Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One-Chapter 45: Choose Him

Nathan’s POV

"Nathan, stop."

The voice stopped everything. It was clear. Sharp. Familiar. And unexpected.

My heart froze. I turned slowly, my breathing ragged, my fist still clenched and aching to strike again.

And there she was. Hailee. Standing in the doorway, eyes wide, face pale. Her chest rose and fell quickly, like she’d been running. Fear in her eyes.

"Please..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Don’t."

For a second, everything around me went still. Mark lay groaning behind me, half dead and bloodied. Lolly had fallen to her knees, sobbing. And there was Hailee—watching me with so much hurt in her eyes, I couldn’t breathe.

"I didn’t ask you to do this," she whispered again, shaking her head. "You could have killed him, Nathan."

My clenched fist slowly lowered. My breathing was ragged. I looked at her—really looked at her—and realized... I had gone too far. For the first time, guilt crept into my chest, cutting through the rage.

"... Hailee," I murmured.

She shook her head slightly, taking a careful step forward.

"Come with me," she said softly. "Please. Just... leave him."

I looked down at Mark one last time. Then I turned away. Not because he didn’t deserve more—but because Hailee asked me to. And for her... I would do anything.

Hailee followed me out of the apartment. We got into my car, and none of us said a word as I drove.

Just her presence was able to calm my anger but not my pain. Because no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the image of her and Callum kept replaying in my mind like a cursed film I couldn’t switch off. Her body under his, his lips pressed to hers, her soft moan that should’ve been for me.

My grip tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles burned. I didn’t even realize where I was going until I saw the old, quiet road stretching out in front of us—far from her home.

I pulled over. The car came to a gentle stop at the side of the road. The engine hummed, but neither of us moved. The silence inside the car was thick. Heavy. Uncomfortable.

Hailee sat still, staring out the windshield. Her fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap. Then softly, she spoke.

"...Are you angry?"

Her voice was so small, it almost broke me. I turned my head slowly and met her gaze. And then I gave a bitter, half-smile.

"No," I said, my voice low. Rough. "Why should I be?" I looked back at the road, the pain pressing tightly in my chest. "You’re not my girlfriend." The words tasted like poison on my tongue. "Why should I care."

I lied. I fucking care... I’m in pain... knowing she was with me a few hours ago only to leave to go be with Callum. I let out a painful scoff and shook my head.

"You like him, don’t you?" I asked even though I knew the answer. Of course she liked him... Her moans said it all—the way she responded to his touch.

She didn’t respond right away. She just kept staring out the window, her fingers curling tighter into her lap like she was trying to hold herself together. But I needed to hear it. I needed to hear it from her lips—no matter how badly it would break me.

"Hailee," I said again, my voice barely more than a whisper. "Just say it. You like him... don’t you?"

Silence. Then... slowly... she nodded.

"I do," she said, her voice fragile. But honest. "I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t plan any of this... but I do."

The breath left my lungs like a punch to the chest. My jaw clenched as I blinked fast, trying to push down the burn rising in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. Not in front of her. Not now.

I looked away quickly, staring straight ahead at the empty road, forcing myself to breathe evenly.

"Okay," I said stiffly. "If he makes you happy... then that’s all that matters."

She turned to me, surprised by my words—but I didn’t let her speak.

"I won’t chase you anymore," I added, forcing a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. "I won’t... bother you anymore. I won’t try to change your mind. You’ve made your choice. I get it."

The silence between us was suffocating. I didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, I turned the key, the engine roared back to life, and I drove.

The ride back was quiet—too quiet. I didn’t look at her. Didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe properly. Not until we reached her street.

But when I pulled up in front of her house... Callum was there, leaning against his car like he was waiting for her. He looked up as we arrived, his eyes meeting mine. I saw the look of pain and jealousy in his eyes.

Hailee didn’t say a word. She simply opened the door, got out of the car, and walked straight to him. The second she shut the door behind her, it felt like something shut inside me too.

I didn’t wait to see what happened next. I didn’t want to see her in his arms. Didn’t want to watch her smile at him the way I used to dream she’d smile at me.

I pressed the gas harder than I should’ve. The tires screeched slightly against the road as I sped off. My chest ached, like it was folding in on itself. Every part of me felt hollow. Like she had taken something with her when she walked away.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter as the road ahead blurred—not because of speed. But because of the tears, I refused to let fall.

She chose him. And I wasn’t enough. Not for her.

I blinked hard, trying to push the painful thoughts away—but it was like my head was underwater. The pain was too loud, too heavy. Everything swirled in a mess of emotion—grief, rage, regret.

I didn’t even realize how fast I was driving. Or how sharp the curve in the road was. Until it was too late.

My eyes widened at the sound of an oncoming truck ahead. I swerved too sharply. The tires screeched again. The wheel jerked out of my hands. The car spun. Everything became a blur. Metal scraped against metal. Glass shattered. Pain ripped through my side as my head slammed into the window. And then... darkness.

A suffocating darkness.

The last thing I remember before everything went black was Hailee’s face. And the quiet thought of not seeing her again.

Then I went unconscious.

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