Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 342: Love is such a strong word.

Leilani.

I cried as I walked the rest of the way to my office, cried as I forcefully pried my door open and staggered into the cold space that was my second home.

My heart felt heavy as I took in the scattered documents on my desk, that and the open laptop sitting at the front of my chair as if calling out to me.

This was my home.

This was my office.

It was the place I’d lived in and grown in for the past one year and a couple of months, and now, due to some reason—the triplets, I could no longer stand to be here anymore. I could no longer see myself living in NYC or frequenting places that I knew they could easily find me.

"Leilani, why did you suddenly agree to leave?" A voice suddenly said, snapping me out of the several thoughts swirling around my head, and when I turned around, I was surprised to see Jarek standing there, his face a mask of indifference but I didn’t miss the small twitches under his left eyebrow or the way it seemed as though he was holding himself back.

I opened my mouth but soon closed it as I was unable to find the right words to say to him.

Because come to think of it, how could I tell him about my father Ragnar without explaining all the other occurrences that had led to this event?

How do I explain to him that I am running from the triplets— the same ones he hated to a fault and had warned me to stay away from— without sounding like a fool?

These thoughts and several more made me turn away from him and I lowered my head, to hide my shame and despair, as I spat; "Nothing. I was only respecting your decision."

"No Leilani, you’re not one who would respect my decision, especially not one like this." He drawled, and for some reason, something about those words grated on my nerves. It made me inexplicably mad and I found myself spinning around to face him. I then planted both hands on my hips and snapped;

"Do you or do you not want me to go?"

He gulped, lowering his head. "I don’t know."

And I swear to god, that made me frown. I hissed; "So why the fuck did you bring it up in the first place if you are this unsure?"

My words made him look away in embarrassment. And I know that it was ’embarrassment’ he felt with the way his cheeks colored a bright shade of pink. I knew because he was suddenly fidgeting and because he could look at everything—absolutely everything— but my face!

"I didn’t know," he finally said after a moment of tense silence. "I just wanted to scare you. I just thought I was losing you after being away for so long and I wanted to ensure that if I lost you, then the triplets would have to lose you as well." He drawled softly, "...I didn’t know you would take it to heart or agree. I never planned to really send you there!"

Goddess, I couldn’t believe my ears! I couldn’t believe the words this man was saying to me!

I was so angry that for a couple of seconds, all I heard was a strange buzzing sound in my ears.

I sighed and turned away, hating the direction the conversation was going and hating the way it made me feel. I muttered; "You were gone for so long..."

"And that’s because I had to leave." He countered quickly, exasperatedly, "I didn’t leave because I wanted to, and you of all people know that."

"Jay—"

"I left because I wanted to be better for you. Because I did not want you walking on eggshells around me. I left because I feared that one day, I would suddenly snap and hurt you... and I didn’t want that. That was why I left!"

"And I know!" I nearly screamed at the top of my voice, "I know and I am sorry!"

When I said that, he lowered his head and turned away. His voice was barely above a whisper when he said; "You don’t seem like you are sorry. If anything, I think you began to catch feelings for the triplets in my absence and now, you’re only sorry because you no longer feel the same way about me. You’re sorry, Leilani, because you feel guilty!"

Wait, wait... when did we get here?

I frowned. "Well, you’re wrong."

"I may be wrong about everything but not that one, Lani." He sneered. "I know you love them. I see it in the way you flush whenever their names are mentioned. I saw it in the way you stood for them that day at your house. Goddess, I saw it in your eyes and theirs that day and I felt it in the air. Something about the closeness between you guys made me feel like a complete stranger."

"Jay, this isn’t what this conversation is about!"

"It is. This is partly what this conversation is about!" He argued stubbornly. "The day I asked you to transfer to Germany, you were strongly against it. You said you had things here that you had to do. That was just yesterday..."

"Jarek—"

"And all of a sudden, today, you are so eager to go. All the things you had to do here were suddenly put on hold, and for some reason unknown to me but known to you, you reek of your mates."

His words made me momentarily stunned and I found myself lifting both of my arms to take a sniff of my underarms. I murmured frowning; "No, I do not smell like them."

And at the sound of my words, Jarek’s frown deepened. He seethed; "No you don’t. I lied. But I hadn’t expected that to be your response."

"Huh?"

"Your response clearly shows that you were with them last night, or this morning. Hence, my idea that they play a major role in this sudden change of your mind is true. You’re really leaving because of them. Goddess, Leilani, you love them."

I froze then slowly... very slowly shook my head.

"I don’t."

"You do,"

"I don’t, for real. Love is too strong a word to use in this kind of context. Especially relating to the triplets and I." I hissed and he turned around to walk away.

"Keep deceiving yourself."