Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Jenna:

The last few days had been perfect.

Theodore would look at me and smile.

Gigi told me she had been talking to him about me, easing him into the idea of me, and it was working pretty well.

I mean, she told me he had said that he liked my smile and that he liked the fact that, despite Lady Lucille always being on my back, I still managed to find time to do the things I enjoyed.

For example, spending time with Gigi.

One thing I knew for a fact was that he respected Gigi a lot.

So, if I wanted to stay in his good books, I needed to make sure I respected her and treated her well.

I did anyway.

To be honest, I really liked her.

That was one of the reasons he liked me even more.

And today, she had shown up saying she had something important to tell me.

"Hi," I said shyly, sitting down on the couch.

Earlier, I had seen Theodore and Gigi leave for his bedroom for a little tea time.

So I knew whatever she had to say to me had to be about him.

She would usually get things out of him, then come straight to me and tell me everything.

We had become such close friends that I could rely on her completely, and I knew she would lead me in the right direction.

She had also shared her experience of abuse with me, and honestly, I felt so bad for her.

I began to see Lady Lucille in a slightly different light.

I mean, I guess it was sweet of her to take care of me, but her need for control was too much.

And just because she was giving me so much didn’t mean I had to agree with everything she did.

Her treatment of Gigi was really unfair.

Gigi had done nothing wrong to be treated the way her ex had treated her.

And, well, that ex turned out to be Miss Verity’s brother.

"Tell me," I urged Gigi excitedly, rubbing my hands together.

"So, Theodore is keen, very keen, on nightlife. You know that, right?" she remarked casually, leaning back on the sofa and crossing one leg over the other.

The confidence in her posture was always so mesmerizing.

The way she carried herself, oh my goodness.

She didn’t have a single ounce of jealousy or insecurity in her.

"Yeah, I know," I replied, smiling shyly whenever I talked about him.

"Well, it turns out he’s even more interested in role-play masquerade parties," she continued, making my pout deepen as my cheeks warmed.

Just the thought of what those parties were like made me feel goosebumps.

"You know, they wear masks, they go to these places, or wherever, and they stay in character. They change their voices, they act differently. They’re usually fun parties. A lot of people do end up having, you know, one-night stands. But not Theodore." She shook her head confidently.

"He said he’d been waiting at those parties for someone special. But no one has ever made him feel a certain way, like—" she explained with animated hand gestures before trailing off, searching for the perfect word.

"Do you think I should go to one of those parties?" I asked.

I had to sound like I had some ideas too. That I wasn’t completely clueless, just waiting for an opportunity to arrive.

She looked at me, smiled, and snapped her fingers.

"That’s exactly what I was going to suggest. I just didn’t know if you’d be okay with it since, you know, I don’t think Lady Lucille would be very happy with you staying out until early morning."

Those words from Gigi really concerned me because they would mean a lot of trouble.

Not just from Lady Lucille, but from my mother too.

My mother had specifically told me that I could pursue Theodore all I wanted, as long as I wasn’t changing myself or my habits for him.

Or, in simpler words, as long as I wasn’t doing something I wasn’t supposed to do.

"And, well, Theodore had been asking me—" She suddenly paused, and my ears perked up.

"What did he ask you? Tell me," I insisted, realizing she was holding back.

"I don’t know. He kind of trusts me a lot," she admitted, leaning back and cracking her knuckles.

"Please tell me," I pleaded again.

"He was asking me, hypothetically, if Jenna would agree to going to a masquerade party. And if she did, what character she’d be. I don’t know. It just felt like he was planting the idea in my head to bring you there."

Gigi immediately looked over when Theodore showed up.

She placed a finger against her lips, silently telling me not to say anything.

I immediately shifted in my seat, feeling so happy.

At the same time, Gigi kept giving me warning glances, reminding me not to smile so brightly that I’d give away our cover.

Theodore joined us at the living room table, looking as casual as ever, but he was holding something.

It was a black mask that covered the upper half of the face. The lips remained visible, while black feathers flared out from the sides of the cheeks.

"So, I was thinking about heading to a masquerade party tonight," Theodore began, making me glance at Gigi as we both pressed our lips together.

We were trying to hold back our smiles because I already knew why he was bringing it up.

He really wanted me there.

Oh my goodness. It felt like my dream was coming true.

"So," Gigi prompted with a shrug.

"If you girls aren’t doing anything, you should join the masquerade party too. Grab yourselves a mask, come up with a character, and, well, et voilà."

He spoke as calmly as ever.

"Anyway, I’ll be heading out now. I need to get a long black coat for tonight’s character."

With that, he picked up his black mask and walked out of the mansion.