Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Theodore:

"I think she just wanted to spend some time alone with me. Don’t take it personally," Jaguar said, flashing me a smile.

Things had gotten really awkward.

Gigi had no idea that I’d overheard her conversation, and once again, I felt terrible about it.

Part of me thought maybe she was acting this way because she felt awkward around me now.

But from the way she’d been talking, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

It sounded more like, behind my back, she was much closer friends with Jaguar than I’d realized.

"You know what? I’m coming to dinner too."

The minute I said that, I watched Jaguar shake his head.

"Man, she’ll think I told you. Please don’t do that," he said, getting up from the chair and patting my shoulder.

We had just sat down to discuss the whole issue with Ragnar and why Verity had been in his room while he was naked.

Now another problem had come up, and my head was already boiling.

"By the way, you heard what happened with Jenna yesterday, right?" Jaguar asked.

I nodded, my fists clenching and unclenching.

"I don’t think Jenna is a good influence."

Jaguar’s comment made me turn around and look at him.

"I think I heard something last time too. She was trying to use Gigi as an excuse to go out. I clearly told Gigi not to get too involved in those kinds of things," I said, remembering one incident when Gigi had told me how excited Jenna was to go out and try forbidden things, things her grandmother, our grandmother, and her mother didn’t allow.

"Good. I defended Jenna yesterday, but people like that aren’t good for our family. I mean, she can do whatever she wants, but not when it affects someone related to us or our reputation."

Jaguar had a point as he picked up the wine and began pouring it into two glasses.

"Anyway, forget it. How long is she even going to stay? Once the mate ball is over, she’ll have to go back. Or she’ll get admission in the college somewhere and leave."

I quickly dismissed the conversation.

"Listen, I won’t tell Gigi that you told me. I’ll just show up randomly, okay?" I told him.

He gave me a harsh look as I took the glass from his hand.

I downed the wine in one gulp and started walking out of the room.

For now, I had absolutely no energy to talk about anything else.

Jaguar was already planning to research that meeting of Ragnar’s, the one where Ragnar had only briefly attended a mate ball.

As I stepped out of Jaguar’s room and headed toward the living room, I saw Verity coming out of Ragnar’s room.

The moment she saw me, she startled as if I’d caught her doing something.

Her reaction immediately put me on alert.

I mean, it was daytime. She could have been in her boss’s room for any number of reasons.

Unless there was something about being there that she didn’t want me to know.

Then she had the nerve to shoot me a harsh look and start walking past me.

"Seems like you’ve been really busy these days," I commented from behind her.

She slowed down, turned around, and smiled at me.

"I’m not the one having movie nights with his ’friends’," she said, remembering that I’d told her I was going out with friends.

She had eventually found out from Ragnar, or maybe Jaguar, that I was actually having a movie night with Gigi.

I hadn’t thought I would have to explain myself.

"I don’t think I should have to answer for going to a movie night with my sister-in-law, my future sister-in-law."

The minute I said that, I watched her jaw clench.

It was a tiny reaction, but I noticed it.

Why? Why did the mention of Ragnar getting married bother her so much?

"You know what? Never mind. I have work to do," she commented, completely dismissing me, as if the intimate moment we’d shared in the kitchen meant nothing to her now.

I immediately reached for her hand, but she pulled away from me, looking very upset.

"Why are you so angry with me? What did I do?" I asked.

"Are you upset because I told you I was going out with friends, and it turned out I was going with Gigi?" I asked as I placed my hands against the wall on either side of her.

She kept facing away from me, her profile turned toward me as I caged her between myself and the wall.

It looked like she was ready to knock one of my hands away at any moment and escape.

"I don’t know what your problem is, but it seems like you need to clear your head first," she commented, turning to face me.

Her hand hovered near my forearm, as if she were debating whether to push me away.

"Maybe you forgot I sent you a text. Do you remember your response?"

There was a harsh look on her face as she said that.

I was confused because Gigi had never really spoken to me like that before.

Even when she had issues with me, especially during the whole situation with me investigating her brother, she had never snapped at me like that.

So I was surprised. This side of a woman was new to me.

"I was dealing with some issues, so I wasn’t in the best mood," I replied, confused as to why she would get so riled up over a single text.

"Okay, I’m sorry," I added, smiling like a fool.

"There are times when I’m not in the best mood either, Theodore. Anyway, I know you were at Gigi’s place, and she was upset, which is why you were in such a bad mood. And that upsets me because you were so worried about someone else being upset that you decided to upset me."

Her words stunned me for a moment.

"Verity, Gigi is not just ’someone,’" I snapped, trying to remind her not to drag Gigi into this.

But before I could say anything else, she slapped my hand away as harshly as she could.

"Right. Sorry I crossed my boundary." With that, she pulled herself away from me while I stared at her in utter shock.