Gigi:

"Everything should be done perfectly, Rochelle. And you need to be very subtle about flirting. Remember, these men don’t really like women who come on too strong," I warned Rochelle.

As she stood in the kitchen with me, I thought about how I had informed Ragnar that I had a huge dinner planned for him at his mansion.

To be honest, I had arrived early, and Theodore and Jaguar had helped me with the groceries.

I told them I wanted everything to be done by hand for Ragnar.

He had done a great job hiring a new alpha for the pack that had been troubling everyone.

The thing was, I didn’t really care about those pack members.

I was just happy to show Ragnar that his success meant a lot to me and that I was supportive of him.

At the same time, Rochelle wanted to be involved, so I brought her along, and she had been helping me in the kitchen.

Most of the time, we were just gossiping.

There were a lot of chefs and maids around us, helping with the preparations.

"Don’t worry, I will be," Rochelle replied with a smile.

She wore a beautiful yellow dress with a neckline so low that if she moved the wrong way, I was afraid one of her breasts might pop out.

I wasn’t really worried about her being around Ragnar.

He didn’t pay much attention to women’s bodies.

I had never even heard him talk about mine that way. He was always respectful.

Still, there was a part of me that wanted a little more from him.

We had sex, but I craved something beyond that.

I wanted to see a wilder side of him, a side that would take control and do things that felt forbidden.

Whenever I brought up the idea, though, he would simply wave it away.

Even so, I never doubted that he loved me. He told me so often enough.

"Um, is everything ready?"

Suddenly, Theodore walked in, and I watched Rochelle check him out from head to toe.

I had warned her not to do that.

These brothers shared everything with each other.

That was why Rochelle checking him out and then going off to flirt with Jaguar was going to end really, really badly.

If anything, the brothers would completely ban her from ever entering the mansion or being part of their lives.

I had already explained that to her, but Rochelle was such a thirsty person that she refused to understand.

I knew exactly how her mind worked.

Deep down, she was probably thinking that if Jaguar didn’t work out, Theodore would.

But I had already told her that Theodore was impossible.

He would use her and throw her away.

He never truly cared about anyone.

He had made it very clear to all of us that he had no plans to settle down, probably not ever.

"Yeah, everything is done. We’re just going to set the food out now. How about you, Rochelle, and Jaguar do it?" I suggested, watching Rochelle smile at the mention of them together.

She was already happy because she thought her plan was working.

"Oh, Jaguar isn’t home."

Theodore spoke in a casual tone as he picked up a freshly cut cucumber from the salad and took a bite.

"Wait, what do you mean he’s not here? I planned this dinner after informing all of you that you needed to be here," I said.

At that moment, I didn’t care about Rochelle at all.

The second Theodore mentioned that Jaguar wasn’t home, I became upset.

Suddenly, all I could think about was myself.

Jaguar knew how sensitive I was.

So how could he possibly miss my dinner?

"He had a call. I think one of his friends is sick. But don’t worry, he promised he’ll come."

Theodore must have noticed the look on my face because he immediately tried to reassure me by explaining the situation.

"He better," I muttered.

"Don’t worry. He will be," Theodore replied with a smile, gently pinching my cheek.

These brothers treated me very well.

Honestly, I had always been spoiled by them.

It wasn’t as if they were afraid of me.

These were Alpha Kings.

They were simply afraid of hurting my feelings, and I could tell.

Rochelle probably envied how cherished I was.

As Theodore started to leave, Rochelle slid closer to me.

"Wow, they care so much about you."

As expected, she brought it up.

I simply shrugged, acting as though it wasn’t a big deal.

"Anyway, get ready. Let’s go set out the food. I don’t want Ragnar waiting," I said dramatically, gesturing for the maids to finish the final touches.

Within the next few minutes, the food was served.

As expected, Ragnar looked incredibly handsome when he came out after his shower.

He loosely tied part of his hair back into a man bun before taking his seat and smiling at the spread before him.

His smiles were always restrained.

They looked formal more than anything else, but I never thought much about it because I already understood how he was.

I had always told him that I understood and would never expect him to do something he wasn’t comfortable with.

That was why I never complained about him not laughing at my jokes or joking around with me.

It simply wasn’t his style.

"I prepared this menu myself," I announced dramatically.

"I can tell. It’s all very good and well done," Ragnar commented.

Theodore nodded in agreement.

However, the empty seat beside Theodore had started to bother me far more than it bothered Rochelle.

Rochelle’s entire mood had already been ruined.

"How are you doing, Rochelle?" Theodore asked while Ragnar, as always, paid no attention to her.

It wasn’t that I was completely happy about it.

I had my complaints.

I worked hard to make Ragnar happy and tried not to complain, but every now and then, I noticed things.

Sadly, Ragnar wasn’t very fond of my friends.

Even though I could use him to make them jealous, he never really gave me the chance.

He never accompanied me to gatherings with my friends.

Then there was the fact that Ragnar knew I had a lot of male friends, yet he never showed any jealousy.

Once, I brought it up and asked him why he wasn’t jealous.

He said he simply wasn’t the jealous type.

I had been upset by that answer, but I didn’t want to damage our relationship over it, so I kept my feelings to myself.