Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 314: His will

Chapter 314.Leilani.

"I thought you would be happy!" Agnes had said to me two days ago when she found me hiding behind a locker and crying my eyes out.

"You should be happy," a stupid pack member had said on the day that they’d been tasked with the responsibility to bathe Chalice one last time, "...you are free from all her excesses now. Moreover, everyone in this great pack knows that you are and have always been the Alphas’ one true mate, not her." She’d added, as if somewhere in some unknown planet, that would’ve been more than enough for me to stop sulking.

"That’s right," Maya had chimed in, "...the Chalice I know would have never mourned you if you were the one dead. If anything, she would have tried very hard to downplay the situation and made a mockery of you or anyone else who mourned you."

In the past forty-eight hours, I could hardly count how many times I’d heard people say things like that to me. That or people asking me to cheer up because she wasn’t worth it.

Worth it.

Like it was so easy to just get my heart to stop feeling this way.

Like their unfeeling words could magically take away the deep sense of loss embedding itself into my bones.

Chalice and I may not have seen eye to eye for most of our lives but it didn’t change the fact that she was my twin whether I liked it or not and that we shared a bond that no one else would understand... well, that’s besides the triplets.

I wiped the corners of my eyes with the back of my sleeves as I turned away from everyone and everything. And that includes the funeral procession now happening behind me.

From where I stood, I could hear the inaudible murmurs amongst pack members as they whispered her rites. I could hear the loud anguish-filled cries of my mother as she held onto the casket like it had all the answers she needed.

She was way better off than this during father’s funeral and now, I couldn’t help but wonder what may have broken inside of her this time.

Ignoring her momentarily, I vaguely paid attention to the feeling of people’s piercing eyes drilling holes into my back.

A tremor shot up my spine when I felt a presence beside me, and tilting my head upwards, I was unsurprised to see that it was Zevran.

For weeks now, I do not know how it started, but I noticed that I had now become very used to his presence. I liked having him around even though we never had much to talk about.

He drawled; "Are you okay?"

Goddess, he was the first to ever ask that since all of this began. And you see, the reason I think he’s currently the nicest person in my life.

He didn’t sound like he was criticizing me for mourning someone who always hated me. If anything, he sounded like he understood.

I shook my head. "It’s weird. I know that I am not supposed to feel this way, but... but I cannot help it..." my voice broke as tears slipped out.

When my shoulders started to tremble, he pulled me against his warm body and held me close. And like this, he didn’t say a word. His silence was all that I needed... and he knew that.

"...but that last time... that last time we talked, I could swear that I felt her fear. Her pain. Her regrets. She looked at me like she had more to say to me. It felt like she wanted to apologize to me for everything, but was too proud to... and I understand."

"Lani, you’re beating yourself up for something whose outcome would’ve never changed..." Zevran drawled, his voice not more than a whisper.

Due to how close he was standing beside me, his warm breath fanned the tip of my left ear, sending jolts of electricity strong enough to power a full city, running down my spine.

I moved away from him before I knew what I was doing and shook my head. "It may have..." I drawled, squeezing my eyes shut. And when the image of her innocent son played across my mind for the nth time this hot morning, I shuddered and completely pulled away from Zevran, my voice quiet as I whispered;

"Her son would never know her."

"Leilani—"

"Her son is too innocent for this. She may have been everything everyone says she is, but her son doesn’t deserve that kind of life... he doesn’t deserve to be an orphan, unloved and abandoned. He doesn’t deserve to live the way I had lived and the way his mother had lived before her death..."

"Gavin has asked to adopt him." He cut in, causing my lips to snap shut in surprise.

A choked gasp slipped through my lips and I cocked my eyebrows at him just as I felt a familiar flutter in my chest. As if sensing my intrigue, he nodded. "Yes, and I bestowed upon him the power to do so without facing challenge from any part of the little boy’s family."

"But there will not be—"

"I mean from Louis’ side of the family; that’s if he ever tries to claim the child in the future."

His words made me go quiet and I turned around to now face the ceremony. And for some reason, just as I did that, I noticed to my absolute horror that Chalice’s coffin was being lowered to the ground.

The scene broke me more than I could ever imagine and I dropped my head quickly to hide my tears. But I wasn’t fast enough.

My mother had seen me.

Her puffy eyes caught mine and held for a period of about thirty seconds— and I know because I counted. Her lips moved too like she had something to say to me, but before the words would come out, I turned away, closing my eyes to listen— and not hear— as they murmured my sister’s final rites.

The ceremony came to an abrupt end soon afterwards and while the people soon began to fizzle out, for some reason, I didn’t. I lingered behind with my heavy heart and heavier eyes.

I lingered because I didn’t want to walk out of here just yet.

My traitorous mind in that moment decided to show me how easy life would’ve been if hate hadn’t come between Chalice and I, and again, I wiped off the stupid tears that streamed down my face at the thought.

"I am sorry," A voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts and when I turned to the sound, I froze.

"Mother?"

"I am sorry," she cried again, holding and squeezing at her chest. "This is all my fault. I did this. I just Malakai, you... and then I hurt Chalice by being so obsessed with controlling you."

"Mother, this is not the time and place," I hissed under my breath, hating myself for pitying her at a time like this.

"It is, Leilani. It is. This is all my fault!" She cried, "if I hadn’t married Malakai despite knowing that I could never love him. If I hadn’t continued seeing Ragnar after being married to Malakai... all of this would’ve never happened. I would’ve birthed twin girls who loved themselves. Girls who were completely identical. Girls who would’ve loved me and I them."

I wanted to argue with her that we did love her but before I could even bring myself to utter the words, they died in my throat.

Why?

Because I wasn’t sure it was the truth.

I wasn’t sure I loved her. I wasn’t sure I even liked her.

After several failed attempts at speaking, I finally opened my mouth but before the words could come out, she tapped me gently on the shoulder and hissed; "We all need to wait behind. Your father’s lawyer has been meaning to get ahold of you."

"My father, Ragnar?"

"No, your father, Malakai. His will needs to be read."

"But... but..." I shook my head in confusion. "I am not of his blood. This is none of my business. His properties are to be shared between Gavin and Chalice... now, Chalice’s son. Not me."

"Well, you’re wrong, Leilani. Chalice was never mentioned in his will."