245 Regrets

“They’ve given me three days,” he muttered.

Then finally, she spoke.

“I wish I never agreed to them,” she added, her tone low with shame.

My brows drew together.

She placed a hand gently on her stomach.

“What… what happened?” I asked, my voice low.

“I was going to say no,” she admitted, “but then I thought about the way the triplets looked at her. The way they laughed around her, smiled just by hearing her name…” Her voice cracked again. “I wanted that.”

Anita wiped her eyes again, her voice barely above a whisper.

My heart stopped. “What?”

“I lost my best friend,” she whispered. “The only person who ever saw me… really loved me. And now she’s gone.”

Then, finally, he lifted his head and looked at me–his eyes red-rimmed.

I kept my expression calm, but inside, everything felt like it was tilting sideways.

“They still believe I care about her,” he said bitterly. “That I’m still in love with her. They don’t believe I’ve moved on.”

My blood ran cold.

I blinked, surprised. He looked… exhausted. Broken. Scared. This was the first time I had ever seen him like this.

I turned back to Anita, forcing a soft smile.

Anita shook her head. “No. She just said Olivia wasn’t the right fit. That she needed me instead.”

My heart skipped a beat. I leaned forward slightly. “Who?” I asked, careful not to sound too eager.

God, I was supposed to hate this man… so why was I worried?

Olivia’s POV

She looked away. “Boys never looked at me that way. No one ever did.”

“And now… I’m carrying babies who might not even make it into this world,” she said with a broken voice. “I can feel it. Something’s not right. The doctors say I should rest, that I need to hope–but all I feel is this… fear.”

I sat back slowly, trying to keep my hands from shaking.

I loved you.

Crafted.

“I regret everything,” she said, her gaze fixed on the flickering fire. “All of it.”

It was planned.

I stared at her, unsure if I was ready to believe her… unsure if I even wanted to.

I opened my mouth to respond–to say something, anything–but I paused.

He looked away. “If I don’t… they’ll kill Sofia.”

I stepped forward slowly. “What’s wrong?” I asked quietly.

“I didn’t get the triplets’ love,” she said, her voice breaking. “Not even for a second. No matter how much charm or magic was used, they never looked at me like they looked at Olivia. Not once.”

“I regret hurting her. I regret every action, every cruel word, every moment I let someone convince me she didn’t deserve what she had. I regret listening to my parents. I thought I’d be happier if I had what she had… but I was wrong.”

I crouched beside him, my voice softer. “You don’t have to keep shutting me out. Whatever it is… just tell me.”

Alpha Damien walked in.

I swallowed hard. “Did she tell you why?”

“To step down.”

It wasn’t just betrayal.

She finally looked at me again, and this time, her eyes were hollow.

I could see the shame flicker in her eyes as she continued.

Still nothing.

Anita was beautiful–no doubt about that–but boys were never attracted to her. Not really. Not like they saw me.

I hesitated, then turned and walked away, Damien’s gaze following me the entire time. After a few minutes, she finally pulled herself together, sniffling as she wiped at her face with trembling fingers. She didn’t look at me at first, just kept staring at her hands.

Them?

She sucked in a shaky breath and finally met my gaze.

I never expected Anita to break down in tears… this was not what I expected. I expected her to give excuses, say evil things about me, but she didn’t–rather, she was crying loudly while I just sat there, not knowing what to do.

My stomach turned.

His eyes landed on me immediately, sharp and annoyed. He didn’t say anything, just gave me a look that said you shouldn’t be here.

“A week before Olivia’s birthday… Lady Fiona came to see me,” she said slowly. “She told me she didn’t want Olivia for the triplets. She wanted me.”

So that was it.

She nodded slowly. “Lady Fiona took me somewhere… I don’t even know where. It was a witch… they… they did something. They gave me something to drink, something to bathe in. They said it would help. That it would ‘clean me’–make the charm stronger, make the triplets look at me the way they looked at her.”

She let out a bitter sigh. “So I told my parents what Lady Fiona said. I thought they’d talk me out of it. But instead… they encouraged me. Said they had their own plans too. That this could work in our favor.”

Her words hit like a punch to the chest.

“I’m sorry you have to see me this way,” she murmured.

He didn’t answer.

My throat tightened. “And you agreed.”

“I have to go,” I said quietly.

She didn’t stop.

But she kept going.

Just sat there, breathing hard through his nose, refusing to meet my gaze.

After a few minutes, she got a grip of herself and began wiping her face. I looked at her, wondering why she was crying. Was she mourning me? Was this guilt? Or was she just acting, trying to get something out of me?

And she was telling the truth.

A long, tense pause filled the room.

I took the stairs back to the room I shared with Alpha Damien. We both stepped in, and I expected him to lash out… I was used to his lashing out, but he didn’t. Instead, Alpha Damien dragged himself to the nearest seat and slumped into it, shoulders hunched, face buried in his hands like the weight of the world was pressing him down.

I nodded slowly. “It’s okay to let it out… don’t apologize for that,” I said gently, though deep down, I wanted to scream at her. Tell her she was a terrible friend. Ask her why. Why did you hurt me like that, Anita?

She hesitated, eyes darting around the empty room before she whispered, “My parents… and the triplets’ parents.”

“I wish…” she began, her voice cracking. “I wish I never let jealousy take over me.”

I frowned. “Three days for what?”

My breath caught.

Because just then, the front door opened.

She nodded slowly, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes still wet. “Thank you… for listening.”

Anita hesitated again, like she was weighing whether to tell me the truth.

I moved closer. “Alpha Damien…”