Chapter 9 He Chooses Them
Joan sat on the edge of the small sofa, staring out at the dark street below. The apartment belonged to her independent design company, a space she had bought years ago as a quiet studio, but tonight it felt like a bare shelter.
She kept her coat on, unable to shake the rain’s chill. Each time she closed her eyes, she returned to the hotel corridor: the emptiness in Reiner’s face, his order barring her from home, and the second he failed to pull away from Macey’s kiss.
He hadn't pulled away right away. He had hesitated. In that one brief moment, he had let her sister touch him, taking in the false comfort while his real wife stood right in front of him.
Joan wrapped her arms around herself and finally let the tears come. For twelve years, she had built a life and a company with Reiner, loving him through every setback. None of it had protected her when he chose a manufactured story that spared his pride.
Her phone buzzed on the glass coffee table. Joan didn't move at first. She feared it was another message from Reiner telling her to stay away. But when she looked, the caller ID showed the name Lena Park.
Joan picked it up immediately. "Lena?"
"Joan. Thank God you answered." Lena’s urgency cut through the airport noise. "I just landed at JFK. I took the first flight out of London."
"Lena... everything went wrong," Joan whispered, her voice cracking. "Reiner locked me out of the penthouse. He put me on leave from the company. He thinks I cheated on him with Graham. He thinks I lied about the baby..."
"I know," Lena said sharply, though her tone softened with sympathy. "I heard the news the moment my plane touched down. Joan, listen to me very carefully. The regulatory emergency in London—the reason I had to leave the country—it was fake."
Joan blinked, wiping her eyes. "What?"
"Someone sent a falsified tip to the London oversight board through an anonymous server," Lena explained as she hurried through the terminal.
"It took three days of nonstop legal meetings to prove the document was forged.
Annabelle created the crisis because she knew I would check the company logs and stop her.
She needed me out of New York so she could isolate you. "
A mix of rage and relief washed over Joan. She wasn't crazy. It really was a plan. "Lena, they drugged Graham at the hotel tonight. They used my stolen medicine. Reiner showed up before the ambulance arrived, and he thinks Graham and I were together."
"Where are you right now?" Lena asked.
"At my studio apartment on 12th Street," Joan replied.
"Stay there," Lena said. "Do not speak to Reiner without me present, and do not answer your sisters. Reiner may control the executive votes, but he cannot strip a co-founder and board member of her ownership or seat. I am coming to you now. We are going to document every lie and clear your name."
"Thank you, Lena," Joan whispered.
When she hung up, Joan walked over to the small kitchen, poured a glass of water, and took a deep breath. The pain in her heart hadn't left, but the fog was clearing. She wasn't going to hide, and she wasn't going to let them destroy her name.
At the penthouse, the air was heavy with the smell of expensive scotch.
Reiner sat in the dark living room with an empty crystal glass on the table before him. Manhattan glittered beyond the windows. Beside the glass lay Joan’s platinum wedding ring, small and merciless beneath the ceiling lights.
He had poured himself three drinks since coming home from the hotel, but the alcohol did nothing to dull the sharp ache in his chest. He kept seeing Joan’s face when she slipped the ring off her finger.
She hadn't yelled. She hadn't cried. She had looked at him with an icy certainty that scared him far more than her anger ever had.
Soft footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor behind him.
"Reiner?"
Macey entered in a silk robe carrying a tray with fresh water and a damp cloth, concern carefully arranged on her face.
Annabelle followed in a sharp blazer and dark trousers, composed as ever.
"You should get some sleep, Reiner," Macey said, kneeling beside his chair and placing a hand on his knee. "You've been through so much tonight."
Reiner didn't look at her. He stared at the wedding ring. "She took off her ring," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "She handed it back to me."
"Because she knows she was caught," Annabelle said, stepping closer and standing on the other side of his chair.
Her voice was smooth and logical, like a lawyer presenting a case.
"Joan has made her choice, Reiner. She chose Graham Voss.
She chose to hide money, to lie about her pregnancy, and to meet him in a hotel suite.
She ended this marriage long before tonight. "
Reiner rubbed his face with both hands, feeling exhausted. "Twelve years," he muttered. "How could she do this after twelve years?"
"Because Joan has always been distant, Reiner," Macey said, leaning her chin on his knee, looking up at him with devotion.
"She never appreciated you the way you deserve.
She treated you like a business partner, not a husband.
Especially after... after the baby. She shut you out.
She made you feel like you were the problem. "
Macey’s words pressed directly into his resentment. Joan had withdrawn after the miscarriage, and instead of recognizing grief, he allowed her sisters to recast that silence as rejection. Their version absolved him of failing her.
"The press is going to find out soon," Reiner said, opening his eyes and looking up at Annabelle. "The Loft Haven press preview and soft launch is in five weeks. If the board sees that my marriage is falling apart and my co-founder is under investigation for fraud, the investors will panic."
"Then don't let them see a disaster," Annabelle said smoothly. She walked around the table and sat on the arm of his sofa. "Show them strength. Show them that you have moved on with people who actually care about you and the company."
Reiner frowned, turning his head. "What are you talking about?"
Macey stood up, moving closer to him. She took his hand, holding it in both of hers. "Annabelle and I talked about this, Reiner. We don't want to see you alone. We don't want you to go through a messy divorce with no one in your corner."
"We know how unconventional it sounds," Annabelle added, her voice calm and convincing. "But Macey and I have always been inseparable. We share our lives, our work, and our home. And we both care about you, Reiner. More than Joan ever did."
Reiner stared at them, his mind foggy from the scotch and heavy grief. "You're... proposing a relationship? With both of you?"
"Why not?" Macey asked, leaning down so her face was only inches from his.
"We will never judge you. We will never challenge your decisions or hide things from you like Joan did.
I can give you the love, fun, and affection you've been missing.
Annabelle can help you run the company and keep the launch on track.
You don't have to choose between us, Reiner. You can have us both."
"You can have his bed," Annabelle had told Macey before they entered the room. "I want the company." Now she watched Reiner carefully, each sister offering him the exact form of devotion he wanted to believe was love.
Reiner let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. "That’s insane. People don’t do that. The board—" He stood and moved away from them. "And the kiss at the hotel cannot happen again, Macey. I am still married."
"The board cares about stability and success," Annabelle interrupted smoothly. "If we present ourselves as a united family unit, people will admire your boldness. Joan thought she was irreplaceable. Show her that she wasn't."
For the next hour, the twins repeated every forged detail until Joan’s grief sounded like proof of betrayal.
Macey poured him another drink and kissed him again.
This time Reiner understood exactly what she was offering.
He could have stepped away. Wounded pride and the need to feel admired won, and he kissed her back.
"Think about it, Reiner," Macey whispered, her breath warm against his cheek. "No more cold silence. No more fighting. Just two women who adore you."
Reiner looked from Macey’s affectionate smile to Annabelle’s calm, confident eyes.
Anger, humiliation, and wounded pride crowded out reason. Joan had returned his ring and walked away. In Reiner’s mind, she was already with Graham, laughing at him. The twins were offering an easier story and immediate comfort, and he wanted both.
"Joan chose him," Reiner said, his voice turning rigid. He reached out and picked up the scotch bottle, pouring another shot and swallowing it down in one gulp. "She chose Graham."
"Yes," Macey agreed sweetly, stroking his hair. "She did."
Reiner set the glass down with a heavy thud. He looked straight at the twins.
"I choose both of you," Reiner said. The alcohol had lowered his restraint, not erased his judgment. "This is my decision. I will not pretend later that you forced it on me."
Macey gasped, delight lighting her face. Annabelle’s smile was smaller and far more calculating.
Reiner pulled Macey against him and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and answered with eager force.
When he pulled back, Reiner turned to Annabelle. He stepped over to her, took her chin in his hand, and kissed her, too. Annabelle accepted the kiss smoothly, her hands resting against his chest.
He had named the choice himself. No amount of regret could later make it accidental.
Macey smiled, her fingers reaching up to undo the top buttons of Reiner’s dress shirt. She slid the fabric off his shoulders, leaning in to kiss his neck. Annabelle reached for his belt, stepping closer to help undress him.
For a moment, Reiner allowed it. Then Macey’s hands moved lower and revulsion cut through the alcohol.
"Stop," Reiner said, his voice firm as he caught Macey’s wrists.
Macey stopped, looking up at him in surprise. "Reiner? What's wrong?"
"Not tonight," Reiner said, pulling his shirt back over his shoulders. He stepped back from both of them, his voice tight. "We agreed to a relationship, but I am not having sex with either of you tonight. I'm tired, and we have work to do tomorrow."
Annabelle quickly adjusted her jacket, her expression calm. "Of course, Reiner. We understand. We're taking things step by step."
Macey looked disappointed, but she nodded, trying to keep her smile. "We just want you to be comfortable, darling. Go get some rest. We'll be right here."
Reiner left for the master bedroom with alcohol pounding behind his eyes and the weight of his choice settling in his stomach.
As soon as the master bedroom door clicked shut, Annabelle pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket.
She tapped the screen to stop an ongoing audio recording.
Annabelle had activated her phone’s recorder before entering the room. She replayed the final thirty seconds for Macey.
Through the phone speaker, Reiner’s recorded voice was unmistakable:
“Joan chose him. I choose both of you.”
Macey grinned, covering her mouth to muffle a giggle. "You recorded it?"
"Of course." Annabelle saved the file to an encrypted cloud drive. "If Reiner tries to back out or claim he was too drunk to understand, we have his decision in his own voice. He chose us and kissed us both."
"Joan is never coming back," Macey said happily, tossing her head back. "She lost her husband, she lost her home, and soon she'll lose her company."
"Not yet," Annabelle warned. "Joan still owns her shares and her board seat. But once Reiner introduces us publicly at Loft Haven, the board will see her as the problem and her reputation will be ruined."
Macey walked over to the low table, picking up Joan’s platinum wedding ring. She held it up to the light, watching it sparkle.
"She spent twelve years building this," Macey murmured, a cruel smile touching her lips. "And it took us less than a week to make him hand it over."
"Put that down," Annabelle said. "We don't need her ring. We're taking the empire."
Macey dropped the ring back onto the table with a light clink.
In the bedroom down the hall, Reiner lay on top of the covers and stared at the ceiling. He had accepted the flattery, affection, and devotion offered to him, yet none of it eased the ache in his chest. He closed his eyes, unaware that Annabelle had preserved his choice in his own voice.