Mia
I lie awake between three warm bodies, staring at the ceiling while guilt eats me alive from the inside out.
Jack's arm drapes across my waist, his breathing deep and even against my shoulder.
Blake's muscular leg tangles with mine, his hand resting possessively on my hip.
Noah's fingers are threaded through my hair, his lean frame pressed against my back.
They're all here. All three of them. And I'm destroying every single one of them.
The thought sits in my chest like a boulder, crushing the air from my lungs. I can't breathe. Can't think past the litany of damage I've caused.
Jack could lose everything. His position as principal, the career he's built over decades, the respect he commands. All because he defended me.
Blake's away game got canceled. The email was clear enough.
The school board is reviewing all coaching staff and their "associations with current investigations.
" Translation: they're punishing him for standing by me.
His players will suffer. His career trajectory could stall.
All because he refused to abandon me when things got ugly.
And Noah. God, Noah. The quiet, respected history teacher who never caused a moment of trouble.
Now he's caught up in this mess, his reputation tarnished by association.
Parents will question his judgment. Colleagues will whisper.
His professional credibility could be destroyed simply because he cares about me.
I did this. I brought this chaos into their lives.
My father's words echo in my head like a curse. You're no daughter of mine. The rejection still burns like acid in my veins. And my mother's disappointment, the way her face crumpled when she realized what I'd done, what I'd kept from them for ten years.
The vandalized classroom flashes through my mind. WHORE. SLUT. LIAR. Red paint dripping down the walls like blood. Kyle's satisfied smile as I was escorted from the building. The parents complaints painting me as morally corrupt, unfit to teach their precious children.
Everything I touch turns to ash. Everyone who gets close to me gets burned.
Jack stirs beside me, his hazel eyes opening in the darkness. Even exhausted, even worried, he's devastatingly handsome. The strong jaw, the way his dark hair falls across his forehead, the muscular chest visible above the sheet.
"Can't sleep?" His voice is rough with sleep, intimate in the quiet room.
"Just thinking."
"About?" He props himself up on one elbow, his hand moving to cup my face. His palm is warm against my cheek.
"About how I'm ruining your lives." The words come out broken, barely above a whisper.
Blake wakes at my voice, his brown eyes immediately alert. Years of coaching have trained him to wake quickly, to assess situations in seconds. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." I try to sit up but Jack's arm tightens around me, holding me in place. "Everything is wrong. You're all paying the price for being with me."
Noah shifts behind me, his hand sliding from my hair to my shoulder. "Mia, we've talked about this." Apparently, he's awake now too. Great. Add that to my list of sins. I can't even let my men sleep in peace.
"Talking doesn't change reality." My voice rises slightly, frustration and guilt warring in my chest. "You guys could all lose your jobs. All because of me."
"All because of small-minded people who can't handle anything that doesn't fit their narrow worldview," Blake corrects, his voice firm.
He sits up fully, the sheet falling to his waist and revealing his sculpted abs and broad chest. Even now, even in the middle of this conversation, I notice.
Notice the way his muscles shift when he moves, the strength in his shoulders.
"Blake's right," Jack says, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. "This isn't your fault. You didn't vandalize your own classroom. You didn't send those threatening notes. You didn't create the gossip or the parent complaints."
"But I created the situation." I pull away from Jack's touch, needing distance to think clearly. "I came back to Riverside with secrets. I got involved with all three of you. I made choices that led to this."
"We all made choices," Noah says quietly.
His green eyes are serious behind his glasses he'd just put on as he studies my face.
"Throughout history, people have faced persecution for unconventional relationships.
In ancient Rome, in Renaissance Italy, in Victorian England.
Society has always struggled with anything that challenges the status quo.
But that doesn't make what we have wrong. "
"It makes it dangerous." I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the warm room. "You're all suffering because of me."
Jack moves closer, his hands finding my shoulders. "Look at me, Mia."
I force myself to meet his gaze. Those hazel eyes with gold flecks that I see every time I look at our sons.
"I chose this," he says firmly. "I chose to tell Robert the truth. I chose to defend you to the school board. I chose to be with you despite the complications. Those were my decisions, not yours."
"Same here," Blake adds, his hand finding my knee beneath the sheet. His touch is warm, grounding. "I knew what I was getting into. I'm not some rookie who doesn't understand the playbook. I made my choice with my eyes wide open."
"And I'd make the same choice again," Noah says, his fingers tracing patterns on my back. "Every time. Without hesitation."
Tears blur my vision. "You say that now. But what happens if—“
"Then we figure it out," Jack says simply.
"How can you be so calm about this?" My voice cracks. "Everything is falling apart."
"Because you're worth it." Blake's brown eyes are fierce as they meet mine. "You're worth fighting for. Worth the risk. Worth whatever consequences come."
The tears spill over now, hot tracks down my cheeks. "I don't deserve you. Any of you."
"That's not your call to make," Noah says gently. "We decide what we're willing to risk. We decide what matters to us. And you matter, Mia. More than jobs or reputations or what small-minded people think."
Jack pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me. "We're not going anywhere. No matter how hard this gets."
Blake moves closer, his hand sliding up my thigh beneath the sheet.
Noah's mouth finds my shoulder, kissing a path up to my neck. Jack's hands slide into my hair, tilting my head back for his kiss.
They make love to me slowly, desperately. Each touch feels weighted with meaning, with promises and fears neither of us voice.
Afterward, we lie tangled together in the darkness. But I can't sleep. Can't stop the thoughts spiraling through my mind.
My father's rejection. My mother's disappointment. And everything else. All because of me.
I think about the twins, sleeping peacefully at Noah's apartment with the babysitter. They don't know their world is crumbling. Don't understand that their mother is destroying the lives of three good men who made the mistake of caring about her.
Maybe I should leave. Pack up the boys and disappear again. Protect these men from the fallout of loving me. Let them rebuild their lives without the weight of my baggage dragging them down.
The thought makes my chest ache, but it also feels like the right thing to do. The noble thing. The only way to stop the damage from spreading.
Jack's arm tightens around me like he can sense my thoughts. "Don't even think about running ... again," he murmurs against my hair. "I can feel you planning your escape."
"I'm not planning anything."
"Liar." His voice carries affection despite the accusation. "I know you, Mia. I know how your mind works. You're thinking about leaving to protect us."
Blake shifts beside me, his brown eyes opening. "That's not happening."
"You don't know what I'm thinking," I protest weakly.
"Yes, we do," Noah says quietly from behind me. "And the answer is no. You're not running. We're not letting you."
"You can't stop me."
"Watch us," Jack says, his voice carrying that authoritative principal tone that makes my core clench despite everything. "We'll follow you. Track you down. Drag you back if we have to."
"That's kidnapping," I point out, but there's no heat in my words.
"Call it what you want." Blake's hand slides up my side, his touch possessive.
The doorbell rings, shattering the moment. We all freeze, staring at each other in the darkness. It's barely six in the morning. Who would be here this early?
The doorbell rings again, more insistent this time.
I extract myself from the tangle of limbs and grab my robe from the chair, wrapping it around myself. My hands shake as I tie the belt.
"Stay here," I tell the men, but they're already moving, reaching for their clothes.
I walk down the hallway on unsteady legs, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I open the door and find my mother standing outside, her face pale with worry. Her brown eyes are red-rimmed like she's been crying.
"Mom? What's wrong? Is Dad okay?"
Her gaze moves past me, and I watch her expression shift from worry to shock to horror.
I turn to see what she's looking at, and my stomach drops like a stone thrown into deep water.
Jack, Blake, and Noah stand in the hallway behind me, all three men clearly having just rolled out of my bed.
There's no hiding what they were doing here. No explaining away three men emerging from my bedroom at six in the morning.
My mother's eyes widen as she takes in the scene, her hand flying to her mouth.