Chapter Text
The other woman finds time to manicure her nails
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails.
And she’s never seen with pin curls in her hair, anywhere.
You loved him. But fate never seemed to be on your side. Every time you mustered up the courage to ask him to the December Yule dance, or the Danse Macabre, he was never around. Being the 'caretaker' for his ghouls, you were incredibly close to him. Often, the ghouls asked you to join their weekend lunches and you'd say yes with no hesitation. Anything to have another chance to ask Terzo the big question. You were finally gaining the courage to ask once and for all, until he began appearing around the abbey with her. You never had a problem with her, but everyone envied her. Who wouldn't? She was perfect.
The other woman enchants her clothes with French perfume.
The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room.
And there are never toys that's scattered everywhere.
The ghouls were with you when you noticed them in the lunch hall , and the shock on your face must have been evident. Terzo NEVER eats in the lunch hall, only in his office. Most of the ghouls glanced at your shocked face and then stalked off to greet their Papa, but in the corner of your eye you saw Omega furrowed his eyebrows at you, trying to decipher your emotions with his quintessence. It was only after you left in a hurry with a half-assed excuse did he ask Mist if she knew what was wrong.
Only a day after they were laughing together in public, the gossip and the rumors began. His ghouls were in their lounge room, chittering to each other in ghoulish. You picked up a few words, only having learnt the basics. But you knew they were talking about their beloved Terzo. The thought of him made you giddy, but then you understood they were talking about her . You should've known how people were spreading rumors like wildfire within the last day. You let out a depressed sigh, and that was when Omega finally looked over at you. He could sense the sadness in your heart.
He wiggled out of the ghoul pile and whispered something to Mist. She then followed him, silently signaling you to follow. You got up - your limbs refusing to work with you - then trudged along in the direction they left. You ended up in Mist's room, where she and Omega sat on her bed.
And when her old man comes to call.
He finds her waiting like a lonesome queen.
"I want to know what's wrong with you. Since yesterday you've been feeling empty, and I've given you a lot of quintessence, yet you still seem unfulfilled. I asked Mist but she told me it's not her position to tell, so I want you to tell me." Omega began, a stern emotion in his tone.
"It’s really nothing.” You replied, not wanting to get into your feelings. You could feel the tears begin to form. Silently cursing yourself for being so emotional, you blinked the tears away and bottled up the emotions more.
“Don’t give me that bullshit. I know you aren’t okay, I can literally feel your emotions, and it isn’t feeling very positive. So please, I want to know. I’m not asking for any reason other than I care for you. You are one of us now and whatever it is, your secret is safe with me.”
Him saying this is what made you break. The tears reformed and began streaming down your face as you let out a choked sob. Instantly, Omega stood up and brought you into a bear hug, lifting you up and plopping you on the bed next to mist. She wrapped her tail around your waist and began stroking your hair with her free hand, whispering sweet nothings into your ear. You just sat there, tears pooling into the pillow as you were sandwiched by two ghouls caring for you.
'Cause to be by her side.
It's such a change from old routine.
Eventually, the tears began to dry as you tired out. You were exhausted as you barely got any sleep. You began to fall asleep in the arms of the ghouls, and once Omega noticed this he glanced towards Mist.
Should we let her sleep? I still need her to respond. He asked her through their bond.
Let the poor girl rest, you can ask her when she wakes up. She's bothered and obviously got barely any sleep, cut her some slack. She responded, snuggling further into your back.
The other woman will always cry herself to sleep.
Omega let out a sigh at that and got comfy. The two ghouls just stayed there comforting you as you slept. It was a few hours until you were woken up by a knock on the door. You forced your eyes open, cringing at the feeling of your puffy eyes and blinding lights of Mist’s room.
“Dinner is starting soon, just a reminder.” It was Alphas voice. You turned your head into the pillow and curled into the spooning position Mist had you in.
“Thanks brother, we’ll be there soon.” Omega responded to him. He then looked at you. “Do you want to go downstairs to eat? You’re hungry, I can sense it.”
You painstakingly shook your head as Mist gave you a comforting squeeze.
“Can you bring us some food, Omega? I’ll stay here so she isn’t alone. I know she isn’t going to get out of bed no matter what right now.” Mist asked in a whisper, not wanting to startle you.
Omega glanced between the two of you and nodded slightly, silently leaving the room. He thankfully turned off the light for you and you took your head out of the pillow. The feelings and sorrow you felt earlier began to pile onto you as you felt a giant weight in your chest.
“Omega only wants the best for you, you know? He doesn’t want to hurt you. I know seeing Terzo with her hurts, but if you let him know he’s the last person to make fun of you and he’ll do anything to make sure you’re comfy. Trust me on this one, he’s as sweet as a ghoul can get.” Mist began to tell you. You thought about it. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him, it was just that thinking about him and her together made your heart ache, and you didn’t want that to happen as you talked to him.
You sighed, “I know. I’ll tell him once he gets back. Thanks Mist.” And in response, she just left a sweet kiss on your shoulder. She was probably the closest ghoul to you. You two got along a lot and she adored you just like you adored her. You told everything to her, and she told everything to you. Oftentimes you partake in lustful activities, but your relationship is merely friends with benefits. You both agreed on the fact you both had no feelings for one another and that you were just platonic.
Her tail squeezed a bit tighter around your waist in comfort and merely a few minutes later Omega returned with a hearty meal for both of you. He slowly walked in, carefully placing the food onto Mists bedside table and sat back down. Mist untangled herself from you and you whined in the loss of comfort. She reached over for a bowl that had stew in it and placed it on her stomach. She said a few mental words to Omega, and then he began to lift you to sit upright like the both of them.
You silently took the bowl of food off of Mists stomach and onto yours. Beginning to eat, Omega looked at you pleadingly as he silently asked for the truth. You felt your heart pang with hurt, but you knew you had to tell him eventually. You took a deep breath, deciding to be blunt to get it over with.
The other woman will never have his love to keep.
“I have fallen madly in love with Terzo and I’m now realizing he’ll never love me back.”
Omega paused, looking at your face. You stared back at him, eyes filled with emotions, but having no more tears to cry. His face crumpled and he gave you a tight hug. You hugged him back, closing your eyes and savoring the comfort he gave you. He backed away and you slowly continued to eat. You lost your appetite but you knew they wouldn’t let you go without having at least one meal throughout the day. No more words were exchanged between the three of you, only glances and gestures. You got back into your previous position, and fell asleep just as it was before.
When you woke up, it was because of the alarm Mist set. She got up, energetic but silent. She was always a morning person. You were too, but your body and mind just didn’t want to cooperate with how exhausted you were. You got 12 hours of sleep yet you were still exhausted. Fucking bullshit. 12 hours and I feel like it was 2. You grumbled to yourself. You got up and began your way to your room. It wasn’t too far from the ghoul lair so you weren’t thinking about seeing anyone since it was 6 in the morning, but you were wrong.
As you began your journey, not 10 seconds later you bumped into him. His eyes flickered to you for a moment and then doubled back. It was that moment you were incredibly aware of how terrible you looked. Hours of crying must’ve taken a toll on your face because he wasn’t hiding what he thought about how I looked.
“ Cara are you alright? Maybe sick?” Terzo asked, genuinely concerned. You definitely were sick, but it was something only he could cure.
“I… I’m fine, thank you Papa .” You told him, averting your eyes. He looked even more concerned now, because after 3 years of being one of his best friends, you never called him ‘Papa’, only ‘Terzo’.
“ Tesoro, are you sure? If you are sick, I am sure I can give you the day off, si ?” He told you, inching closer to you. The little names he gave you across the years were now beginning to make you queasy rather than fill your stomach with butterflies.
“ Papa , I’m sure your woman would not appreciate calling me names like that.” You said. Although you used to love it when he called you those nicknames, you knew you needed to distance yourself. At the mention of her name, his eyes lit up.
“Ah, she is wonderful, no? I’m thinking of asking her to be my bride soon, what do you think?” Terzo began, his mind clouding with thoughts of his love. At this, your head snapped over to look at him, eyes shocked and mind racing.
“ Terzo, are you serious? You’ve been dating for what, 3 days?” You exclaimed in shock. Your heart was pounding in your ears and your knees were beginning to feel weak.
“Correction, we’ve been public for 3 days. We’ve been together for nearly 2 years. You think it is a bad idea?” He asked curiously looking at your face with confusion. Your words got stuck in your throat as you felt tears begin to form once again. You were getting tired of crying and you hated it. All over one guy. But this one guy was supposed to be the only guy.
“I…. I’m sorry Papa but… I must go to do my… Chores.” You managed to choke out before swiftly retreating into your room. You didn’t dare glance back at him, not wanting to see his face. His words rang through your ears as you began to cry all over again. 2 out of the 3 years you’ve known him, he was with someone all along. If you had known you wouldn’t have such strong feelings as you did, but you didn’t. And now, you were trapped. You wanted him to be happy, of course you did. But you wanted him to be happy with you, not her.
As everything came crashing down onto you, you felt sick. Maybe you would take the day off, but that means you would need to face Terzo again. You’d rather that than have to see them throughout the day. You fixed yourself slightly before dragging yourself to Papa’s office. Alpha was outside, guarding the door, and when he looked at you, he brushed his hand against your arm with knowingness. He was the only other person beside Mist and Omega that knew, and you didn’t tell him - He figured it out himself. You brought together all your courage and knocked on the door. You heard a faint ‘come in’, and you did just that.
Upon walking into the room, you couldn’t help but notice how clean it was. No more of his childish toys on the floor, or papers scattered on his desk. Everything was organized. You could smell her perfume in the room as it overwhelmed your senses. You felt a pounding in your head, and it was so loud you almost missed Terzo asking if everything was okay.
“Yes, sorry Papa . It appears I truly am sick and would wish for the day off.” You told him curtly, not wanting any form of conversation.
“Of course. May I ask why you ran off earlier.” He asked. You sucked in a breath, not wanting him to ask.
“I just didn’t feel well Papa , and I’d like to go back to my room to rest.” You continued, trying to cut the conversation short.
“Ah, well I do hope you feel better, I’d like to ask for your help planning this proposal.” You felt your gut clench at that and at his approval, you swiftly turned around to run back to your room. But that was before your eyes paused on the flowers on his windowsill.
“ She got them for my office and my room, they are very beautiful, si? They remind me of her .” He said fondly.
“Yes, very nice Papa .” You said through gritted teeth as you continued your escape.
“Please, tesoro, call me Terzo, I don’t like this ‘Papa’ formality.” He said, annoyed with how you’ve been acting recently.
You didn’t wait to respond, running off to your room. When you got there you let out everything you were holding in. You screamed into your pillow to your heart's content. You shouldn’t have cried over something as trivial as getting rejected, but with the subtle flirting the two of you did, the nicknames he called you, and your occasional dates that he just thought of as a nice lunch together, it was too much for you. So you curled up under your weighted blanket, and cried yourself to sleep once more as your heart convulsed in pain.
And as the years go by, the other woman will spend her life alone.
You didn’t know if you’d ever love someone like you loved him. You knew the pain and didn’t want to go through it again. Not now, not ever.
Alone.