Chapter 33 #2
Egret takes a quick sip of his whiskey, his expression carefully neutral as he clears his throat. “You weren’t supposed to find out about that until after the wedding.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” My voice rises, no longer caring who might overhear. “You couldn’t just let me have this one thing? You had to swoop in and take that, too?”
“Can you lower your voice?” Egret says, glancing around the ballroom. “And then I’ll explain.”
“Don’t you dare tell me to lower my voice,” I nearly shout, my hand slamming against the bar hard enough to rattle the glasses. “You dumped me five years ago for being too ambitious, and now you’re actively sabotaging my ambitions? What is wrong with you?”
His jaw tightens. “That isn’t what this is about?—”
“Oh, really?” I laugh, the sound sharp and bitter. “You’re marrying my sister, pretending we’ve never met, and now you’re buying up property just to fuck with me. What is actually going on here, then? Explain to me why you’re so determined to ruin my life !”
The words ring out across the ballroom, louder than I intended. Conversations halt mid-sentence. Heads turn toward us. I’m vaguely aware of movement from my table, but I’m too far gone to care.
“Trinity, what’s going on?” Josie’s voice cuts through my rage-induced tunnel vision. She appears at my elbow, concern etched across her face. “Why are you shouting at Egret?”
I whip around to face her, my chest heaving. “Because your fiancé is a manipulative asshole who?—”
“Trinity!” Mom’s sharp voice makes me freeze. She’s standing just behind Josie, her expression a mixture of shock and disappointment.
I realize with growing horror that we’ve attracted quite an audience.
Cash, Lucas, Matheo, and Kyren are approaching from our table.
Brendin and Saren have materialized from somewhere, flanking Egret protectively.
Half of the rehearsal dinner guests are staring at us like we’re dinner theater gone wrong.
“What is going on here?” Josie demands, looking between Egret and me. “Why are you two fighting?”
Before I can respond, Amelia’s voice cuts through the tension like a blade.
“She’s upset because her pack isn’t real,” Amelia announces from where she stands near the windows, a cruel smile playing on her lips. “Just ask Holly.”
My gaze flies to the only other girl here who I thought was on my side, save Josie. “You told her!”
Holly winces. “Of course not, but I think you just did.”
Well, shit .
“I overheard Trinity telling Holly earlier tonight that she hired them all,” Amelia says triumphantly. “They’re not her mates—they’re escorts. She was too embarrassed to be the only omega here alone.”
The silence that follows is deafening. I feel the blood drain from my face as every pair of eyes in the ballroom fixes on me.
I can’t speak. Can’t breathe. The weight of everyone’s stares filled with disappointment, shock and—even worse—pity is crushing.
“So much for all the nonsense you spew about omega independence,” Isabelle adds with obvious satisfaction.
“Trinity?” Josie’s voice is small, hurt. “Is this all true?”
I turn to Josie, feeling a combination of guilt and exasperation bubbling up in my chest.
“You should be upset with your fiancés for not telling you the truth about their past with your sister,” I say, my voice sharper than intended.
“I was upset,” she admits quiet sigh. “When they told me everything weeks ago.”
The words hit me like a slap. “Wait, what? They told you. When?”
“After that family dinner when everyone was acting so weird.” Josie wraps her arms around herself, looking suddenly small in her elegant dress. “They sat me down and explained their whole history with you. College, the engagement, everything.”
I stare at her, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“I really wanted to believe that they couldn’t have meant much to you when you went five years without even once mentioning their names,” Josie says, eyes shiny.
“When I showed you their pictures that first day at the coffee shop, you didn’t say anything.
I thought...I thought you wanted to forget the past. That bringing it up would only cause problems.”
The guilt hits me like a freight train. All this time, I’ve been protecting her from a truth she already knew.
“That said,” she continues, her voice growing stronger and a small smile playing at the corner of mouth. “I also made it very clear to my fiancés that if they said or did anything to hurt you during this wedding, I would kick their asses.”
I can’t stop the burst of amusement that escapes me at the mental image of my petite, five-foot-two sister physically threatening three alphas who could probably bench press her combined weight.
But then I catch sight of Egret, Saren, and Brendin’s faces—all three looking like they’re remembering that conversation and taking the threat very seriously—and I realize they must still believe she’ll do it.
My brief amusement quickly transforms into deep, crushing embarrassment as the full scope of my humiliation becomes clear.
I’ve spent this entire week orchestrating elaborate lies, hiring a fake pack, and putting myself through emotional torture to protect my sister from a truth that was never hidden in the first place. Meanwhile, she’s been protecting me from the same truth.
And I’ve just blown up spectacularly in front of everyone, exposing my own deception while accusing them of schemes they weren’t even orchestrating.
My mind is spinning. “So, all this time, you knew. And they knew that you knew. And I was the only one pretending nothing had ever happened.”
Josie nods miserably. “I was hoping you’d eventually tell me yourself. Or that they’d find a way to apologize properly. I never wanted any of it to come out like this.”
I look around the ballroom at all the faces staring at us—my family, the wedding guests, my fake pack who probably think I’m completely insane. The weight of my stupidity presses down on me like a physical force.
I’ve humiliated myself for absolutely nothing.
I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. How do I explain any of this without revealing everything else?
Egret suddenly steps forward, his expression shifting from careful neutrality to something softer.
“I really need to clarify something about this venue deal,” he says.
I stare at him, too overwhelmed to offer anything more than a confused sound.
“I know it was overstepping, but we put out feelers about that property after you mentioned it at your parents’ house.
There was already another buyer about to outbid you by at least ten percent,” he explains, exchanging glances with Saren and Brendin who both look abashed.
“I knew you wouldn’t take the help if we offered it, so we bought the property ourselves.
We figured there would be some way to let you have it eventually.
” He lets out a rueful laugh. “Or more likely, sell it to you for your original bid amount, knowing you. I know accepting gifts has never been your thing.”
His words hit hard enough to nearly knock me over. “You... what?”
“I fucked up five years ago, Trinity. We all did.” His voice drops, becoming more personal despite our very public audience. “You deserved better than how we treated you. This was supposed to be... I don’t know… a way to make amends. To help you get what you wanted. ”
I stand frozen, trying to process this information. Around us, the silence stretches like a rubber band about to snap.
“So you’re telling me,” I say slowly, “that you bought my dream venue…just to give it to me?”
Egret exhales with a sigh. “Correct.”
Shock and humiliation crash over me in waves. Not only did I completely misjudge the situation, but I did it spectacularly, in front of everyone, while my own lies were simultaneously being exposed.
“Trinity.” Lucas’s voice is gentle as he appears at my side. “Hey, it’s okay.”
I jerk away from his touch, the movement instinctive. “Don’t. Just…don’t.”
His face falls, hurt flickering across his features before he masks it.
“I need some air,” I mumble, pushing past the crowd toward the terrace doors.
Multiple voices call after me, but I don’t stop.
“Trinity, wait.”
It’s my mother who catches up with me first. The no-nonsense sternness in her voice, combined with compassion, is enough to slow me down. I spent too much of my childhood automatically listening to that voice to easily ignore it now.
“Let me take you back to our family suite, honey,” Mom soothes, gently taking my arm and turning us in the opposite direction. “No one will bother you there, so you can take some time to calm down.”
I let her lead me away, wondering how I’m going to face any of the people I care about ever again.