Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

”You should take the bed,” Ragnar said before disappearing into the bathroom.

I had freshened up first and was already back in the room.

I was wearing a beige silk nightie, a short one-piece with thin straps.

I knew exactly what I had been doing when I packed it.

But right before stepping out of the bathroom, heat had rushed into my cheeks, and I’d thrown a robe over it at the last second.

I still wasn’t sure why.

The moment I walked into the room, I realized Ragnar probably wouldn’t have cared either way.

He stood by the window, his coat gone and his shirt partially open.

Thankfully, his back was turned to me.

Otherwise, I might have had to deal with the sight of all that muscle while already feeling awkward enough.

His bags had been moved off the couch.

Looking at it now, I realized it was actually a three-seater.

A narrow one, but still large enough for me.

The second Ragnar disappeared into the bathroom, I stretched out across it.

There was absolutely no way a man his size was fitting on that couch without hanging off the edge.

The bathroom door opened, and the moment Ragnar stepped out, I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

I could sense him pause beside the couch.

He was probably wondering why I’d ignored him and chosen the couch instead of the bed.

The silence stretched for a few seconds before I heard him move away.

Only then did I dare open my eyes a fraction.

The sight nearly stole the breath from my lungs.

He was shirtless.

The only thing he wore was a pair of black shorts.

His abs were the first thing that caught my attention. They were so well-defined, so perfectly sculpted, that they looked as though they had been drawn by hand. I gulped and silently thanked the Moon Goddess that the lamp on my side of the room was off. There was no way he could see that my eyes were slightly open.

A moment later, he turned around, and my gaze drifted to his back. The muscles there were just as impressive, carved with the same definition. Before climbing into bed, he picked up a bottle of lotion and rubbed it across his abs.

Ragnar was the last person I expected to see doing something as ordinary as applying lotion. Everything about him felt rigid and unreadable, like a mystery wrapped up in an enigma.

His phone suddenly rang. While setting the lotion aside, his gaze flickered toward the screen.

He leaned down from the side table and picked up his phone, quickly bringing it to his ear.

”Jaguar, what are you doing awake?”

My fists clenched against my pillow. Hearing the brothers interact always made me wonder how they had talked about my brother and what they planned to do with him. Did they sit down and discuss ways to hurt him? Was that how it happened?

I had so many questions and little to no answers.

”Really? Why didn’t she call me herself?”

Ragnar’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

”Yeah, don’t worry. I’m going to call her.”

He paused for a moment before muttering,

”Yeah, that son of a bitch.”

I couldn’t tell who he was talking about with such hostility.

Then he ended the call. I watched him lower the phone and tilt his head back, stretching his neck as if trying to release the tension from his muscles. He rolled his shoulders before his eyes landed on me.

I quickly squeezed my eyes shut, afraid he might have noticed I was awake.

I slowly opened my eyes again.

The room was dark enough that he probably couldn’t tell I was awake, but I still watched him carefully. He stood there for a moment, staring in my direction as his jaw tightened.

My stomach twisted.

Whatever had put that look on his face, it couldn’t be good. He was angry about something, and I had a feeling it had something to do with me. I just didn’t know what.

A second later, he raised his phone and dialed a number.

”Gigi.”

The name from his lips hit me like a punch.

My fists tightened against the pillow, and I blinked back the tears burning in my eyes.

Now I was going to listen to my brother’s ex talk to the man who had taken her away from him. The man who had probably supported her through the pregnancy, reassured her every step of the way, and left my brother drowning in shame and humiliation.

Flashback

”Verity! Verity, where are you?” my brother called out impatiently.

I was sitting at my desk, sketching a comic, when he rushed into my room.

The moment I saw him, I stood up.

Something about him seemed different. He looked nervous, almost bashful, and a faint flush had spread across his cheeks.

He was looking straight at me.

”What’s going on?” I asked, approaching him with concern.

”You know,” he muttered, avoiding my gaze.

”Gigi—” He rubbed his hands together before speaking again.

”What is it?” I asked, even though I already had a feeling what this was about.

I didn’t know why Gigi had texted me about it, but I hadn’t told my brother. I could tell that was exactly why he was so embarrassed.

”Did Gigi talk to you about something?” he asked, still refusing to meet my eyes.

”No,” I lied, trying to put him at ease.

I noticed the tension leave his body as he finally looked at me.

”Okay, then. Sorry. Go do your work, okay? I’ll make dinner.”

He smiled as he walked away, looking relieved and satisfied.

I returned to my desk and sat down. Pulling out my phone, I opened Gigi’s text message.

Gigi: You know, I was hiding in your brother’s room, and I watched him come out completely naked. It was so funny watching him get embarrassed. But he’s cute and he has a big soldier down there. Oh, I’ll be so satisfied.

The text was probably meant to be adorable, a sweet interaction between her and my brother, but I didn’t see it that way.

It seemed wrong that she sent me that text.

I could tell my brother wasn’t ready for those kinds of things either. He was just a teenager. So was she.

If he didn’t want to take things further, he had every right to say no. But Gigi always seemed to find ways to push past his comfort zone. Sometimes, it even sounded like harassment.

Thinking about my brother made me smile.

He was so innocent and pure. His dignity was something he valued deeply.

End of Flashback