Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose novel Chapter 118

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

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**More than just a kiss.**

Leilani.

“I have no desire to reignite any form of relationship with Keisha,” he drawled, his voice gravelly and rough, like metal scraping against sandpaper. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes in disbelief.

“Yeah, right!” I scoffed, my tone dripping with sarcasm, deliberately ignoring the way his gaze fell, as if my words had struck him.

For the first time, I felt a surge of defiance. I didn’t care that my words might hurt him; I didn’t care that his complexion was fading into an ashen hue with every tick of the clock. I was simply exhausted—exhausted from being toyed with, from being treated like I was nothing more than a pretty face adorned with sharp intellect.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but they were not tears of sorrow. No, they were tears birthed from anger, betrayal, and a deep-seated hurt that ran through my veins like fire.

He sighed heavily, a sound that seemed to echo in the tension-filled air. “Leilani…”

My voice emerged hoarse and icy as I held his gaze, unwavering, even as my heart fluttered in my chest. “You see, just as you expect me to believe that there’s nothing between you and Keisha, that’s how I want you to trust me when I say there’s nothing going on with the triplets.”

“But it’s not the same!” he growled, his expression twisting in anguish. “You can’t compare what I have with Keisha to what you share with them!”

“And what exactly is the difference?!” I shouted, rising to my feet as he did the same, our tempers flaring like a wildfire.

I watched him rub his face in frustration, noting the flush creeping into his cheeks and the way his eyes had hardened, now resembling dark, frozen water.

“What’s the difference between the two? You’re bound to her just as I am bound to them. They’ve hurt me just like she has hurt you. I’m still tied to them in the same way you’re still tied to her. So why on earth are you so fixated on my relationship with them while expecting me to brush off what you have with her?”

At my words, Jay let out a dejected sigh, closing his eyes for a moment as if trying to gather his thoughts. He took a long, deep breath before muttering, “I understand that those bastards hurt you, but you can’t equate what they did to you with what Keisha did to me. Because of that, there is no way I would ever, in my right mind, go back to her!”

His words, heavy with unspoken pain, struck me like a physical blow. I didn’t understand why he had to say them, but they made my heart ache even more. The betrayal I felt intensified, and I seethed, “You know, that’s quite rich coming from you.”

“Leilani…”

“It’s rich that you’re now comparing the different degrees of ‘hurt’ we’ve experienced. That you would try to dismiss my feelings by measuring who was more betrayed by their mate.”

“You don’t understand…” he began, but I quickly raised my hand, cutting him off dismissively, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill.

“I don’t want to understand.”

“No, you probably should,” he insisted, his voice unwavering. “I’m sorry to say this, but while the triplets broke you by cheating on you with your sister, Keisha didn’t do that to me. She cheated, yes, but with a man I never knew.”

“And what difference does that make?” I challenged, feeling the heat of our argument pulse in the air.

“The difference is that I would’ve taken her back if cheating was her only transgression!” he shouted, his voice rising, veins bulging at the sides of his neck.

His eyes flashed with something dangerous, something almost maniacal, and instinctively, I knew I should back down. But instead, I stepped closer, until our bodies were nearly touching, my face nearly buried in his chest.

If I’m being honest, it wasn’t exactly chest to chest; it was more like my face was pressed against his chest.

“And what is this other crime she committed?” I asked coldly, crossing my arms defiantly as I tilted my head back to glare up at him.

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