Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Rochelle:

Seeing Jaguar actually show up made me feel a little better. At least he had taken my concern seriously.

It was a different matter that seeing Verity with him immediately started ruining my mood.

But right now, I was too worried about my sister to focus on any of that, so I pushed those thoughts aside.

My sister needed me.

The cheerful girl who used to laugh at everything and always seemed happy had somehow disappeared.

And it wasn’t just that.

She cried at night. She spent three hours at a time in the shower, almost as if she hated herself.

I couldn’t understand what was happening to her, but everything she was doing reminded me of something terrifying.

Of what Gigi had told me Jenna used to do.

Ever since I came home, those thoughts had been circling in my head over and over again.

It almost felt as though karma had finally hit us, only in the cruelest, most twisted way possible.

But Gigi’s brother had already been caught.

So who was blackmailing my sister now? Who was frightening her, or doing whatever else was being done to her?

Maybe it was heartbreak.

But heartbreak didn’t make someone act like this. It didn’t make someone behave as though they hated themselves.

”Where is your sister? We’d like to speak with her.”

Jaguar moved away from me as though standing too close to me was some kind of sin.

”She’s upstairs, but I don’t think she’ll talk to either of you. She’s had herself locked in her room since this morning. She hasn’t opened the door for anyone, and she hasn’t spoken to anyone either,” I explained, trying to walk beside him.

He kept slowing his pace so Verity could catch up.

”That’s okay. Verity can try talking to her,” Jaguar replied as we entered the living room.

”Why Verity?” I asked. ”I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s not like she’s a therapist or anything.”

A small laugh escaped me. I couldn’t believe he was placing so much trust in someone who probably didn’t even know how to talk to a victim.

”In case you haven’t heard, Verity was the one who helped Jenna,” Jaguar told me. ”Don’t worry. She’ll help your sister too.”

It was the way he kept talking about Verity that irritated me more than anything.

Still, I reminded myself that if she really could help my sister, then I would be the happiest person in the room.

I had no right to complain about that.

”Okay. Her room is on the second floor. It’s the one with the pink door and the little bow on it.”

I smiled faintly, but the expression quickly faded when I remembered how bright and lively my sister used to be.

”Anyway, second floor,” I added, drawing in a deep breath.

My parents came out to greet Jaguar and speak with him.

I sat down on the couch while Verity headed upstairs alone.

Part of me wanted to follow her upstairs. I wanted to ask my sister what was wrong myself.

But then I thought maybe she felt guilty around me, or maybe she was afraid I would judge her. So I decided to let Verity speak to her alone.

A moment later, I heard Verity knock on the door.

”How is the search for Gigi going?” my father asked.

Jaguar looked so good sitting in our mansion. He looked like he belonged with our family.

If only he understood that.

Now that Gigi was gone, though, I didn’t even know if there would ever be a him and me.

Before, I hadn’t wanted her involved in my personal life.

But now that she was missing, everyone’s attention was focused entirely on her.

It was as though all our lives had abruptly stopped because of her.

”We’re doing everything we can to find her, but with her phone turned off and her car abandoned on the side of the road, I’m not sure it’s going to be that easy,” Jaguar replied, his voice growing somber.

Well, that wasn’t anything new.

I’d already noticed how much these brothers cared about her.

And, of course, Gigi deserved the credit for that.

She had somehow convinced them that she was innocent, kind, and sweet, when she was none of those things.

As her childhood friend, I knew better.

But I wasn’t stupid enough to say any of that out loud.

The brothers didn’t even like me that much. To them, I was simply Gigi’s friend. If I suddenly started speaking badly about her while she was missing, they would only end up hating me.

”It’s been eighteen days now,” my father remarked.

Jaguar sighed and lowered his head.

The more devastated he looked, the more irritated I became.

She wasn’t that special.

But how had she done it?

How had she managed to make these brothers care about her so much?

Not just one of them.

All three.

Ten minutes passed when Verity finally came back downstairs.

”I don’t think any of you have spoken to Diana since this morning, have you?” she asked.

We all looked at her, then at one another, waiting for someone to answer.

”Um, I haven’t,” I answered, pointing at myself before glancing at my mother.

”I haven’t spoken to her either. She wasn’t responding,” my mother replied.

I turned toward my father, but he only shrugged.

”I mean, if she wasn’t responding to them, she definitely wouldn’t respond to me.”

The moment he said that, Jaguar shot up from the couch.

He locked eyes with Verity, and something passed between them, as though they had both realized something the rest of us hadn’t.

Before I could even ask what was wrong, they bolted upstairs.

My heart nearly stopped at the urgency in their movements.

I rushed after Jaguar, following him straight to my sister’s room, desperate to understand what could be so terrifying about not hearing from her for a few hours.

As soon as we reached my sister’s door and started knocking, my heart began to pound.

There was no sound from inside.

”Diana, please open the door, or we’re going to break it down,” Jaguar warned.

I gave an uneasy smile, trying to reassure myself.

”Maybe she’s just sleeping.”

Even I knew I was only trying to fool myself. The urgency in their voices was starting to get to me too.

”Okay, step aside. I’m going to break this door down,” Jaguar commanded in a harsh tone, making me step away from the door.