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

Leilani.

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you felt like you had just made a very grave mistake, but you do not know how you did it or why your guts keep hammering on the fact that you’ve made a mistake even though you do not know what it is?

If yes, then you would understand how I feel now as I looked into the strangely familiar, yet foreign eyes before me.

My hands balled into fists on their own accord by my sides and my lips, the bottom one, trembled with fright when he rose to his feet in front of me.

In the street, I hadn’t seen his full size because at the moment— well you know, I was about to pass out. But right now, right now that all my senses were intact and working at full capacity, I gasped.

Why?

Because he was ginormous.

Readers, give me another word for ginormous and that was exactly what he was!

He stood at almost seven feet— and I am not exaggerating, with shoulders so broad, they could’ve protected me from the rain outside without him having to bring me in.

My throat instantly went dry at the sight and I gulped. "What?"

"I said, is Darius still alive? I never knew he was!" The man said quickly, a flicker of something akin to surprise, it was that amazement, crossing his eyes before he immediately toned it down.

He cast me another look, one that appeared softer than it should, and asked; "Who are you? How do you know even who Darius is?"

But I should be the one asking such questions, am I right?

I should be the one wondering how he knows Darius in order to ascertain if I was in an enemy’s territory or not!

I wanted to speak but my words failed me, so I settled for something less tasking; I shook my head.

He frowned, his purple eyes narrowing at me. "You do not know who Darius is?"

Again I shook my head. "You know him?" He asked, and when I shook my head again, irritation crossed his face and he snapped;

"Damn child, you are beautiful! You should be smart as well!"

What is it with people calling me child today?

It took a moment for his insult to settle and when it finally did, I felt my face heat up with embarrassment. I lowered my head almost instantly, my face burning up as I hissed through gritted teeth.

"I am not dumb."

"Well, I never said you were!" He shot back at me, and then turned away to return to his former position which was: sitting lazily on his expensive couch and sipping tea.

"Now, answer me in clear terms, my dear, do you know Darius?"

For a moment, I wanted to speak but because I didn’t know who he was... Hell, I didn’t even trust him to begin with, so I settled for; "I know him. Only from a distance because we work together sometimes."

"Darius works?"

The man sounded stunned when he heard that, and figuring that he probably knows Darius as the lazy bone that he was, I nodded briskly.

"Not really. He oversees a company headed by the Valemonts. But that is all I know."

At the mention of that, a dark shadow crossed his face and he nodded once again, his slow smile returning as he drawled; "Thank you."

"Well, I should be the one thanking you." I said softly whilst rising to my feet. "It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr..." I said, letting my voice trail off so that he would supply me with his name.

"Just call me the Good Samaritan." He answered, still smiling.

I frowned, but deciding not to bother about it, I said softly; "Thank you, Mr Good Samaritan."

And with that, I stumbled to my feet and began to paddle away from him towards the large double doors ahead.

However, I had just arrived by the door when he suddenly called out to me, his voice crisp but steady as he said; "Why don’t you stay the night?"

I spun around quickly and shook my head. "No."

"You should." He answered with certainty. "It’s raining heavily outside. You do not have shoes or suitable clothes and you’ve not eaten anything yet."

"But—"

"I know you worry about me, child," he drawled softly, "...but not in the way it sounded. You worry that I am not a good person. You are smart enough to know that I cannot be trusted, and that is true..." he trailed off, his piercing eyes on mine.

"Yes," I stuttered.

"But I hold nothing against you." He answered. "I do not even know you or care about you, but my conscience would kill me if I let you out knowing fully well that it is unsafe. So stay."

I wanted to say no. Goddess, I wanted to scream, to hate myself for not having enough balls (not like I should have one, I am a girl!) to turn him down; but something about the way he looked at me made me feel alive in ways I couldn’t begin to explain. Something about his eyes set my blood on fire, but not in the way the triplets do.

I gulped as I turned around to fully face him and then I shrugged. "I will be fine."

"You will not." He answered quirkily, "...the fire in your eyes tells me that you would throw away my coat as soon as you walk out that door, and child, everything else besides that coat on your shoulders is flimsy."

"But—"

"I’ll leave the house if that will make you feel good." He cut in, interrupting me, "I do not live in NYC usually and only came into the city today. So trust me, you’ll be safe here. Okay?"

I didn’t know what to say or how to respond to that so I nodded instead.

"Good."

And with that, he stood up to leave, only to stop when I suddenly called out to him.

"Sir?"

He stopped, cocked his eyes when they met mine and hissed; "What?"

"The house is big enough for both of us. Like you said, it’s raining. So stay too." I drawled, feeling a blush creep up my face when he smiled softly at me.

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes," he smiled again, and with that, he walked up the stairs, leaving me to stare at his retreating frame in surprise and something else. Something else that felt like... admiration.

And warmth.

So much warmth.

It wasn’t until he was gone that I finally let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding, and it also wasn’t until that moment that I realized my knees were shaking so much, it was a miracle how I was still standing.

A small smile spread across my face at the thought— a smile that soon disappeared when an ’Old guard-coded’ bodyguard walked up to me and stretched out his arms.

He said; "This way, Miss...?"

"Leilani." I whispered. "Miss Leilani."

And with that, I followed him, blissfully unaware of the piercing eyes that followed me as I went, or the way the owner of those said eyes had gasped in surprise upon hearing my name.