Claimed by Three Billionaires

Chapter 4 – Ethan’s POV

The champagne’s bubbles brushed my palate with an elegant bitterness that melted into a sweet aftertaste. A fleeting luxury, incapable of filling the hollow in my chest.

“Mr. Kessler, we’re about to land in Paris,” the flight attendant announced.

I nodded without words, setting the glass on the table as the jet descended.

They greeted me with the usual formality: curtsies, measured smiles, calculated gestures. I wasted no time on protocols.

“Direct to Le Palace,” I ordered the driver.

Paris slid past the window like a mirage while my mind returned to the inevitable. I had invented a business trip to avoid meeting Julian and Grayson as soon as I learned Selene was living in Julian’s house. That bastard—almost a brother—had dared betray our pact: do not involve ourselves with her… the only woman capable of destroying our brotherhood.

“Welcome back, Mr. Kessler. We missed you.”

The hostess received me with her flawless smile. Le Palace was what it had always been: a decadent theater turned temple of excess, where crystal chandeliers lit aristocrats, models, and lost souls like me pass a good time. Here millionaires find the perfect anonymity to lose themselves in forbidden pleasures. I do too from time to time… but tonight my plans were different.

I walked unimpeded to the VIP area. One command was enough for the door to open and grant me entrance to the most private suite. The air was heavy, steeped in an intimate disorder, impossible to hide. Nathan was too absorbed, sunk in his own promiscuity, when my voice cut through him like a whip:

“Good evening, Nathan… a pleasure, as always.”

He stiffened immediately.

“Ethan? Is that you?” he spat, with a fury that tried to hide his discomfort.

I smiled, leaning calmly against the doorframe.

“What a welcome… I only came to say hello.”

“You have no right to barge in like this. How did you get in?”

I advanced slowly and say.

“Because it belongs to me. This place has been mine for years.”

I watched him pale, surprised.

“Yours? But your family has always been tied to America national security, to tech and arms contracts… this is far from your world.”

A low laugh escaped my lips.

“Oh, Nathan… my businesses long ago stopped being limited to what the government approves. And believe me, I’m not that far removed from my original niche. s*x and arms have always gone well together. Both buy power, both buy silence.”

He snorted, annoyed, though unable to deny it. Finally, he met my gaze, jaw clenched. I knew nobody was aware of his little secret.

“Fine, speak… what do you want, Ethan?”

The answer burned even before I voiced it. Julian, Grayson and I had wanted her since we were children; what began as innocent teasing ended in cruel games to steal her attention but when Selene married Edmund Ravenshire, I broke, but I honored the pact and let her go. Still, I missed her with an unbearable madness. And now, widowed, imagining her in Julian’s arms stirs something in me that borders on violence.

Nathan urged me impatiently:

“Say it already!”

I didn’t like his tone. My eyes narrowed as I reminded him who set the rules here.

“Careful, Nathan. Don’t forget I decide the pace of this conversation… after all, I don’t think you want others to discover your little dirty secret.”

His face hardened and he cursed under his breath.

“Damn you, Ethan.”

I let out a mocking laugh.

“And I thought Oxford graduates were more refined in speech… seems they exaggerate.”

Anger flashed in his eyes, but I knew I was right: he had been found out, and that left him with his hands tied. He had no choice but to listen.

I leaned toward him, letting each word fall with calculated weight:

“There’s something I want from you, Nathan. I want Selene.”

Shock registered on his face. He couldn’t even imagine why a man like me might desire his cousin.

“What do you want her for?” he asked, incredulous.

I smiled without shame.

“I want her to be mine.”

His reaction was immediate, nearly visceral.

“Selene isn’t anyone’s whore.”

I regarded him with surprise, arching an eyebrow.

“Oh… I thought you didn’t care. After all, you were the one who denied her support, which allowed Julian to take her to his penthouse.”

Nathan clenched his fists, but I didn’t look away.

“Listen to me,” I continued, with the calm of someone who knows victory is inevitable. “I don’t want her as a w***e. I want her to be mine… completely mine.”

Nathan swallowed, still not fully understanding.

“Are you talking about marrying her?”

I held him in a heavy silence before answering with total certainty:

“Of course.”

His reaction was unexpected: a laugh burst out in the room, breaking the atmosphere of control I had woven. My jaw tightened, irritated.

“What the hell do you find so funny, Nathan?” I snapped, a razor in my voice.

He tried to contain himself, still smiling ironically. He reached for a nearby glass and took a long sip of champagne, as if it would restore his composure. I watched him, patient, until he spoke again, calmer than I expected.

“There’s nothing funny about this… nothing, except the fact that Julian and Grayson have already asked me for exactly the same thing.”

The amusement drained from my face and turned into something dark.

“Are they blackmailing you too?” I asked, irritated, blunt.

Nathan set the glass on the table with a dull thud and held my gaze, this time with icy control.

“No, Ethan. Luckily, only you know my secret. And I would appreciate it if it stayed that way… as a secret.”

I narrowed my eyes, parsing every word as if it hid more than he was willing to reveal.

“Then explain it to me.”

Nathan leaned back in the armchair, the penumbra accentuating the hardness of his stare.

“All you need to know is that you need to talk to them. The three of you must come to an agreement… because in this society, only one of you will be allowed to marry my cousin. The other two will have to settle for living out their s****l fantasies behind closed doors… just as I am condemned to live mine.”

A dense silence spread between us until he added, with a chill that froze the air:

“That, of course… if she would even be willing to share herself with the three of you. Which I very much doubt.”

His words pierced me, but instead of breaking me, they pushed me to reflect. What I feel for Selene is not normal love, I know. It’s obsessive, perhaps sick… but it is also the purest thing I have ever had in my life. The only truth amid my many lies.

I cracked my knuckles, and the staff waiting in the shadows approached at once.

“Continue,” I ordered, dismissing Nathan as if his existence were merely a pause in my night.

I turned to leave, but his voice reached me before I crossed the door.

“Will you keep my secret?”

I stopped for a mere second, long enough to look over my shoulder.

“Tonight is on the house. When you finish, I’ll be waiting at my mansion in Manhattan for you. After all, if only I know your secret… I expect your cooperation so I can marry Selene by the end of this month.”

I gave him no chance to answer. I crossed the suite and closed the door behind me, with a burning certainty in my chest: with Nathan on my side, Selene would have to be mine.

After all… I am the best choice for her.

Or am I not?