The Dinner

I did not sleep.

How do you sleep in the middle of two Hayes brothers when one has his arm around your waist and the other has his hand in your hair and both are breathing like they are trying not to wake you up?

At 6am, the lake was frozen white. The fire was dead.

Chloe was asleep on the couch, mouth open.

Jace was awake, watching me. Ethan was awake, watching Jace watch me.

"Good morning, ours," Jace whispered.

"Good morning, little one," Ethan whispered at the same time.

I was in the middle. Still in my wrinkled dress from two nights ago, still in Ethan's hoodie. My hair smelled like both of them now.

"Time to go face your parents?" I asked.

"Time to go face our future," Ethan corrected. He got up and started the fire again.

We drove back to the city in two cars again. Chloe followed us in hers. My phone had full signal now. 47 missed texts. 12 missed call from my brother Michael, 5 missed calls from my scholarship advisor.

And one new text from UNKNOWN:

_UNKNOWN: Wear something nice for dinner, Aria Cole. You want to look pretty when everyone sees the elevator video._

I showed it to Jace. He didn't say anything. He just drove faster.

The Hayes mansion was not a house. It was a building with gates, guards, and a driveway that took 5 minutes.

Mrs. Hayes met us at the door. She is beautiful. Like Jace's soft eyes but Ethan's sharp cheekbones. She looked at me first, not her sons.

"Aria Cole,"."Thank you for coming."

I was still in yesterday's dress, hoodie, jacket. I looked like I had slept in a lake house with two brothers. Because I had.

"Mom," Jace said, warning in his voice.

Mrs. Hayes smiled, but it was not a warm smile. "You must be cold, dear. Come inside. Vanessa is already here."

My stomach dropped.

Inside the giant dining room, there she was. Vanessa Park. Long black hair, perfect makeup, red dress that costs more than my one-year scholarship. She sat next to Mr. Hayes like she belonged there.

"Jace! Ethan!" She stood up, smiling. "And Aria! Oh my God, I love your... hoodie. Is that Ethan's? I have the same one at home, Ethan, remember? You gave it to me last Christmas?"

Ethan didn't look at her. "I never gave you anything."

Vanessa's smile flickered. "You don't remember?"

"I remember telling you no," Ethan said.

Mr. Hayes stood up. He is taller than both his sons. Silver hair, same cold eyes as Ethan.

"Sit," he said. Not hello. Just sit.

We sat. Jace on my left, Ethan on my right, same as always. Me in the middle. Vanessa across from me, next to Mrs. Hayes. Chloe was told to wait in the kitchen - "Family dinner only, dear," Mrs. Hayes had said.

"I saw a very interesting I*******m LIVE yesterday," Mr. Hayes started, pouring wine. He did not offer me any. "It was deleted, but Vanessa kindly saved a screen recording."

Vanessa held up her phone. "I just happened to be online, Mr. Hayes. I was worried about Aria. She didn't come to class."

"You saved it?" Ethan asked Vanessa, his voice low. "You saved a LIVE of my girlfriend without permission?"

"Your girlfriend?" Mrs. Hayes raised an eyebrow. "Which one? Jace's girlfriend or your girlfriend, Ethan? Because in the LIVE, you both seemed to be holding the same girl."

Silence.

The dining table is so long you could hear the clock tick.

I took a deep breath. My hands were shaking under the table, but Jace held my right hand and Ethan held my left hand, both under the table, where no one could see but Vanessa could guess.

"Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hayes," I said, my voice shaking but loud enough. "My name is Aria Cole. I am not Aria Hayes. I am not related to your sons. I am a scholarship student in Econ 101. I have known Jace and Ethan for years, when my mom,my brother and I moved next door and before you moved out.

Mr. Hayes looked at me. Really looked at me for the first time.

"And?" he said.

"And I am with both of your sons," I said. "I am shared by them. I love them both. I am not choosing one. If that is a problem for this family, then tell your sons, not me. Because they are the ones who decided to share me, not the other way around."

Vanessa gasped. Mrs. Hayes put her wine glass down hard.

Jace squeezed my hand under the table. Ethan squeezed harder.

Mr. Hayes stared at me for 10 seconds. 10 long seconds.

Then he looked at his sons. "Is this true? You are both with the same girl? Sharing?"

"Yes, father," Jace said.

"Yes," Ethan said.

"And you think this is sustainable? A business family like ours, with one girl shared between two heirs? What about children? What about marriage? What about company image?"

Vanessa leaned forward, eager. "Mr. Hayes, I was telling Mrs. Hayes, I think Jace and Ethan are just confused. Aria is... you know, she is scholarship, she needs -"

"Vanessa," Mrs. Hayes cut her off, her voice sharp. "Aria was speaking."

Vanessa shut up, her face red.

Mrs. Hayes looked at me again. Her eyes softer now. "Aria Cole, do you know what my sons were like before you moved next door?"

I shook my head.

"They fought every day," she said. "Jace and Ethan hated each other. They competed for everything. Grades, sports, my attention, their father's attention. They broke each other's noses twice. Then you moved in next door with your mother and brother. With your little pink bike. And you knocked on our door and asked if my sons wanted to play hide and seek with you because your brother was away and you had no friends."

I remembered. I was small, new, lonely. They were tall, scary, but they said yes.

"Since that day, they stopped fighting each other," Mrs. Hayes said. "They started fighting for you. Together. They would both bring you snacks. Both help you with homework. Both wait for you after school. I have watched my sons share one person for years and not kill each other. That is the first time in their lives they learned to share."

Mr. Hayes was quiet.

"So," Mrs. Hayes continued, looking at her husband. "If Aria Cole is the only person who can make our sons stop competing and start cooperating, why would we say no to that arrangement?"

Vanessa stood up fast, chair scraping. "What? Mrs. Hayes, you can't be serious! They can't both -"

"Sit down, Vanessa," Mr. Hayes said, not looking at her. "You were invited today as a guest of our security team, to explain how you accessed private elevator footage of my building. Marcus is waiting outside to speak with you about privacy violation. That is why you are here. Not as family."

Vanessa's face went white.

Ethan smiled. That dangerous smile.

Jace finally let go of my hand under the table and put his arm around me openly, for his parents to see.

Mrs. Hayes stood up and walked around the table to me. She put her hands on my shoulders.

"Aria Cole," she said. "Welcome to this messy family. Dinner is getting cold. Let's eat. As five Or as six, if we count the person in the kitchen who was told not to let in?"

I laughed, tears coming.

"Six," I said. "Chloe is my best friend. She started all this."

Mrs. Hayes laughed too. "Six then. Marcus, bring Chloe in. And get Vanessa a taxi home."

Vanessa grabbed her bag and ran out, passing Marcus, the security head.

Outside the dining room window, Chloe was waving at me from the kitchen window.

And under the table, Ethan slipped something onto my finger. A small silver ring. Not engagement. Just... a promise.

_Shared._

Mr. Hayes saw it. He didn't say no.