Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose novel Chapter 103

**Healing Slowly But Surely By R. Joseph**

**103 Ruined Appetite.**

**Leilani.**

1

For a brief moment, silence enveloped the room. It was as if time had momentarily frozen, allowing the weight of Gavin’s words to hang heavily in the air. No one dared to break the stillness, caught in the shock of what had just transpired.

Everyone, that is, except for me. I had already seen through Gavin’s facade; his intentions were painfully transparent. He was merely trying to win favor with Chalice, his mate, and frankly, I couldn’t care less about his motives.

Chalice’s expression shifted dramatically when she processed Gavin’s statement. Initially, her features fell, a look of disbelief washing over her. But then, as if a switch had been flipped, her face hardened into a glare that darted between Gavin, Maya, and me, as if we were the architects of her current plight.

“But it’s not my fault!” she exclaimed, her voice tinged with desperation. “I just wanted to say hello, and they were being unnecessarily rude!”

Maya, quick to defend herself, shot back, “We weren’t rude at all! If anyone was being rude, it was you!” But as soon as Caelum turned his fierce gaze upon her, she lowered her head, the fight in her visibly deflating.

Chalice, undeterred, retorted, “I wasn’t the one who came at you so hot for simply saying hi, was I?” When Maya remained silent—clearly aware of the futility of arguing—Chalice’s frustration boiled over. “Why do you both hate me so much?”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that familiar refrain. Maya scoffed softly, muttering under her breath about Chalice’s talent for feigning victimhood. When she thought no one was listening, she leaned closer to me, her expression a mix of annoyance and amusement. “You two look so much alike, but you’re definitely the prettier one. Why can’t you pretend to be as pitiful as she does? With those eyes of yours, you might just pull it off better than she does.”

A soft laugh escaped me, but Gavin, standing perilously close, caught her words. His brows knitted together in irritation as he turned to us, and I braced myself for the inevitable explosion. I fully expected him to unleash his anger on me for allowing a mere stranger to insult his beloved sister.

But to my surprise, he did nothing of the sort. How could he, when the ‘stranger’ was someone he had been eyeing with such intensity? The very same person who had inspired this grand display of heroism.

To my utter astonishment, he directed his ire toward Chalice instead. “I witnessed the entire exchange from a few seats away,” he hissed, his voice low but seething with intensity. “I saw you approach them. I saw how spoiled you acted. And while I will always support you, I cannot stand by and watch you behave uncultured. Apologize.”

Chalice’s eyes widened in disbelief, her frown deepening. “Gavin, I didn’t—”

“There are witnesses who saw how you provoked them into responding harshly. Would you like us to call them?” he snapped, cutting her off. The color drained from her face, turning it an alarming shade of pink.

“No,” she replied quickly, her voice barely above a whisper. In a bid to maintain her ‘innocent facade,’ she lowered her gaze and murmured, “I’m sorry for approaching you.”

Maya nodded in agreement, but I could see the stubborn set of her chin signaling that this confrontation was far from over. “I’m sorry too for the way I spoke to you,” she began, but before she could finish, Caelum erupted.

“Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?!” he shouted, his voice booming and drawing everyone’s attention. His furious gaze was locked onto Gavin. “You’re making your sister apologize for simply being friendly?!”

“Caelum!” Zevran growled, attempting to rein in his brother, but Caelum was too far gone, his emotions boiling over. He defensively wrapped an arm around Chalice’s shoulders, glaring at me as if I were the source of all his frustrations.

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