Shattered Souls (BTS)

Chapter 27: Madeline

Somehow, Madeline would have to make sure this didn't happen. There could be no more accidents. Perhaps Madeline should try and avoid them more. She'd have to be careful when her family invited her out and keep an eye out at college.

Avoiding them meant she couldn't complete the bond.

Jungkook was staring at her with petrified eyes. The man looked guilty and terrified of her reaction. She didn't want to upset him. Once again, Madeline reprimanded herself for being so considerate. She cared about them. Even through everything, she did. She didn't want to hurt them the way they hurt her.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook kept repeating those two words even after she had asked if the bond was completed.

Sympathy swirled in her stomach. She wanted to alleviate his worries but saying "it's fine" would be a lie. It was not fine.

"It...happens," Internally, she winced at her pathetic words. It happens? Sure, he accidentally bonded with her, tying himself to her for the rest of her life. But oh well. Shit happens.

Hobi patted Jungkook's shoulder and whispered encouraging and assuring words to him. His anxiety seemed to reduce at that. Madeline watched their encounter like a hawk, feeling envy at their bond. If only things were different. If only she wasn't so messed up...

"Why did you decide to stay?" She blurted out the question, desperate to hear it from their own ears.

They both stopped talking and swung their penetrating gazes at her. Jungkook's eyes were glassy from tears and his cheeks had a slight rosy tinge to them. He looked so beautiful like that. Madeline thought it was unfair how somebody could look so gorgeous, even in their worst moments. If the roles were reversed, she would look like she'd been dragged through a storm.

Hobi took the lead with the answer, stepping closer to her. She could faintly smell his manly cologne and could feel her body tingle.

"You might have given up on us be we haven't given up on you. You can push us away but we'll keep coming back. We're not going to leave like you think we will. We don't want anybody else. It's you. It always will be. And soon, you'll see that." Hobi declared in a fierce and determined voice.

Her breath shook, taken aback by his words. She had not expected him to say something so intense.

"I—I want to believe you," She muttered under her breath. "I so desperately want what you told me in the hospital to be real. But...I've seen a lot of heartbreak because of soul mates. I know for a fact I won't survive if you abandon me."

Her admission left her two soul mates stunned.

She had even surprised herself. She never thought she'd admit some of her fears to them so...openly. Being around them made her feel too at ease. It was unnerving.

"It's okay to be afraid. It's okay to not want to get hurt. Those are all valid things. But if you live your life like that, then you're never really living. Do you truly want to be alone? Because if you really want to live like that, then we will leave and you'll never see us again." Hobi told her, maintaining eye contact. He was giving her a chance to get rid of them. If her true desire was to be alone like her mom, then this was her opportunity.

Whilst he remained confident and in charge, beneath that facade, he looked terrified. She knew it must have taken a lot of courage to do that, especially without consulting the others. He had essentially doomed them if she said didn't want to see them again.

The ultimatum left her a mess.

A huge part of her was ready to tell them she didn't want them and to run away. That would be the safe option. But Hobi was right. Did she really want to live alone, like her mom?