Gigi:

"Okay, now you’re worrying me. What’s going on?" Rochelle pressed.

I lowered the phone and looked at her.

"Well, guess what?" I snapped. "I can’t focus on helping you when I don’t even know where my own relationship is going."

The words came out sharper than I intended.

Rochelle immediately got to her feet and hurried over. She pulled me into a hug.

"Did he break up with you? Oh my Goddess, I am so sorry."

Her voice softened as she tried to comfort me, but every word only made my chest tighten further.

"No," I shot back, pulling myself out of her arms. "He would never break up with me."

I dragged both hands down my face.

"I didn’t know Verity was with him. That stupid Verity Swan went with him, and now they’re spending the night in a motel together."

My breathing grew uneven at my own complaints.

"And I know how these things go. I bet they’re stuck in a single room. That’s exactly what happens in every movie."

The tears came before I could stop them.

I hated how panicked I sounded.

But Ragnar meant too much to me.

The thought of sharing him with someone else was unbearable.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Rochelle pressed but I didn’t answer.

Instead, I pulled up my contacts and tapped Theodore’s name.

Before the call could connect, Rochelle glanced over my shoulder.

The second she read the message on my screen, she reached over and ended the call.

"What the hell are you doing, Rochelle?" I snapped.

She held up a hand, silently telling me to calm down.

"Why don’t you call Jaguar instead?" she suggested.

My brows drew together instantly.

"Seriously?" I muttered. "I’m having a breakdown right now, and you’re still trying to get closer to Jaguar."

She immediately shook her head.

"No, that’s not what I mean."

Leaning forward, she spoke more carefully.

"Theodore isn’t the person you should be calling. He’s impulsive and immature. Even if something happened, he’d probably brush it off like it wasn’t important. But Jaguar is different. He’s level-headed. If you ask him, he’ll give you a straight answer."

She smiled at me afterward, as though I wouldn’t notice the personal motive buried inside her advice.

"And what if Mr. Level-Headed decides to cover for his brother?" I shot back.

I dropped my phone onto the table and planted my hands on my hips.

"Do you not trust Ragnar?"

The question hit me like a wrecking ball.

Immediately, I shifted in my seat.

Embarrassment hit me hard.

"You need to trust him," Rochelle said gently. "And if I remember correctly, Verity is the sister of—" She trailed off.

That pause told me everything.

She wasn’t asking.

She was checking whether her suspicion was right.

I said nothing.

I just simply waited.

"Then trust me," she continued. "Ragnar would never cheat on you with her. He knows what her brother did. There’s no way he’d ever look at her that way."

She picked up my phone and held it out to me.

"But if it’ll make you feel better, call Jaguar."

I stared at the phone for a few seconds before finally reaching for it.

I finally dialed Jaguar’s number.

The call rang several times before he picked up.

"Hello?" His voice was sleepy, as if I’d dragged him out of slumber.

"I’m so sorry for calling this late," I whispered, forcing as much sadness into my voice as I could.

"Gigi?" His tone sharpened instantly. "Are you okay?"

Over the years, I’d grown close to Ragnar’s brothers.

They respected me like family.

After everything that had happened with Justin, they’d stood by my side without hesitation.

Which meant hearing me sound this distressed was bound to alarm Jaguar.

"Jaguar, I was sleeping, and then—" My voice cracked.

I sniffled loudly, making it sound as though I could barely hold myself together.

"Hey, slow down. Tell me what happened."

The concern in his voice deepened.

And that was when I knew I was handling this perfectly.

"I had a nightmare," I choked out. "It was Justin."

I let out another sob.

"He was chasing me. He said he’d find me, and then he’d kill me. Why can’t he leave me alone? Even after all this time, why can’t he just leave me alone?"

I broke down crying.

"Hey, hey. It was just a dream," Jaguar said immediately. "Justin is gone. He’s not coming back. You need to breathe, okay? Calm down."

I continued mumbling through my sobs, making myself sound more shaken than I actually was.

"You know what?" Jaguar said after a moment. "I’m calling Ragnar. He needs to talk to you. If you’re this upset, he should be the one comforting you."

A small sense of satisfaction settled inside me.

Maybe Rochelle had been right.

When you needed something done, you had to choose the right brother.

And in this situation, Jaguar had been exactly the right choice.

The call ended, and I looked over at Rochelle.

I was still sniffling.

Part of it was deliberate. I wanted Ragnar to hear it when he called.

But part of it was real too.

I was hurt.

Hurt that he hadn’t told me Verity was traveling with him.

Deep down, I knew Verity hadn’t gone with him because she was plotting something.

She wasn’t that kind of person.

If anything, she was still painfully innocent.

And somehow, that innocence bothered me more than anything else.

It made her damsel in distress and men in power love a woman they can save.

"You were right," I admitted.

Rochelle immediately straightened and brushed at her shoulders, as if adjusting an invisible collar.

Right on cue, Ragnar’s name flashed across my screen.

"Looks like your lover boy couldn’t wait," Rochelle teased, rising from the couch and heading toward the door.

As I watched her leave, a realization struck me.

She hadn’t even gotten the opportunity to talk to Jaguar.

She had spent the entire evening helping me instead.

For a moment, guilt tugged at me.

Maybe I haven’t been a very good friend lately.

I made a mental note to help her with Jaguar when I got the chance.

But first, I wanted to hear Ragnar’s voice.