Chapter 447-He Knows! He Knows!
Verity:
Ragnar had been acting incredibly cold and distant toward me.
He barely spoke to me anymore, and even when Gigi came in with that dry, halfhearted apology, he hardly reacted. He simply ignored us.
Once Gigi left, I decided it was time to confront him.
I rose from my chair and approached his desk.
"What is it, Verity? Go back to your seat. I already told you I’m busy," he snapped, his tone so harsh and dismissive that it immediately got on my nerves.
"Things have escalated between me and your brothers," I pointed out.
The moment I said that, I noticed his fingers pause over the keyboard.
He withdrew one hand briefly before resuming his typing, deliberately avoiding my gaze.
"What are you so angry about? Don’t you want your brothers to be happy?"
Before I could say anything else, Ragnar suddenly slammed his hand down on the keyboard with such force that it cracked in two.
"Ragnar!" I nearly yelped.
The impact jolted the computer monitor, causing it to tilt sideways and topple onto the desk before slipping toward the edge.
Several other things scattered across the surface, some falling to the floor.
"I said I’m busy!" he hissed.
There was so much anger burning in his eyes that I couldn’t even begin to understand where it was coming from.
"You know, it would be a lot more effective if you just fucking opened your mouth and told me what’s bothering you!"
I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but at that moment, I felt he deserved every bit of my anger.
"Take your words back," he warned through clenched teeth.
I shook my head.
"No, I won’t," I muttered, turning away to return to my chair.
I had barely taken a few steps when Ragnar suddenly rose from his seat.
Before I could react, his hand closed around my arm, yanking me backward until my back slammed against the wall.
The next thing I knew, he was standing dangerously close, so near that I momentarily forgot how to breathe.
He seized both my wrists, pinning my hands against the wall on either side of my body, his fingers gripping them tightly enough to keep me from moving.
"You’ve been testing my patience a lot lately, Verity," he whispered, his face hovering inches from mine.
I immediately turned my head away, but he adjusted his position, bringing his mouth closer to my ear so I could hear every word.
"Do you want to know what’s bothering me?"
At that, I stopped trying to turn away, my breathing growing heavier as I waited for him to finally tell me what was going on.
But he didn’t.
Instead, Ragnar abruptly released my wrists and stepped back.
"My brothers will never be okay with sharing you like that," he finally uttered, gesturing vaguely as though the memory of seeing the three of us together had suddenly resurfaced.
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
It was embarrassing enough knowing he’d seen us like that, but the way he immediately turned his face away made it seem as though even remembering the sight disgusted him.
"After what happened, do you honestly think you can choose one of them without the other getting hurt?" he demanded.
He moved farther away and attempted to run a hand through his hair, clearly struggling to contain his frustration.
"So you only care about your brothers’ feelings?"
My voice came out shakier than I’d intended.
Ragnar stopped pacing and turned toward me, his eyes narrowing as he studied my face.
"Why? Did you actually think you were important enough for me to put you before my brothers?"
Ouch.
I didn’t know why those words hurt as much as they did, but the moment I heard them, something inside me sank.
Without another word, I marched back to my desk and grabbed my purse and phone.
"You’re not leaving. Office hours aren’t over yet," Ragnar called after me.
But I didn’t fucking care.
I began stuffing my belongings into my bag, refusing to acknowledge him.
"Verity, I said you’re not leaving!"
I ignored him again, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed straight for the door.
Before I could open it, Ragnar was suddenly beside me, moving so quickly that I barely registered his approach.
He planted his hand firmly against the door, preventing me from pulling it open.
"Let me go," I hissed through clenched teeth.
"You’re playing with my brothers."
He spoke with absolute confidence, but the fire in his eyes was undeniable.
"What?" I asked, noticing how his gaze dropped to my neck, or more specifically, my throat, as I swallowed before questioning him.
"Throughout the trip, I watched your behavior. Not once did you act like a woman who was in love with her mates."
My jaw nearly dropped at his words.
"You’re here for another purpose. You didn’t come here to get a job or because you wanted to see how Gigi was doing. You’re here for revenge."
It felt as though someone had reached into my chest and wrapped a fist around my heart.
I swallowed again, refusing to look away from his face as I struggled to maintain a confident expression.
"That’s a wild accusation," I hissed.
"You are not going to lie to me," he muttered.
"What do you know about my life? What do you know about my feelings for my mates?" I demanded, feeling judged despite knowing there was truth in his accusations.
I couldn’t understand why hearing those words from him made me feel so small.
"Verity, a person in love doesn’t behave the way you do," he murmured, his jaw visibly tightening. "You still miss your brother, and someone who misses a loved one so dearly doesn’t simply return to the people who were once associated with him, the very people allegedly responsible for driving him to take his own life, just to get close to them."
I offered him a faint smile.
"Why? Do you think I have a reason to be angry? To seek revenge?"
He chuckled and rolled his eyes.