The Triplet Alphas' Forbidden Temptation

Terence was dead. At least, Yuki was seriously considering murdering him.

He was still the same annoying brat he had always been, completely oblivious to the chaos he was creating. Yuki forced out a nervous laugh and waved her hand dismissively, hoping to make the entire conversation sound ridiculous before it went any further.

”He’s making things up,” she insisted lightly, reaching for her glass. ”You shouldn’t encourage him, Aevia.”

Aevia completely ignored her attempt to dismiss the subject. Instead, she turned towards Terence with a genuinely curious expression and rested her fork against the edge of her plate.

”Who was he?” she asked, her voice calm but expectant.

Yuki’s stomach dropped. Her fingers stopped around the stem of her glass as her eyes instinctively flickered towards Kieran. The senior from Xyrus Academy was him. Kieran was the secret crush she had spent years hiding, the man whose image had once filled the pages of a sketchbook she had been too embarrassed to let anyone see. It was a part of her past she desperately wanted to forget, especially after the rejection.

Terence opened his mouth, and panic immediately seized her.

”It was nothing, Aevia,” Yuki rushed out, forcing a laugh as she lowered her glass. ”It was just a silly crush.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Alexander’s lips curved into a rare smile as he leaned back in his chair. He looked amused rather than suspicious as he lifted his glass and took a leisurely sip.

”A silly crush wouldn’t make you panic this much,” he remarked casually.

Yuki’s face went pale. Aevia immediately nodded in agreement, her curiosity deepening as she leaned slightly closer.

”Exactly. There’s no need to be shy, Yuki,” she assured her warmly. ”You’re going to be a Ravencourt soon, and any man would be honoured to have you.”

Yuki’s fingers tightened around her fork, but before she could respond, a short scoff came from across the table. Her gaze shifted towards Killian. He wore a faint smile that immediately made her suspicious. He took another slow sip from his glass before setting it down with deliberate ease.

”As a Ravencourt heiress, you shouldn’t be shy about something like this,” he remarked, his voice casual and almost brotherly. ”There’s nothing embarrassing about having liked someone.”

Yuki didn’t like the sound of his tone. She lowered her gaze and nudged a piece of food around her plate with her fork, desperately searching for a way to end the conversation. Kieran spoke before she could find one.

”He was a senior from Xyrus’s postgraduate programme too. Kieran should know him,” he asked, his voice calm and mildly curious.

Yuki’s fork nearly slipped from her fingers. Kieran’s own hand paused beside his plate as a distant memory surfaced. He remembered the night Yuki had confessed something to Maverick. He remembered sitting nearby and the awkwardness that had followed after the rejection. Then he remembered Maverick was technically her personal guard. How convenient.

”The college is large,” Kieran replied after a brief pause, keeping his expression composed. ”I might not know the person.”

Yuki’s stomach churned.

”But you should know the lecturers,” Killian pointed out, glancing between them. ”It wouldn’t be difficult to find out who...”

”It was just a silly, short-term crush,” Yuki interrupted desperately, her voice coming out louder than intended. She quickly lowered it and gave an embarrassed smile. ”For crying out loud, everyone has those.”

Killian slowly shook his head, his fingers curling around his glass. ”I don’t think I’ve ever had a silly, short-term crush,” he said thoughtfully, his tone calm but strangely pointed. ”Feelings don’t disappear that easily.”

The words made Yuki’s chest tighten. Of course he had to remind her that he had loved Eloise for years and had never looked at anyone else. She forced out a dry laugh and picked up her glass, taking a small sip before replying.

”Well, not everyone is like you,” she said with a faint edge of spite. ”You’ve been obsessed with one person your entire life. Healthy teenagers have several crushes.”

A short laugh escaped Kaden. He leaned back against his chair and rotated his glass between his fingers, amusement briefly replacing the irritation that had been sitting on his face since the meal began.

”In other words, you don’t have a loyal heart,” he teased, his voice light. ”Your heart sounds pretty adventurous.”

Yuki narrowed her eyes at him. She had assumed Kaden was going to remain silent throughout the meal, so his sudden sense of humour caught her completely off guard. Before she could respond, Terence happily joined the conversation again.

”It wasn’t that silly,” he announced, completely unaware of the danger he was creating.

Yuki’s eyes widened. Terence continued eating as though nothing was wrong, casually reaching for another piece of food.

”You drew him all the time. He was really handsome too,” Terence added cheerfully.

Yuki’s hand froze around her fork. Aevia’s eyes immediately lit up with interest. She leaned forward slightly, her curiosity no longer subtle.

”You drew him?”

Terence nodded enthusiastically. ”Very detailed ones too. She had several sketches of him. It was practically an obsession.”

Yuki’s grip tightened around her fork until the metal pressed hard against the porcelain. A faint scrape escaped beneath her hand. She wanted to wash Terence’s mouth out with toilet water. She hadn’t realised he had seen the sketches. If he had seen them, then he knew exactly who her crush was. Worse, he knew that the person she had secretly drawn was sitting at the very same table.

What exactly are you trying to do?

Yuki slowly turned towards Terence, but the boy was completely occupied with his food, chewing with an innocent expression that made her irritation burn hotter. Aevia’s attention remained fixed on Yuki. The warmth in her expression had been replaced by heavy curiosity, and Yuki could feel the pressure of her gaze without even looking up.

Kieran swallowed slowly as his thoughts began connecting the information. He kept his expression neutral, but the mention of the sketchbook had caught his attention. He couldn’t help wondering who the man was. The thought of Yuki having a sketchbook filled with Maverick’s pictures suddenly entered his mind. He tried to dismiss it, but another memory followed. He remembered all those times she had bought coffee for Maverick, the way she constantly chose him as her course adviser and found excuses to ask him questions whenever Maverick was around. She had always seemed so interested in Maverick.

Kieran’s brows drew together as he stared at his plate. She loved Maverick that much. So when did those feelings disappear?

His fork moved almost unconsciously. He began cutting into a piece of food, but his thoughts were so far away that he didn’t notice how much pressure he was applying. The blade scraped repeatedly against the porcelain until Killian’s voice finally reached him through the mind link.

’You’re going to break the plate.’

Kieran stopped. He looked down and realised he had nearly cut through the porcelain beneath the food. His fingers loosened around the fork before he slowly placed it beside his plate. When he glanced towards Killian, his brother was already watching him. His expression was unreadable, but there was something about his stare that made Kieran’s stomach tighten. Kieran looked away.

He had no idea how wrong his assumption was. Yuki had never been close to Maverick because she was interested in him. She had bought two cups of coffee because she had secretly hoped Kieran would take one. She had chosen Maverick as her course adviser because she knew Kieran was always around him. If Yuki could hear what was going through Kieran’s mind, she probably would have choked on her water.

”Please stop,” Yuki pleaded, her voice strained as she looked towards Terence. She knew she needed to end this before he revealed something worse. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Yuki drew in a slow breath, then looked towards Aevia with an apologetic smile. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She apologised mentally to Maverick before adding, ”It was Maverick,” she confessed quickly.

The effect was immediate. The table fell silent. Yuki’s heart hammered against her ribs as she continued before anyone could interrupt.

”I confessed to him, and he rejected me,” she explained, twisting the corner of her napkin beneath the table. ”Kieran was there.”

Kaden’s eyebrows rose, and a short laugh escaped him before he could stop it. ”Maverick?” he repeated, sounding genuinely amused.

Yuki nodded quickly. ”Yes.”

She turned towards Aevia, hoping to end the conversation before another question could expose the truth she had spent years hiding. ”I’m already over it,” she assured her, her voice becoming quieter. ”Besides, with Maverick’s position, things would be awkward. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t like me.”

She lowered her gaze and finally picked up her fork again, pretending the matter was settled.