Keith Zylvar was a perfectionist.
As a manager in a company led by his father, controlling people and being in a position of a lead was a second nature to him. As long as he could control people to do exactly how he wanted them to be, he could achieve the perfect result he had in mind.
Because of this reason, he hated people he couldn't control. One of them was his fiancé, Yolan Carnel.
Because Yolan's parents' company merged with his, both Keith and Yolan's parents intended to strengthen their relationship by marrying off their children.
That's how both of them got into a contract marriage and it was also the start of Keith's problem.
Yolan was someone with a carefree spirit, something that was the opposite of Keith's meticulous behavior.
Yet that spirit was also indestructible. He was arrogant and lived strongly by a principle that no one could shake, while not minding what other people said about him. The complete opposite of how society described omegas to be and…
'It is something I am jealous of.'
Standing in front of Uola's statue inside the church, the bishop was leading the ceremony and reciting prayers to cut the vow of marriage between Keith and Yolan in front of God Uola.
"Keith Zylvar, under the truthful eyes of Uola, do you swear that this decision to part ways with your partner, Yolan Zylvar, comes from the bottom of your heart?"
"Yes, I swear."
The bishop turned to Yolan, "Yolan Zylvar, under the truthful eyes of Uola, do you swear that this decision to part ways with your partner, Keith Zylvar, comes from the bottom of your heart?"
"Yes, I swear."
The bishop nodded and brought a white box in front of the two.
"Please release your partner's ring from their finger. Just like how you first put them on to each other, you will now release them from each other."
Keith turned to look at the man beside him. He was peaceful – eager even – to finally cut the ties of marriage between them.
Yolan raised his hand, indicating Keith to take it.
'When was the last time I held his hand again?'
The pale, delicate hand was unfamiliar to Keith. Even after almost three years living together, they never touched each other. They never consummated their marriage and whenever their rut or heat came, they isolated themselves in their own room.
'It's a contract marriage anyway.'
That's what he always thought.
Keith quietly took his partner's hand, shifting his gaze to the ring on his finger. Unlike the first time they were married, the ring was quite loose now.
Keith easily took it off and put it on the white box. Yolan swiftly did the same thing.
The bishop nodded as he placed down the ring and raised the bible above the two.
"With the blessing of God Uola – the God of Love and Purity – give me, I hereby announce you two as separate individuals. Untied by the holy strings of marriage." He continued, "Keith Zylvar and Yolan Carnel, let the untainted purity be with you as you let go of your past and walk the future of your own will."
With that last sentence, the ceremony officially ended. And so did their relationship.
Keith Zylvar and Yolan Carnel were now strangers with no ties in the past.
As soon as they stepped out of the church, Yolan immediately left – not uttering a single word to Keith. Keith had no right to stop Yolan either. Under the oath, they were strangers, both in the present and in the future.
RINGG!!
The phone in Keith's pocket rang. Recognizing the caller's ID, he picked up.
"What is it Richie?"
A cheerful, bubbly voice came out from the opposite line.
[Keith! Are you done with your vow ceremony? Let's hang out together!]
Looking at his wristwatch, Keith frowned.
"I told you, didn't I? I still have work after this. Let's do it some other time."
[Aww, you're so boring! Come on! Let's go out and shop!]
Stepping inside his car, Keith sighed.
"Haa… no means no, I'll hang up now."
[Wait Kei-]
CLICK!
Ignoring Richie's words, Keith threw his phone on the car's seat and spoke to his chauffeur.
"To the house."
"Yes sir."
The car soon moved and the scenery around him changed. His phone beside him rang again, but Keith didn't spare a glance at it as his gaze was focused on the window.
Yolan Carnel.
The first time Keith met him was when he took a walk in Yolan's parents' company, ASA Food.
They were having a survey of the place and was weighing the pro and cons to merge their company together.
Keith's first impression of Yolan wasn't much. He was just an omega that he didn't have to pay attention to. Though Keith was forced to marry him, he didn't think much of it.
But that impression changed when ASA Food announced their merge with his parent's company.
ASA Food was being accused of mismanagement and corruption, which made Yolan's parents a target of assassination and they lost their lives in the process.
Yolan was the one who handled every press regarding their accusations and what's surprising was he managed to clear the name of his parents, his parents' company and himself.
All alone.
That made Keith realize how stubborn Yolan actually was. He stood up even when he's cornered, and he also didn't back down even when others threatened him. He always charged ahead – not caring about a single thing others said.
And that admirable trait was something Keith didn't have.
Keith's perfectionist nature grew because he was afraid of mistakes. His controlling nature of others was also because of his own selfishness to get the perfect result for his own name to shine.
So when he saw Yolan – shining even though he made a lot of mistakes – his mind rejected his existence.
Keith hated him because he was far more capable than him. Someone who didn't need his control and someone he couldn't control because he shone brighter without him.
And now that he had lost that someone…
It felt empty.
"Sir, we have arrived."
"Ah, right."
Keith snapped out of his thoughts and got out of the car. The head butler greeted him as he stepped inside the house.
Taking off his coat, the head butler cautiously asked.
"Lunch is ready, would you like to take it first or immediately go to your room?"
"Bring it to my room, I'll eat as soon as I finish washing."
"Yes sir."
Keith was about to head upstairs but when he noticed the head butler fidgeting restlessly, he frowned.
"Say what you need to say."
Although hesitant, the head butler pulled out a tablet and spoke his mind, "Please take a look at this, sir."
Taking the tablet, Keith asked, "What is this?"
"It's the monthly cost of our mansion sir. Unfortunately, we have exceeded the estimated budget for the month. Mr. Yolan was usually the one that handles these things but with him now gone…"
"Exceed? The cause?"
The head butler cleared his throat and continued in a low voice, "With Mr. Richie as the new madam, some… additional spendings have been made and some rules have been changed. Now, approximately 20% of the mansion's budget is taken by him, so the fund for necessities such as food and the servants' paycheck is reduced."
He then raised his gaze to Keith, "I'm asking on behalf of other employees for the reduced paycheck."
Keith groaned as he rubbed his temple. So that's why Richie asked him out, he was using the mansion's fund to go shopping.
"Alright, I'll talk with Richie later."
The head butler bowed as he left, "Yes sir."
With his company's sales going down, Richie's behavior just added another headache to Keith. He had let Richie manage the mansion's fund little by little with the intention of marrying him in mind.
But the more Keith gave him control, the more Richie acted like a brat – spending unnecessarily and didn't want to learn how to manage the house.
That was something Keith despised.
'I should have known this since the start.'
For the past few weeks, the absence of Yolan slowly become apparent. Most of the servants – even the head butler – relied on him for house management. Keith had never felt it before but now, when he closely looked back again, the house was maintained perfectly to Keith's taste.
'Because he knows me too well.'
It took a lot of dedication to notice other people's likes and dislikes and adjust to them accordingly. And to maintain that dedication for three years, one had to enjoy or love what they were doing.
'That was his form of love to me.'
A weak chuckle escaped Keith's mouth.
Keith regretted it. He regretted not paying close attention to Yolan because he was caught up in his own ego.
He was too late.
Too late to realize that Yolan loved him, and how a spark of love had been lit inside his heart.
This was the reason he wanted Yolan back.
But now that Yolan had another man, it became harder to get close to him again.
'And of all people in the world, it has to be that one particular man.'
Someone even the top conglomerate didn't want to mess with, Haide Ritcher. A man whose name was known only to a few people.
Keith was out of it when they had a fight, but when Haide revealed his identity, Keith had no choice but to back down.
"Fuck, it's all my fault."
This time, he had truly lost Yolan.