Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Gigi:

For the first time, I was standing in front of him sobbing uncontrollably, and instead of pulling me into his arms, apologizing, or trying to comfort me, he told me to leave.

My crying quieted into small hiccups.

Slowly, I lowered my hands and stared at him.

"Go stay with your parents for now," he added. "If you stay here, it’s going to make things difficult for me."

Difficult how?

He didn’t explain.

As far as I was concerned, he was the one making everything difficult for me.

I lowered my hands completely and clenched my fists.

"Right," I muttered, swallowing hard. "I should leave."

I turned away dramatically and went to get my bag.

As I walked toward the door, I deliberately slowed my steps, hoping he would stop me.

He didn’t.

I stormed out.

Still crying, I hurried down the hallway and nearly stopped when I saw Theodore.

He was carrying a tray with a glass of milk, some fruit, and a sandwich, heading toward the left wing.

Toward Verity.

All of this was happening right in front of me.

And I was doing nothing about it.

My steps suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

From there to the main gate, I had to force one foot in front of the other. Even then, it felt like I was barely moving.

And I still had to cross the parking lot and get into my car.

The fact that Ragnar had told me to leave this late at night only made everything weigh on me more.

Then my mind went back to that moment when I had completely humiliated myself in front of Theodore.

And what had he done?

He had chosen Verity.

Whatever was going on between them, it wasn’t normal. This wasn’t just some boss and employee dynamic.

There was something between them.

But why?

Why would Theodore choose someone like Verity?

My head was spinning by the time I finally reached my car and climbed inside.

For a while, I just sat behind the steering wheel in silence.

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind at once, each one heavier than the last.

Everything was falling apart.

My brother was in the hospital, and no one was giving him blood.

My parents were crying.

I was being humiliated.

Theodore was choosing someone else.

Ragnar suspected me.

I didn’t even know where Jaguar was.

Jenna had lashed out at me. Her mother had humiliated me. Even Grandma barely acknowledged me anymore, as if I were something filthy she didn’t want to look at.

Then one thought rose above everything else.

Verity.

All of this had started after Verity came into our lives.

Before her, everything had been fine.

I knew this much: if I didn’t take some major step now, my position would only grow weaker.

So, while I was still here, I decided to make one last attempt to regain control over these brothers.

I turned the car around and drove to Rochelle’s house to cook up some plan.

Usually, we informed each other before showing up, but lately, Rochelle had stopped doing that. She came to my house whenever she wanted. In fact, sometimes I would wake up and find her in my kitchen, cooking.

So I figured it would be fine if I showed up at her place unannounced too.

And I was so glad I did.

I had barely parked the car, stepped out, and entered the house when I heard voices coming from one of the bedrooms.

I knew her parents and sister would be asleep, which meant Rochelle was the one still awake.

She was on the phone with someone.

When I reached the door, I realized she wasn’t talking to just anyone.

She was talking to one of our common friend.

"Yeah, Gigi calls you fat. You know that?"

I frowned.

Why were they talking about me?

And why were they discussing things I had told Rochelle in confidence? Those were supposed to stay between the two of us.

"And look what happened to her," Rochelle continued. "Her brother turned out to be such a huge scumbag. You know what? Sometimes karma comes back to people right in front of their faces."

My heart sank.

"Gigi had gotten way too much attitude too. Didn’t you see the way she used to interfere with everything, acting like she was some kind of queen?"

This wasn’t Jules speaking.

It was Rochelle.

And every word made my chest tighten.

"But now we’ll see how long that lasts. Gigi’s hold over them is gone, I can tell you that much. Not one of those brothers even checked on her while she was there."

Rochelle scoffed.

"She was sitting in the corner crying, asking me whether any of them had contacted me to check on her. Those three brothers are tired of her, trust me. That fake little innocent act she puts on in front of them? She’s nothing like that, and we both know it."

My jaw clenched as I listened.

Then Rochelle said something that made me freeze.

"And I don’t know why, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel like Gigi must have known what her brother was doing."

I could barely believe what I was hearing.

"I mean, she said the same thing about Verity, didn’t she? And Verity’s brother only had one victim connected to that whole situation. Gigi’s brother had almost every girl around him as a victim."

Rochelle paused before adding, "In fact, once he even made me believe there might be something between us, slept with me, and then threw me out of his life."

I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Yes, my brother had done that to her.

But Rochelle wasn’t completely innocent either. She knew perfectly well that she was sleeping with a cheater and a playboy.

Still, I stood there stunned by everything I was hearing.

"Very soon, Gigi will be out of their lives," Rochelle continued with another scoff. "And even if she stays, she won’t have the same importance anymore."

Then she added, "Meanwhile, my father is planning to speak to Alpha King Ragnar about me and Jaguar."

I immediately covered my mouth with both hands, terrified that even the smallest sound might give me away.

"No, no, everything will be fine," Rochelle went on. "I refused to pursue this match through Gigi. Her own reputation is a disaster right now. If my name stays too closely associated with hers, it’ll only create more problems for me."

I couldn’t believe one of my own friends could be this cruel.

I left her house without confronting her.

But as I walked away, I made myself a promise.

I would find my way back into those brothers’ hearts.

And this time, I would become so deeply rooted in their lives that even if they wanted to remove me, they wouldn’t be able to.