Chapter Twenty-Eight
Henry
We sit in silence, Ryan, Luke, and I. The scent of aged wood and the faint trace of the outdoors linger, grounding us, but the air between us hums with unspoken tension.
As my gaze drifts from one face to the next, the enormity of everything we’ve been through swells in my chest, each memory a sharp-edged echo of the journey we’ve shared.
Luke, once a man weighed down by the crushing silence of his own heart, now sits with a strange peace about him, a lightness in his posture that wasn’t there before.
He had carried his love for so long, cloaked in secrecy.
But now, the truth of his feelings is out.
He’s different now. The tension is gone, and the burden is lifted.
I look at him and see not just the man he’s become but the shadow of who he was.
And there is Ryan, the man I could have killed or who could have killed me.
How easily our paths could have ended in blood.
From the first moment, there were battle lines between us, an enmity that clung to every word and every look.
The brinkmanship, the jostling for dominance, the fight that nearly broke us both, how strange it feels to remember all that, knowing now how far we’ve come.
There’s no trace of that animosity left in the room, only the quiet understanding between men who have fought, bled, and endured together.
He’s more than an ally now. In a way, he’s a brother.
They are two men, bound to me by a shared love—two men who care for Leila as deeply as I do and whose hands I trust to protect her as I would.
There is no need for words now. We’ve said all there is to say.
We’ve laid our hearts bare and made our intentions known to Leila’s father, Augustus Kaye.
We’ve spoken to Leila herself and shared our proposal.
There’s nothing left now but to wait and hope.
And yet, in the silence, anticipation knots in my chest. This moment, this pause before her answer, is the most agonizing of all.
I want to believe she’ll accept, that she’ll let us love her the way we already do, with a fierce, unyielding devotion.
But there’s a part of me that knows this is no simple choice for her.
After everything she’s endured, how could it be?
And though I am hopeful, the uncertainty claws at me.
What if she needs more time? What if something else stands in our way?
My thoughts race with a whirlwind of fear and hope, the weight of expectation pressing on me from every angle. And then, there is a sound.
The door creaks, softly at first, but enough to break the quiet.
We glance at each other, none of us daring to speak, our hearts lodged in our throats.
And then we hear Leila’s steps approaching from the hall.
Each footfall echoes in the stillness, driving the pulse of my heart faster and harder until it thunders in my ears.
And as her shadow slips into the room, I know, as surely as Ryan and Luke do, that we are seconds away from knowing her answer. She had asked for a moment alone, and now, it appears she has reached her conclusion.
She steps fully into view, her presence commanding the room as only she can. She moves to the center of the living room, and something, some force, compels me to stand. It ripples through all of us, pulling Ryan and Luke to their feet as if we are one body connected by an invisible thread.
Her eyes sweep over each of us as if measuring the weight of every moment that has led us here.
We stand before her, expectant in our own ways.
Ryan is calm, his steady demeanor betrayed only by the slight tension in his arms. Luke wears his anticipation more plainly, a nervous energy thrumming through him.
As for me, I feel the anticipation boiling inside, and I know it must show.
Then, she speaks.
"All my life," she begins, her words sinking deep into us, "I believed that being the best was the only way to be loved. It was all I ever knew. I grew up thinking that if I was the best, if I was the perfect Omega, that was how I would earn love, how I would earn validation."
She pauses, the weight of her confession hanging heavy in the air. Her expression is solemn and reflective.
"I'm not the best Omega," she says, her voice catching slightly. "But it wasn’t just that. The things they’ve said about me in the media... the rejection... the lies. It ate into me. I spent my life perfecting everything I did, and then suddenly, nothing was right. Every step led to backlash, to accusations, and to pain. And that’s…" She falters, her voice trembling for a moment before she steadies herself. "That’s why your care, the care the three of you have shown me…I couldn’t understand it. Part of me still can’t.
You stayed with me when I was at my lowest and shut myself away from you.
You never left. You took care of me when I could barely look at myself.
And now… now you want to build a family unit with me. "
Her voice trails off, and she takes a deep breath before continuing. "It would make me the happiest woman alive to be with the three of you. I accept. I accept to be your Omega. I just hope I can bring you the same happiness, even though I’m not the best."
A smile touches her lips, small and tentative. Her acceptance, those words, hit me like a jolt. Yet beneath the joy, something in her words gnaws at me, and before I can stop myself, I speak.
"You don’t have to be the best Omega to have our love and devotion, Leila," I say, my voice soft but firm. Her eyes meet mine, searching, and I want to say more, but the words aren’t there. Before I can find them, Luke’s voice cuts through, tender but fierce.
"I’ve been by your side for years, Leila. And I’ve never known anyone with the strength of character you have," Luke says, stepping forward. "It’s never been about titles or being the best. I’m here because I love you, Leila. Simple as that."
His words pull a smile from her and from me, too. I can see the emotion swelling in her, the love she’s struggled to accept.
Ryan steps closer now, his deep voice breaking the silence. "It’s just you, Leila," he says. "It’s who you are. You don’t have to do anything to earn it. There are no conditions. I love you. We all do. And that’s why we want this. That’s why we want you."
There’s a change in the air at Ryan’s words, a sense of something deeply significant.
He’s always been the pragmatic one, the logical decision-maker.
But here, in this moment, his words are stripped bare and full of raw truth.
For so long, it was easy to assume he was here out of duty, but now it’s clear. His heart is in this, deeply.
The air feels lighter now, the tension melting away as the reality of her acceptance sinks in.
She’s agreed. Leila is ours, and we are hers.
We hadn’t even noticed, but we’ve all moved closer to her as we spoke, each step bringing us nearer.
I take another step forward, reaching out to place my hands gently on her waist.
"So," I say softly, teasing her as I smile. "It’s just like I told you. Being second best isn’t so bad, is it?"
She laughs a bright, beautiful sound that sends warmth flooding through me. And then, without another word, I pull her into a kiss. It’s soft and tender, yet full of the depth of the love I carry for her.
When we pull apart, Leila’s face is radiant, her joy finally spilling out in full force.
Her smile lights up the room, and I feel it, too, this wave of shared excitement coursing through me.
We are going to be a family, and the thrill of that realization shines from her eyes as it does from mine.
The happiness radiating from her is infectious, spreading through all of us like a spark catching fire.
“I’ve got to call the girls,” she says, her voice breathless with excitement.
I glance around and see the same wide smiles mirrored on Luke and Ryan’s faces. Leila quickly dials her phone, her fingers trembling slightly in her rush, and after a few beeps, the familiar faces of Cassie and Danae appear on the screen.
"Hi…" Leila begins, but she can’t get more than a word out before her laughter bubbles up, overflowing with the giddiness she’s no longer able to hold back.
She covers her mouth, trying to rein it in.
But it’s too late. The joy is infectious, and soon Cassie and Danae are laughing with her, their faces lighting up with mirrored anticipation.
After a deep breath, Leila steadies herself enough to finally say the words.
“I said yes!” she exclaims, and the phone erupts in a chorus of cheers. Cassie and Danae scream their delight, their clapping audible even over the video call. Leila beams at them, her joy now uncontainable, and the sound of their shared happiness fills the room.
She beckons me forward, then gestures for Ryan and Luke to join her. We step closer, our smiles as broad as hers, the happiness drawing us all together as we huddle around her. Leila holds the phone up, and there we are, captured in the frame, a family in the making.
“You guys look amazing together,” Danae says, her voice warm with approval.
Cassie nods, her smile soft but full of pride. “Congratulations to all of you,” she adds.
The call ends with Danae and Cassie wishing us well before Leila hangs up. The room falls into a quiet that feels too fragile and unfinished. Then, Ryan speaks up. “Well, we should celebrate.”
He’s already moving toward the kitchen, but something claws at my chest, something unsaid that can’t be left lingering in the air.
“Wait,” I say, my voice cutting through the room. Ryan stops, turning to face me, the curiosity in his eyes mirrored in Leila’s and Luke’s. “There’s something I think we need to do first.”