The one that would change everything.
I swallow hard, forcing my gaze away. My throat tightens painfully. “Dad…”
He takes a step closer, studying me, searching for something in my face.
“Noelle… I need you to tell me the truth. Did something happen?” he says again, slower this time.
I can’t breathe.
I want to.God, I want to.
I want to tell him that it’s not what he thinks but it’s alsoexactlywhat he thinks.
That I didn’t plan for any of this.
That it’s not about rebellion or being recklessness or trying to fill some void when I was young and dumb.
It’s about feeling seen,reallyseen, for the first time in my entire life by three incredible men who refuse to give up on me.
It’s about everything that came before and everything that might come after if I were to tell the truth.
It’s about the night I realized I wasn’t just attracted to all three of them but drawn to them. The way their voices can calm me when I’m spiraling, the way they look at me like I’m something worth fighting for.
The quiet loyalty in Grant’s eyes, the steady warmth in Dean’s voice, the safety I feel when Callum’s around.
It’s messy, it’s complicated and maybe even wrong by the world’s standards, but it’s real all the same.
I want all three of them so badly it hurts.
Yet at the same time, right as I’m about to confess everything, all that comes out is a whisper. “No.”
He exhales, long and heavy, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’re my daughter, Noelle… You don’t know what kind of damage getting involved with men twice your age could do to you. To Eli, too. You need to be thinking about your future.”
“I know,” I manage, my voice cracking.
The silence that follows stretches thin, tight like a wire about to snap.
His eyes are still on me, and I know he’s trying to piece together everything I’m not saying.
I simply stare at the floor, unwilling to let anything else slip past my lips and betray me.
“I love you, honey. I’m only doing this to protect you.”
My arms fold around myself, squeezing tight. “I know.”
He sighs. “Look, let’s just focus on dealing with your shop and getting this Jared thing taken care of. That’s what matters most right now.”
I nod mutely.
I wish I wasn’t such a coward.
But once I admit it, I won’t just be his daughter anymore.
I’ll be the woman who crossed an invisible line with his friends he’ll never forgive me for.
So instead, I do what I’ve always done: I stay quiet.
I let the silence swallow the words whole and hope he doesn’t notice the tremor in my hands as I turn and head upstairs to cuddle my son.
