Chapter 19 Evan
Evan
The penthouse is too quiet.
Callum is sprawled on the couch, legs stretched out, staring at the ceiling. Silas sits across from him, elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped. Tania is curled into the armchair, knees pulled to her chest.
Nobody has said anything in the past ten minutes.
My instinct is to make a joke to ease the uncomfortable situation. Except nothing feels light right now.
Tania’s phone sits face-up on the coffee table. She keeps glancing at it as if it might suddenly ring with Ben’s forgiveness. It won’t.
I cross to the armchair and sit on the arm, close enough that my thigh brushes her shoulder. She doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t lean in either.
“Are you going to call him?” Callum asks without moving his gaze from the ceiling.
Tania picks up her phone and stares at the screen.
“No. But I should text him.” She types fast, thumbs moving across the glass. “I will just let him know that I want to talk, whenever he is ready.”
She hits send and flips the phone face-down.
Callum sits up. “What if he’s not ready for a while?”
“Then I wait.” She pulls her knees tighter. “I’m not forcing it.”
Silas lifts his head. “He’ll come around.”
“You don’t know that.” Her hands are shaking. She notices and tucks them under her thighs.
“I do.” Silas holds her gaze. “He’s pissed. He has every right to be. But Ben wants you to be happy.”
“We lied to him,” she reminds us.
“We did.” Silas doesn’t look away. “And he’ll have to get past that. But once he does? He’ll see we make you happy.”
Tania’s lips twitch. Almost a smile but not quite there. “You do.”
Callum drops his feet to the floor. “Good. Because I’m not giving you up.”
Tania looks down. “Nobody asked you to.”
“I know.” He leans forward, forearms on his thighs. “But I’m saying it anyway.”
The silence that follows feels different. Less suffocating.
I nudge Tania’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She looks up at me. Those blue eyes are tired, but they’re not empty. “Getting there.”
Callum stands abruptly. “We’re going to make this right with Ben. But we can’t sit around moping.”
Tania raises an eyebrow. “What do you suggest?”
“I don’t know yet.” He grins, but there’s no humor in it. “But sitting here feeling like shit isn’t helping anyone.”
Silas clears his throat. “We have something to celebrate.”
Tania looks up at him. “Do we?”
“You said you’d stay. Permanently.” He pauses. “I want you to stay after the year is up, if you still want to.”
I didn’t know she’d said that to him.
She uncurls from the chair, and her bare feet hit the floor. “I still want to.”
“Yeah?” Callum doesn’t look convinced.
“Yeah.” She stands fully. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Relief hits me so hard, I have to take a breath. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear her say that after everything that just happened. She’s still choosing us.
Callum crosses to her in three steps. He doesn’t touch her at first. He just looks at her face like he’s memorizing it.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He exhales. “Good. Because I need you to stay.”
She blinks. “Callum, you don’t need me.”
“I’m serious.” Callum runs a hand through his hair. “You make me want to stop running. I’ve been running my whole life. From Dad. From rules. From anything that felt like being caged. But staying with you doesn’t feel like a cage. I want to be wherever you are. I love you.”
Silas stands and joins them. “And I love you, too, Tania. I’ve spent my entire life doing what I was supposed to do—what was expected. You’re the first thing I’ve wanted just for me.”
Tania’s eyes are glossy.
“I want you because you make me feel like I can choose freely and my life won’t all fall apart,” Silas finishes.
She’s crying now. Silent tears run down her cheeks.
I stand from the arm of the chair. “My turn?”
She nods, wiping her face.
I take her hand. “I’ve spent my whole life being the easy one. The fun one. Making everyone laugh so they don’t see what’s underneath.” I thread my fingers through hers. “But you see the real me. And you don’t just want the easy parts. You want all of it. And I’ve never had that before.”
Her free hand comes up to my face. “Evan.”
“I don’t want to be chosen because I’m convenient, Wifey. I want to be chosen because I matter.” I kiss her palm. “And with you, I know I do. And that’s why I love you.”
She pulls me down and kisses me. Hard. Then she turns and kisses Callum. Then Silas.
When she pulls back, she’s smiling through the tears. “You three give me something I’ve never had—stability that’s real. A home that’s mine.” She meets their eyes. “I love you. All three of you.”
Silas wipes her cheek with his thumb. “And this love is what we should celebrate.”
Tania faces all three of us. When she smiles this time, it’s real. The kind that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners.
“I know exactly how I want to celebrate.”
Callum raises a brow. “I’m listening.”
She walks past him. Past Silas. And she stops directly in front of me.
Her hand finds mine and squeezes once. “But first, a shower.”
My brain catches up about three seconds too late. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She looks over her shoulder at Callum and Silas. “Care to join me?”
Callum is already grinning. Silas’s eyes darken. And I realize this is it.
All four of us.
Tania tugs my hand, and of course, I follow. I’d follow her anywhere.