Saturday came a lot faster than what I had hoped. 

I spent the days leading up to it as usual, taking care of Rin and avoiding Rowan. I didn't feel like avoiding was the best course of action—definitely not the healthiest—but I was still terrified he'd try rejecting me.

I felt ridiculous. I knew if he was going to reject me, I needed to just accept it and get it out of the way. But, what would that mean for my job? Would I still be allowed to work for the Maddens? I couldn't fathom not being allowed to see Rin again. 

Rejection of a fated mate wasn't something we could hide forever, especially if it was one sided. There wasn't a single part of me that desired rejecting Rowan, the thought alone made me sick. 

If he were to reject me when I wanted to make our mating official, it could very well leave me ill for the Goddess only knew how long. I had heard the stories. Rejected omegas were looked down upon and struggled to find a second chance mate after that. Even if they did find their second chance mate, in a lot of cases the omegas were too scared to give them a chance, fearing they would simply be rejected again.

A handful of omegas—and alphas, too—had resorted to taking their own lives after a one sided rejection. No one really knew what a rejection could do to the body, much less the soul. It just typically lead to trauma and a massive drop in self esteem.

It was fortunate that one sided rejections were so rare. Most fated mates either both decided to reject each other or, like in most cases, chose to accept each other and complete the mating bond. 

A massive part of me had always feared the worst when it came to my fated mate. I honestly never expected to meet them, but I knew in my heart that if I did, they probably wouldn't want me. 

Self image was something I always struggled with. My sister had tried her best to help me build my confidence, but then she had to leave. It hurt to watch her go, but I was so proud of her. I just wished college wasn't a death sentence for our relationship. It seemed like after she left, her and I only began talking less and less. My parents were the biggest reason I struggled with confidence so much. 

My sister was the golden child, older and smarter than I could ever be. Gorgeous, too. She had blonde hair like mine, but it reached her waist and laid down her back like silk. She had been blessed with our mother's blue eyes and they lit up her face like little diamonds. Her skin was always smooth and she was just the perfect height; 5'6. Not too short, not too tall. And I missed her something fierce.

Trying to live in her shadow was never easy, but it only got worse when she left. My parents didn't have her to fawn over anymore, so all their energy went into criticizing every little thing I did.

But I digress. None of that was Rowan's fault. It's not fair that he met a fated mate now when he's happily married with a wonderful child. I could never blame him for not wanting me, especially when compared to Carly. She couldn't be any more perfect. But, because of all of these things, I just knew rejection had to be on the forefront of his mind. Maybe this outing was his way of getting me semi-alone to finally get it done with?

I shook my head from those thoughts. As cowardly as it was, I definitely did not plan on letting Rowan reject me today. 

Just not today.

It wasn't long before the time came to start getting myself ready. Since Rowan had the day off, I didn't have to worry about Rin. Though, that never quite stopped me from worrying over the little boy as if he were my own.

With summer fast approaching, the weather was a lot warmer today than it had been. I picked out a loose fitting, green tank top to go over knee length denim shorts. Putting on a pair of white Converse, I pulled open my bedroom door and slipped out of the room. 

"Alek! Let's gooo! I wanna see baby plants!" I giggled as little Rin crashed into my legs, looking up at me excitedly with a big smile on his face. 

"Me too! What do you think we'll see there?" I asked, ruffling Rin's hair as he began to let go of his hug around my legs.

"I want a plant with. . ." Rin started, tilting his head and tapping his chin in that way him and Carly do when they're thinking about something, "pink leaves!" His eyes lit up and I gave a fond smile in response. 

"Let's see what we can do about that, okay?" Rin nodded his head vigorously in response and started dragging me along to the front door.

"Daddy's already in the car. Let's go, Alek!"

"I'm coming, Buddy!"

The car ride to the nursery was spent with Rin filling Rowan and I both in on the perfect pink leaf plant of his dreams. I was nervous, but I never wanted time with Rin to come to an end so I pushed through.

When we had both made it to the car, I properly buckled Rin into his seat and then climbed in next to Rowan. He looked casual with a beige tee shirt and blue jeans, a pair of white tennis shoes to complete the look. His auburn hair was free of product so it easily blew with the slight breeze coming in through the window.

Rowan had looked at me with a strained smile on his face and—not for the first time—I wondered what his secret agenda was. We exchanged pleasant greetings and eventually took off.

Now we sat in front of the nursery with a bouncing Rin in the backseat. 

"You ready, Little Man?" Rowan asked as he looked back at Rin through the rearview mirror, unbuckling his seatbelt in the process.

"Yep! Look at all the pretty flowers! Can we get some of those?!" I turned around in my seat to meet Rin's gaze, the heat of Rowan closer to my side than it's ever been. I took a deep breath.

"Rin, the flowers you see out front are for outdoors. They won't thrive inside of the house. The indoor plants are in the greenhouse, do you wanna go pick one out? I think I know of one you'll love!" I smiled at Rin as his eyes lit up. Meanwhile, Rowan burned holes into the side of my head with his pretty hazel eyes.

"Okay!" I giggled at Rin's eagerness to get inside the nursery while I let myself out of the car and set little Rin free of his car seat. 

"Come on, let's go have a look." Rowan followed behind us quietly and I hoped I wasn't overstepping by holding Rin's hand on the way inside. 

Warmth engulfed me when Rin reached out his free hand behind us and Rowan stepped up to take it. We all looked like a little family and something ugly clenched in my stomach—guilt. I didn't want to take this away from Carly, but I wanted it so badly it hurt. 

The nursery was actually a local farmers market with a greenhouse beside it specifically for outdoor and indoor plants. The farmers market itself was a small building with a wide door on the side, almost like a garage or barn door, completely open from top to bottom to allow all the warmth from spring inside. There were a handful of people milling about, carrying jams, vegetables, plants, all sorts of things as they looked around. Blooms were scattered outside of the market all over the place on benches and just on the ground in nursery pots, and even some concrete or terracotta planters. 

The greenhouse was to the left of the main building and above it read "Nikel's Nursery" in bold green lettering. You could see multiple house plants inside from the clear side paneling of the greenhouse and the front was opened up similarly to the side door of the farmers market. 

The three of us headed over to the greenhouse while Rin babbled on excitedly about all the different colors of plants while Rowan and I swung our hands back and forth. 

Once we reached the greenhouse, I made a beeline for the specific plant I had in mind.

"Rin, look," I started, crouching down to be at his level as I pointed his gaze to a specific plant, "this one is called a Pink Princess Philodendron. What do you think? Is it the perfect pink leaf plant?" 

Rin's hazel eyes dilated as he took in the plant. It was green with a pink tinted stem and some leaves had spots of a dark pink covering them. A new leaf was beginning to unfurl at the top and looked almost fully pink. 

"Woah! It's so pretty! Daddy, I want this one!" I smiled softly as Rin jumped up and down, pointing at the philodendron with so much awe I had to laugh in response.

"Okay, Rinny. Those aren't too hard to take care of, right?" Rowan smiled softly at Rin, but when his eyes met mine, it dimmed just a little.

The question was aimed at me and I shook my head, "No, they're pretty low maintenance for the most part. Similar to pothos in my experience. I don't mind having one to take care of, they're one of my favorite species." And, because I simply couldn't help myself, I had to ask, "What about you, what's your favorite?"

Rowan's smile lit up again, as if me wanting to learn more about him was the best thing in the world. I knew better, though. Surely this amazing father was just putting up a front for his Rinny.

"I love the String Of plants, specifically String of Hearts. They trail down beautifully and the pink variation is just breathtaking. Such a beautiful symbol of love, and they're supposedly easy to take care of as well. I've always wanted one." 

My heart melted. How could an almost 30 year old man be so precious? His smile was the most wholesome thing next to Rin I had seen all day. 

"I bet they have some here, wanna go check?" I asked as I gently picked up the small Pink Princess Philodendron and handed it to a still bouncing Rin. 

Rowan's shining eyes almost rivaled Rin's when I suggested finding a String of Hearts plant and all I ever wanted in life at that moment was to keep that exact shine in both of my boys' eyes. 

They're not your boys, Alek.

I shook my head of that thought and began the search for Rowan's favorite plant.

A/N~ Read chapter 10 one week early on Patreon and Ream! Linked below:)

Patreon: https://patreon.com/elizabethkay?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Ream: https://reamstories.com/elikay

QOTD: Do you like indoor plants that have different colored leaves?

Answer: I love the pink ones and the white ones, too! Pink Princess Philodendrons are one of my faves and I also love the marble queen pothos!