She’s quiet for so long, I start to worry she’s going to say no. Going to tell us this is too much, too complicated, too everything.
Then she says, “I’m scared.”
“Of what?” Theo asks.
“Of this, not working. Of Jake hating all of us. Of Tommy growing up confused about what family looks like. Of people in this town making my life hell when they find out.” She looks at me. “Of losing all three of you because I’m too greedy to pick just one.”
“You’re not greedy,” I tell her. “You’re just capable of loving more than one person. That’s not a character flaw. That’s just who you are.”
“Is it?” Her voice breaks slightly. “Because I’ve spent my whole life thinking I was supposed to find one person. Build one life. Be satisfied with one relationship. And now I’m sitting here with three men telling me I don’t have to choose, and I don’t know if that makes me brave or selfish or just broken.”
“You’re not broken.” Theo takes her hand. “You’re perfect. Exactly as you are.”
“We’re not asking you to decide tonight,” Marco adds. “We’re just asking you to consider it. To stop fighting what you feel and start accepting it.”
She looks at our joined hands. At the three of us watching her with varying degrees of hope and determination.
“Okay,” she says finally. “I’ll think about it. But I’m not making any promises. And I’m definitely not telling Jake until I figure out what I’m even saying.”
“Fair enough.” I stand up. “But Rachel? We meant what we said. All of us. This isn’t a game. This isn’t temporary. We want you. For as long as you’ll have us.”
She doesn’t respond. Just nods and disappears upstairs.
The three of us stand in the living room, processing what just happened.
“Think she’ll say yes?” Theo asks.
“She already said yes,” Marco observes. “She’s just scared to admit it.”
Two weeks later
Jake’s flight lands tomorrow. He texted yesterday with his arrival time, excited to see Tommy and check on me.
Now I’m staring at this email and realizing he’s going to walk into a nightmare.
Rachel’s at the kitchen table with her laptop when I come downstairs for my morning coffee.
She’s been job hunting more seriously lately. Ryan’s arrest vindicated her completely—no more “jinx” narrative, no more people avoiding her at Tommy’s school, no more whispered comments about bad luck. She’s finally free to rebuild her life.
I’m pouring coffee when I hear it. Small sound. Half gasp, half sob.
I turn around. “Rachel?”
She’s staring at her laptop screen, face completely white.
“What’s wrong?”
“Derek.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “He filed the custody motion.”
I’m beside her in three steps. “What?”
She turns the laptop so I can see. Email from a law firm. Attached PDF. Legal letterhead.
Motion for Emergency Custody Modification.
Petitioner: Derek Matthews
Respondent: Rachel Morgan
