Chapter 24: 24: Foiled Plans
"No!" I yelled, my first instinct to protect myself from harm.
’I didn’t steal the dress,’ I wanted to yell, but for some reason, my words failed me. They clogged my throat and refused to come to my aid.
While it could’ve been Willow’s design, Soren was the one who gave it to me. How could he have known this wasn’t Willow’s dress?
But it didn’t matter whether he knew of the dress’s origins or not. Either way, he didn’t say a thing. It was as though this was the first time he had even seen this outfit.
I could feel that every man in the vicinity had their eyes on me, either out of curiosity at what the commotion was about, or because they knew exactly what it was about. None of them stepped in to help, even if some of them looked on in pity.
The sound of the zipper all but echoed through my ears, along with the roar of my blood in my veins as my heart worked overtime in my panic. I struggled to push Cassian’s hands away, but he held me still as he yanked the zipper all the way down my back, revealing my bare skin underneath.
Out of the triplets’ line of sight, Violet’s eyes were bright with glee. The corners of her lips were slightly tilted in a victorious smile, but she was also careful enough not to smile too widely and openly in case someone caught sight of her doing so.
Yet, she had no qualms about showing it to me. Her eyes locked with mine as though she was trying to relay a silent message.
’I win again.’
"Alphas, I have found the spare dress as requested―" Cedar’s voice suddenly tore through the air, causing Cassian to turn back.
I took his momentary distraction as an opportunity to press my back against the pillar and out of his reach, preventing more people from looking. Thankfully, other than the zipper and a quick flash of my back, nothing else was shown.
"Cedar, finally," Soren said, frowning. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he exhaled loudly, his shoulders slackening. "What took you so long?"
His eyes darted over to glance at me. I sensed a sliver of guilt in his expression, but he looked away before I could confirm it.
What use was his guilt if he refused to act on his morals? If anything, that expression only caused my heart to thunder against my ribcage in a mixture of sadness and anger.
He was my fated mate. He should’ve been the one to protect me. Yet, Soren was entirely alright with leaving me in the hands of his brother, who, albeit was also my fated mate, had made it known time and time again he didn’t give a rat’s ass about this fated pairing. Cassian would very much take every opportunity to humiliate and punish me for a crime I did not commit. I knew that right from the start.
On the other hand, Soren had pretended to care. Was this just a mind game to him? To get me to trust him, only to use this method to shatter my heart from a greater height? After all, I couldn’t be hurt by someone I held no expectations for, yet I made the mistake of expecting kindness from Soren.
The thought of it just made my chest feel heavy. I resisted the urge to cry, curling in on myself as I tried to make myself as small as possible. Crying was what they — especially Violet — wanted to see, and I refused to give it to them. However, it certainly didn’t stop the back of my eyes from burning with unshed tears.
"My apologies," Cedar said. He was still panting, evidence of the fact that he most likely had to rush back and forth just to secure the backup dress. I never thought I would be so grateful to hear my older brother’s voice. "There was a hiccup with the dressmakers, so it took a while longer than predicted. The dress is ready now."
"Oh," Violet said. Her voice was a little flat, her mask slipping. But ever the skillful actress, she quickly smiled brightly, clapping a little as she did. "How wonderful. And just in time!"
She turned to look at me, and through her smile, I could feel her disdain and anger that her plans to humiliate me had been foiled this time.
"In that case, Briar can wear Willow’s dress," she said. "It would be such a hassle to change in and out."
"Willow’s dress?" Cedar echoed, confused.
Soren shot Cedar a look, and the latter immediately pressed his lips into a thin line, the topic dropped.
I scoffed at this exchange.
"In that case, let’s get you dressed," Rowan said. His icy features melted into a gentle smile as he led Violet away, a hand on the small of her back to guide her.
Soren followed along, looking quickly in my direction before he took the dress from Cedar’s hands.
Cassian was the last of the three brothers. He glared at me, his eyes filled with unspoken hatred. I gulped, my throat tightening with just one glance from him. It suddenly felt difficult to breathe again, as though his fingers were around my neck once more.
Thankfully, Cassian said and did nothing. He huffed, turning on his heel to catch up with his two brothers and bride.
Once the Hadeon triplets were finally out of sight, my body slumped down to the ground, exhausted. It felt as though I had just fought a war. The fatigue of my activities with Rowan, paired with the dress ordeal and everything that had come before, slammed into me all at once.
"What are you doing sitting on the floor?" Cedar barked, glowering. "Get up. You’re embarrassing me."
"I... I think I should stay out here," I slowly said, swallowing the bile in my throat. "I need to tend to the guests, after all."
"Unfortunately, that won’t be necessary," Cedar said through gritted teeth.
Before I could react, he reached forward and hauled me up by my upper arm. I yelped in surprise as he easily lifted me off the ground before I could say or do anything. My hands haphazardly tried to hold the dress in place, making sure it didn’t slip off lest I be further embarrassed.
"For some goddess-forsaken reason, Luna Violet has requested you be her maid-of-honor. I don’t know why she had the horrid idea, but you’d better not do anything stupid while you’re up there on the stage―"
He paused in the middle of his speech, his eyes widening when he noticed the state of my dress― or rather, undress.
"What the hell happened to your dress?"
