Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 325: Pain in stages.

Jarek.

In my twenty-nine years of navigating this thing called life, I have had my own fair share of traumatic experiences.

I was not new to the phenomenon called pain. In fact, pain was what I felt when I lost my sister to death. It was also what I had felt when my mate, Keisha, betrayed me and left with that scumbag; And when my parents decided to leave me just the same way Grace had, I knew then and there that this may just be my destiny.

So by now, you should think that I would’ve become immune to heartache. But I was not.

Because nothing... absolutely nothing, including everything I mentioned above could prepare me for the pain of watching her stand side by side with them.

Why?

Because I’d been gone for only a couple of weeks!

She had left me just like Keisha did, and now, she stood against me, her fierce purple eyes almost predatory as she glared daggers at me.

At first, I felt like I could manage. That her harsh glares would have no effect on me. But a few minutes went by and I was beginning to be disturbed, so I sighed, rubbing my face with my palms as I seethed; "I don’t like this..."

"What?" Her voice was sharp. Crisp. It cut through my heart like a thousand lasers all at once. It shattered whatever was left of my pride... my dignity, and left me as nothing but a bleeding mess at her feet.

My body trembled with both rage and betrayal; and I hissed; "This."

While I spoke, I made a show of pointing to the very tiny space existing between the four of them. The one called Caelum rolled his eyes at me and then shrugged;

"We’ve told you the truth. Lani has never lied to you,"

Lani.

The nickname that used to be only ours sounded like vermin to my ears. It made the hairs on my skin stand on end and made betrayal crash into my soul with so much force, I nearly stumbled to the ground.

But do you know what I found even more terrifying?

The fact that she didn’t react to it. That she didn’t roll her eyes or curse at him. That she didn’t even care about it at all. It felt almost natural. Goddess, who was I kidding? It was the most natural thing to them!

"And what does this truth entail?" I spat angrily, "that for some reason, you selfish bastards have suddenly decided to help her? That you are now kind enough to help her with her wolf?"

"Jarek—"

"And you want me to believe that bullshit? You want me to believe that you’re doing all of these for her and not for some selfish reasons that you cannot even bring yourself to say?!"

"Stop!"

"You think I do not know that all of these are just ploys to get back together with her? Why? Because you’ve grown tired of your former toy, Chalice or Candy or whatever she decides to call herself?!"

As soon as I mentioned Chalice’s name, Leilani froze. Her eyes glistened with tears, and I thinking that she was only feeling bad for getting with her sister’s husbands immediately after she was locked up snickered derisively, my voice condescending as I spat;

"Oh now, at the mention of her name, you realize how fucked up what you’re doing with her husbands is right? Or do you just want to cry your way out of this one just like she would in every uncomfortable situation?!" I barked, ignoring the way her mouth fell open in shock, or was that... hurt?

I didn’t care.

Then with a sigh, I turned away and began to pace around the room. I spat; "Goddess, how did I never realize how similar you both can be when you choose to be?!"

"JAREK?!" She yelled, her voice breaking,

But did I stop?

Of course, I didn’t.

"How was I ever stupid to believe that you would wait for me just like I waited for you? How did I even think for one moment that things could go back to how they used to be with you before I left?"

"They cannot," her small voice chirped in, momentarily interrupting me.

The iciness in her tone stunned me. It made my heart falter and I turned to look at her with all the hatred that I could muster. But I was deceiving myself. I could never hate her.

"Huh?"

"Things cannot go back to how they were before you left," she hissed in that cold tone that I have heard her use on everyone else but me.

—And now, she was using it on me.

"Because before you left, my father was alive. Not my father per say but Malakai Blackthorne... he was alive and now he’s not." She snarled and I froze.

"Before you left, Chalice too was alive... and she hadn’t died and left us all with a son that I cannot bring myself to look at without feeling like I am insufficient. Before you left, I wasn’t involved in an accident that put me on the very verge of death." She drawled, causing my heart to shatter with each word she uttered.

"Did that? How did that...?" I stuttered but she ignored me.

"I didn’t die and had my soul almost stolen because someone wanted to live my life... and before you left, I didn’t have my wolf. But now I do, now I can hear her voice in my head... and I know that she’s not one of you. She’s different. I am different."

At the end of her speech, I found myself stunned into silence. Goddess, I couldn’t even move due to the effect her news had on me.

My eyes widened and so did my mouth. But just as my lips parted, they closed on their own, leaving me gasping in both shock and shame.

I took a step forward towards her and didn’t miss the way she instinctively took one back.

And that in itself shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.

I gulped. "I didn’t know... no one told me..."

"I tried to tell you. They tried to tell you... but you were unwilling to listen."

"I wasn’t..." I began to say, but upon realising that it was the truth—what she said— I lowered my gaze and whispered;

"I am sorry,"

But she wasn’t buying that. She turned and walked away.

—

Leilani.

Jealous Jarek was something I used to find cute until today. It was something that would’ve made my insides twist and churn... and would’ve made a gazillion butterflies take flight in my stomach; But it did not.

Today, I was only mad.

I was incredibly pissed beyond reason and frustrated. Why?

Because for some reason, it made him appear insensitive, and ’insensitive’ was something that the Jarek I knew could never be.

My eyes found his in that moment of awkward silence and I found myself burdened with the urge to pull him close. To ask about his ailing health and to reassure him...

But I couldn’t.

How could I reassure him when I needed reassurance myself? How could I ever be the same girl he’d left? The one who would lean on him at any given time?

I do not know when the triplets slipped away from my side and out of the house; But next thing I know, their car’s engine was being revved up, disturbing the still air and they were driving away, to give Jarek and I some time to ourselves.

I turned to Jay and whispered; "They’ve changed. I hate to be the one to say these words but they’ve changed too like me."

He turned away.

"The triplets you used to know... would they have left you with me? Would they have trusted me and you together? Would they..."

"I hate that you’re defending them so openly!" He snapped so loudly, I flinched.

Then after successfully regaining my composure, I sighed. "Well maybe that’s because they did the same for me when I needed it the most. Now, I am not saying that you never did that and more for me... all I am saying is that they helped me out of a very difficult time; and I may have died if they never stepped up for me in your absence..."

"I don’t—"

"And it would be nice if you would play nice with them."

"Lani, I cannot do what you ask of me!" He snapped and I rolled my eyes.

I was however about to respond to him when suddenly, my doorbell rang. Jay raised his brows at me as if saying; ’I told you so’; but I ignored him and went to the door, only for a shocked gasp to escape my lips when I found myself looking into a familiar pair of purple eyes.

"Darius?" I hissed, my heart racing.

But he didn’t respond. He didn’t greet me in that usual sassy way he always would. Goddess he didn’t even move as all of his attention was focused on the mark on my neck.

He seethed; "You were marked?"