Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Chapter 89: 89-The Empty Threats

Verity:

I walked into the office, and he followed behind me.

He was wearing a gray suit, his shirt untucked and his hands shoved into his pants pockets.

The loose fabric billowed slightly beneath his coat as he walked.

The moment we stepped inside, he slammed the door shut.

I turned to look at him, and he immediately started to chuckle, clearly noticing that he had startled me.

"Oh, come on. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m in a very good position. Do you think I’ll jeopardize it?" he remarked dramatically, once again shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching forward from across the room, trying to intimidate me with his body language.

"Of course you’re not," I replied, slowly running my finger along the edge of the file I was holding. "You wouldn’t want to get on the Alpha King brothers’ radar for hurting their employee."

I kept my tone neutral, very calm in fact, and that alone seemed to piss him off.

He did not look pleased.

His eyes narrowed before he chuckled again, almost as if reassuring himself while he started moving toward me.

"You know, Verity, I’m surprised to see you here," he said, stroking his chin before dragging his fingers along his jawline and back again. "Where were you all this time?"

My body immediately stiffened.

Flashback.

"Come on, don’t be shy."

He slammed his hand against the wall when I tried to leave.

I quickly adjusted my glasses on the bridge of my nose and hugged my books tighter.

"No, I don’t want to do anything. Please let me go," I pleaded, trying to get past him.

But he and his friends simply stood in my way, laughing as they watched me like I was some sort of entertainment.

"Oh, the little fatty pig got upset," Oliver mocked before suddenly reaching for my belly and pinching it. He gasped dramatically at its size. "You know, when you pinch it, it feels like you’re shoving your hand into a big fucking pillow."

I curled in on myself.

"I wonder how big the rest of her body is," one of his friends said, rubbing his palms together.

"Do you want to see?"

The moment he said that, he lunged at me, trying to pull off my sweater.

And then I remembered the one thing my brother told me every day.

Fight till you’re dead.

So I grabbed a fistful of his hair and started shaking his head.

Everybody began screaming.

I mean, we were just kids. Twelve-year-olds.

And there I was, gripping his hair and shaking his head while he screamed like a little bitch.

"Oh my Goddess, look at this fat bitch! She’s gonna eat him!" some girl yelled dramatically.

Others laughed, but his friends were screaming too, trying to pull him free from my grip.

They finally managed to drag him away, and I noticed a good amount of his hair tangled around my fingers.

He stared at me before reaching up and touching his head. I could tell he was about to cry.

"You were so fucking mean!" Oliver screamed as he stormed away with his friends.

I felt everyone’s eyes on me.

That day, I decided I couldn’t continue studying with these people.

I didn’t want to go to school anymore.

I came home and complained to my brother.

As expected, when Gigi arrived later that day to play video games with him, he confronted her about it.

"Gigi, I’m sorry, but your brother can’t come here and play games anymore," Justin said, referring to Oliver.

Gigi’s face immediately fell. She had just suggested inviting her brother over to hang out with us.

That was the thing.

Since the two of us lived alone, everyone wanted to come over and throw parties at our little apartment.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was our own space.

There were no parents or guardians around. We were just two kids living together.

My brother had convinced the council that he could handle the bills, rent, and everything else, and he was doing just fine.

"Why? Why is my brother forbidden from coming here when your sister can?" Gigi demanded, planting her hands on her hips.

I didn’t want them to fight. They were best friends, but this argument had escalated quickly.

"Gigi, what?" my brother protested.

"This is her house too. I don’t even understand that comparison," Justin added, clearly confused by her argument.

Honestly, I was confused too. This wasn’t Gigi’s house or her brother’s.

I didn’t understand how she was comparing me to Oliver.

"Oh, is that so? I thought what was yours was mine and what was mine was yours," she shot back dramatically, tilting her head to emphasize her frustration.

"Gigi, the point is that your brother bullied my sister," Justin said firmly.

She immediately pointed a finger at him.

"Stop."

Then she turned toward me.

"She grabbed his hair and pulled it out. Now tell me who bullied whom."

Her voice rose as her eyes shifted toward me. I could tell she was angry with me.

I didn’t want to upset her. I didn’t have many friends.

"Yeah, she retaliated. And I’m glad she did. Because if I had been there, Gigi—" Justin began, his voice dropping lower.

I could tell Gigi didn’t like where this was going. The color drained from her face.

"I would’ve beaten the fuck out of him for body-shaming my sister."

The moment he finished, Gigi gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Did you just learn the term body-shaming from Google? That’s the problem. You people keep coming up with new things to be offended by."

She started crying, but what she was saying was genuinely offensive.

He had body-shamed me.

He had even tried to strip me.

How could I not defend myself?

I didn’t understand why everyone was upset with me.

Then Justin spoke again, and I realized I wasn’t in the wrong.

"No, Gigi. You’re not going to cry. You’re not the victim here."

As he said it, I realized Gigi had never really been shown a mirror before.

Everyone around her walked on eggshells.

The moment she started crying, people dropped whatever complaints they had and rushed to comfort her.

Suddenly, she became the victim, and they were the ones apologizing.

But not Justin.

I knew this mattered to him, and Justin would never take the side of someone who was clearly wrong.

"Tell your brother to stay away from my sister. I will not tolerate anyone mistreating any woman in my life."

Once he finished speaking, Gigi grabbed her bag and left.

Of course she was angry.

But her brother was even angrier.

End of flashback.