Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 109

Anno pov

At first, I didn’t feel guilty at all. I mean, why should I? Ash got what she deserved and while many might disagree, the truth of the matter is that she’s equally as responsible for what happened to my family as her parents are.

Sure, those monsters aren’t alive anymore so some might consider that they paid the price for their doings, but I don’t share the same sentiment. I want their entire bloodline to go extinct.

My family did nothing to deserve what was done to them.

Ash is the last remaining bastard from that blood so I want her to suffer. I want her to be in just as much pain as I’ve been all along, all these years, left without no one but myself.

But if that’s really true… Why do I feel guilty now? Why, all of a sudden, I have this sinking feeling that I’m doing something wrong and vile?

I managed to sneak a glance at her as the maids were helping her to get ready. She looked miserable. Even worse than that, Ash looked like she had given up completely.

She didn’t fight and argue, she just accepted her fate for what it was without questioning anything. Even a brief look into her eyes told me all I needed to know - the warrior was gone, and there stood nothing but the shell of a person I got to know her as.

“Our future queen is a beautiful woman, don’t you think?” A maid nudges my side, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“That she is,” I grumble, unwillingly.

Yes, Ash is beautiful, but that’s just the outside facade. Inside, she’s just as cruel and monstrous as her parents were. She’s just as rotten as them. I’d know, I’ve seen her during training and know how vicious she can become when she wants to.

I just need to keep reminding myself about those things so I don’t overlook her true nature ever again. If I do, I’ll just end up pitying her for meeting the fate she has earned.

“Aren’t you going to join the rest of the guests during the ceremony?” The woman starts questioning me all of a sudden. “Prince Kaiden mentioned you’re a very close friend of hers, so seeing you roaming the halls feels a little weird.”

Of course, prince Kaiden would tell anyone who listens that I’m her friend. I’m not. Not hers or his. That’s why I’m aimlessly walking around and trying to isolate myself from the ceremony as much as possible. I don’t want to be close to them, let alone near them.

“No,” I answer with a loud sigh. “I don’t feel like being a part of the ceremony.” I lie through my teeth.

Truth be told, I don’t feel like being part of anything at this point. When I first met Ash, she made me feel like I was special, like I was a part of something bigger just because all of a sudden, I had her. Now? Now that I know who she really is, I don’t want to be a part of anything that concerns her.

Now that her facade has crumbled, it only makes me hate myself even more for trusting that woman and being happy to be her friend. I have destroyed my family’s memory, betrayed their values and everything they once held dear. In simpler words - I fucked up. Royally.

“Ah,” the maid giggles and nudges me again. “You’re in love with your best friend, is that the case? So in love that you can’t imagine letting go of her? That it pains you to watch her marry someone else even though deep down you understand they’re fated to each other by the Goddess herself? Is that the case?”

Her words feel like a dirty accusation, not a curious assumption. I hate the very thought of ever being something more to Ash than who I am today, so it really ruins my mood to listen to this crap.

Rolling my eyes, I try to walk away from her, but the woman doesn’t let go of her pursuit for whatever she believes is the truth and starts following me around. “Come on, I won’t tell anyone. I see it in your eyes, the deep etched sadness and sorrow, I’m just trying to help you out here.”

Her words stop me. I freeze. The sadness and sorrow isn’t hidden there because Ash is finally getting what she deserves. It’s there because finally, I can let go of the pain and hurt I’ve been carrying for years and now, I don’t know what to do with myself anymore.

All these years, I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to strike, the moment when I’ll be able to get my revenge and move on, but while I was overtaken by all of that, I never stopped to think what I’d do next. What is my purpose? Do I have dreams and aspirations?

Growing up, my parents always insisted that it’s important to know your way in life, to choose the right path and do the right things. Among those lessons, they reminded me every day how important it is to accept everyone the way they are and learn to forgive.

“There’s no greater power than the master of forgiveness,” my mother would preach.

Remembering those words, I feel a ping of deep, sharp pain strike me in my chest. Not only because the fading memories are all I have left of them, but also because I’ve been doing everything opposite of what they taught me.

I hate to admit this, but if my parents were alive, I know they’d love Ash. She’s shy and timid at times, but she has a true soul and heart of a warrior. And damn, is that woman stubborn. No matter how many people tell her she can’t do something, she’ll go above and beyond to prove them all wrong, even at the cost of her well being and health.

The maid next to me still blabbers about some stupid theories she has as I face the worst and greatest moment of realization in my lifetime. I feel guilty after feeling Ash because I am the root cause of her losing herself. The warrior and fighter, I took that spirit away from her.

She trusted me with her life, she blindly ran into the woods because I lured her there, she thought something was happening to me and she didn’t stop for a second to think - Ash took off and came to my rescue.

“You’re right,” I speak up, breaking the maid’s tirade. “You’re so damn right. I need to stop the ceremony before it’s too late.”