Chapter 101: i fear its fake

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: i fear its fake

"That isn’t true." he murmured. "You have no idea how I felt when you were at the brink of death."

"You were only worried because you were going to lose something useful. Like my other self that shares information with you."

Reid shook his head once. "That’s not completely true."

He stepped closer and carefully took her hand. His fingers were warm, the grip light.

"I’ve been a jerk from the beginning. I know that. But somewhere along the way I started..." He hesitated, searching for the right words. "I started seeing you. Actually knowing you."

Then, just as quickly, he released her hand. His expression dropped, the earlier charm fading into something more downcast.

"Forget it. I’ll step out so you can do your night routines."

He left the room without another word, the door clicking softly shut behind him.

Amelia stood there, suddenly restless, the quiet weight of what he had almost said still lingering in the air.

She moved through her night routines slowly— taking her bath, changing into softer clothes, brushing her hair in front of the tall mirror. Reid’s expression kept replaying in her mind. He had looked genuinely crushed. That wasn’t an expression she associated with a man who usually specialized in breaking women’s hearts for sport.

Swifty had settled on the edge of the dresser, watching her with quiet attention. Amelia met the bird’s gaze in the mirror as she continued brushing.

"Everything feels so weird," she murmured, "and yet... so familiar at the same time."

She paused, lowering the brush slightly.

"Do you know that the brothers are my fated mates?"

Swifty gave a soft, affirmative trill, as if the answer had never been in question.

Amelia exhaled and began gathering her hair.

"I understand why my other self lied to me about it. But I still don’t know if I can accept this. Accept them. Even if my heart keeps pulling me in that direction... I keep thinking it’s just the mate bond doing the work. Not me."

She secured her hair and stared at her own reflection for a moment longer.

"I wish I could talk to her. Ask for advice. Should I follow what’s in my heart... or do the logical thing? Stick to the contract and finally cut them out of my life once it’s done."

Swifty only watched her, as if silently reminding her that she already knew the answer somewhere deep down.

Amelia sighed.

She crossed to the desk Reid had prepared. It was almost identical to the one she used to have. He had clearly arranged it specifically for her. The thought settled strangely in her chest as she sat down, opened her materials, and joined the video call with Kate.

They worked through notes and upcoming lecture points. Two hours slipped by almost without notice.

Eventually Kate yawned widely, rubbing one eye.

"My energy’s completely gone. How are you still awake?"

Amelia glanced at the open pages in front of her.

"I just have a lot of thoughts keeping me awake. Figured I might as well use that as an advantage and focus on studying."

Kate gave her a knowing look through the screen.

"You’re not actually focused, though. You’ve been spacing out every few minutes. What happened? Does it have something to do with your partners?"

Amelia’s expression shifted just enough for Kate to notice. Understanding flickered across her friend’s face.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Amelia hesitated, then exhaled.

"The dynamics between me and the brothers have become... something I never expected." She quickly added, "I actually like my partners very much. Don’t misunderstand that part."

Kate leaned back slightly, thoughtful.

"From the beginning I never really believed you became their partner because there were genuine feelings on either side. You were attracted to them physically—that much was obvious—but I’ve also noticed you’ve already started growing on them."

Amelia let out a quiet, almost self-mocking breath.

"You really do live up to your detective skills."

Kate smiled faintly.

"I don’t know the full reasons, of course. But it looks like you’re conflicted about your own feelings right now. Who would have thought you’d end up developing something this deep for the Ellington brothers? The same men who are known for being cold, ruthless, and perfectly capable of destroying anyone who stands in their way without losing a night of sleep over it."

Amelia’s voice softened. "That’s true. But lately... they’ve been becoming soft toward me. And I don’t really know how to respond to that."

Kate flipped through a few pages of her book, then looked back up.

"Have you ever considered that their feelings might actually be genuine? Or do you not believe it because Dylan never treated you with even half that much care?"

Something in Amelia snapped into place.

Kate’s words hit deep, sharp and crystal clear. It could actually be true. She had never known what it felt like to be treated with steady, gentle and yet messy care.

For years, she thought Dylan’s warped version of affection was just how love worked—heavy love-bombing right out of the gate, months of being frozen out, and then just enough attention thrown her way to keep her hooked.

Five whole years of surviving on crumbs and convincing herself it was the real deal, all because he somehow always knew how to dole out just enough to keep her from walking out the door.

With the brothers, everything felt different. And that difference scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Amelia’s voice came out tight. "You might be right."

"I know I’m right. You need to stop thinking you don’t deserve to be treated well by your partners. You’re not the wolfless, useless person everyone in your life spent years telling you that you were. You deserve better—even if ’better’ happens to come in the form of three terrifyingly powerful, ruthless, lethally beautiful men who would definitely start a genocide and somehow still make it feel romantic while doing it."

A small, reluctant smile tugged at Amelia’s mouth.

"I might have gotten a twinkle from your words."