The Three Who Chose Me

Kiel

I grabbed Josie’s arm before she could move further, my fingers curling around her wrist with a desperation I could barely mask. My heart thundered in my chest, loud and violent. The sight of Michelle standing there, crocodile tears streaming down her face like some kind of cheap drama queen, was enough to make my blood boil. I clenched my jaw hard enough to crack my own teeth and turned to face her fully.

"You really consider yourself a woman?" I hissed, venom dripping from every word.

Michelle blinked at me, slow and deliberate. Her lips trembled, but the tears in her eyes? They weren’t real. I’d seen real sorrow — Josie’s broken silence, her hesitant laughter, her fragile strength. This... this was theater.

"If I wasn’t," Michelle said, her voice thick with pretend sorrow, "you wouldn’t have climbed my bed."

I let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Michelle, if you were the only woman left on this damn planet, I’d still rather die celibate."

Varen, standing to my left, burst out laughing and slapped my shoulder with a fist-bump. "Brutal," he muttered.

Michelle’s face twisted — it was a flicker, barely visible, but I saw it. That mask she wore, it cracked for a second. And that glimpse behind it? Ugly. Dangerous.

"You think this is funny?" she sneered.

"I think you’re a liar," I said, voice rising. "And I’m going to prove it. You don’t deserve to be Luna — not now, not ever."

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, glaring at me with that snake-like glint in her eyes. "Is that what you told her too?" she asked, gesturing toward Josie. "Feeding her pretty words while you shared my bed?"

I took a step forward, fists clenched. "You better watch your mouth."