Then Luan breaks it. He sets down his fork, his green eyes finding mine with unsettling accuracy. "I need to go to Zurich in two days. To see the eye specialist. My vision is improving but I want confirmation that the recovery is complete. Would you like to come with me?"
The question catches me off guard. Switzerland. Zurich. Days away from here, from Chicago, from everything familiar.
Before I can answer, before I can even begin to formulate a response, Erion speaks up.
"Great idea." His voice is bright with manufactured enthusiasm. "I've always wanted to go to Switzerland. I hear they have excellent chocolate. World-class skiing too, though the wrong season for that."
Luan's jaw tightens, muscle jumping beneath skin. His eyes cut toward Erion with barely concealed irritation. "I wasn't inviting you."
"Too bad," Erion says, completely unbothered by Luan's tone. "’Cause I'm going."
25
LILY
"This is a mansion."
The words come out before I can stop them, my voice echoing slightly in the vast entrance. I'm standing just inside the doorway of the villa, frozen in place, staring at the space around me like I've stepped into someone else's life by accident.
The ceilings soar overhead, impossibly high, making me feel small in a way that's not entirely unpleasant. The floors are pale marble, veined with gray and gold, polished to a shine that reflects the light pouring in through floor-to-ceiling windows. And beyond those windows, impossibly blue and calm, is the lake, stretching out like glass, the Swiss Alps rising in the distance like something from a postcard.
"I wanted something with privacy," Artan says from behind me, his voice warm with barely concealed amusement. "Comfort. And large enough to house Erion's ego."
Erion shoots him a look, but there's no real heat in it. "It's best if you leave the jokes to me,vëlla."
I can't stop looking around. Can't quite process that this is where we're staying. That we flew here on a private plane like it was nothing, like boarding a jet with leather seats and a full bar and no other passengers was just another Tuesday. No security lines. No waiting. No fighting for overhead bin space or sitting in middle seats between strangers.
Just walking onto a plane like wealth was normal. Like this was how people lived.
And now we're here. In Switzerland. In a villa that probably costs more per night than I made in a year at the grocery store.
How is this my life now?
The thought circles through my mind on repeat, disbelief mixing with something that feels dangerously close to wonder. A month ago I was packing boxes in a house I was losing, working two jobs to stay afloat, facing the possibility of having to sleep on Jess's couch because I had nowhere else to go.
Now I'm standing in a Swiss villa overlooking a lake, wearing a ring that catches the light every time I move my hand.
I think about the lunch before we left. About what Erion said, his voice casual but his eyes intense, watching for my reaction. About all three of them. At the same time.
I've been thinking about it ever since. More than thinking. Fantasizing
But actually acting on it feels different. Bigger. Real in a way fantasy never has to be. Fantasy is safe. Fantasy doesn't require courage or choice or consequences.
Reality does.
Since that lunch, they've been nothing but charming. Patient in a way that should feel reassuring but somehow makes the tension worse. A few kisses stolen in hallways and quiet moments. Erion's mouth on mine, hot and demanding, his hands possessive on my waist. Artan's lips pressed to my forehead before saying goodbye, gentle and reverent. Luan pulling me close in the kitchen, his breath warm against my neck.
But nothing more. No pushing. No demands. No pressure.
They're waiting for me to decide. To choose.
And I'm paralyzed by the enormity of that choice, too afraid to reach for what I want because reaching makes it real, makes it something I chose instead of something that happened to me.
We settle into the villa, each of us claiming a bedroom. The space is excessive. Fourteen bedrooms total. Each of us gets our own, with private bathrooms and views of the lake.
"I have my appointment in half an hour," Luan says, checking his watch. His voice is carefully neutral, but I can hear the tension underneath.
I turn to him immediately, "I want to come with you."
