Page 33 of Claimed By the Bratva Brothers

“Okay, but you know, if you’re keeping the baby, you won’t be able to hide it forever,” she tells me.

I sigh. “I know, but I just need some time to sit with it myself first, okay?”

She nods. “Okay. What about the father?”

“Right. So, here’s the thing,” I say, then let another scoop melt in my mouth before I decide to tell Shelby the whole truth. “It’s not just one guy.”

Shelby stares at me for a hot second, then bursts into laughter. “You’re dating different guys? Oh, wow. And you’re still complaining about how you don’t have time to do much else. No wonder! Wait,” she pauses, slightly confused. “Which one are you in love with?”

“All of them.”

“All of them?”

I take a deep breath as I try to find the right words to explain the situation. “I’m dating three guys.”

“Three.”

“Yes but not at different times. I don’t keep a schedule for this. I’m dating all three at the same time. They’re… well, they’re sharing me.”

Shelby nearly chokes on her ice cream. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I get it. I couldn’t believe it either when they proposed the whole thing, but then, curiosity got the better of me.”

“What was it like?” she asks, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fascination. “I can’t even wrap my head around a threesome with two guys, let alone a foursome.”

“It’s amazing, if you really want to know. Being with three men who are so intimately in sync and wholly connected is amazing. And it’s hard work, I’ll admit,” I add with a chuckle. “But it’s incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to come back from that.”

“So, let me get this straight. You’ve been in a relationship with three guys,” Shelby concludes, nodding slowly as she tries her best to process the information. Another scoop of ice cream seems to help. “And they were your first, right?”

“Right.”

“And now, you’re pregnant.”

“Yeah.”

She starts laughing. “And you obviously don’t know who the father is. Oh, Lord have mercy, this is amazing. Somebody needs to make this into a movie, it’s too rich.”

“Tell me about it.” I can’t help but laugh along with her.

It’s insane. It’s terrible timing. It’s scary and then some, and I can see why Shelby would find it funny. It kind of is. It’s ironic on so many levels, a screenwriter wouldn’t have been able to come up with something like this. But it’s real. It’s my new reality, and it’s starting to sink in.

“Lyric, you’re going to be okay,” Shelby determines, noticing the concern darkening my face. I can feel it—the worries, the what if’s, the worst case scenarios quick to unravel in my mind. “You’re not alone in this. Besides, there’s three of them. Surely, at least one will come through for you.”

“I can’t tell them,” I blurt out. “Jesus, Shelby. We’re just hooking up. I know you and I were talking about love and all that, but truthfully, I don’t know where we stand or if this is even meant to last.”

Shelby thinks about it for a moment. “It sounds like you need to talk to them about the status of your relationship before anything else. Ask them where they stand.”

“The age-old question that either gets you dumped or ghosted in this day and age,” I mutter, suddenly afraid of that happening. “What if I ask them and they end it? Where will that leave me?”

“A single mother at twenty-three,” Shelby shoots back. “Lyric, you also have responsibility in this. You have to accept it, and you have to be able to consider every possible outcome. What you’re missing now is clarity. Talk to the guys. See how they feel about you. But under no circumstances will you go through the pregnancy, the birth, and the subsequent childcare by yourself. You hear me?”

I stare at her for a moment. “I hear you.”

“I’m serious, Lyric. I’m with you all the way, I promise. I’ll keep quiet about the whole thing, until you’re ready to share your news. You have my word. But you need to talk to the guys about this. See where you stand and how they see the relationship working in the long run.”

How long will that run be, though? What’s the life expectancy on such a complex relationship? And most importantly, how will we make it work?

11

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