Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Theodore:

Verity had completely forgotten about me.

The way she spoke to me, the way she reacted to me, made me realise I’d lost my charm in her eyes.

Everything that had happened the last time had been because of me.

I’d reacted stupidly for no reason.

I mean, Gigi had invited her here herself.

She had already forgiven her.

So why were we still keeping our distance?

Why was I keeping my distance from her?

It felt like every time she asked me something and I answered, she ended up disappointed in me.

She ignored me as though I was nothing but a disappointment.

I didn’t like that.

In fact, she didn’t even speak to Roman that way anymore.

She was only avoiding me.

My heart was breaking.

So I did what I had to do.

I had to see her.

I had to spark something inside her.

Now we were going to be living under the same roof again.

This was supposed to be the time for our love to flourish.

She couldn’t just forget me like that.

The moment I walked into her room and saw her, I couldn’t hold myself back.

Instead of saying a single word, I crossed the room, cupped her face, and pressed my lips against hers.

Her lips were unbelievably soft.

My hand slid into her silky hair and settled at the back of her neck, holding her close.

My lips moved slowly against hers, kissing and teasing them.

My other hand drifted to her waist.

It was impossibly tiny, but it was soft beneath my touch.

Her body radiated warmth.

As my hand slid lower towards her ass, I deliberately traced the curve of her body.

My palm travelled from her slender waist to her wide hips, memorising every inch of the distance.

Then I gave her ass cheek a firm squeeze.

She responded to my kiss in silence.

It wasn’t much.

Just the faintest response.

I’d kissed her so fiercely that she was probably still trying to catch up.

Then she completely shocked me.

She suddenly placed her left hand against my chest and pushed me away.

I studied her face carefully.

The way she pulled away from me, it didn’t look as though it had taken any effort.

It looked effortless.

”I have a boyfriend,” she replied instantly, her voice cold and sharp.

”Yeah. That abusive piece of shit.”

The words left my mouth before I realised what I was saying.

I’d never spoken like that in front of her, especially not about her boyfriend.

She turned to me and shot me a harsh look before letting out a scoff.

I didn’t understand what was so funny.

”So, Jaguar did share things with you, but when I asked you, you acted like you had no clue, huh? You told me to go and ask Jaguar. So I think I should ask him because he’s more truthful with me than you could ever be, even though we aren’t nearly as close as you and I–.”

Her words hit me hard.

She knew there was something different between us.

To her, Jaguar and Ragnar were just her bosses.

But it hurt to hear her say that even Jaguar, someone she had no real relationship with, was better than me.

”I just wasn’t sure whether Jaguar would be upset if I told you that he’d talked to me about you,” I explained.

But the way she kept her distance from me was a warning.

She didn’t want me getting any closer to her.

”Oh, okay. I get it.” She nodded her head.

”Well then, why don’t you go and ask your brother whether you should even be here talking to me?” Verity hissed.

I noticed tears beginning to well in her eyes before she looked away to hide them from me.

”You’re taking this all wrong, Verity,” I pleaded.

Verity was the first woman who had ever run this far from me.

The closer I got, the more distance she put between us.

”No, Theodore. Please. Enough.”

She shook her head.

”I have a boyfriend. And even though he’s abusive, he makes his own choices.”

She paused.

”I’m not going to—”

She swallowed hard.

”I’m not going to put all my faith in someone like you. Ever.”

My heart crumbled as the words left her lips.

”Because you’ll turn out just like him. He’s abusing me for himself. You’ll abuse me for someone else. I can endure someone else’s torture as punishment. But I don’t think I could survive it if you were the one punishing me.”

Every single word tore through my heart.

That’s when I realised she kept her distance because she believed I valued everyone else more than I valued her.

And if I couldn’t put her first now, then it would be easy for me to punish her for Gigi’s sake.

Maybe she believed that one day I’d abandon her for Gigi.

Or that after making her mine, I’d slowly remember everything Justin had said and start taking my anger out on her.

Verity had no idea how important she was becoming to me.

And the way I’d behaved today had only strengthened her belief that she wasn’t special to me.

”Verity, honestly, that’s not it at all.” I mumbled.

”Okay, listen. Jaguar only told me that you’ve been enduring Roman’s abuse because of your brother. That Gigi still hasn’t moved on, and you feel guilty about it.”

I told her everything Jaguar had told us.

She didn’t look convinced.

She kept shaking her head until I’d finished speaking.

Then she pressed her fingers against her ears.

”I don’t want to hear it. You already made your choice. Please leave, Theodore.”

Her voice was cold.

So cold that it felt as though every bit of space I’d carved out for myself in her heart had disappeared.

”Verity—-”

I tried to take another step towards her.

This time, though, the harsh look she gave me was warning enough.

”Please– don’t make me pack my things and go back home.”

She wasn’t begging.

She was warning me.

”Fine,” I said with a nod.

”If you’re determined to push me away, then I’ll come back even harder.”

This time, the authority of an Alpha King filled my voice.

”I’ll prove to you that there’s no one better for you than me.”

I pointed at my chest as I made my decision.

If that was what she believed, then I’d remind her of my touch.

Of how I made her feel.

Maybe I’d make her fall in love with me after all.

She looked stunned by my determination.

Seeing that expression only gave me more courage.

I turned and walked out of her room.

As I stepped into the hallway, Jenna was just entering the wing.

She looked at me in confusion, clearly wondering what I was doing there.

I ignored her and walked straight past.