Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Chapter 143: 143-Back To Home

Verity:

"I have a bone to pick with you. You’re only calling me a day later to tell me you’re going somewhere and that we can’t spend the weekend together, even though you promised, before you left my place, that we’d spend it together."

Roman had been yelling for the past fifteen minutes, ever since I called him.

I packed my single bag, getting ready to go see my mother.

She had been discharged, and I needed to visit her.

The message had said my mother could fall sick again and that this might be my last chance to see her.

Even though I had never received much affection from her, it didn’t change the fact that I still cared about her.

"Roman, I don’t know what you want me to say. I told you I don’t remember what happened. But I can tell you I had some tests done. When the blood test results come back, I’ll let you know what was wrong with me that day."

I finally snapped at him, lowering my eyes.

Today, I didn’t want to think about any plans.

Today, I was going to see my mother.

The same turmoil filled my heart again.

I was terrified that the moment I stood in front of her, she’d ask why I was there.

Maybe she wouldn’t even welcome me.

Maybe she wouldn’t want to see me at her deathbed.

Well, that’s true.

My loved one’s gone, I thought to myself.

"What do you mean, tests?" Roman asked.

There was hesitation in his voice now.

"Listen, I don’t have time right now. I’ll tell you later. Bye."

I ended the call and let out a long, heavy breath.

I had changed the locks again, just to be safe.

I never really kept much in this house.

As for the ace I was visiting, the familiarity of the place made me feel strangely uneasy.

The roads, the trees, everything had changed since the last time I had visited my mother.

Back then, I had secretly taken a bus in the middle of the night.

Even then, my eyes had wandered over every signboard, every wall, and every tree.

Today was no different.

My heart pounded relentlessly.

Although I had become much more confident, who could stand confidently in front of their childhood trauma?

Somewhere deep inside, we break so completely that all we’re left with are broken pieces.

I tried my best to hold back my tears.

All kinds of thoughts flooded my mind.

I had always imagined that the next time I met my mother, I would tell her what had happened to her son.

That she had left her children to survive in a world full of beasts, and in the end, those beasts had torn them apart.

Instead, I was going to see her at a time when she wasn’t even in a condition to hear any of it.

Finally, when I reached the pack, I took a deep breath.

More than once, I felt as though my breath would give out.

At the border, they asked who I was.

I told them.

The moment they found out who I was and who I had come to visit, they let me through. They always did.

Finally, I arrived at the mansion.

The enormous, grand estate.

Such a massive place, yet there had never been room for just two children.

My eyes kept filling with tears, but I blinked them away.

Then I stepped out of the car, slammed the door shut, and pulled my bag from the trunk.

Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the gate.

The guard looked me up and down as though he’d never seen me before.

But I knew him.

He had been here the last time too.

And I told him the same thing I had said back then.

"I’m here to see my mother, Brenda."

He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Oh, Verity," he said as he opened the gate. "You’ve grown up."

I ignored him and walked inside, rolling my suitcase behind me with my purse slung over my shoulder.

I made my way through the estate, taking in all the cars parked around me.

As I walked farther in, my steps gradually slowed.

A sports car pulled up and stopped right in front of me.

I immediately froze.

The driver’s door opened.

Out stepped—him.

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.

My heart pounded even harder.

"Verity?" he asked as he removed his sunglasses.

The redheaded man with freckles and blue eyes stood in front of me, staring in utter shock.

Daniel.

My stepbrother.

Or rather, my mother’s husband’s son.

Although, my mother had always treated him more like her own child than she had ever treated us.

"Verity?" he asked again, looking me up and down.

"I’ve come to see my mother," I replied, my voice stern and cold.

"Oh. Of course."

He answered so quickly that it almost sounded rehearsed.

Still, something sharp flickered across his face, almost as though he hadn’t expected me to be there.

I’d thought he was the one who had been texting me.

I cleared my throat and walked around his car.

"Wait..."

His voice stopped me.

"Park the car in the garage," he told the driver, tossing him the keys before hurrying after me.

"I didn’t know you were coming."

I stopped, turned around, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You texted me."

He smiled to himself before shaking his head.

"No, I didn’t."

He hesitated for a bit.

"If I had found out you were coming–,"

The pause gave him away.

Even he knew he was lying.

Because lying was all he ever did.

He would have done nothing, like last time.

"Verity."

Then it hit me.

My mother’s voice.

So full of love and affection.

I hastily turned to look at my mother, and right off the bat, something struck me.

She didn’t look sick. She looked completely fine.

Dressed in a beautiful black gown, she looked even better than the last time I’d seen her.

It was as if my brain had frozen. Why had she lied?

Who had lied to me? Who had lured me here?