SARAH Immediately I utter my name, the viewer count sky rockets. Did someone tell the whole of Durmont I’m doing a live video? My eyes are glued to the top right of my screen. Ten thousand. Twenty thousand. Fifty thousand. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. Jaxon kisses the side of forehead. “You’ve got this, baby. We’ll step out now.” I don’t turn to look at them. I can only nod, but I know they’re gone when the door clicks shut. And I’m left alone. Well, it’s me and…fifty five thousand people. Deep breath. I can do this. “By now, you’ve probably seen the photos. There are quite a range of headlines out there, and you have all formed your opinions about who I am and what I’m doing. And honestly, I can’t blame you. From the outside, this looks…strange. There are so many…logistics you might not be able to grasp. Hell, I haven’t been able to properly understand so many things myself…” The comments are already flooding in. I try not to read them, try to keep my eyes on the one thing that matters: me. “But I want to tell you my story. Not the version the tabloids are selling. Mine, straight from the horse’s mouth.” Another breath. This one rattles me, deep into my bones. “Six years ago, I married a man named Aaron Connor. I was in love. We were going to build a life together, a family. He bought into my dream of having my own insurance company. I believed I had found my life partner,” The walls around me are pushing forward, threatening to crush me between their weight. I tilt my head up to look at the ceiling. This is my story. I can and will tell it. My gaze lands on my screen again. “Aaron was… he was controlling, and manipulative. Looking back now, I can’t tell how he did it, but he isolated me from my friends, my family. I felt like I was nothing without him, like I had no one. And when I tried to leave—and I did try, multiple times—he would threaten me. Said he’d take the company we’d built together. And I knew him enough to know that he would.” My voice cracks. I clear my throat.“So I stayed. For six years, I stayed. Through emotional abuse, even the times he got physical—” I touch my left cheek unconsciously. The image flashes in my mind. “I knew loneliness unlike ever before. Being with him, it did something to me I am yet to completely undo.” Tears are building behind my eyes. I blink them back. “And then he got my personal assistant pregnant. Debbie Rose, God rest her soul.” I pause, remembering her face. “And that was my breaking point. I packed my things, whatever would fit into my little suitcase, and I left. But leaving wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t met them. These men, the HawkThorne brothers.” I can’t fight it anymore, I let my tears win. They slide down my cheeks and I don’t bother wiping them away. “I might have taken my things back there, back to him, if they didn’t show up at the restaurant,” I chuckle just thinking about it. “It’s like they had been summoned, you know? Till now, I’m not so sure how they knew where I was.” My voice grows stronger now. “They caught me, held on to me, and never let me go. Even when I pushed them away. Even when I was too damaged, too broken, and way too much work, they stayed. All three of them. And slowly, they helped me remember what it feels like to be loved. Actually loved. Not controlled. Not manipulated. Just…” I sniff. “loved.” I wipe my eyes, look directly at the camera. “I know this isn’t a conventional love story. I know four people in a relationship isn’t what society expects or accepts. But you know what? I’m happy. For the first time in years, I’m genuinely, completely happy. And they’re happy. And we’re building something beautiful together.” I suck in a deep breath and dare to look at the bottom left, where the comments are trooping in. One catches my eye: “You went through a lot. You deserve happiness.” Another: “I’m rooting for you, Sarah.” “Hell, three billionaires?! Go queen!” That one makes me smile. The smile doesn’t last very long. It’s slapped away from my cheeks by the next comment that floats to the top. “Why couldn’t you just pick ONE man? This is disgusting.” Why couldn’t I just pick one man? Who would I choose if I had to choose? Ronan with his fierce protectiveness. Malachi with his quiet fire, his blue flame that’ll consume any and everything in my way. Jaxon with his brute strength and his heart on his sleeves. There’s my answer. If I could go back in time and do it all over again, I’ll choose them. All of them. “Someone just asked why I couldn’t stay with just one man.” I lean closer to the camera. “And here’s my answer. That’s not my story. I fell in love with three men who fell for me, and chased me, and that’s how my story goes,” “My love story doesn’t fit into neat boxes or follow traditional rules. And if my happiness—my very specific, unconventional, messy happiness—poses a threat to you? Maybe you should look deep down and ask yourself why one woman’s happiness is causing you so much pain.” God. My heart is racing faster than it lets me breathe. I wonder if I’ve hit a nerve with this one. But in the comment section, more support is flooding in, but the rage is still there. “You’re going to hell” I chuckle bitterly. “For love? Yeah, sure.” “Those poor babies” I raise a brow. “My children would have the love of one amazing mother and three wonderful fathers. I am really certain I won’t be able to say the same for you.” Jesus, girl. Are you on a fucking roll or what? I should probably stop now. This might hurt Wellspring. “Attention whore” OH. OKAY. “This is why women shouldn’t be in power” Misogynistic much? “I hope your company fails” I grit my teeth. And then one that makes my blood boil: “You’re not a mother. You’re a cautionary tale. What are you trying to teach the women and girls who look up to you? Those children deserve better than a slut like you raising them.” YOU KNOW WHAT? IT GETS TO A MOTHERFUCKING POINT… I straighten up. The sadness is gone now, replaced by pure annoyance. “To whoever just called me a slut and said my children deserve better, let me be very clear about something. Like it or not, I am going to marry these men. All three of them. We are going to live a happy, fulfilled life together. In Durmont. We’re going to raise our children in a home full of love and respect and joy. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.” I’m done. I can’t take any more of this. I close my eyes, heave a sigh, while calculating the best way to leave the live. “To those of you who have shown support, and I see you, however few you might be, thank you. Truly. Your kindness means more than you know. I’ll forever appreciate it.” My hand hovers over the end button. “And to everyone else… I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for. Whatever hole you’re trying to fill by tearing down a stranger on the internet. I genuinely hope you find it.” I end the live. My screen goes black. And suddenly I can breathe again. I think. My heart is still racing. My hands are shaking so badly I nearly drop my phone. I just did that. I went live to almost three hundred thousand people and told them my story. I just told the internet to fuck off. “That was quite badass.” I jump in shock, spinning around. Kevin is standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed and a small smile on his face. “Jesus, Kevin. You scared the shit out of me.” “Sorry.” He doesn’t look a tad bit sorry. “But seriously. That was incredible.” I hold up my trembling hands. “Was it? Because it feels like my hands are going to fall off any second now.” He walks over, and sits down beside me on the couch. “Where did the brothers go?” I ask. If he’s coming from outside, he should have ran into them. “I saw them enter their cars when I arrived. They did say something about needing to go to the office to prepare some tools.” I want to ask him about it, but I’m far too tired. Kevin puts his arm around me, pulls me against his side like he used to when we were kids and I’d had a bad day.“Everything will be alright, Sarah,” he says quietly. “Just give it time.” I know. I know.