Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Theodore:

As I drove back home, memories of Gigi kept flooding my mind. Her laughter, the way she talked, everything.

I had treated her terribly.

But what was I supposed to do?

I couldn’t have left Verity.

If I could go back to last night and find myself standing between Gigi and Verity again, what would I do?

I kept thinking about that question until I reached home and stepped into the living room.

My gaze drifted toward the wing where Verity’s room was.

I stood there silently for a moment before slowly heading in that direction.

And that was when I finally had my answer.

If I were given the same choice again, I would do exactly what I had done before.

I wouldn’t leave Verity alone.

It wasn’t my fault.

Gigi had Ragnar. The fact that they ended up arguing was different, and even then, Gigi had made a mistake.

It wasn’t some unforgivable crime, but in her innocence, she had involved too many people in trying to find out what Ragnar was doing.

If she had simply trusted us, maybe things wouldn’t have escalated this far.

But there was no point thinking about what could have happened differently now.

Gigi was missing, and every one of us was worried.

As soon as I entered the wing, I wasn’t sure whether it was right to bother her at that hour.

Morning had already arrived, and we had spent almost the entire night outside.

I decided not to disturb her too much, so I had just turned around to leave when I heard her voice coming from behind me.

"Theodore?"

She said my name with such innocent softness that I couldn’t stop myself from turning back.

When I did, I found her staring at me with those beautiful wide eyes.

"Theodore, what happened?" she asked, walking toward me. "Where were you all night?"

At first, I just stood there silently, staring at her.

Then I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing my face against her stomach as I started to cry.

"What’s going on?" she asked, immediately sounding worried as she ran her fingers through my hair.

Then she knelt down, loosening my arms from around herself so we could be at eye level.

One hand rested on my shoulder while the other rubbed gently over my chest. She leaned closer, studying my face.

"What happened? What’s going on? Tell me. Why are you crying like this?"

Her hand moved to my cheek, caressing it softly.

"I can’t choose anyone else but you," I told her. "And I would make the same choice again and again."

Her eyes widened.

"Come on. Get up. Let’s go to my room," she urged, helping me to my feet before anyone else could wake up and see us.

She pulled me into her bedroom and locked the door behind us.

Then she made me sit on the bed and settled so close to me that she was almost in my lap.

"What’s going on with you? Why are you so upset? Did something happen?" she kept asking, her eyes fixed on my face as though she had never seen me like this before.

Her hands never stopped caressing my cheeks.

"Verity, I chose you, and now Gigi is gone."

The moment I said it, she jumped off my lap.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

I could hear the pain in her voice. The news had clearly shaken her.

"I don’t know. Gigi left. She was angry with everyone. She had an argument last night, and..." I paused, looking at her. "Ragnar found out that Gigi was the one who sent you to the attic."

I watched her carefully as I explained.

"What do you mean? That’s not true. She didn’t send me."

As expected, Verity immediately started defending Gigi.

Ragnar had been right. Verity carried so much unnecessary guilt that she defended Gigi in almost every situation, even when it only made things worse.

And now I understood why.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn’t believe Gigi had been unaware of how guilty Verity already felt.

That was exactly what she should have considered before giving her a task like that.

Verity wasn’t going to stop and weigh what was right or wrong.

She was too focused on redeeming herself for something she didn’t even need redemption for.

"Verity," I said, taking her hand and pulling her back into my lap.

The way she gently wiped the tears from my eyes nearly broke me all over again.

"You don’t need to defend her. Ragnar knows everything. That’s what they argued about, and afterward, he told her to go home."

I paused before continuing.

Then I told her what had happened afterward, including how Gigi’s parents had arrived and blamed us for everything.

Verity looked deeply worried.

"But that isn’t your fault, and it isn’t Ragnar’s either," she said. "Arguments happen, but..oh God, where is Gigi now? I’m going to lose my mind."

She jumped off my lap again, small whimpers escaping her as she began pacing around the room.

I felt awful for coming here and breaking down in front of her.

I hadn’t cried only because Gigi was gone.

Of course I was devastated about that.

But seeing Verity had made me realize something else.

I needed her.

I couldn’t fucking imagine my life without her anymore. I wanted her to be part of everything.

When I found out Gigi had disappeared, a part of me had immediately wondered what would happen if Verity ever left me like that.

Ragnar was strong enough to endure something like this.

I wasn’t.

I would lose my mind.

I walked over to Verity, turned her toward me, and pulled her into my arms, catching her off guard.

"Theodore, you’re not blaming yourself, are you?" she asked softly. "You’re not thinking this is your fault?"

That was the thing about my Verity.

She understood me so well.

"I need you. I love you, Verity."

The moment I pulled away from the hug, I confessed and dropped to my knees in front of her.