CHAPTER 85: 85 - THAT NIGHT

85

~Belinda’s POV

Lisa was still sitting stiffly on the edge of the chair, pretending she wasn’t bothered, but I could see her trying to process everything I’d said so far. Her eyes held a flicker of doubt, but mostly fear.

Good.

I wasn’t done yet.

"Anyway," I said, leaning back and folding my arms, "back to the story. The one about how the golden boys, your precious mates, murdered their father."

She flinched slightly at my words but said nothing.

I tilted my head. "You look surprised. Still think I’m making it up?"

She hesitated before speaking. "It’s just... I don’t understand. Why would they kill their own father?"

I nodded slowly. "Of course you don’t. Because you’ve never heard the real story. But you want to, don’t you?"

She bit her lip, then gave a small nod.

I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. I reached for the glass of juice again, took another sip, and began.

"They lost their mother the day they were born. Did you know that?"

Lisa’s brows furrowed, her confusion obvious. "No..."

"Of course not," I said, eyes fixed on my glass as I swirled the juice slowly. "Nobody talks about it. Not even them. Not Damon, not Kael, not Rowan. But it happened. She died giving birth to them. Triplets. Three babies at once. It was too much for her body."

Lisa’s throat moved as she swallowed. "That’s... that’s heartbreaking."

"Yes," I said, finally meeting her eyes. "But it wasn’t just a tragedy, Lisa. It became the beginning of their hell."

She blinked, her expression uncertain. Like she wasn’t sure if she should say something or just let me go on.

I did anyway.

"Alpha Garrick, their father, never forgave them for it. Not once. He didn’t see them as sons. From the moment they took their first breath, he saw them as murderers."

Lisa’s eyebrows pinched together in disbelief.

"He said they killed the only woman he ever loved," I continued, my voice low and steady. "And maybe, in some twisted way, he actually believed that. But that doesn’t excuse what he did to them. What he turned them into."

Lisa looked like she wanted to argue. But what could she say? ’That’s not fair’? Nothing about it was fair.

"But they were babies," she finally whispered, her voice fragile. "They didn’t choose to be born."

I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You think Garrick cared about that? He didn’t see innocence when he looked at them. He saw loss. He saw pain. And every cry, every laugh, every step they took just reminded him that the woman he loved was gone. So he punished them for it."

"Exactly. Babies," I snapped. "Innocent, helpless infants. And yet, he hated them. Not just emotionally. He made them pay for it every day of their lives."

Lisa’s face twisted. "What do you mean ’pay’?"

I leaned in. "He abused them, Lisa. In every way you can imagine, physically, mentally, emotionally. They grew up afraid of their own father. Do you know how twisted that is?"

Her eyes widened. "I... I didn’t know."

"No, you didn’t," I said with a small laugh. "And do you know what makes it worse? He never even told them a single thing about their mother. Not her name. Not what she looked like. Not even what flower she loved. Nothing."

Lisa looked genuinely horrified now. "That’s awful."

"It is," I said, nodding. "But someone did tell them eventually."

Lisa looked up at me. "Who?"

"My mother."

She blinked. "Your mom?"

I smiled a little. A real one, this time, the memory softening something inside me for a brief second. "Yes. My mom and their mother were best friends. Grew up together. She was one of the few people Alpha Garrick hadn’t managed to chase away completely."

Lisa looked curious now, even though she tried to hide it.

"My mom told them stories," I said, quieter now. "When we were younger, we’d all sit by the fire and she’d tell them about their mother. Her smile, her laugh. How she used to sneak sweets into her sleeves during pack meetings. How she once danced barefoot in the rain during spring."

I paused.

"And she told them about the flower garden."

Lisa frowned. "The garden..."

I nodded. "Yes. The one they took you to the other day."

Lisa’s lips parted slightly. "That was... their mother’s?"

I nodded again. "It was her favorite place. She planted those flowers herself, one by one. She called them her ’moon babies.’ Said each flower bloomed under a different moon cycle and carried different meanings."

Lisa looked away, her voice soft. "He never told them about any of that?"

"No," I said firmly. "He locked the garden up after her death. Sealed it off like it never existed. Like she never existed."

Silence stretched between us for a long while. Lisa looked... lost. Confused. But also hurting.

And still, I wasn’t done.

"They didn’t kill him just because he was cruel," I said finally. "They killed him because he was about to do something that would’ve destroyed them."

Lisa looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

I looked at her, dead in the eyes. "He was planning to exile them. Strip them of their inheritance. Claim them as cursed. He already had a meeting set with the Elders. I found the letter myself."

Lisa’s eyes widened.

"He wanted them gone," I continued. "Wanted to erase them like he erased their mother."

"But why?" she whispered.

"Because they were stronger than him," I said. "Even at eighteen, they had more power than he ever did. And that scared him."

She sat back slowly, staring at the wall.

I watched her for a while, then added softly, "They didn’t do it out of hate, Lisa. They did it out of survival."

She said nothing.

I stood up, walking to the window.

"I was there," I said quietly. "That night. When it happened."

She turned sharply. "What?"

I nodded. "I wasn’t supposed to be. But I was."

Lisa looked stunned. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "He’d hit Damon so hard he collapsed. Kael was already bleeding from a whip lash. Rowan had bruises all over his neck from being choked. I couldn’t take it anymore. I screamed. I rushed in. Tried to pull Garrick away. He backhanded me across the face."

Lisa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.