Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose novel Chapter 44

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

As soon as that name slipped from my lips, a palpable silence enveloped the room. Chalice, who had been sobbing uncontrollably just moments before, abruptly halted her tears. Her eyes widened, reflecting a mix of surprise and dread as she turned to face me.

“Is this how far you’ll go to drag this out?” she whimpered, her voice thick with emotion. But I stood my ground, unwavering.

No, I wouldn’t yield. Not when my reputation hung precariously in the balance. And certainly not when it seemed she had finally succeeded in snatching away the one person who had once belonged solely to me.

Jarek.

The thought of him still stung like a fresh wound, leaving me in a daze of anger and betrayal. Yet, despite the turmoil swirling within me, I knew I had to demonstrate that her actions would not go without repercussions.

09:39
1/11

Tears threatened to spill from the corners of my eyes, but I fought them back as I turned to my friends—Emily, Kael, and Caelum.

“You all think I pushed her, don’t you?” I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. When silence met my question, I pressed on, “Let’s do ourselves a favor and check the cameras to satisfy our curiosity. And after that, I want to know why neither of you has rejected me yet.”

At that, Kael erupted with fury. He seized my arm with such force that I was certain it would leave a bruise. His face contorted with rage as he spat, “Don’t try to twist the topic, Leilani.”

I held his fierce gaze without flinching. “The only one twisting the narrative here is your sweet Chalice.” I pointed toward her, my voice rising with conviction. “I agree I must have hurt her, but it was with my words. If you want proof that I tried to hit her, you need only watch the footage.”

09:39
2/11

In that moment, something shifted in Chalice’s expression. I caught the flicker of panic that danced in her eyes, and I noted how she instinctively took a step back from me, as if distancing herself from the impending storm.

Her lips trembled as she cried out, “Kael, spare her! If I had known she wouldn’t admit it, I would have let her be!”

But I wouldn’t accept that. I didn’t want to be ‘spared’ when I knew I had done nothing to deserve this humiliation. My fists clenched tightly as Caelum pulled Chalice into his embrace, his eyes filled with disdain as they bore down on me.

“Leilani, just apologize and let’s move on!” he snapped, but I didn’t even glance his way. “You don’t have to make this about you like you always do.”

I turned my attention back to Emily. “The cameras work, right?”

09:39
3/11

“Yes, they do,” she replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Good. Then let’s review the CCTV footage of what happened here. That way, we’ll know who’s at fault and who should be held accountable for this mess.” An elderly woman who had insulted me earlier chimed in from behind, and I noticed a few onlookers nodding in agreement.

Chalice’s expression shifted dramatically.

Her eyes widened in horror, and desperation etched itself onto her typically innocent face. She reached for Kael’s arm, but in that split second, Kael’s fingers were gripping my face, and I winced as pain shot through my skin. Tears blurred my vision as he seethed, “If I find out that you really did push her, I’ll make you pay, bitch. And believe me, you’ll pay dearly.”

“And if it turns out I was wrongly accused, I’ll make you all pay… especially her,” I retorted, shrugging off his grip and stepping back.

At that moment, a few security officers approached, and the boutique fell into a tense silence as they began making calls to the team responsible for the security cameras. Moments later, the phone of one of the officers rang. He answered, pressed it to his ear, and muttered a single word:

“Okay.”

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