Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Hurt Two Hearts

Hailee’s POV

"Are you okay?" Dane, who stood beside me, asked, but I couldn’t respond; instead, my eyes stayed fixed on a figure clearly approaching us. freёwebnovel.com

My heartbeat quickened, and the closer Nathan got, the more my chest tightened. For a moment, I wished I could just run away so I wouldn’t have to face him, but that would be stupid of me, and I refused to look stupid.

So I did the best thing I could do, which was hiding my emotions and putting on a relaxed look.

Nathan reached where I stood with Dane. He didn’t speak at first; rather, his eyes darted to Dane’s hand, which was behind my back.

I swallowed hard but didn’t pull Dane’s hand away.

Then Dane broke the silence casually. "Hi, Nat."

Nathan ignored him completely, his eyes locking on mine.

"How do you two even know each other?" he asked tightly, his voice rough, like he was trying not to explode.

I blinked. "We met at the library."

"That’s it?" he asked again, his voice rising just a little.

I hesitated.

I could lie.

Or... I could make it worse.

So I said the truth.

"He asked me to the bonfire. I said yes."

Nathan’s face shifted—like he’d just been slapped.

"You said yes," he said under his breath, more to himself than to me. "I asked you first."

I opened my mouth to speak, to maybe soften the blow... but nothing came out.

Nathan scoffed, the sound sharp, then spat out, "Enjoy yourselves." He said it flatly, turned, and walked away.

I watched him go, guilt curling inside me, but Dane broke in. "Wanna get a drink?" he asked, unbothered by Nathan’s anger.

I nodded because I knew a drink would clear my head, but immediately regretted it because as we turned towards the direction of the drinks, I realized Callum was still standing there... staring directly at us.

My heart raced, but as usual, I put on a blank expression and followed Dane to the drink stand, totally ignoring the eyes of people gawking at me.

When we reached the bar stand, I decided not to make it more awkward, so I forced a friendly smile. "Hi Callum."

He looked at me with a soft frown, like he wanted to say more but had already decided it wasn’t worth it.

"Hey." he said plainly and just walked away.

I watched Callum walk away, his face unreadable, but I knew... I knew he was hurt.

And that made two.

Two hearts I might’ve bruised tonight just by showing up with Dane.

I turned back to the bar, forcing my shoulders to stay steady, my face calm. My insides, though? A complete mess.

Dane leaned casually against the counter beside me. "You know..." he began, his tone annoyingly relaxed, "You told me two guys asked you to be their date for tonight..."

I didn’t respond. I just stared at the row of drinks in front of me, pretending I didn’t hear him.

"...but you never said those two were actually interested in you."

I tensed slightly but kept my expression blank. I wasn’t about to feed his ego or start another emotional mess.

"I’ll have a pineapple soda," I told the bartender flatly.

Dane chuckled beside me. "Make that two."

I exhaled slowly, pretending he wasn’t getting under my skin.

Then he leaned in a little and said casually, "Well... guess that makes it three."

I blinked, confused. "What?"

He looked me straight in the eye. "Three guys interested in you."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

A slow, cocky grin curved his lips. "I’m now in."

I turned sharply to him, heat rising to my cheeks, but I didn’t let him see it. "What are you saying?" I asked, even though deep down I knew what he was saying.

He smiled and leaned over to my ear. "I think I like you, Hailee... and I want to court you."

My lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Dane... Dane Blackwell just said he wanted to court me?

What in the world was going on tonight?

I turned away from him, needing to catch my breath, and focused on my drink instead. I took a small sip, hoping it would cool the heat rushing to my cheeks.

This had to be a joke.

Or maybe—

Maybe I was releasing some weird scent... some kind of "attention-hungry, almost-eighteen" hormone that made all the men in the dickheads suddenly flock to me like moths to a flame.

That’s the only explanation, right?

Because it was getting insane.

First Nathan. Then Callum. Now Dane?

Seriously, what the hell was happening?

I sighed and let my eyes wander around the open field, trying to escape the chaos in my chest. That’s when I saw Callum—standing at the far corner near the fire pit.

He was surrounded.

Three girls stood near him, laughing, smiling, flipping their hair way too much. One of them... was Alicia. The same who was clinging onto Dane a moment ago.

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