Chapter 3
Tania
Ispend the afternoon in my room with the door cracked open, pretending to read.
The book stays open on the same page for an hour. My eyes track the words, but I don't absorb them. Outside, the lake reflects gray clouds that never break.
Downstairs, voices rise and fall. Ben’s low and steady. Callum’s sharp. Silas cutting through when things get loud. Evan smoothing over edges.
I don’t go down.
Around one, my stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I head downstairs and find them in the living room, chairs pulled close, voices lower now. Ben sees me first and stops mid-sentence.
“Hey.” I keep my tone light. “Just grabbing lunch.”
“We’re ordering sandwiches,” Evan offers. “Want one?”
“I’m good. There’s leftover salmon.”
I heat the plate in the microwave and eat standing at the counter, watching the lake through the windows. Behind me, their conversation resumes in murmurs I don’t try to decode.
When I rinse my plate and head back upstairs, none of them stop me.
By the time six rolls around, the sky has gone darker, and my book is finished without me remembering a single plot point.
Footsteps sound on the stairs, then a knock.
“Dinner,” Ben calls through the door.
“Be right there.”
I set the book aside and stand, smoothing my sweater. Then I head downstairs.
The dining table is set. Plates, glasses, and utensils are already in place, and a bottle of wine is already open. Silas is pulling a roast from the oven, and the smell of garlic and rosemary fills the kitchen.
Evan sets down a bowl of roasted vegetables. Callum pours wine into glasses without asking if anyone wants it.
Ben pulls out a chair for me, and I sit.
The food gets passed around. Plates fill. Forks scrape. For a few minutes, no one says anything.
Then Silas sets down his knife. “We want to ask you something.”
He waits until I’m paying attention.
“Okay.”
I already know what it is. I’ve been turning it over in my head all afternoon, replaying every word from this morning. Ben’s joke that wasn’t really a joke, and the triplets not shutting it down.
“The inheritance clause,” I say.
Silas holds my gaze. “Yes.”
“You want me to help you.”
He glances at his brothers, then back to me. “We want it to be you.”
Even though I saw this coming, hearing him say it out loud is different.
Ben exhales beside me. “They came to me after lunch. Laid the whole thing out. They convinced me it could work, and that it would benefit you, too.” He pauses. “But it’s your call.”
I know what I heard earlier, but I still need some clarification. “You want me to be your pretend wife?”
“Don’t worry, Red,” Callum assures me. “You don’t have to fuck us.”
“Are you fucking serious right now?” Ben explodes.
Callum laughs, then takes a drink of his wine. “I’m only answering a question she’s too afraid to ask.”
Ben shakes his head. “Callum’s an asshole, but he’s right. I wouldn’t have let them near you if this came with physical expectations. That’s not what this is.”
“You’re our best friend’s sister. This is strictly a business deal.” Silas maintains his serious expression. “You’d move in with us. We’d live together. Appear together in public. Make it look like a committed relationship, so you can’t date anyone else. And neither can we. For a year.”
“All three of you,” I clarify.
“All three of us.”
Evan reaches for his wine glass. “It’s temporary. A year, maybe less if we can get the clause removed. After that, you walk away with ten million dollars. Free and clear.”
Ten million.
I thought they were asking me to do this as a favor. I didn’t expect the payout.
The number doesn’t feel real.
Callum uncrosses his arms and rests his hands on the table. “You’d have your own room. Your own space. A credit card with no limit. A car, if you need one. You keep interning. Keep your life. We just need you there.”
I need clarification. “There?”
“At the house,” Silas answers. “In the city. With us.”
I look at Ben. He meets my eyes, and his jaw is tight, but he’s not angry. He’s watching me the way he always does when I have to make a decision he can’t make for me.
“You’re okay with this?” I ask him.
“I trust them.” He pushes his plate back slightly. “And I think you’d be set for life. But only if you want to do it. No pressure.”
I process that. Then the reality settles in. “What will Mom think?”
“I’ll talk to her.” Ben rubs the back of his neck. “Explain the whole thing. She trusts me, and she trusts them. She won’t freak out.”
I look at Silas again. “What does ‘appear together’ mean?”
“Events,” he clarifies. “Dinners. Fundraisers. Anywhere we’d be seen. The executor needs proof we’re serious.”
“Proof how?”
Callum grins. “We’d have to look like we’re together. Like it’s real.”
My pulse kicks up. “Define ‘real’.”
Evan’s mouth curves. “We need to be convincing. Photos. Public affection, like holding hands. Nothing you’re not comfortable with.”
“But enough that people believe it,” Silas adds.
I pick up my wine glass and take a slow drink.
Callum tilts his head. “If you say yes, I will make it fun. It wouldn’t all be boring fundraisers.”
Well, that’s intriguing. “How would you make it fun, Callum?”
His grin widens. “If we have to spend time together, we don’t have to do the boring shit. We can do things like skydiving and bungee jumping.”
Ben’s fork clatters against his plate. “Absolutely not.”
Evan shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “What Callum means is that this doesn’t have to feel like work. You’d be spending time with us. We’ve known each other forever. It’s not like you’d be stuck with strangers.”
I look at each of them. Silas, controlled and unreadable. Callum, reckless and chaotic. Evan, easy and warm.
I do know them; they’re not strangers. But I knew them as boys, not as men.
I need to understand more. “Why me?”
Silas answers without hesitation. “Because we trust you. And because you’re not going to take advantage of us.”
“You’re also believable,” Evan adds. “Smart. Beautiful. No one is going to question it.”
Callum drains his wine glass. “And you’re practical. You won’t make this harder than it needs to be. You won’t expect any real commitment from us.”
I set my glass down and press my palms flat against the table. The wood is smooth and cool under my hands, and that feeling is grounding me in this surreal moment.
Ten million dollars.
Enough to never worry about relying on Ben for rent again. Enough to take my time building a career, even with unpaid internships. Enough to choose what I want instead of what I can afford.
But it’s not just the money.
They need help. Real help. And I could give it to them.
And if I’m honest with myself—really honest—I don’t hate the idea of spending a year with the Locke triplets.
I used to have the biggest crush on these guys when I was younger. All three of them. They were older, confident, untouchable.
But I’m not a kid anymore. And neither are they.
I need all the details. “What happens if it doesn’t work? If the executor doesn’t buy it?”
Silas’s jaw tightens. “Then we lose everything.”
“But we’ll pay you in advance, so you keep the money,” Evan reassures me. “No matter what.”
I turn to Ben again. He’s watching me, protective but not interfering.
This is my choice. “Okay.”
Silas leans forward. “Okay? Are you saying you’ll do it?”
“I’ll do it.”
Callum exhales and grins. Evan’s shoulders drop, tension releasing. Silas nods once, controlled, but his eyes soften.
Ben reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He holds my gaze for another moment, then nods. “Okay, then.”
Evan lifts his glass. “To Tania.”
Callum raises his. “To not losing everything.”
Silas picks up his wine. “To a year.”
“To my best friends understanding that I know where you sleep,” Ben jokes.
We all laugh.
I lift my glass, and the five glasses meet in the center of the table.
We drink.
The conversation changes to logistics, including when I’ll move in, what I’ll need, and how we’ll handle public appearances.
Silas pulls out his phone and starts making notes. Callum interrupts with suggestions that Ben immediately vetoes. Evan mediates.
I sit back and let the noise wash over me, my wine glass cradled in both hands.
I just agreed to a fake relationship with three men.
For a year. For ten million dollars. The absurdity of it settles in my chest, but it doesn’t feel wrong.
After dinner, I help clear the table. Evan loads the dishwasher while Callum wipes down the counters. Silas pours himself another glass of wine, then braces a hand against the island, watching me.
“You’ll move in next Friday,” he determines. “That gives you a week to pack and tie up anything you need to handle.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll hire a company to move your things,” Silas tells me.
“I don’t have much.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Evan responds. “We’ll handle it.”
I nod and dry my hands on a towel.
“I will see you guys in the morning. I’m exhausted.” I turn and head for the stairs, but Silas’s voice stops me.
“Tania.”
I glance back.
“Thank you.”
I smile. “You’re welcome.”
In my room, I close the door and lean against it, my pulse finally catching up to the decision I made.
I brush my teeth, wash my face, and then change into my pajamas. I crawl into bed and stare at the ceiling.
Next Friday, I move in with the Locke triplets. Renata is going to have a field day with this. She is the only person, besides Ben and my mom, that I can trust with the real details of my relationship with the triplets. I will ask them before I tell her, of course.
But I need to share all the thoughts racing around in my head with someone.
I close my eyes.
A year. I can do a year.