Who to Choose

SHAY

I was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, my gaze shifting between the two men. Just as I was about to voice my decision, Reggie rose to his feet, his eyes meeting mine.

“Can we talk for a moment, ma’am?” His voice was soft, his eyes filled with regret.

Zane shot him a glare. “Whatever you have to say, say it here. In front of everyone.”

“I was planning to, boss. I wouldn’t dare ask to be alone with her after what you said we did, even though we can’t remember a thing.”

Reggie’s gaze returned to me. I gave a slow nod, my grip tightening on Conner’s arm as Reggie approached. He stopped at a safe distance and began to speak.

“I know my words can’t compare to what you experienced that night, but please hear me out. I’m truly sorry for what happened.

“As I mentioned, we have no memory of that night. There were flashes, like fragments of a dream, but they didn’t feel real.

“The morning after, when I finally came to, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.”

Forest cut him off. “If I’d found you that night, you would’ve been. And it would’ve been a truck.”

Reggie managed a small chuckle before turning back to me. “I can’t express how sorry I am. We’ve been haunted by those strange dreams for years.”

Timothy joined Reggie, his gaze fixed on the floor as he shuffled his foot in a small circle.

“We swear, we were out of it that night. The next day, our friends told us what we’d been bragging about.

“We went to the hotel and they confirmed we’d rented a room. We even found the room keys in our pockets.

“We went up to the room, but it had already been cleaned. We told them we’d left something behind and needed to retrieve it.

“Being hungover and coming down from a high makes things hard to believe, but the maid came in just as we were leaving. We asked her about the room.

“She described what she’d found, and we were horrified. We asked to see the security footage, but they refused.

“We told them we needed to identify the girl, but they said it wasn’t their problem. As we left, the memories started to return, and we ended up sick on the sidewalk.

“We know saying sorry doesn’t change anything, but please believe us.”

Conner gently pried my fingers from his arm; I’d been gripping it so tightly there were marks. I gasped, rubbing his arm gently and apologizing. He patted my hand.

“It’s okay, Sunshine. It was just starting to hurt.”

He turned to the two men. “So you’re saying you don’t remember anything about what you did to her? How can we believe you?”

“We know it was a long time ago, but we have friends who can vouch for us,” Reggie said. “We partied like that five or six times a week for about a year. We hung out with the same crowd, getting drunk and high every night.

“After we moved, we tried to reconnect, but it was too far and our parents kept us on a tight leash. We were stuck at home.

“We tried to sneak out, but the cops always brought us back within an hour. About six months after moving, we went to rehab, cleaned up, and turned our lives around.

“We met Zane on a business trip in Florida. I started dating his cousin, and before long, we fell in love and got married with her father’s blessing.

“I’ve been happily married for over four years now. I have two small children who are my world. I’d do anything for them, even kill to protect them.”

I rose to my feet, facing them. “Now you can imagine, in a way, how it feels to have a child you love hurt, and not be able to do anything because it’s out of your control.

“How would you feel if what you did to me happened to your daughter and you couldn’t find the ones responsible?

“Or if someone hurt your son so badly that you couldn’t comfort him as he cried himself to sleep every night, then woke up screaming from nightmares that haunted him for years?”

Tears welled in Reggie’s eyes. I could tell he was picturing everything I’d said.

“I would spend every waking moment trying to find them, no matter how long it took. Even if they were grown, married, and had forgotten about what happened, I never would.”

“Now you understand the rage and hatred I feel for you both. I will never forgive you for what you did to me. You stole my innocence and my teenage years.

“I became a shell of a girl, taunted and ridiculed, mocked for being weak. I trained for years so that I could defend myself—if necessary, even kill.

“I rebuilt myself with my parents’ support, but that night still haunts me. It probably always will. That’s something you never get over,” I said.

I spun on my heels and fled to the room I’d slept in, collapsing on the bed in tears. A short while later, there was a knock at the door.

I tried to compose myself and opened the door to find Zane and Forest standing there. “What can I do for you?”

They entered the room and sat on the sofa at the foot of my bed. I closed the door, wiped my tears, and sank down onto the bed.

“All these memories are hitting me like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. What am I supposed to do with them?” I asked, feeling the weight of the past pressing down on me.

Forest was the first to respond. “Shay, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have let you come with us that night.

“I thought we could help you move on by dealing with them, but the family ties to his uncle are too complicated to overlook.”

Zane jumped in, his voice soft. “Sweetheart, if it’ll make things easier, I can arrange for them to live in a house on my land. They’ll work shifts that won’t overlap with yours. You won’t have to see them.”

“Please don’t shut me out again. You did it once before and I hated it.”

I looked at these two powerful men, ready to do anything I asked without a second thought. I nodded, making up my mind.

“I’m going home.”

Zane’s face brightened, but I shook my head to clarify.

“No, Zane. I mean I’m going ~home~. Back to my apartment. I need to sort through all of this and figure out my next steps.

“I can’t do that if I’m at either of your places with you two hovering over me, trying to prove how much you care.”

They both stared at me, their eyes glistening with unshed tears. I stood up slowly, picking up the dress I’d worn the previous night.

“Forest, I’ll send this dress back to you once I’ve cleaned it.”

“Keep it, Shay. It’s yours. Please don’t do this to yourself. You’ll go home and retreat into yourself like you always do. I can’t stand to see you go through that again.”

I took a deep breath, meeting their gazes. “Give me some space, and I’ll be okay. Don’t reach out until I’m ready to talk.”

“When will that be?” Zane asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“I don’t know. I need time to figure things out.”

I walked out to the SUV Zane had arrived in, the four guys trailing behind me. I climbed into the front seat. “Conner, could you drive me to my apartment, please?”

He glanced at Zane, then nodded and got into the driver’s seat.

As the car pulled out of the driveway, I looked back at the two men who held my heart, watching us until we were out of sight.