Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

I had finally dressed up and left my room again.

It was pretty hard for me to walk in those high heels and this big dress, but I had managed it.

Everything was already done.

Jaguar had taken Lady Lucille to the grand hall, and I heard Ragnar had arrived with Gigi as well.

Theodore was already there.

It was just me, Mrs. Bundy, and Jenna now.

"Is Jenna ready?" I asked Mrs. Bundy as I approached the guest wing.

Mrs. Bundy looked up from her phone and gave me a long look. Well, she did not seem very happy to see me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, since she had her lips pursed and was just looking me over.

"This is such a pretty gown. My daughter should have been wearing this," she complained, making me take a moment to understand what she was saying.

"Your daughter picked that gown, and it’s really pretty," I said to her.

She began to shake her head.

"She looks like just a regular woman," she complained, making my jaw drop.

To be honest, Jenna looked incredibly gorgeous as she walked out of her room.

But her mother seemed to be the kind of person who would never let her feel that way, never even compliment her.

I had noticed quite a few times by now that whenever Jenna did something, it was met with harsh criticism from none other than her own mother.

And the way her eyes met mine, it was as if a light shimmered through them.

"I need to–" Jenna had only managed to say when her mother grabbed her hand and pulled her away from me.

"We will walk into the grand hall first, and then you will come," her mother said, practically dragging Jenna away.

But Jenna kept looking at me, turning her head back.

I immediately began to walk behind them, but every time I got too close, her mother would shove her hand back, practically stopping me physically and putting distance between us.

Then they made their entrance into the grand hall as planned.

Everybody clapped. Some cheered while admiring Jenna with their nods.

They began to sing the birthday song almost immediately.

I came afterward, and the minute I stepped out from behind Jenna as she reached the table with the cake on it, I watched everyone’s eyes turn to me.

There were practically a lot of them.

But my eyes remained on Ragnar, Jaguar, and Theodore.

Ragnar looked up at me, tilted his head, and then looked away with a very bored expression on his face.

That was expected of him. I mean, his arm was practically wrapped around Gigi’s waist, so of course there was no way he would notice me.

But Theodore and Jaguar both seemed to have been standing separately with drinks in their hands, and now their mouths were agape.

I went in and joined the crowd, respecting Jenna’s mother’s demand.

Jenna cut the cake, and everything else happened as planned.

The starters, literally everything.

Then, after she fed everyone the cake, starting with her grandma, then her mother, her father, and the Alpha King brothers, the music started playing.

When it was time for her to feed Gigi the cake, she suddenly walked toward me instead.

I saw Gigi’s mouth fall open.

Then she immediately shut it. It was actually a very awkward situation.

It only happened for a split second, but I could only imagine the scar it left on Gigi’s ego.

"Thank you for planning such a pretty birthday for me," Jenna said as she held out the cake for me.

I took a bite and gave her a smile.

"I’m glad you liked it," I said, trying to read her expression.

Although she was thanking me for the birthday, she did not look happy, which made me realize it had nothing to do with the preparations after all.

"I was—," And just as I was thinking about that, she started to speak, but I saw her mother grab her arm and pull her away from me.

"How many times have I told you not to be seen with her? If they photograph you with her, she will overshadow you."

The demeaning words made Jenna look at me and then at her mother.

She tried to remove her mother’s fingers from around her arm, but her mother was holding her really tight.

"Now come on, go and stand with the others," her mother insisted, pointing toward one of the groups of girls that she had practically gathered.

And I did not want to think that way, but knowing her mother, I could tell it had been done meticulously because she thought those were the least attractive women and that her daughter would stand out among them.

Which was complete BS because Jenna didn’t need any help to stand out.

She had a very remarkable beauty.

She could make heads turn, but well, her mother did not give her that confidence.

"I just need to have a talk with her mom, please," I heard Jenna request, but her mother had already dragged her away.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

I did not want to snap at her mother right now, but I was going to have a talk with her, or I would talk to Ragnar so that he could stop the woman from bullying her own daughter.

I mean, this was the moment when Jenna’s confidence needed to grow, but her mother was constantly pointing out little things that I bet even Jenna had never noticed.

"So this is your revenge dress?" I heard Jaguar say from behind me, and my spine straightened just a little bit.

I tried not to show it, though. I turned around to him very casually, looked him up and down, and then looked away.

"I see you’re still mad at me," he commented, all smiles.

I forced a smile onto my lips, but I did not turn around to speak with him.

I could tell that was kind of bothering him because he then moved forward a little bit to get my attention.

"What is going on? How long are you going to ignore me?" he questioned, making me look around to make sure nobody was watching us.

Yes, everybody’s eyes were on us. Lady Lucille, Mr. and Mrs. Bundy, Theodore, and even Ragnar.

In fact, Gigi was looking in our direction too.

I didn’t know why the two of us couldn’t stand together without attracting attention.

But we kept our expressions very neutral, as if we were just having a casual conversation.

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"If virginity did not matter to you, why did you remind me of it? Is this how you are? Do you take revenge over little things on the people you claim to care for?"

As I posed my questions, I watched Jaguar gulp.