Chapter 503-What About Gigi?

Chapter 503: 503-What About Gigi?

Verity:

We were all seated on the couches in the living room like one big family.

Everyone was sitting together on one side, while my couch faced theirs.

I felt incredibly awkward, with all the tension directed at me.

They were watching me with such intensity that I felt as though every little movement I made was being scrutinized.

"What do you want?" Jenna finally asked.

She had been biting her tongue for quite some time, but obviously, how long could she possibly stay quiet?

The situation was too strange for anyone to remain silent.

The moment she spoke, everyone turned toward her except Ragnar.

He was sitting on a single couch, his arms spread out, one elbow bent so he could rest his fingers against his temple.

His eyes remained fixed on me, never once straying.

"Jenna is right. Are you in favor of shared mating? Because if you are, then you need to take a very firm stand."

Lady Lucille’s face practically lit up at Jenna’s question, and she immediately began offering her own suggestions.

Jaguar and Theodore exchanged a weary glance, clearly tired of Lady Lucille’s constant insistence on sharing, while Ragnar merely rolled his eyes, as though everyone was an idiot for even considering an alternative or believing that my choice mattered.

Because he knew it didn’t.

"Look, Verity, if you want a shared mate bond, you should tell them. They’ll have to adjust. After all, it’s your life too, and you have every right to decide."

I couldn’t understand why Grandma Lucille was pushing the idea so insistently.

I knew she didn’t like Gigi.

She had already told me she wanted me with Ragnar, but I had never imagined she would be this desperate to see us together.

Then again, perhaps she simply adored me so much that she wanted me for all three of her grandsons.

But that wasn’t possible.

More likely, she was afraid I wouldn’t choose Ragnar, especially when there was one enormous question lingering in the back of everyone’s mind that nobody had dared to address.

Well, not yet.

Because, of course, the two brothers sitting across from me had been watching me like hawks.

Jaguar sat with his spine straight, one fist clenched near his mouth while his other hand rested on the couch cushion.

Theodore was hunched forward, his elbows planted on his thighs, one hand wrapped tightly around his other fist.

Both were glaring at me.

"What about Gigi?" Theodore finally hissed.

He barely opened his mouth to say her name, speaking through one corner of his lips as he turned slightly toward Grandma Lucille, almost as though reminding her not to be so selfish.

"What about her? She could be old news," Grandma Lucille replied with a pout, rolling her eyes.

"Are you really interested in sharing?" Jaguar asked me, his tone thick with judgment.

I could easily have said yes and ruined Ragnar’s entire game.

I mean, even if I became their shared mate, I could still make their lives miserable.

But where was the fun in that?

They would eventually adjust for the sake of my happiness, and probably much sooner than I wanted.

I had already figured that much out.

And adjusting was precisely what I didn’t want.

The real torment came when one person got something the others desperately wanted but couldn’t have.

That had been my plan all along, regardless of what Grandma Lucille was suggesting.

And that had been my plan all along, to keep the two brothers dangling with hope, then eventually trap Ragnar in my web.

He was staring at me, almost as though waiting for those exact words to leave my mouth.

"No," I finally answered.

Both Theodore and Jaguar let out relieved sighs.

"I’ve already developed feelings for someone. In fact, I have for quite some time," I continued, holding Theodore’s gaze for a moment, deliberately giving him a glimmer of hope.

He immediately lowered his head and closed his eyes, almost as though he wanted to savor that moment, convinced that my words meant I was leaning toward him.

But the instant his eyes closed, I shifted my attention to Jaguar.

"I only want to be with one man."

As soon as those words left my mouth, Jaguar’s clenched fists loosened, and his entire body relaxed.

He turned toward Grandma Lucille with a smile, almost as though he wanted someone else to notice the hints I had been dropping.

However, Grandma Lucille wasn’t paying him any attention.

Her eyes were fixed on Ragnar, who was sitting in the corner to my left.

"Then who are you choosing?" Jenna asked, unable to hide her anxiety.

"I think before we get to that, we should consider something everyone seems to have forgotten."

Now it was my turn.

There was something Ragnar would have to do for me if he wanted me to say yes to him.

And that was to punish Gigi.

I watched Ragnar’s expression slowly tighten, his fingers curling against his temple.

"I mean, don’t you think we should call Gigi here and tell her what’s happening? After all, the poor girl is innocently making preparations for her engagement," I suggested, pouting.

Both Jaguar and Theodore stared at me as though they were witnessing an angel being considerate of someone else’s feelings.

However, when I turned my attention to Ragnar, I found him watching me through half-lidded eyes, his expression full of judgment, as though he could see straight through my little act of innocence.

"Yes, we should call her here and tell her to stop making wedding preparations."

Grandma Lucille immediately jumped at the idea. Perhaps no one in the room was happier than she was at the thought of Gigi’s dreams being shattered.

No, actually, there was someone else.

A faint, secretive smile appeared on Jenna’s face as she stared off into space, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

That was when I realized Gigi hadn’t been able to fool everyone after all.

Apart from the men, there were others who could see through her act.

Theodore and Jaguar slowly turned toward Ragnar, their expressions almost accusatory, even though he had admitted to feeling the same mate bond they had.

Yet there seemed to be some strange discrimination at play.

They were perfectly fine with me choosing between the two of them, but the thought of including Ragnar in that choice was apparently unacceptable.

As far as they were concerned, he didn’t even deserve a place on the list.

Now the ball was in Ragnar’s court.

It was up to him to decide what he was going to do, and I was just as curious to hear his response.