MasukISABELHarvey takes my hand, leading me toward the bedroom. Ares and Marco follow, the air thick with anticipation and want.My bedroom feels smaller with all four of us in it, the space charged with possibility.For a moment, no one moves. Just four people trying to figure out how this works.Then Harvey speaks, his voice dropping into that dominant tone that makes heat pool low in my belly."Ground rules," he says, looking at Ares and Marco. "We work together. No competing and no jealousy. Tonight, we focus on her. Making her feel good. Making her understand she belongs to all of us."Ares nods. "Agreed."Marco's jaw is tight, but he nods too. "Together."Harvey turns back to me, his ice-blue eyes dark with desire."And you, baby girl," he says, stepping closer. "You tell us if anything's too much. If you need to stop. Understood?""Yes, sir."The word makes all three men react—Ares's breath catching, Marco's eyes darkening, Harvey's hands clenching."Good girl," Harvey murmurs. "No
ISABELWe're finishing up our Friday check-in, the tension from the honest conversation still hanging in the air, when Ares speaks."I have an idea," he says, his voice is careful. "And you can all say no but… what if we all stayed tonight? All four of us. Together."The suggestion lands like a bomb in my living room.Marco's eyes snap to Ares. "What?""Hear me out," Ares continues. "We've been doing this separately. Isabel with each of us individually but we're supposed to be in this together, right? Maybe spending time all four of us would help. Remind us that we're a unit, not just separate relationships."Harvey's expression is unreadable, but I can see the tension in his shoulders.Marco looks conflicted. "I don't know if that's a good idea.""Why not?" Ares challenges gently."Because—" Marco stops, jaw working. "Because it's one thing to know she's with you on other nights. It's another to watch it."The honesty in his voice makes my chest ache but Ares doesn't back down."Mayb
ISABELMonday night, I have dinner with Ares.He takes me to a small Italian restaurant in the West Village—intimate, cozy, with candlelight and soft music.Everything is perfect. The food, the wine, and the conversation.Ares is attentive and sweet, making me laugh with stories about his day, asking about mine but I'm distracted knowing that tomorrow night, I'll be in a business meeting with all three of them, knowing that Wednesday is Marco's night and also knowing that Thursday I'll be with Harvey for the first time at his place."You're somewhere else," Ares observes gently, reaching across the table to take my hand."I'm sorry. I'm here. I promise.""It's okay to be thinking about them," he says, though I can see the tension around his eyes. "That's part of this. I'm just—getting used to it.""How are you really doing?" I ask. "With all of this?"Ares is quiet for a moment. "It's harder than I thought it would be. Knowing you're with them on other nights. Wondering what you're do
ARESWe gathered at the penthouse the next evening, just the three of us, no Isabel because we all decided to take a break from each other to go think.This conversation needs to happen between brothers first.I arrive home from work to find Marco already in the living room, a bottle of expensive scotch on the coffee table and three glasses.Harvey walks in minutes later, his expression carefully controlled.For a moment, we just look at each other.Fifteen years of friendship, of partnership and of being the only family any of us have ever really had. All of it tested by one woman."Sit," Marco says, pouring the scotch with steady hands and we sit.Marco hands us each a glass, then raises his."To being complete idiots," he says dryly."To unconventional solutions," I counter."To not killing each other," Harvey adds.We drink.The scotch burns going down, but it helps ease some of the tension.Marco sets his glass down with a decisive click. "If we're doing this—really doing this—we
ISABELThe silence shatters.Marco turns on Harvey with fury I've never seen from him before."You've been judging us," Marco says, his voice low and dangerous. "Calling Isabel a distraction. Telling us we're destroying our partnership over a woman. And the whole time you were obsessed with her?"Harvey's jaw clenches. "I tried to fight it—""By stalking her?" Ares interrupts, his voice sharp. "By following her home, watching her apartment and writing her creepy notes? That's how you fought it?""Don't act like you're better than me," Harvey snaps back, his ice-blue eyes flashing. "Either of you. You both pursued her knowing the other wanted her.""That's different," Marco growls, stepping closer to Harvey. "We talked about it. We made an arrangement. We were honest with each other. You went behind our backs.""I didn't plan this," Harvey's voice rises. "It just happened. I saved her from being attacked and everything I'd been holding back just—broke. I couldn't control it anymore.""
ISABELThey arrive separately.Ares first, at 6:55 PM, punctual as always. He kisses me at the door, warm and sweet, completely unaware of what's coming."You sounded serious in your text," he says, studying my face. "What's going on?""Let's wait until everyone's here.""Everyone?" His eyebrows raise. "I thought it was just the three of us."Before I can answer, there's another knock.Marco, exactly at seven PM. He nods to Ares, then turns to me with those intense grey eyes."What's this about, Isabel?""Just... wait. Please."The final knock comes at 7:02.I open the door to find Harvey standing there, his expression carefully controlled.Behind me, I hear Ares's sharp intake of breath."Harvey?" Marco's voice is confused. "What are you doing here?"Harvey walks in, his ice-blue eyes meeting mine briefly before turning to face his best friends.The tension in my living room is immediate and suffocating.Three men. Three best friends and business partners. All standing in my apartmen







