Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Gigi:

Two days had passed, and everything that happened was still replaying in my head.

Every detail.

The way Ragnar had pulled Verity behind him.

There had been a time when the brothers had defended me like that against Justin.

But that day, they had stood in front of me and done the same thing for Verity.

Maybe I had been too slow to understand it, but there was definitely something going on with her.

Ever since we came home, my mother had repeated the same thing over and over.

”I told you. I told you to be careful of her.”

Now I was starting to realize she might have been right.

I sat on the couch in our living room, completely confused.

Jaguar and Theodore had checked on me constantly, but I had kept my replies short and distant.

At this point, I didn’t want to push them too hard.

Ragnar was the one I couldn’t understand.

He hadn’t called me once.

He hadn’t even sent a text.

Why?

It wasn’t as though I had done anything terrible that day.

Most of what happened had been because of my mother, so why was he so angry with me?

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

”That man needs to understand that if he doesn’t change his ways, he’s going to lose my daughter,” my father hissed as he entered the mansion.

I immediately sat up straighter, eager to know what had happened.

He had gone to Ragnar’s office to confront him about the entire incident and give him the kind of fatherly lecture he clearly believed Ragnar needed after throwing us out again.

”I reminded that man what happened the last time he kicked you out,” my father continued, his anger already boiling over. ”And he just sat there like a damn stone. Then he had the nerve to tell me I’m a bad father because I let Oliver do whatever the fuck he wanted.”

My mother stared at him from the couch in disbelief.

”And after everything my daughter went through because he threw her out that night, he still doesn’t seem to understand,” Dad went on. ”All he told me was not to interfere between him and Gigi.”

His hands curled into fists.

”Did he ask how I was?” I asked.

My father looked at me, scoffed, and shook his head.

”No. He sat there like a fucking brick wall and gave me a lecture about Oliver.”

His expression darkened.

”What has gotten into that man? Is there something going on that I should know about?” while my father asked me that question, I hesitated to respond.

”He found his fated mate before,” I admitted. ”He never told me about her.”

The moment the words left my mouth, my father turned sharply toward me.

”He found her and didn’t tell you?” His voice rose. ”And that’s it? Do you have no control over your man?”

”Don’t yell at her. You know what she’s been through.”

My mother immediately came to my side and sat beside me, wrapping her arms around me as though she were shielding me from the cruel world and every man in it.

”You should go and speak with your boyfriend because that slut, that big-booty slut, was wandering around his office like she owned the place,” my father hissed.

He snapped his fingers at me and gestured for me to get up.

”Go. Get ready and see your boyfriend. Talk to him.”

My mother nodded in agreement.

I had wanted Ragnar to come to me, convince me to return, and apologize like he had before, but I guess that wasn’t going to happen this time.

Honestly, I was beginning to feel like my brother had ruined everything for us, especially for me.

His obsession with Verity had messed everything up.

Still, I followed my father’s orders. I got ready, put on a beautiful black dress, and drove to the office.

The moment I walked inside, everyone looked at me with so much respect and concern.

I just couldn’t understand why Ragnar wasn’t doing the same.

I went straight upstairs and knocked on his door.

”Come in,” Ragnar called from inside.

Hearing his voice again filled my heart with joy.

But the second I opened the door, that feeling disappeared.

Verity was leaning over his desk, showing him something.

Probably her breasts, considering how far she was bending toward him.

”Gigi,” Ragnar greeted, shifting slightly in his seat.

”If you have a moment, may I speak with you?” I asked.

”Of course. You don’t have to ask. Come in.”

Then he turned to Verity.

”All right, Miss Verity. Finish this work, and we’ll speak later.”

On the surface, they acted as though there was nothing going on between them.

But I wasn’t so sure anymore.

After everything the brothers had done for her, especially after what happened that night, believing that the two of them were simply working together didn’t seem plausible.

Verity walked out of the room right in front of me.

She gave me nothing more than a small nod of acknowledgment.

I didn’t bother responding.

Once she was gone, I crossed the room and sat in the chair opposite Ragnar’s desk.

”How are you?” he asked.

I stared at him in silence for a moment before giving a faint smile.

”Dealing with things. Trying to forget everything. Going to therapy.”

I started listing everything I’d been doing to get better.

I was certain he noticed that I never mentioned him.

This time, he wasn’t part of my recovery.

He hadn’t helped me get better at all.

”I’ve actually been extremely busy,” Ragnar said, almost as though he could read my mind. ”Otherwise, I would’ve come to see you.”

”It’s all right.”

I folded my arms across my chest.

An awkward silence settled between us as we stared at each other.

After a moment, Ragnar leaned back in his chair and rested one elbow on the armrest.

”What is going on, Ragnar?” I finally asked. ”Whatever this thing is between us, tell me. Speak with me because it is making me restless.”

His expression changed slightly as I urged him for communication.

”You really don’t want me to answer that right now.”

There it was.

The second he said it, I knew I’d been right.

Something was wrong.