"ONE HOUSE FOUR MEN MY CHOICE"

MIDNIGHT CHOICE

CHAPTER 4

The clock said 9 PM and I already hated every second of the next 3 hours.

_“BY MIDNIGHT, SHE HAS TO CHOOSE WHO SLEEPS IN HER ROOM. CHOOSE WRONG... AND SOMEONE GETS HURT.”_

The voice echoed in my head even after the lights came back on.

No one spoke for a full minute. The only sound was Dex in the kitchen whispering "OH s**t OH s**t" to Maeve.

Zade was the first to break it. He threw his head back and laughed. "WELL. THAT’S ONE WAY TO SPICE UP A MARRIAGE."

"IT’S NOT FUNNY," Knox said. His voice was deadly calm. The kind of calm that comes right before a storm.

"I KNOW IT’S NOT FUNNY," Zade said. "THAT’S WHY I’M LAUGHING. BECAUSE IF I DON’T LAUGH I’M GONNA LOSE IT."

Riven looked at me. Really looked. "YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE NOW. WE HAVE TIME."

"WE HAVE 3 HOURS," Vale said quietly. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "AND SHE SHOULDN’T BE ALONE."

The four of them started arguing. Not yelling. It was worse. It was low, tense, possessive.

"She’s coming to my wing," Knox said.

"No. My studio," Zade countered.

"She needs a doctor, not a rockstar," Riven said.

"She needs someone who won’t talk," Vale said.

I stood up. "STOP."

All four of them looked at me.

"YOU’RE NOT DECIDING FOR ME," I said. My voice was shaking but I forced it to be steady. "I’M THE ONE WHO HAS TO CHOOSE. SO GIVE ME SOME SPACE TO THINK."

Maeve appeared with two glasses of wine and shoved one in my hand. "DRINK. YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’RE GONNA PASS OUT."

Dex nodded. "AND WE’RE GONNA GO TO THE GAME ROOM. BECAUSE IF WE STAY HERE WE’RE GONNA GET KILLED BY THE TENSION."

They left. Finally.

Now it was just me and them.

The next few hours were torture.

Knox followed me to the library and didn’t say anything for 30 minutes. He just sat across from me, reading legal documents. Every few minutes he’d look up, like he was checking if I was still breathing.

Zade dragged me to the music room and played a song he said he wrote at 3 AM. It was about a girl who was scared of her own shadow. He didn’t look at me while he sang.

Riven made me tea. Chamomile. "IT’LL HELP YOU SLEEP," he said. "WHOEVER YOU PICK."

Vale just... appeared. In the hallway. In the kitchen. By the stairs. He never said anything. He just made sure I wasn’t alone.

By 11:30 PM I was a wreck.

My room felt too small. Too quiet.

I sat on my bed with my knees pulled to my chest. _28 days. Choose with your heart._

But my heart was a mess.

There was a knock.

Knox.

"CAN I COME IN?"

I nodded.

He didn’t sit on the bed. He sat on the floor, back against the wall.

"I’M NOT GONNA BEG," he said. "BUT I’M NOT GONNA LEAVE EITHER. IF YOU PICK SOMEONE ELSE, I’LL DEAL WITH IT. BUT TONIGHT... LET ME STAY."

Before I could answer, another knock.

Zade. He poked his head in. "PARTY OF TWO?"

"NO," Knox and I said at the same time.

Zade grinned. "WORTH A SHOT."

Then Riven. "I BROUGHT MORE TEA."

And Vale. He didn’t knock. He just stood in the doorway.

_11:45 PM._

They were all here. In my room.

And the voice said midnight.

"TIME’S UP," the intercom crackled. _“CHOOSE.”_

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break.

I looked at Knox. Solid. Safe. Angry at the world for me.

I looked at Zade. Chaos. Light. The one who made me forget I was cursed for 5 minutes.

I looked at Riven. Gentle. The one who saw me breaking and tried to put me back together.

I looked at Vale. Silent. The one who stayed on the sofa without asking for anything.

_Choose with your heart._

I stood up. My legs felt weak.

"I—"

The lights flickered.

_“5... 4...”_

"I CHOOSE—"

The door to my balcony SLAMMED open.

All four men were on their feet instantly. Knox in front of me. Zade grabbing my arm. Riven pulling me back. Vale already at the balcony door.

Nothing was there. Just wind. And a single black rose on the floor.

Tied to it was a note.

In black ink:

_“CHEATER. YOU TRIED TO BUY TIME. NOW THE PRICE IS PAID.”_

And from downstairs, we heard a crash.

Glass breaking.

Maeve screaming.

Dex yelling "WHAT THE f**k WAS THAT?"

All four of them looked at me.

Then they ran.

And I was left alone in my room at 12:00 AM.

With no choice made.

To be continued...