Chapter 381-Invasive

Verity:

I was stunned by the scene Gigi had created.

I mean, she had completely fallen apart, so maybe calling it a scene was unfair of me.

Still, the brothers had picked her up and rushed off with her, all three of them going together.

The entire floor was empty.

It was just me and Ragnar’s laptop.

Before anyone could return, I quickly slipped into his office and opened the laptop again.

Thankfully, it hadn’t locked yet.

The screen was still displaying data from Gigi’s phone.

That was when I finally understood what had happened.

Ragnar had been confronting her because Jenna’s pictures and videos had been found on Gigi’s phone, hidden inside the deleted files.

So that was why Ragnar had been acting distant toward her.

For now, suspicion had taken root in his mind.

No matter how much Gigi had cried or panicked, she had made one mistake.

After spending so many years with Ragnar, I was surprised she still didn’t understand him.

And somehow, I already did.

When Ragnar asked a question, you answered it.

You didn’t leave until you’d given him the full explanation he wanted.

Passing out, creating a scene, or trying to bury the subject might stop the conversation temporarily, but Ragnar wouldn’t forget it.

Worse, he might never give you another chance to explain yourself properly.

Still, I didn’t have much time.

I quickly opened Gigi’s contacts and copied them.

Since they had managed to clone a large portion of her phone data, I moved on to her messages.

I searched through them until something made my heart nearly stop.

I found her conversation with Theodore.

There was one exchange from a particular day that immediately caught my attention.

It had happened a few days earlier, on the same day I’d been angry with both brothers for going off to spend time with Gigi.

That night, Theodore and Gigi had exchanged a very awkward series of messages.

Something about it made me feel as though something had happened between them.

I closed the laptop and left the office after taking a picture of the screen of Gigi’s hospital medical recprds, but one question stayed in my mind the entire way home.

What exactly had happened between those two?

And had Ragnar read those messages?

If he hadn’t, then he needed to know.

By the time I reached the mansion, I learned that all three brothers were at Gigi’s house trying to comfort her.

As expected.

This constant back-and-forth between them never seemed to end. Every time it looked as though they were finally pulling away from her, she did something that sent all three of them rushing straight back to her.

Whatever.

It didn’t matter.

What I needed to do was at home anyway.

Jenna, her mother, and Lucille had gone out to collect their gowns, so I had the mansion to myself. Jenna’s father wasn’t home either.

I had barely reached my room when O started calling me.

Before I could even answer, a message from him appeared.

He specifically asked me to meet him at our usual place because he had something important to tell me.

I knew exactly what I had to do.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, the one where I kept the clothes I wore whenever I met him, and left the mansion wearing a long coat.

Once I was deep enough into the woods, I changed.

I put on the white dress with a high neck and full sleeves, along with leggings. No flashy makeup. Nothing that would draw unnecessary attention.

Then I made my way to the cabin.

When I reached the door, I knocked.

"Come in. It’s open," a voice called from inside.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the doorway.

There he was, lying on the bed and watching television.

He had turned the entire cabin into a complete mess.

Dirty clothes and laundry were scattered everywhere, and the kitchen sink reeked of food that looked like it had been sitting there for at least a week.

Flashback

Just as Oliver was about to shove me into the car, someone struck him hard on the back of the head.

Oliver collapsed to the ground.

Breathless, I stumbled upright and stared at the person standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here?"

It felt unreal seeing him there.

The fact that he had somehow appeared at that exact moment and come to my rescue felt like a crazy coincidence.

That’s when I breathed his name.

"Oswin!"

He was my brother’s only real friend.

His parents were in prison, and he had always been there whenever my brother needed him. Even back when Oliver used to bully me, Oswin was the one who would show up and fight alongside my brother.

And today, he had come to help me.

"Didn’t you hear about Justin?" I asked, my lips trembling.

Oswin narrowed his eyes, waiting for me to explain.

"They ruined his life. Everyone treated him horribly, and he... he tried to take his own life. He’s in the hospital. He’s dying."

I broke down as Oswin gasped at the news.

"So I disappear for a few days, and this is what happens?" he muttered.

He reached toward me, but stopped himself before he could touch me.

He knew how protective my brother was of me.

"Anyway, go to the hospital, okay? I’ll be there soon." He paused. "And here, take my number. Stay in contact with me."

He held out his hand.

His number was written on a piece of paper, with only a single letter beside it.

O.

End of flashback.

Oswin had gone from respecting and protecting me, the way my brother once had, to becoming this strange, controlling figure in my life.

On one hand, I understood that he wanted to avenge his best friend. It was obvious. Revenge had become his entire purpose.

On the other hand, he was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.

Sometimes, I wondered if he genuinely believed I belonged to him.

"Clean this place. I don’t have the money to waste on hiring someone to do it," Oswin called from the bed.

I released a deep breath and clenched my jaw.

I’d thought something important had happened.

Apparently, he had just needed his maid to come over and clean up after him.

I headed toward the small storage room beside the bathroom to get the cleaning supplies when his voice came from the bedroom again.

"So, you are definitely not a virgin, right?"

My body stiffened.