Bella:
Finn's hand landed on Ryder's face, creating a dent that sent Ryder stumbling
backward, but he planted his feet firmly on the ground to avoid falling. Finn went in for another blow, but he missed. Then Kai grabbed him from behind.
"Calm down, man. I am pissed too, but you are going to kill him at this rate!" Kai shouted, his voice shooting through the roof while I stood there with my nails digging deep into my skin, unable to believe this was happening in real life.
I looked at Hazel, who had her bottom and upper lips glued together. They had caught me, and she had warned me, but I was too foolish to heed her advice. Now I wished I could go back in time.
"You go behind our back to claim our mate! What kind of friend are you?" Finn fumed, struggling against Kai's grip while Ryder stood there with a plain expression on his face. He opened his mouth multiple times to speak, but the words weren't forthcoming. "We will never be brothers, and I think that is clear enough for us to see."
"You went too far, Ryder, and this ends now," Kai added. I stepped forward in between them and Ryder, looking the twins in the eyes with my heart almost shooting out of my chest.
"I consented to everything that happened, and if you must blame him for what he has done, then I must share part of the blame," I said, and they shook their heads with their brows drawn down.
Suddenly, our phones beeped. I reached for my pocket, along with everyone else. We saw a picture of us in the diaries, which caused everyone to look toward the door, and we saw Fae leaning on the post.
"Surprise," she said, a smile planted on her face.
Our faces were void of a smile, and I wanted to hit the hell out of her. No one invited her, and she had to leave. But she had already taken it to the diaries, and there was no way I would let her off scot-free.
"Hazel, shut the door!" I demanded, but Finn looked me in the eye and said the words I never thought I would hear, "Fae stays!" He gritted his teeth, and I looked behind to see that he had his eyes on Ryder, who was shaking with his eyes reddening like he was about to cry.
Fae walked into the room, slamming the door behind her. She made her way to us, one foot in front of the other, in a calculated manner, as though she were a supermodel on a runway.
"I believe your sneaky link has something he wants to share with all of us," Fae said. I looked at the twins and then at Ryder.
All eyes were on him, causing me to turn around, but he stood there with no words. I glared at him, waiting for him to crack, but he didn't.
"Bella, I..." These were the only words he could say before Fae yawned aloud.
"This is getting boring, and I would rather be at the bleachers staring at hot guys from the football team, so I will do it for you," she said. Ryder attempted to grab my hand, but I recoiled with my heart in my throat, wondering what they were about to reveal.
"Ryder has been lying to you, and this, it was part of my plan to make you pay for rejecting them."
I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, as though a million swords had pierced it. I hoped this was a terrible dream and I would wake up to see that we had slept and forgotten to go to the games, but this was happening in real life.
This was revenge. He was only trying to get revenge, and I fell for it.
"We were all in on it, Bella, and we promised to stop, but we had no clue Ryder would go this far," Finn said, but I couldn't even turn back to look at him because I had my gaze on Ryder.
"We hope you can forgive us, and if you want to sever the mate bond, then we will grant your wish," Kai said, but I didn't look at him too because I couldn't take my eyes off Ryder.
I had given my all to him, and maybe it was still my karma, because all I had been my entire life was selfish. I neglected my other mates, and here I was being served by my actions.
"Tell me it is not true. Tell me you didn't just make me a fool by admitting to loving you a few minutes ago." My breath heightened as I spoke with my gaze still on him.
I preferred when he hurt me by bullying me, but this hurt more because he lied to me,
and I fell for it. Tears streamed down my cheeks without words, and Ryder grabbed my hand, cupping my face.
"Bella, please..."
"Tell me!" I gritted my teeth, slapping his hands off me.
He looked at me without a word, and his silence confirmed everything.
He tried to hold me again, and I yelled, "Don't touch me!"
I slapped his hands off my face, then took a step back.
"All this while, I thought you had changed for good, but all you did was so you could sleep with me? I can't believe I fell for the 'You do not deserve me' bullshit." I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat, and Ryder cut me off.
"That was before I fell for you!" His veins popped around his neck, but all I could hear were lies. "I wanted to hurt you badly because you rejected me. My entire life I have been in love with you, and I was a sore loser who was scared to admit it. When I tried to hurt you, I ended up hurting myself more, and-"
"Get out, all of you!" I screamed at the top of my voice before he could finish.
I didn't want to hear any more because all I could hear were lies, and lies, and I was fed up.
"Bella," he called out in a low tone. I looked at him with a subtle glow in my eyes.
Although I had my necklace on, I could feel my anger unleashing the beast within me. I wanted nothing to do with them at this point in my life.
"I said, get out!" I growled, my claws and fangs visible.
"Okay, okay." Ryder threw his hands in the air, backing away, then he moved around me, heading for the door along with Finn and Kai. I didn't look back at them; instead, I hung my head low, shutting my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Bella, I swear, and I will keep trying. When I said I loved you, I meant it."
"See you in school, Bella, and I hope you enjoy featuring on the blogs."
These were Fae's last words before she left, and the moment she shut the door, our phones beeped again with the video of the twins confessing they had wrung me into a
ruse.
"And that, students, is the reason you do not agree to have a sneaky link."
My heart raced against my chest when I saw this, and I made for my bed when Hazel grabbed my hand. I expected her to echo the "I told you so" words, but she did not. Instead, she wiped my tears with her hanky.
Then she said, "Please do not sulk, Bella. I knew Fae would do this, and I recorded the rest where Ryder confessed his feelings. Here it is," she handed her phone to me.
As I looked at the video and saw his lying face, the anger in me engulfed my entire body. I shut my eyes, taking a huge breath before I shut it off. Everything was gone, and I felt nothing but the urge to hurt him. He was going to pay for the damage he had done, and I knew just how.
Hurriedly, I sent a blast to the diaries from Hazel's phone.
"Looks like we got a half-baked story, and the Queen's crown sits perfectly on her
head. The word on the street? Ryder, Finn, and Kai are all vying for her attention, but it seems the Queen is done playing games."