"F*ck…Are you even stalking me now?" Asher scorned at Xavier after he sipped the remaining whiskey in his glass. Asher's loud grunt echoed through the VIP lounge at the bar, which had gone silent. The two omega girls who'd cuddled close to him shifted a few inches away as they gave the majestic figure looming in front of them an awkward glance.
"Instead of drowning yourself in alcohol and cheap omegas, shouldn't you be spending your day off with your pregnant wife at home?"
When Xavier reverted to him, it only triggered Asher's wrath as he gritted his teeth.
Before he could say a word, Xavier narrated, "I wouldn't have bothered to show up here if your assistant, Mr. Chad, hadn't reached out to me. He couldn't get hold of you for the past few hours and asked me for help, at least as your old middle school classmate…"
Asher quickly took out his phone and saw there were 28 missed calls from Mr. Chad and 10 missed calls from his wife Orelia. Something serious must have happened if his assistant asked his biggest rival, Xaiver, for help.
"Darn it!" Asher hissed and dialed Mr. Chad first, and he immediately picked up the call while sounding too impatient on the phone, "Thank goodness, Young Master! I called you so many times, but you never responded once. So, I guess Master Xavier must've reached out to make you return my call—"
"Mr. Chad! Why did you have to send over this damn jerk here to reach out to me? Can't I even enjoy my day off in peace at least!?" Asher sounded very perturbed from his tone, rolling his irked glare towards Xavier, who still retained a stoic expression towards him.
After keeping an anticipated pause for a few seconds, Mr. Chad gulped, "Y-Young Master… Madam…has suffered a miscarriage. She was bleeding profusely and was taken to the hospital in a rush, but…unfortunately, the baby couldn't be saved."
"WHAT!?"
A moment of disbelief washed over Asher as he stood numb, unable to process the words he had just heard. His hands trembled a little when he realized Orelia was in her 7th month of pregnancy.
But that wasn't his main concern. The lack of an heir meant his father wouldn't allow him to inherit the entire Tarlor business empire. That was something he could not lose, a far greater loss.
"Send me the hospital address, I am coming over there right now."
Without wasting a second more, Asher rushed outside. But Xavier grabbed his arm from behind, sounding concerned, "Wait, you're too drunk right now. Let me give you a ride to the hospital, you shouldn't drive on your own."
"Fuck off!" With a yank, Asher grunted aloud, rolling his anxious onyx eyes at him, "Don't talk as if you're my friend! You're enjoying all of this, aren't you?!"
"It's not true…" There was a hint of desperation in Xavier's growl as he moved an inch closer, meeting his disheveled face with his sad amber eyes, "Why do you hate me so much, Asher? Are you sure…you will never regret the consequences of the choices you made in life?"
But some questions were always better left unanswered.
...…
Asher Tarlor, the dazzling, handsome, dominant Alpha billionaire heir of Tarlor Industries, had always led a perfect life of arrogance and abundance by playing the role of his father's obedient son. To completely inherit the business empire, Asher got married to the omega daughter, Orelia, of their fellow business partner as soon as he turned 25.
Leading his promiscuous, carefree life since his college days, Asher was initially never interested in this relationship, which was completely imposed on him as she wasn't his destined pair. But in order to secure his position in the business empire, Asher played a new role of a dutiful husband for the time being, only until, within a year, Orelia got pregnant.
But the only black stain on his picture-perfect life was his eternal rival, Xavier Marcus. He was a deadly handsome, true-blood Alpha, billionaire heir of the enormous Marcus Group, which was followed by their bittersweet past and over 15 years of their sworn rivalry.
Asher had never won against Xavier, not even once. Be it in academic grades or in business, Xavier always came up on top. Unlike Asher's promiscuous self, Xavier was more reserved, always choosing to stay far away from controversy.
But could it be pure coincidence that Xavier never failed to show up whereever Asher chose to be?
...…
Gritting his teeth, Asher hurriedly called for a driver and rushed over to the parking lot, while Xavier followed him from behind. After getting into the car, Asher glanced in the rearview mirror. Seeing Xavier standing there, watching his car leave, formed a knot in his chest.
When he got to the hospital, Mr. Chad was already waiting for him at the entrance but without paying any heed to him, Asher rushed over to the room on the 14th floor where Orelia was admitted.
The color drained from Asher's face as he saw Orelia standing on the balcony with glazed eyes, staring at the murky sky. Blood dripped from her right wrist. She had ripped out the IV line.
"Orelia…" Asher's voice shook a little, eyes filled with remorse. She was pale and thin. She had called him so many times, why didn't he pick up sooner? Could the situation turn out differently if he did? e the situation been different than now?
Orelia turned to face him, eyes empty as she forced a bitter smile.
"I called you right after I started bleeding, Asher," she said, her body instinctively moving closer to the balcony as she continued, "The doctor said the miscarriage was likely due to stress. I wonder where that came from? Was it because of the countless days I spent alone while you were away from home… or was it due to the stench of other omegas that clung to you?"
"It's not like that, Orelia…I…I am sorry, I should've answered your calls." Countless thoughts clouding his mind at that moment made Asher too awkward to bear the uncomfortable atmosphere, as he muttered after her. "But what are you doing there on the balcony? Come here and lie down on the bed, you should get some rest for now—"
"I knew our child was the one thing you cared about. It was your guarantee to get your inheritance from your father. Outside of that… neither one of us mattered to you."
Orelia took another step closer to the railing. Her emerald eyes were wet with tears she tried desperately to suppress.
"All I wanted was to make a family with you, Asher. I really loved you, why did you have to be so cruel?"
"Orelia, calm down for a second and let's just talk—"
"For the past two years of our marriage, every day was too painful to bear for me. I guess I was still waiting for you here until now, because I wanted to say a few last words."
Orelia's hand gripped the railing of the balcony. Asher's instincts were sounding alarm bells, something terribly wrong was about to happen!
Orelia smiled back at him, murmuring in a broken voice, "All this time, I've wished for you to be happy, Asher. But time and time again, you've done nothing but cause me pain!"
Her expression grew dark as she continued to speak, "In the name of our divine Moon Goddess, I curse you, Asher Tarlor! In your next life, you will suffer just like I did. Your loved ones will die before your eyes, and there will be nothing you can do! Perhaps then you'll truly know what you've missed, what you've lost."
"W-What…Wait…Orelia—"
"THUD!!"
The sound of frightened shrieks from the people downstairs echoed in the air seconds after Orelia jumped off the balcony, bearing her pained last smile towards Asher. As her body hit the ground with a loud thud, Asher stood there frozen in place,too shocked to breath. Her last curse was engraved as a petrifying memory in his mind, leaving Asher badly shaken.
Orelia was dead…and his immoral selfishness had pushed that innocent woman to the brink of desperation to end her life.
.....
The next day, right after he was done with arranging a proper funeral for Orelia, Asher couldn't bear to stay there for long. Consumed by guilt and a throbbing headache at the back of his head, every breath he took felt too suffocating for him, as those last curses from his late wife served as a haunting reminder for him.
He hadn't known her for long, but Orelia was always a sweet, naive woman towards him… However, after all the neglect and pain Asher had made her go through in their marriage…maybe it was a given for her to become so hateful towards him.
Thus to divert his anxious mind, Asher decided to show up in his office and immersed himself into work, only so that he could find a little solace from the remorse which was eating him up from inside.
Without letting Mr. Chad accompany him, Asher chose to drive on his own to his office, despite being completely exhausted and weary from the sudden turn of events in his life.
Struck at the traffic signal, when his mind wandered once again reminiscing her last words and the smile she held towards him until the end, suddenly he flinched hard when his phone rang aloud.
Glancing at the screen, the caller ID showed Xavier's name whom he had deliberately avoided to run into since last night, even at the funeral. But even though he rejected his call, Xavier persistently called him a few more times which ultimately made Asher exhale a heavy sigh.
"Why are you so damn stubborn, Xavier?" Grabbing his phone as he made up his mind to answer him, Asher muttered those words in a heavy voice, narrowing his sad eyes at the screen before picking up the call. "If I had never met you…would I have turned out to be this way? I don't think so. I guess, you're the reason for everything, you bastard… I really—"
"CRASHHH!!"
"THUD! THAM! WHACK!"
Before Asher could press the button to pick the call, a speeding white truck brutally smashed his car head-on, turning it upside down several times in a row on that vast highway.
In a split second, his entire life turned upside down. The last blurred image Asher saw was the logo of "X&M" engraved on the front of the truck.
The truck belonged to Xavier's company, the Marcus Group.
"I should have known… You really hated me, too, didn't you, Xavier? This was all part of your plan? Fine, you won, Xavier. Just like always."
Mumbling those words with his fading senses in his mind, Asher could feel tears rolling down his cheeks as he ultimately accepted his fate with a subtle smile. 'I guess, this is my karma for all the wrongdoings I have done in this life.
'Now that I am nearing my end…isn't it funny that I still see your face, Xavier?
'You bastard…I wish…there won't be a next life after this one. I wish we would never meet again…otherwise, I might kill you first for betraying me in the end, you traitor! I wish…my prayers will get answered…at least once for one last time…'
As darkness consumed him, Asher prepared himself for the freedom death brought. But never in the wildest dreams could he have predicted that karma would come for him like a curse. A curse that was ready to haunt him forever!
___________________________
Author's Note: Hello, my little lovelies, this is my first time writing an apocalypse story, but I added the twist of Omegaverse for you all! Brace yourself for a ride to this zombie apocalyptic world, which you had never taken before, filled with the twist of betrayal, obsession, possession, and ardent madness of fated love, with my latest entry for WSA 2025. Join the journey of Asher and Xavier and findout how they will survive this end of the world, when a cute little baby will be in the equation this time?