9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sophia

Mason’s back.

Mason is in my house.

Mason is living with me again.

I love her.

I need her to stay this time.

Forcing everyone together for a meal was a gamble, and I knew that, but I figured I really didn’t have anything to lose. But for this to work, I needed Lucian to sit beside Mason. So, I carried all of our extra dining chairs to the basement, leaving only five at the table. Just in time, too—the moment I got back, the dining room began to fill with activity.

Lucian strolled in first, plopped himself into the first chair he touched, and huffed loudly. I quickly claimed the spot to his left, though I knew my haste was probably unnecessary. Lucian was still furious with Cameron, so Cam sat on my other side to give him space. Sebastian and Mason had yet to arrive, but I knew Sebastian would rather eat dinner inside a burning building than sit next to Luci. Mason would have to sit there instead, setting my perfect plan in motion.

Lucian reached over the small sea of oyster pails to grab the one filled with black bean noodles.

“You ordered the vegetarian ones, right?” he asked.

“Yep, and I double-checked twice. Always do, you know that.” Cameron looked a little hurt that Lucian felt the need to ask.

Luci shrugged as he slapped a small portion of noodles onto his plate. “I thought things might have changed. You know, because you went from loving kids to abandoning your own.”

“We’re not talking like that,” I warned. “If you don’t behave, I’m going to make you wear your collar in front of everyone.”

Lucian plopped the container back down, sucking the sauce off his chopsticks.

“Bite me.”

What a disobedient dog my Luci was. I’d find it sexy if I wasn’t so desperate for this dinner to go well. Right now, I needed him to keep his mouth shut, one way or another.

“Keep it up, and I’ll get the muzzle,” I sang. “I’d love to see you try to eat while wearing that.”

That earned me a glare, but it shut him up.

“You need more on your plate,” Cameron chimed in, pointing to Lucian, who was still very obviously not in the mood.

After his overdose, I forced Lucian to get sober: no drugs, no alcohol, no smoking. I never said anything about caffeine, though, and it didn’t take long for him to replace his pills with sugar-free energy drinks. The new habit destroyed his appetite. For a while, I tried to pressure him into eating more, but eventually, I started letting it slide. Anything was better than seeing him strung out every day.

Lucian lifted a single noodle to his lips.

“You should wait for our guests,” I suggested.

“You should kiss my ass.”

I sighed and made an exaggerated show of standing up. “I guess Mason’s going to have to see you in a muzzle looking like the— “

“No!” he blurted, grabbing my hand.

I fought back a smile. Now I had proof that he still cared about Mason.

“Then put more on your plate and apologize for being a brat.”

“I’m not a— “

I raised an eyebrow and stared him dead in the eye. He visibly flinched.

“Fine, fuck. I’m sorry.”

Asking for a sincere apology was a lost cause, so instead of pushing the issue, I sat back down.

“I got a couple of things with tofu too,” Cameron added.

I glanced discreetly at him. Cam was definitely the wildcard tonight. I knew Lucian was already falling for Mason again, but I couldn’t figure out where Cam stood. On one hand, he’d explicitly said that he wanted nothing to do with raising Mason’s baby. But, on the other hand... Cameron never ordered tofu for Lucian. He knew Luci typically ate his black bean noodles and maybe a spring roll, but no more than that. So, who was the tofu for?

Mason. It had to be.

I’d seen a bunch of her interviews, so I knew she was also a vegetarian. But Cam had never heard of her before today. Well, he must’ve met her, I guess, but he didn’t know she was famous, so he couldn’t have known she was a vegetarian... unless he looked her up before ordering the food.

If he was already internet stalking her, maybe convincing him to date her wouldn’t be so hard after all.

The creaking of the floor upstairs told me it was almost showtime. So, instead of wasting the last few seconds pondering what-ifs, I said a silent prayer.

Anne Boleyn, if you’re up there, first of all, I’m totally sorry for how you died. That was supremely uncool. Anyway, please watch over this hot mess. I have a feeling you’ll enjoy the show.

Sebastian and Mason came into view, fingers laced and hair wet. She was wearing one of his shirts, clinging to his arm like a scared child clutching a blanket. Her eyes shifted around the room, taking in her surroundings, but never making eye contact with any of us.

Sebastian’s breathing stuttered as he glanced at the two empty seats. For just a moment, I feared he might sit beside Lucian to prevent Mason from being uncomfortable. Instead, he pulled out her chair and held her hand as she sat. Lucian scoffed as Mason scooted herself in.

“What do you want to drink?” Sebastian whispered, ignoring his brother. “I can grab it before I sit down.”

Mason looked up at him, and the deer-in-headlights look in her eyes told me she had no desire to be left alone with any of us. It hurt to see her so afraid of us, but I tried to remind myself that I had no idea why she left in the first place. Maybe it was our fault; maybe we had done something wrong.

I just had no idea what it could’ve been. For a while, it kept me up at night, running through every conversation we’d ever had, wondering what we could have done to make her feel like she had to escape us. Eventually, I decided to believe she’d done it in a misguided attempt to save our feelings. Maybe she thought breaking up with us directly would hurt us more. It was the only explanation I could wrap my head around. But now I had the chance to find out what really happened. To heal and help Mason heal.

I desperately needed that, and judging by the fear in her eyes, so did she.

“Cam, could you go grab two waters for them?”

He didn’t protest, just obediently rose from his chair and did as I asked. Part of me hoped that one day Lucian would learn to listen the way Cameron did… but my hopes weren’t high.

“Thank you!” Sebastian flashed a grin and settled into his seat.

I smiled as I rested my chin in my palm. He was a good boy too. If he could stay that way, maybe he could become part of our crazy family someday.

“So, how did you two meet?” I joked. Of course I knew—Seb had followed Mason around like a lost puppy for years. He had to be over the moon now that they were actually dating.

Sebastian laughed, but Mason looked uncomfortable, picking at the edge of the tablecloth. He leaned down, whispering something in her ear, and she did the same back.

“She wants to know if we’re going to say grace?”

Lucian rolled his eyes, and Cameron came back just in time to hear the question. He placed water bottles in front of Sebby and Masie before returning to sit with me.

“We don’t do grace,” Cameron finally answered.

“Aren’t you a pastor?” Sebastian snorted.

Cameron shrugged, then reached for the box of sweet and sour pork. Sebastian’s gaze narrowed, but he softened instantly as Mason pulled him in to whisper again. She spoke English to me when she first came into the house, so I knew Sebastian couldn’t be translating for her. Why was she doing this?

Lucian cleared his throat before standing, not bothering to push his chair in as he left the table. Lucian didn’t have a tolerance for this kind of stuff, and I had seriously ticked him off before Masie and Sebby even came down. I assumed he was about to stomp off to his room and not come out until tomorrow. But to my surprise, he placed his hands on the back of Mason’s chair and pulled her away from Sebby, scooting it into the space he’d been sitting in moments ago. Lucian then slid his plate over and put Mason’s empty one in front of her before moving his chair next to Sebastian and plopping down.

“You speak English. Act like it,” he taunted, then picked up a single noodle and slurped it into his mouth.

A blush bloomed like a rose across Mason’s face, and her breathing went shallow. She was next to me now, close enough for me to touch. I desperately wanted to; she looked like she needed a hug, and I gave incredible hugs. But I didn’t want to make her even more uncomfortable.

Her eyes remained wide as she focused on her plate, hands folded in her lap.

“Lucky, I’d like to thank you for your concern, but Mason was absolutely fine. Please move.”

Sebastian was laser-focused on his brother, and I decided to pretend like I wasn’t listening in. Slowly, I reached for the General Tso’s tofu and put a few cubes on my plate. Normally, I hated tofu. Lucian had been trying to get me to eat it for years, but I could never get past the wet sponge texture. Still, I had an undeniable need to win Mason over.

“Masie, would you like some?” I offered.

As she nodded silently, a weird feeling filled the pit of my stomach. Mason, as I knew her, was exuberant. She was loud, friendly, and smiley. However, the Mason sitting beside me seemed like an empty husk of the woman she once was.

I started the process of serving her, but her hand appeared on top of mine. Her long fingers were decorated with matte black acrylics, and her touch was cold.

“I can do it, but thank you.” Her accent made her whisper almost impossible to decipher, but somehow I managed.

She took the container from me and began rooting through it, almost like she was looking for something. After she pulled out the third chunk of broccoli, I caught on to what she was doing. Unfortunately for her, so did Luci.

“Nu-uh, you’re pregnant.” Lucian snatched the container from her hands. “You need to eat more than vegetables.”

“And you need to mind your own business,” Sebastian warned, placing a firm hand on Lucian’s shoulder.

“Lucian is a dad now,” I explained, hoping to break the tension. “He’s just worried, it’s what he does.”

Mason turned away from the brothers, focusing on her plate instead. Slowly, she picked up her chopsticks and took a small bite out of a broccoli floret, then looked back at me.

“Just Lucian?”

God, her voice was so sweet. I smiled in response, fully prepared to tell Mason all about Lucian’s drug-induced condom-poking situation.

“Nope, Sophia is a mom now, just like you.” Lucian snatched the box of tofu from the table and dumped half of the container onto Mason’s plate, then served himself the rest. I tried to hide my surprise—this was the biggest meal I’d seen on his plate in months. If I could just keep the peace for long enough, maybe he’d eat it all.

“I thought you didn’t want kids?”

I didn’t. Kids and jobs weren’t exactly a match made in heaven, and I liked the feeling of working. But I did love Jasper and Juniper like they were my own, just like I would Mason’s little one. They were all my children, even if they didn’t share my genetics.

Besides, if I told the truth about Jas and Juni’s mother now, Lucian would probably refuse to eat out of spite.

“Everything happens for a reason.” I shrugged.

Mason donned a small smile at my answer, and my heart melted. Between the freckles, heterochromia, crooked teeth, and unruly hair, Mason never stood a chance at being stereotypically pretty. But she was beautiful in her own way. With soft features, big eyes, and expressions that used her whole face, Mason reminded me of a storybook princess. The twins were probably going to love her based on that alone.

Finally, I felt like I had turned the tides of this conversation to one I could control.

“So, I’m going to tackle the elephant in the room,” I began.

Lucian snorted as he looked directly at Cameron, and I mouthed, “Not that.”

He rolled his eyes before reaching for a wax paper bag and pulling out two spring rolls. He put one on his plate before sneaking the other onto Mason’s. It was a long shot, but I had a feeling this could work.

“As you know, we—“ I gestured to Lucian, Cameron, and myself, “are polyamorous. And you—” I pointed to Mason, “are also polyamorous…. I think.”

She nodded as she picked open the spring roll, pulling out tiny pieces of carrot and eating each one individually.

“And I would like to propose a merger of our relationships.” I laced my fingers for dramatic effect.

Sebastian arched an eyebrow, shooting an alarmed glance at Lucian. “A…merger?”

Not the best choice of words—I sounded like one of the stuffy old dudes from my business meetings. But it was too late to take anything back, so I figured I might as well buckle down. “A merger. You like Mason, we like Mason—“

“Speak for yourself.” Lucian scoffed.

I took a deep breath and prepared to continue. “And, since Sebby is going to be away for work most of the time—“

“Wait—you travel for work?” Mason looked at Sebastian.

He placed a hand on his neck, sheepishly looking down at his plate. “I uh… yeah. On top of my current investigation, I’m now in a position where I need to be in a different state for about half the week.”

“ Oh.” That one word fell from Mason’s lips with such sadness that I could feel my heart breaking for her.

“Mason has always gotten kind of... gloomy when she’s alone.” That was putting it lightly. Leaving Mason alone for too long was a recipe for a suicide attempt. I would never say that out loud, of course, but... unfortunately, it was true.

Mason had always been tough on herself. She was a model student in high school. She skipped several grades when she and her mom moved to the United States because she was just that far ahead of everyone else academically. She played in the marching band and volunteered as a tutor. But Mason never allowed herself to celebrate any of her accomplishments. She expected herself to be the best and punished herself for any less.

Lucian and I were able to ground her sometimes, though. We helped her put a little less pressure on herself.

Until Lucian got caught with pot in his locker at school. His father was running for office at the time, and if Lucian’s drug use had attracted unwanted media attention, he probably would’ve been disowned. I wanted to help him, but my grades weren’t good enough to get into college with something like that on my record. Mason’s situation was different. Her mother was too drunk to care if she got suspended, and with her stellar record, we figured she’d get off with a tap on the wrist. So, she “ confessed “ to stashing the drugs in his locker.

And they expelled her.

We were shocked. Lucian was furious. Several of his friends from the football team had to physically hold him back from marching down to the office and fist fighting the principal. But things went from bad to worse after school ended that day.

Lucian and I took Mason home to make sure she was okay, though she was remarkably calm considering the situation. We walked her to the door. Lucian tried to be a gentleman and open it for her, but the key got stuck in the lock. Then, we noticed the note:

Mason,

Got a call. They said you’re expelled. I knew you’d never amount to anything.

Your delinquent ass is gonna have to find a new place to sleep.

— Holly

I was horrified. How could her mother do something like this?

Lucian nearly broke down the door, shouting at Holly to come outside and explain herself. But Mason placed a hand on his arm and gently pulled him away.

“Guys, it’s okay,” she assured us with a smile. “I have a plan.”

Unfortunately, her “plan” involved swallowing her entire bottle of antidepressants and jumping off a bridge. From that moment on, Mason wasn’t allowed to be alone. If Lucian and I were both busy, she’d hang out with my moms or Lucian’s sister, Leona.

Nearly a decade had passed since then, but I still worried about her being left alone. Especially now, with so much turmoil in her life.

“So, I would like to suggest that Mason join us.” My voice raised in pitch as everyone turned to stare at me.

Mason choked, and Sebastian rushed to her side, patting her on the back.

“What the fuck? Uh, no.” Lucian said, staring me down. I expected resistance from him, but mostly because he refused to admit he still liked Mason.

He continued, “She’s a terrible, vindictive, flighty bitch, but I can ignore that.”

“Luce,” Cameron warned, only to receive a death glare.

“What I can’t ignore is that someone in this house doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her.”

Sebastian jerked back before his expression hardened. “Lucky—“

“Ahht, not you.” He held a finger up to silence his brother before pointing to Cameron. “ You . You have the audacity to want to date Mason, but you don’t even want to be in your child’s life?”

Sebastian’s anger drained, morphing into confusion. “What does that have to do with Mason?”

Lucian paused, looking dumbfounded. But as the puzzle pieces began to fit together in his head, a wicked grin spread across his face.

He always did love getting one over on his brother.

“Holy fuck, you don’t know, do you?” Lucian was almost giddy with excitement.

“... Know what?” Seb looked down, and Mason shrunk away from his touch.

“Cameron knocked her up.”

Sebastian’s blue eyes widened so much that I thought they might bulge out of his head.

“Lucian, you’re not funny.”

He looked around at the rest of us, clearly hoping that someone would chime in and reprimand Lucian for telling such a bold lie. Silence stretched uncomfortably as each of us searched for a way to make the truth more palatable for him.

“Princess... tell me that isn’t true.”

Mason’s breathing stilled as all the color drained from her face.

Great job, Sophia.

Tonight was supposed to go well. Everyone was supposed to agree with me, and we’d all fall madly in love. Mason was back in our lives—we should kiss, there should be fireworks. Everything should be great.

This most certainly was not great.

“I need air,” Mason mumbled before standing.

Sebastian held her shoulders, “Wait, no—“

“Don’t touch me!” she snapped, instantly shrinking away. “I need air. I can’t do this.”

She dashed out of the dining room, and I sat paralyzed, completely bewildered at how badly this conversation had gone. No one followed Mason—why didn’t anyone follow her? Did Sebastian know something we didn’t? Was it better just to let her have space?

“You... got my girlfriend pregnant.” Sebastian’s statement came off as more of a question as he pointed at Cameron.

“Was she your girlfriend back in March?” Cameron challenged.

Sebastian’s gaze narrowed. “I hardly think that matters. You’re my brother’s boyfriend. How the fuck did your semen end up inside a European pop star? Don’t you know how condoms work?”

“Oh no, he does.” Lucian laughed. “He just doesn’t fucking think .”

I could’ve pointed out that Lucian also had a history of being irresponsible with contraception, but I was too shocked to see him and his brother working together for once. At least this disaster was bringing siblings together. Still, I wasn’t in the mood to listen to this argument—things were quickly getting out of hand.

“Guys.”

My voice went unnoticed, buried under Cameron’s pleas:

“It wasn’t like I meant to get her pregnant. It just happened.”

“Unprotected sex leads to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It is your job as the man to have a condom to prevent this type of situation,“ Sebastian harped.

“ It’s your job as the man to have a condom, “ Lucian mocked. “Have you ever even needed to use a condom?”

“Well, no, but—“

“Guys!” I cupped my hands around my mouth, making sure I was heard.

The room went silent as all three men looked at me.

“I’m so glad that we’re all having an absolutely terrible time tonight—but can we please go find Mason?”

I assumed that Mason had gone back to the apartment. Where else would she go? She had never been shown around the house, and it was easily large enough to get lost in. When I couldn’t find her in there, I tried to stay calm. The boys made quick work of looking in the house and found nothing.

That was when I started to panic. My property was huge and full of dangerous equipment. There were so many places for her to get lost, to get hurt, to hurt herself if she so desired.

Why did I have to do this?

She wanted to be left alone. I should have just let her be alone.

Stupid, selfish Sophia.

After wasting far too much time inside, we donned our shoes and coats and stepped out into the night. Cameron knew the farm better than anyone, so he, Sebastian, and I searched the property while Lucian hopped in his Jeep to search down the road, just in case.

My eyes burned as I batted away tears, kicking myself for pushing my fantasy onto Mason. I should have just let her go and let her be happy with Seb and Seb alone. But I couldn’t change what was already done, so I channeled all my energy into looking for her.

Using the flashlight on my phone, I started searching through my orchard of apple trees. Row after row of saplings went by, each one empty. I was beginning to feel hopeless, and my breathing grew frantic until the sound of distant sobs caught my attention. I followed the noises with bated breath. Eventually, I found her sitting in a small clearing near the center of the property.

My first thought was to call Sebastian and have him take care of her. I had done enough damage already. But I also knew this was my mess to clean up.

I called out to her, my tone gentle yet firm.

“Mason.”

The moon barely lit her face as she looked at me for a moment, then turned back around.

“Go away, Sophia.” Her voice was thick with tears.

I had no interest in obeying her command. Slowly, I closed in on her, lowering myself to sit next to her on the ground. I inched closer, careful to leave enough space that we wouldn’t touch accidentally. Mason bunched her fists in the grass, pulling it up by the handful.

“If you don’t like me anymore… that’s all you needed to say,” I breathed. “I wouldn’t have pushed.”

“... That’s not it,” Mason admitted.

“Then what is it? Did you not miss me? Because I missed you.”

To say I missed her was an understatement, actually. I spent countless hours checking the news for Mason, making sure she was okay. I was one step away from buying a VIP pass with a meet and greet to her last tour—I just couldn’t justify spending a thousand dollars to potentially get kicked out of a concert.

Her jaw tensed as she looked down. “Of course I missed you. You were one of the best parts of my life.”

“And you were one of mine—“

“No. You had college, Lucian, your family. I was a part of your life, sure, but I was nowhere close to being a highlight.”

Her words stung like a bee. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. My long-lost high school sweetheart, coming home after all these years… an hour ago, it felt like a dream come true. How had it turned into this nightmare?

What did I do wrong?

“Did I not make you feel loved?”

“You loved me fine,” she assured me. “At the end of the day, you deserved better, and I had to leave to make sure you didn’t get stuck with me.”

My heart sank, and I pulled out my phone to text Sebastian. Obviously, I was in over my head. But, as soon as I sent him my location, the weight of her words sunk in.

You deserved better.

“Who are you to tell me what I deserve?“ I laughed.

Mason watched me for a beat before laying back in the grass to look at the sparse amount of stars dotting the sky.

“I’m a burnout, Sophia. I never graduated high school, I’ve never had an actual job, and even my own family doesn’t like me. All I ever brought you and Lucian was pain. I was a problem neither of you should have had to deal with.” Her voice was void of all emotion as she spoke, almost as if she was reading off a script. I had to wonder if the words she was spewing even belonged to her.

“I’m an adult, Mason. I decide who does and doesn’t get to be in my life.”

She shot me a lazy glance before folding her hands on her stomach.

“I’m an adult, too. I don’t need or want a ‘ merger of relationships ‘ just so you guys can babysit me.”

Running off into the woods and making us search for her wasn’t exactly the way to prove she was an adult who didn’t need a babysitter, but whatever. That wasn’t the point.

“Then what do you want? A life of monogamy? A white picket fence?“ Mason had never wanted those things. She always had the same weird desire to get married as Lucian, but to Mason, love was better when shared. She loved being in love and watching people love each other. She wanted a family—her own version of one.

“I want to be left alone,” she breathed.

And just like that, my heart broke. Not because of Mason’s refusal to join us—I had been prepared for that possibility from the beginning. But this... seeing Mason in this state... I couldn’t bear the weight of it. Something was wrong with her, and I had no power to fix it.

It didn’t take long for Seb to find us, and once he did, he practically carried Mason to the house, apologizing to her the whole way. He seemed to be good for her, and as horrible as it was, I was jealous.

Why couldn’t I do that for her?

When we got home, Mason and Sebastian quickly disappeared up the stairs. Exhausted and defeated, I started my nightly routine, fully content to follow Lucian’s lead and pretend Mason never existed. I climbed the stairs and retreated to my bedroom, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and finally, I was ready for bed. But just as I stepped into my favorite polka-dot jammies, Sebastian texted me and asked to talk outside his apartment.

I wearily trudged through the second story of my home, past the twins’ bedroom and playroom, through our game room, before finally arriving at Sebastian’s door. I was more than ready for this day to be over. After a moment, Seb stepped out, looking just as exhausted as I felt.

“Is she alright?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry for not giving you guys a heads up. France wasn’t exactly kind to my princess, but I’m working on it.”

My stomach flipped. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not my story to tell… but, I convinced Mason to talk the relationship over with you in the morning.”

He... what?

“How did you do that?”

“I told her I don’t want her to be alone. I’m going away tomorrow after church, and... I was afraid she might do something she regretted while I was away.”

So, that meant she was still prone to hurting herself. A sick feeling crept into my stomach, but I couldn’t let Sebastian know I was worried. Instead, I gave him a thank-you hug and silently hoped that tomorrow would be better.