ELLA.
"Delusional!" I said out loud without hesitation, the word leaving my mouth before I could even soften it.
The effect was imdiate, because the smile that had been lingering on Lawrence’s face faded noticeably.
Not completely, but enough for to know my words had landed exactly where I intended them to.
Honestly, what did he expect?
Did he really think I didn’t know what he was up to?
I wasn’t clueless.
I could see right through him.
The entire suggestion had nothing to do with helping recover my mories. At least, not entirely.
He simply wanted an excuse to spend more ti with .
That was the real reason.
And judging from the hopeful look he had been giving , he wasn’t even trying very hard to hide it.
Unfortunately, Nyx wasn’t helping matters at all. The wolf inside seed ridiculously excited by everything Lawrence said.
She kept jumping around restlessly within , practically vibrating with enthusiasm every ti he got close or smiled in my direction.
It was becoming annoying and I needed her under control, as fast as possible.
And the best way to do that was to kill Lawrence’s excitent before it spread any further.
There were still more pressing matters at hand, much more important matters—matters that concerned Alex, the inauguration and my missing mories.
Those were the things I needed to focus on, not whatever strange ga Lawrence was trying to play.
"I am just trying to help," Lawrence said, as his voice had lost so of its earlier confidence.
He looked disappointed—genuinely disappointed. Yet despite that, I could tell he wasn’t ready to give up on the idea.
The stubborn look in his eyes made that obvious, that he was still hoping I would change my mind.
I opened my mouth, prepared to shut down the conversation once and for all.
But before I could say a single word, the door suddenly opened and both Lawrence and I turned instinctively.
Lurgard stepped inside.
The mont his gaze landed on us, his expression darkened, almost imdiately. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between the two of us.
Then, without wasting a second, he walked directly toward us.
"What’s going on here?" he asked, his tone sounding casual enough, but there was sothing underneath it.
Before either of us could answer, he sat down, right between and Lawrence.
I blinked.
The move was so sudden and deliberate that it caught completely off guard.
"You both are too close," Lurgard continued, settling comfortably into the space he had inserted himself into. "Soone who doesn’t know better might think otherwise."
For a second, I almost laughed. The seriousness on his face only made the entire situation more ridiculous.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who found his behavior questionable.
"Hey, you can’t just co in and sit between us. That’s not proper," Lawrence said imdiately.
Although he tried to keep his voice controlled, I noticed the tension in his jaw, due to the way his shoulders stiffened.
The way he seed to be forcing himself not to react.
He was clearly annoyed, possibly even angry but he was trying very hard not to show it.
"There was no one sitting here, Lawrence," Lurgard replied calmly. "Why are you suddenly getting all worked up?"
The innocence in his tone was almost laughable, because I could see exactly what he was doing.
And judging from Lawrence’s expression, he could see it too.
The atmosphere between them instantly shifted, as neither of them looked willing to back down and neither of them looked willing to ignore the other.
And imdiately, I knew what was coming.
Drama.
A lot of drama.
The realization made internally groan.
The last thing I needed right now was whatever competition these two seed determined to start.
I cleared my throat loudly before either of them could continue and the sound imdiately drew their attention back to .
"Why are you here, Lurgard?" I asked, with my tone perfectly harmless.
At least, that was my intention.
It was a simple and reasonable question with nothing more attached to it
Yet the mont the words left my mouth, I noticed the subtle change in Lurgard’s expression.
Apparently, he hadn’t taken it as harmlessly as I intended. The look that crossed his face made that abundantly clear. And suddenly, I had the feeling that the drama I had been hoping to avoid was only just beginning.
"Why do you ask?" Lurgard asked instead, completely ignoring my question.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at , and I could already tell he was about to twist my words into sothing they weren’t.
"You seem to be enjoying Lawrence’s company so much that you don’t want anyone else to be here!" he added.
I stared at him for a mont.
Honestly, I had no idea how he had arrived at that conclusion.
"I didn’t an it in that way, Lurgard," I said, trying my best to remain patient. Then I paused briefly and took a deep breath before continuing. "Now get your thoughts straight!"
The words had barely left my mouth when Lurgard suddenly placed a hand dramatically over his chest.
"Ouch!" he exclaid, his expression instantly transford into one of exaggerated pain. "That hurts, Theresa. You are raising your voice at ," he added dramatically, as though I had just committed so terrible cri against him.
I rolled my eyes imdiately.
These n were impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
With a sigh, I pushed myself off the bed and stood up, needing a mont away from their nonsense.
Honestly, the triplets were a pain in the neck.
Every single one of them.
The mont one stopped being troubleso, another would imdiately take over.
"Theresa, don’t forget to think about what we were discussing earlier!" Lawrence said, as his voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
I turned toward him, and his face had widened into a smile again. A very pleased smile, the kind that instantly made suspicious.
I knew it.
He wasn’t going to give up on that idea, not even a little. The man was unbelievably persistent.
How pestering could one person possibly be?
Before I could respond, Lurgard imdiately straightened.
"Think about what?" he asked, curiosity practically radiating from him, as his eyes moved from Lawrence to and then back to Lawrence again. "What secret do you both share now?" he added.
The question ca so quickly that it almost made laugh, but what caught my attention wasn’t the question.
It was Lawrence’s reaction.
His face imdiately paled. The confidence he had been carrying a second ago vanished almost instantly.
And imdiately, I understood what he was thinking.
He was terrified Lurgard would start asking questions about the conversation we had been having earlier, and he might actually find out that the secret I was asked to keep was about us being Mates.
"There are no secrets, Lurgard!" I said imdiately before either of them could say anything else.
I folded my arms across my chest as I looked directly at him.
"Not every conversation requires you to know everything," I continued. "That would only make you...a gossip."
The mont the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help it.
I laughed.
Lurgard’s expression was priceless.
His eyes widened dramatically.
"Oh, now you are calling a gossip!" he said playfully.
He even pouted his lips in exaggerated offense, making himself look even more ridiculous.
The sight nearly made laugh again.
"That is exactly what you are, Lurgard," Lawrence said before I could.
The response ca so quickly that it caught all of us off guard.
For a second, there was silence and then laughter filled the room. The kind that ca naturally.
Lurgard imdiately protested, but even he couldn’t keep a straight face. The more he tried to defend himself, the harder it beca not to laugh.
And before long, all three of us were smiling.
Honestly, it felt good.
Really good.
For the first ti that day, I wasn’t thinking about Alex. I wasn’t thinking about the inauguration ceremony. I wasn’t thinking about my missing mories or all the problems waiting for outside that room.
Instead, I was simply enjoying the mont.
And that realization struck unexpectedly.
Ever since I had t the triplets, they always found a way to make smile sohow. No matter how terrible my day had been, no matter how frustrated, angry, or exhausted I felt.
One of them would always do sothing ridiculous enough to pull out of my own thoughts.
Sotis it was annoying.
Sotis it was infuriating.
But monts like this reminded why I kept tolerating them.
Because regardless of the storm raging in my life, they always seed determined to make sure I wasn’t facing it without a smile—That was sothing Alexander never did.
And for that brief mont, surrounded by their laughter and endless antics, the weight on my shoulders felt just a little lighter.
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