Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Gigi:

"Mistakes have happened here and there, but we stayed loyal to our friendship and to Ragnar," I explained, deliberately twisting the situation for him.

His eyebrows shot up.

"We moved past the tension," I added.

"Wait. Have you and Jaguar ever...?" He gestured toward the mansion, his eyes widening even more.

"Similar mistakes have happened, like what happened between you and me, but we simply move past them because we’re close. We don’t dwell on those things or make them weird. We don’t turn them into something explicit," I murmured.

Theodore slowly shook his head.

"But that’s strange. Isn’t that almost like cheating or something?" he asked, still trying to make sense of it.

"Have you ever seen me restrain myself around Ragnar? He knows we’re playful, and he doesn’t care. It’s like best friends wrestling around with each other. It only becomes awkward when you make it awkward."

I softened my expression.

"Those kinds of mistakes aren’t supposed to ruin a friendship. That’s why I’ve decided to distance myself from you. I don’t think you’re ready for that kind of deep friendship."

Theodore slowly rubbed the back of his neck.

Well, I had lied about one thing.

Jaguar did feel awkward.

But I hadn’t lied about the fact that this kind of mistake had happened between us before.

"Come on, let’s go inside so we can have dinner and then play truth or dare," I said, holding out my hand to him.

He stared at it for a moment, making me wonder what he was going to do. Then he suddenly took my hand and smiled.

We headed back inside. Jaguar was already there, which made me feel even more confident about my plan.

After dinner, we settled on my bed in my bedroom to play truth or dare. I had a lot planned for the night.

At the same time, I couldn’t help wondering about my brother and Verity. He must be having some fun of his own.

This night was going to be interesting, especially with everything we always managed to get ourselves into.

"Truth or dare?" I asked Theodore, curling my lips into a mischievous smile.

"Um, this time I’m gonna pick truth," he replied, making me roll my eyes.

"What a loser," I teased, even though I had wanted him to choose truth.

That was why I’d been acting as though I had a terrible dare planned for him, hoping he wouldn’t pick it.

"Well, it is what it is," he remarked, holding the bottle and getting ready to spin it once his turn was over.

"Do you like someone?" I asked.

I watched him carefully as something seemed to cross his mind. His eyes immediately lit up, raising my hopes.

He zoned out for a second, smiling to himself, while Jaguar and I pointed at him. Jaguar had clearly noticed the same thing I had.

With a shy nod, Theodore made my heart skip a beat. He glanced at me, then lowered his gaze.

"Wait a minute. Who is it?" Jaguar immediately questioned him, seeming genuinely surprised that his brother liked someone and had kept it to himself.

"Well, I already answered once. I’m not gonna answer again. And the answer would probably blow your minds, too. Let’s just leave it here."

Every word Theodore said made me blush even harder.

So that was it. It had taken only one moment for him to realize he liked me.

Now it made sense.

It was forbidden love.

"Anyway, let’s move forward," I said, not wanting to pressure Theodore, who glanced at me before lowering his gaze.

Thank God. Of course, I wouldn’t want him to embarrass himself by confessing his feelings for me.

He had already made it clear that he couldn’t bring himself to express his feelings for the woman he had a crush on.

Still, I was happy.

"You go now," I told Theodore.

He spun the bottle, and it landed directly on Jaguar.

"Truth. I’m picking truth," Jaguar muttered, pointing accusingly at Theodore for not telling him he had a crush on someone.

"Fine, then you tell us. Do you like someone?" Theodore asked, patting his brother’s shoulder.

I giggled as I sat with the brothers, the three of us forming a triangle.

"Well, yes, I have a crush on someone too, but she’s kind of forbidden," Jaguar mumbled, immediately lowering his gaze after his eyes met mine.

I bit the inside of my cheek as heat rushed to my face, playfully tucking my hair behind my ear.

Tonight was the best night.

I had a feeling they both liked me, and I had to be the one.

I knew it.

The jealousy, the constant need for my attention, it all pointed to me.

The two of them zoned out for a while before I snapped my fingers between their faces.

"Come on, play the game," I teased.

Jaguar spun the bottle, and it landed on me.

I had been choosing dare, hoping they would give me something nasty. Something that would stir things up a little.

"Dare," I chose again, watching them exchange a look.

Then Theodore pulled a mint chocolate from his pocket.

So that was what he had been doing when he went out.

I hated mint mixed with anything.

"You have to try that," he told me, instantly ruining my mood.

Why were they so childish?

They had literally just admitted to having crushes on me. Shouldn’t they be doing something about it?

I figured they were holding themselves back because of their brother.

Without wasting a second, I grabbed the chocolate, took a bite, and handed it back to him.

I swallowed with difficulty while they laughed, giggled, and clapped.

"Moving on," I announced, spinning the bottle.

It landed on Jaguar this time.

"You know, I have to say, this game is getting boring like this," I commented, pulling a stack of truth-or-dare cards from under my pillow.

I had ordered them earlier, but I’d thought they might be too much, so I had hidden them there.

Now, though, I wanted to punish Jaguar.