coming.

"Dad, why are you crying? Are you in pain?" Ashly asked, worried she had hurt her father. Adom shook his head.

"I am just happy that you didn't run away or leave me for keeping this away from you. I am so sorry, mouse."

Ashly scrunched her face at that, making her father laugh.

"You still make the same faces as you did when you were a baby and didn't like something."

Ashly smiled and hugged her father tightly. "I would never leave your dad. You're the best father I could ever have, and I am extremely grateful that you took me in and raised me as your own. Thank you so much. I promised I would try to find my mate, but how

will I know if I find the right one?"