Olivia’s POV
I never expected Anita to break down in tears... this was not what I expected. I expected her to give excuses, say evil things about , but she didn’t—rather, she was crying loudly while I just sat there, not knowing what to do.
After a few minutes, she got a grip of herself and began wiping her face. I looked at her, wondering why she was crying. Was she mourning ? Was this guilt? Or was she just acting, trying to get sothing out of ?
After a few minutes, she finally pulled herself together, sniffling as she wiped at her face with trembling fingers. She didn’t look at at first, just kept staring at her hands.
"I’m sorry you have to see this way," she murmured.
I nodded slowly. "It’s okay to let it out... don’t apologize for that," I said gently, though deep down, I wanted to scream at her. Tell her she was a terrible friend. Ask her why. Why did you hurt like that, Anita?
I loved you.
She sucked in a shaky breath and finally t my gaze.
"I wish..." she began, her voice cracking. "I wish I never let jealousy take over ."
My brows drew together.
"I wish I never agreed to them," she added, her tone low with sha.
Them?
My heart skipped a beat. I leaned forward slightly. "Who?" I asked, careful not to sound too eager.
She hesitated, eyes darting around the empty room before she whispered, "My parents... and the triplets’ parents."
My blood ran cold.
I kept my expression calm, but inside, everything felt like it was tilting sideways.
"What... what happened?" I asked, my voice low.
Anita hesitated again, like she was weighing whether to tell the truth.
Then finally, she spoke.
"A week before Olivia’s birthday... Lady Fiona ca to see ," she said slowly. "She told she didn’t want Olivia for the triplets. She wanted ."
I swallowed hard. "Did she tell you why?"
Anita shook her head. "No. She just said Olivia wasn’t the right fit. That she needed instead."
I could see the sha flicker in her eyes as she continued.
"I was going to say no," she admitted, "but then I thought about the way the triplets looked at her. The way they laughed around her, smiled just by hearing her na..." Her voice cracked again. "I wanted that."
She looked away. "Boys never looked at that way. No one ever did."
And she was telling the truth.
Anita was beautiful—no doubt about that—but boys were never attracted to her. Not really. Not like they saw .
She let out a bitter sigh. "So I told my parents what Lady Fiona said. I thought they’d talk out of it. But instead... they encouraged . Said they had their own plans too. That this could work in our favor."
My throat tightened. "And you agreed."
She nodded slowly. "Lady Fiona took sowhere... I don’t even know where. It was a witch... they... they did sothing. They gave sothing to drink, sothing to bathe in. They said it would help. That it would ’clean ’—make the charm stronger, make the triplets look at the way they looked at her."
My stomach turned.
So that was it.
It wasn’t just betrayal.
It was planned.
Crafted.
I sat back slowly, trying to keep my hands from shaking.
Anita wiped her eyes again, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I regret everything," she said, her gaze fixed on the flickering fire. "All of it."
I stared at her, unsure if I was ready to believe her... unsure if I even wanted to.
But she kept going.
"I didn’t get the triplets’ love," she said, her voice breaking. "Not even for a second. No matter how much charm or magic was used, they never looked at like they looked at Olivia. Not once."
She finally looked at again, and this ti, her eyes were hollow.
"I lost my best friend," she whispered. "The only person who ever saw ... really loved . And now she’s gone."
Her words hit like a punch to the chest.
She didn’t stop.
"I regret hurting her. I regret every action, every cruel word, every mont I let soone convince she didn’t deserve what she had. I regret listening to my parents. I thought I’d be happier if I had what she had... but I was wrong."
She placed a hand gently on her stomach.
"And now... I’m carrying babies who might not even make it into this world," she said with a broken voice. "I can feel it. Sothing’s not right. The doctors say I should rest, that I need to hope—but all I feel is this... fear."
I opened my mouth to respond—to say sothing, anything—but I paused.
Because just then, the front door opened.
Alpha Damien walked in.
His eyes landed on imdiately, sharp and annoyed. He didn’t say anything, just gave a look that said you shouldn’t be here.
I turned back to Anita, forcing a soft smile.
"I have to go," I said quietly.
She nodded slowly, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes still wet. "Thank you... for listening."
I hesitated, then turned and walked away, Damien’s gaze following the entire ti.
I took the stairs back to the room I shared with Alpha Damien. We both stepped in, and I expected him to lash out... I was used to his lashing out, but he didn’t. Instead, Alpha Damien dragged himself to the nearest seat and slumped into it, shoulders hunched, face buried in his hands like the weight of the world was pressing him down.
I blinked, surprised. He looked... exhausted. Broken. Scared. This was the first ti I had ever seen him like this.
I stepped forward slowly. "What’s wrong?" I asked quietly.
God, I was supposed to hate this man... so why was I worried?
He didn’t answer.
Just sat there, breathing hard through his nose, refusing to et my gaze.
I moved closer. "Alpha Damien..."
Still nothing.
I crouched beside him, my voice softer. "You don’t have to keep shutting out. Whatever it is... just tell ."
A long, tense pause filled the room.
Then, finally, he lifted his head and looked at —his eyes red-rimd.
"They’ve given three days," he muttered.
I frowned. "Three days for what?"
"To step down."
My breath caught.
He looked away. "If I don’t... they’ll kill Sofia."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"They still believe I care about her," he said bitterly. "That I’m still in love with her. They don’t believe I’ve moved on."
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