Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

Jenna joined us as well, wearing a strange black overcoat.

She was definitely wearing something underneath it, but it had to be something special because she wouldn’t even let us catch a glimpse of it.

She was carrying a bag, and I had a feeling it held a few other items as well.

Throughout the car ride, Jenna remained silent, staying on her phone while Gigi and I talked about various things, particularly fashion.

More specifically, Gigi kept trying to convince me that she knew more about fashion than I did.

”Gigi, I would like to get off here,” Jenna murmured suddenly.

We hadn’t even arrived at the hotel yet, and she already wanted to get out.

”Why? What’s here? I thought you were going to have dinner with us,” I remarked.

This time, I didn’t try to sound naive or innocent, as though I were pleading with her.

I spoke in a firm, commanding tone, and as soon as I did, I realized this was how Jenna stayed in control.

She couldn’t respond to me as rudely as she had before.

She glanced at Gigi, then back at me.

”Um, Verity, we don’t speak to her like that. You know she’s very gentle,” Gigi whispered.

We were sitting comfortably in Gigi’s limousine, with Gigi facing us from the rear-facing seat.

Jenna and I were seated by the windows on opposite sides, each in our own seat.

I figured she’d chosen that spot because she didn’t want either of us reading the text messages she was exchanging with whoever was on the other end.

”I didn’t speak to her rudely. That’s just how I talk when I’m asking a question.” I shrugged.

”So, Jenna, why are you getting off?” I asked again, watching her turn to Gigi with a more resolute look, as though she were complaining about me.

”Well, she’s a grown-ass adult,” Gigi sighed, pouting at me.

”Yeah, well, she’s also part of the family,” I replied, tilting my head toward Jenna.

”But you’re not family,” Jenna finally responded with a smile on her lips.

I could tell Gigi liked that answer because she turned her face away, trying to hide her smile.

”But you are,” I reminded Jenna, watching her fake smile slowly fade.

”I have to. I have to go study with my friends,” Jenna answered after another brief silence, coming up with a lie.

That was definitely a lie. If it had been such a simple answer, she would have given it to me much earlier.

The fact that she had hesitated and swallowed before answering only proved she was lying.

”Then why didn’t you tell your mother or Grandma Lucille?” I questioned.

I noticed Gigi smooth out her dress before straightening her back.

”Jenna, we’re just worried about you,” Gigi interjected in an overly dramatic tone, clearly trying to insert herself into the conversation so she would come across as a caring, compassionate person.

”No, I get it, but my mom knows. The other day, she told Theodore herself that I’d gone out to get some notes. But, of course, the others don’t know, and my mother told me not to tell anyone else. Now please stop the car.”

This time, Jenna sounded genuinely irritated.

I didn’t want to let her go, but I didn’t have any other choice.

The car came to a stop, and Jenna climbed out.

I watched her walk away as though she knew exactly where she was headed.

My eyes lingered on her in the distance, trying to keep her in sight until the driver pulled away and she eventually disappeared from view.

”I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Gigi remarked, clicking her tongue. ”But she’s an adult woman. Let her be. I don’t want her complaining to Lady Lucille that we were bothering her. Because, you know—” She paused deliberately.

”Once, I told Jenna she couldn’t do something that Lady Lucille herself had already forbidden her from doing. But when Jenna complained, Lady Lucille told me I wasn’t allowed to tell her what she could or couldn’t do. So after that, I just kept quiet.”

Gigi used dramatic hand gestures to reenact the incident, but something told me it had never happened.

Knowing Gigi, she was just making things up.

She had been practically silent in front of Jenna, yet now she was complaining behind her back.

The driver pulled up to one of pack’s most exclusive restaurants, where a gentleman immediately stepped forward to open the door for us.

We both got out, and he escorted us straight to our table.

The staff already recognized Gigi and her purple limousine.

That was the thing about Gigi. She always managed to incorporate the color purple into everything.

Besides, come on, who didn’t know Gigi? She was Alpha King Ragnar’s girlfriend.

We settled into our seats, glanced over the menus, and placed our orders.

Before long, a server returned with our meals, carefully setting each plate in front of us before wishing us an enjoyable dinner.

While we were eating, I noticed Gigi shifting uneasily in her seat.

”So, did you find out who that woman was?” Gigi brought up the topic again.

”Well, I tried to look for the names, but all that information is on Alpha King Ragnar’s computer. The red one,” I replied, remembering the computer he used for most of his work in the attic.

There wasn’t much of an attic in the mansion.

It was just a small space where no one was allowed to go.

I’d heard that Alpha King Ragnar handled most of his work there.

Gigi sighed, resting her fingers against her chin.

”Why? Why can’t you go up there and check?” I asked.

She shook her head.

”No, it’s too risky.” There was a slight crack in her voice.

”I mean, if I could just get the password, I could search the browsing history and see whether he’d looked up that woman. I could also get the names of everyone who gave him their daughters’ contact cards.” I sighed as I spoke casually.

”Everyone they met had been handing Alpha King Ragnar their daughters’ business cards or phone numbers. I knew he’d said he would add all of them to his private address book on the red computer.”

I spoke casually, as though I had no idea what I was talking about.

But Gigi’s attention sharpened.

She had caught on to one particular detail, Alpha King Ragnar might have searched for that woman online.