Last Love chapter 3

As dawn approached, Wen Ke, as usual, got up to prepare an American breakfast. However, that day he opted for milk and cereal, fried pancakes, and even made a smoked duck salad. He had little appetite. When Zhuo Yuan woke up, he lied, claiming to have already eaten, and went to the bathroom for a shower.

Zhuo Yuan didn’t sleep well; he had been furrowing his brow since waking up, and he seemed irritable as they went downstairs to the garage together.

“I’ll drive,” Wen Ke patted Zhuo Yuan’s back. “You drank last night; sit in the back and get some more sleep.”

“Alright,” Zhuo Yuan grumbled. Although Wen Ke was the one about to undergo surgery, he didn’t resist and climbed into the back seat.

Wen Ke was always considerate of Zhuo Yuan. In a sense, he was good at playing a role, whether as a diligent student or as Zhuo Yuan’s Omega. He was competent in both.

He gripped the steering wheel, looking at the road ahead. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but think that, from childhood to adulthood, he had always subconsciously become the person others expected him to be.

He always let others shape him, so much so that at the age of 28, he suddenly felt lost—

What kind of person should this man named Wen Ke be if he lived according to his own wishes?

…

Arriving at H Hospital, Wen Ke changed into a light green striped surgical gown and followed the nurse to the operating room.

Before entering, Zhuo Yuan suddenly hugged him and whispered, “Xiao Ke, you’ve worked hard.”

Wen Ke didn’t say anything, but the Beta female nurse looked at them with some curiosity.

Wen Ke lay on the operating table, soon feeling his neck tightly bound. The vulnerable gland area at the back of his neck was exposed under the bright light—

Although he had long understood the procedure of the surgery, he was momentarily frightened, unable to resist the urge to turn his head.

“Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous…”

The female nurse patted his back. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the few needle marks on Wen Ke’s wrist, then she said gently, “The surgery itself is quite fast, Mr. Wen. I’m going to give you anesthesia now.”

Wen Ke responded, and his neck was gently wiped with alcohol. Then he felt a sharp needle swiftly piercing near the gland at the back of his neck—

He didn’t want to appear too fragile in front of the female Beta, but the gland area around the Omega was sensitive. The anesthesia was administered in four points, little by little. However, each time it was injected, Wen Ke couldn’t help but twitch with pain.

After the anesthesia took effect, the doctor with a mask swiftly entered the operating room.

Wen Ke clearly felt the cold surgical blade slowly cutting into the skin and flesh at the back of his neck. The anesthesia dosage wasn’t high, so although the pain wasn’t sharp, it still existed.

The instinct to protect the gland at the back of the neck was rooted in Omega’s nature. Wen Ke felt almost overwhelmed by fear. He wanted to scream, but could only bite the pillow to hold back.

After the skin and flesh were cut open, a delicate mechanical probe quickly entered his gland.

Actually, he didn’t understand what form Zhuo Yuan’s mark took inside him. But when the mark was peeled off, he felt it vividly—

Something vivid and imprinted in his body for six years was forcibly drawn out from his flesh and blood.

More frightening than the pain was the emptiness.

Six years of marriage, and now nothing was left.

Humans are truly a pitiable species.

To divorce, he had to use surgery, an external force like this to remove the mark. But in fact, the emotional connection with Zhuo Yuan had long been extinguished.

—Emotions really aren’t as firmly marked, huh.

At that moment, the nurse bent down and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye with a cotton ball.

It was then that Wen Ke realized he had shed tears.

After the extraction surgery, he remained in a daze for quite a while. He only remembered curling up in Zhuo Yuan’s arms, still trembling slightly.

The doctor sat opposite them and advised Zhuo Yuan on postoperative matters: “The one-month weak period after the mark extraction is the most vulnerable time for an Omega. During this period, he cannot be injected with suppressants. He’s accustomed to your pheromones, and now they’ve all been abruptly stripped from his body. Even if he’s not in heat, he’ll be very weak and will need Alpha pheromones to keep him stable.”

“But now that the mark has been removed, can’t he get close to other Alphas?” Wen Ke heard Zhuo Yuan ask.

“Yes,” the doctor replied, “theoretically, the higher the level of pheromones, the more it will help him stay stable. But everyone handling divorce proceedings makes different choices. If he doesn’t have a better choice, emotionally more familiar with you and needing your company, you can’t ignore him.”

“Of course,” Zhuo Yuan replied.

“Let him eat something and rest well,” the doctor said, seeing there was nothing else to advise. He stood up and said, “A few hours later, when the anesthesia wears off, his gland will start to ache. Pay a little attention. If there’s any severe discomfort, come back to the hospital for a checkup.”

…

The pheromone weak period was much more painful than Wen Ke had imagined.

He felt unprecedented weakness.

He could take a maximum of four painkillers a day. After taking them, he would fall into a drowsy state, and oversleeping had become a habit.

He stayed awake all night, enduring the intense throbbing pain at the gland area on the back of his neck every moment.

Even more terrifying was that the torment brought by the weak pheromone period was all-encompassing. His whole body ached, and his thighs almost cramped every day for a while.

He couldn’t eat anything. Even if he ate a little, he would immediately feel nauseous. Saying that life was worse than death wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Only when Zhuo Yuan hugged him, could his pain be slightly alleviated.

Wen Ke could only think that his body was still desperately resisting Zhuo Yuan’s departure.

But compared to his discomfort, Zhuo Yuan evidently cared more about something else.

Apart from the first few days, Zhuo Yuan started to come home late again. Even when he was with Wen Ke at night, he often had to go out to answer calls. Once he answered, it would take one or two hours, and occasionally, Wen Ke could hear his gentle and low tone, as if comforting someone.

Wen Ke had always been a strong person.

Compared to other Omegas, he might look delicate, but he was resilient at heart.

Over the years, even during the numerous heats without his own Alpha, and when suppressants were making him nearly faint, he rarely demanded anything from Zhuo Yuan.

Unexpectedly, it was the pain of the pheromone weak period that eventually overwhelmed him.

When he was alone in the bathroom in the middle of the night, kneeling and vomiting until he was almost exhausted, Wen Ke finally couldn’t hold on.

He lay on the floor, trembling, and called Zhuo Yuan until the fourth attempt was answered: “Zhu… Zhuo Yuan…”

“Hello.” When Zhuo Yuan answered the phone, the background seemed noisy, and his tone sounded like he had been drinking. Upon hearing Wen Ke’s voice, he naturally asked, “Xiao Ke, is something wrong?”

Zhuo Yuan actually asked, “Is something wrong.”

In fact, Wen Ke had always known that beneath Zhuo Yuan’s seemingly gentle and kind appearance, he was actually very indifferent and selfish.

Even though they were about to divorce, he was still the Alpha who had marked him for six years.

Because of Omega’s physiological characteristics, even the Beta female nurse felt a bit of pity for him undergoing such a body-harming surgery. Even the doctor emphasized several times that he needed companionship. Yet, Zhuo Yuan could be so irresponsible to this extent.

Wen Ke pounded the floor fiercely with his fists, gritting his teeth until his molars started to squeak. He didn’t want to beg Zhuo Yuan, but at this point, the will to survive overwhelmed everything.

“Zhuo Yuan, I’m in pain…” Wen Ke collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily. “Can you come back for a while? Just for a while. I beg you, I really… I’m really in pain…”

…

What happened in the middle of the night was already very vague to Wen Ke.

Zhuo Yuan still rushed back and held him for the night. Under the familiar pheromones, he gradually eased.

When he woke up in the early morning, he vaguely heard Zhuo Yuan ordering breakfast delivery over the phone.

Zhuo Yuan heard the movement of Wen Ke getting up, walked over, and hugged his shoulders. He gently looked at him and said to the phone, “Add another bowl of old duck soup; Xiao Ke likes it.”

Wen Ke could only force a smile at Zhuo Yuan. Then, he turned his head and took painkillers from the bedside table, washing them down with water.

The two sat facing each other during the meal, but the atmosphere was as if they were chewing wax. Zhuo Yuan ate while saying, “Xiao Ke, I’ve thought about it. The company has been particularly busy these days, and with your condition like this, I’m really afraid I won’t be able to take care of you properly. I’ve been worried about this matter all along. Yesterday, I talked to a friend, and now people’s thoughts are much more open. We’re also waiting for the divorce procedures, so…”

Wen Ke didn’t speak, just looked at Zhuo Yuan.

It was Zhuo Yuan who felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze and laughed, saying, “Eat your food. Just listen to what I have to say.”

“The doctor said before, now that you don’t have a mark, other Alphas can also comfort you with pheromones. My friend said there’s a well-known club in our city called LM. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but the services they provide can be very helpful in our situation… If you’re feeling better, shall we go there this afternoon?”

“Okay.”

Wen Ke’s face was pale. He glanced at Zhuo Yuan with a hint of surprise, but soon returned to a calm expression.

Actually, he had heard of the LM Club.

In B City, LM Club, established in recent years, gained a lot of fame for its revolutionary services.

Traditionally, once an Omega entered the heat, the most ideal scenario was to be permanently marked by a highly compatible Alpha as soon as possible. The only other option was to use suppressants to get through the heat.

Everyone knew that overdosing on powerful suppressants could harm an Omega’s body, but society operated on established rules, and these norms became a kind of public morality.

Omegas needed to remain faithful.

Even all physiological features seemed to corroborate this point.

Of the sexes, only Omegas were troubled by heats, only Omegas uncontrollably craved Alpha pheromones, and only Omegas, once permanently marked, would only go into heat for their Alpha. Even during divorce, the mark removal surgery was as painful as shedding a layer of skin.

So, to be faithful, to belong to one person for a lifetime, to bear offspring for the only Alpha—this was, in popular terms, the best outcome for an Omega’s life.

However, the LM Club overturned such views from the beginning—

LM Club had dozens of employed high-quality Alpha consultants to provide services for Omega clients. From holding hands and hugging to kissing, these affectionate behaviors could help Omegas in special periods alleviate anxiety and pain. Suppressants were only used in cases of severe conditions.

At LM Club, Omegas had, for the first time, become the recipients of services, especially in an extremely sensitive area. The controversy that ensued was, of course, foreseeable.

However, the reality proved that there were actually many Omegas in society who needed services during special periods due to various circumstances.

Just like now, Wen Ke also needed it.