“They didn’t take advantage of me.” Rachel’s voice is sharp. “I chose this. Nobody coerced me. Nobody manipulated me.”
“Rachel, you were traumatized. You’d just survived three fires. You were terrified. And they—” I point at the three of them. “They moved you in here and started—what? Taking turns?”
“It’s not like that,” Rachel insists.
“Then explain it to me. Because right now, it looks like my best friends treated my sister like a shared conquest while I was thousands of miles away, trusting them to protect her.”
“We did protect her,” Marco says coldly. “We kept her safe. We caught the arsonist. We gave her and Tommy a home.”
“And helped yourselves to her in the process?”
“Jake, stop.” Rachel stands up. “You’re making this sound dirty when it’s not. You’re making it sound like I’m some victim when I’m not.”
“You were vulnerable—”
“I was vulnerable, yes. But I’m not stupid. I’m not weak. I’m not incapable of making my own choices.” She moves closer to me. “Cole makes me feel safe. Theo makes me feel happy. Marco makes me feel understood. They each helped me heal from different wounds. Different parts of me that Derek broke.”
“So, you’re saying you love all three of them?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t hesitate. “I do. And they love me. And I know it’s unconventional, and I know people will judge, but it works for us. It feels natural. It feels right.”
I look at her. She’s not scared. Not uncertain. She’s defending this and defending them. It makes me sick to my stomach.
“How long has it been?” I ask.
“Feelings started developing before she moved in,” Cole admits. “Physical relationships started after. It’s been evolving naturally.”
“Naturally.” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “There’s nothing natural about three men sharing one woman.”
“We’re not sharing her like property,” Theo says. “We’re all in a relationship together. It’s different.”
“You’ve done this before,” I remember. “What was her name again…? Ah, Samantha. You shared her, too.”
“That was different,” Marco says. “That was casual. This is—”
“What? True love?” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “How convenient that all three of you fell in love with the same woman who happened to need protection. What are the odds?”
“Jake, please.” Rachel’s voice breaks. “Don’t do this. Don’t make this ugly when it’s not.”
“It is ugly. You’re my sister. They’re my best friends. And you all lied to me for weeks.”
“We didn’t lie,” Cole says. “We just didn’t tell you yet.”
“Because you knew I’d react exactly like this.”
“We knew you’d need time to process,” Theo corrects. “We were going to tell you when you got back for good. But Derek’s custody filing moved up the timeline.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s going to come up in court,” Marco explains. “Derek’s lawyers will use the living arrangement. They’ll twist it. Make it look bad. We needed you to hear the truth from us first.”
I press my hands over my face. “This is insane, all of this. You—” I look at Rachel. “You realize what people are going to say about you? What Derek’s going to say in court?”
“I know.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“I’m scared of it. But I’m not giving them up because people might judge me.” She moves closer. “Jake, I love them. And they love me. And Tommy’s happy here. He’s thriving. This works for us.”
