Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.

Zevran.

I tapped my feet against the floor, my heart racing dramatically in my chest as I stared pointedly at the door.

It’s been over two hours since I sent for Chalice and up until now, she was nowhere to be seen. And goddess, I was fuming.

I was irritated and didn’t know what to think.

Enraged, I turned to Kael and seethed; "Can you imagine your ’so innocent’ fiancée? I found out she lied against Leilani yesterday and she wouldn’t even show her face now?"

But upon remembering that he probably shouldn’t be facing any form of stress at this point in time, I sighed and glanced away from him, muttering; "sorry," under my breath.

My chest felt tight. Tight because I was so frustrated and confused. Tight because I needed someone to talk to... tight because if it was left to just me, something as minor as this could’ve been more than enough reason to break off the engagement with Chalice.

But I wasn’t the only one involved here... my two other brothers were, and then there was Caelum who was so obsessed with her.

"Zevran...!" A feminine voice suddenly called out to me and I raised my head just then to look towards the door, my nostrils flaring when I saw Chalice standing there with a look of pure confusion on her flushed face.

Despite the weather, she was dressed in a simple pink dress that showed more cleavage than Kim Kardashian dresses on a normal day. On her lips was a bold red lipstick, and while her eyes were glazed, and her face was contorted into a sad expression, I didn’t miss the glow on her skin and the weird bounce in her steps and she waltzed into the room.

She glanced at Kael once— without going to him— and turned to me, her voice soft as she asked; "You sent for me? Is anything the matter?"

The way she spoke so innocently made my blood boil in my veins, and do you know what was worse?

When she batted her fucking lashes at me.

As if saying; "Oh look at poor innocent me!"

My eyes thinned into slits as I glared down at her and in a voice that was both cold and low, I asked; "I sent for you over two hours ago, where have you been?"

"I went to the spa." She answered airily, causing my rage to boil over even more.

There was something about her that I didn’t like... something about her that I couldn’t stand anymore. It was disgusting to even think that while Kael was on that bed fighting for his life, she, his fiancée, was busy whiling away time by spending it in spas and beauty salons.

I gritted my teeth in contempt, holding myself from saying mean things to her, and goddess, that was a lot of work. It took everything in me not to talk down on her. Not to call off the engagement right then and there even though that sort of decision wasn’t up to only me.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt warm fingers gliding over the skin of my arm and I glanced down just in time to find her looking at me with a soft smile— one that would’ve been fooled with if I didn’t know any better. She muttered; "You seem tense."

Unceremoniously, I shrugged her hands off my body and folded my hands across my chest, whilst ignoring the way her eyes lowered pitifully as I drawled; "I am tense because I’m enraged."

"Why? Did something happen?"

That same innocent tone! That same tiny voice.

I hissed; "Something did happen," and without another word, I took out the phone that Jim had left behind, clicked on the grainy video showing what happened yesterday at the parking lot and turned it to her face.

At first, the look on Chalice’s face was that of pure confusion but as the seconds ticked by, it began to morph into mortification... then horror.

She gasped as the color drained from her face, and then she turned to me with a cry; "Zevran, I can explain!"

—

Chalice.

"Zevran, I can explain!" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, and it wasn’t until I’d said them that I realized how guilty I’d sounded saying it.

My face fell, and gosh, my heart was racing so fast, I feared I would hyperventilate.

The video in front of me continued to play despite my mortification and while it was now glaring that I’d attacked Leilani first, I couldn’t allow Zevran to believe that. I couldn’t let him see me as anything less than the innocent bullied girl I was supposed to be.

Tears streamed down my face when he turned away from me, his face stoic and devoid of any emotions. I tried again; "Zevran wait, it isn’t what it looks like." I said but still, he wouldn’t turn to look at me.

For a very long time, I’ve always known that Zevran was the one who liked me the least amongst the triplets, but in all the times I’ve known him, he’s never looked at me the way he was looking at me now— with so much rage... and goddess, was that disgust in his eyes well?

"And what does it look like?" He finally asked after a moment of heavy silence, and I, desperate to make him believe me, instantly fell to my knees.

I bowed my head meekly and clutched at the hem of his pants, my voice breaking as I whispered; "We got into an argument before then."

At that, I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes, not surprised when I saw him cocking his eyebrows at me in askance, so I continued;

"We had argued earlier before she came here... before I got news that Kael was in an accident."

"And what was the argument about?" He asked coldly, his icy voice sending a chill down my spine.

I blinked rapidly, forcing more tears out of my eyes and in a feigned trembling voice, I muttered; "She called me a whore and a thief. She said that I stole you three from her and that I’d never be happy with you three. So when I saw her acting so distraught later yesterday, I was mad because I thought she was putting on a pitiful show for you. And I was tired of letting her walk all over me all the time... so I snapped."

Even I was shocked after I uttered those words. I was surprised that I could come up with a lie as good as that so easily.

I felt warm hands on my shoulders suddenly and I glanced up quickly to find Zevran watching me intently. "Why didn’t you say anything about this to me or Caelum yesterday?" He asked,

And I lowered my head again, answering in a shaky voice; "Because I was tired of letting you guys fight for me all the time; and also because I feared you guys would punish her more severely than I ever could."

His eyes softened slightly when he heard me say that, but then hardened again before he looked away.

He seethed; "I do not completely believe you, Chalice. I don’t know why but I feel like there are many inconsistencies in your story."

My face fell almost instantly when I heard him say that, and cold sweat broke out on my skin.

Wait, hades, did he speak to Leilani first?

DID HE?!