Chapter 271: She Didn’t Choose Him

April’s breath hitched and she gulped. With Nat’s arm wrapped around her waist, Xavier watching her with silent, breathless anticipation across the table, and Alexander leaning in with an unyielding gaze, the suffocating heat in the room spiked instantly.

"I wanted to see if my heart would react the same way," April murmured, her cheeks burning so hot she felt practically feverish. She looked up, her dark eyes flitting between the three of them with a rare, completely unshielded vulnerability. "I wanted to know if the adrenaline, the heat, and the chaos in my head were unique to one of you... or if I was losing my mind over... all three."

The last two words came out very small, gentle, like she didn’t mean for either of them to hear but they did anyway.

She gripped Nat’s forearm, her knuckles turning white as she forced the rest of the truth out into the open.

"Because of everything I went through in my past, I only know how to keep my walls up, and keep to myself," April whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "I’ve never felt this kind of warmth or desire before. My heart won’t stop racing, my mind keeps repeating every touch, and I can’t lie to myself with a possible logical reason behind all of this. I want... I want to feel this. I want to experience this intimacy with you, but I don’t know what comes next. I don’t even know if I’m someone you would want to share this sort of intimacy with."

She swallowed hard, looking down at her trembling hands. "Besides... I don’t do commitment well. I don’t think I’m even up for it, not when the world as we know it is ending. Sometimes... I feel so completely detached from everything around me. Other times, I feel overwhelming concern buried in my chest. It’s like there’s an on-and-off switch on my emotions, and I’m not even the one holding the remote."

A profound, breathless silence descended over the private dining floor.

The last two words—all three—still echoed in the vast, quiet space, carrying a delicate, fragile truth that none of the men could ever mistake.

For a second, not a single one of them moved. The sharp, competitive hostility that had been burning between Nat, Xavier, and Alexander completely evaporated, replaced by an overwhelming, collective stillness as her raw confession sank in.

Nat was the first to react. His eyes darkened, not with rage or arrogance, but with a fierce, burning reverence.

His hand tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer until there wasn’t a fraction of space left between them.

"Don’t ever say something that stupid again," Nat growled softly against her temple, his voice thick with a low, rough warmth that vibrated straight through her chest. "Want to share it with you? Sweetheart, I’ve been losing my damn mind trying to get close to you for weeks. You think a little emotional chaos is going to scare me off?"

Across the table, Xavier’s pristine, icy posture melted completely. His dark eyes softened with an intense devotion that stripped away all his usual corporate restraint.

A sharp, audible gulp left his throat, his heart violently skipping a beat in his chest. The agonizing insecurity that had been clawing at his insides—the bitter fear that she had chosen Nat over him—shattered into dust.

She didn’t choose him, Xavier realized, a strange wave of profound relief washing over him. She hadn’t been favoring Nat; she was simply waiting for someone to reach for her, waiting for the first hand to pull her out of her isolation. She didn’t just like Nat. She liked them all.

This meant he couldn’t have her for himself but...

It’s better than losing her, he thought, his jaw tightening with silent, absolute resolve. Infinitely better.

He reached across the table, placing his palm flat over her white-knuckled grip on Nat’s forearm, his touch steady, warm, and deeply grounding.

"You have spent your whole life building fortresses to protect yourself, April," Xavier said, his low voice cutting through her lingering panic like a calm anchor. "You don’t need to apologize for not knowing how to navigate this. You don’t need a logical reason, and you certainly don’t need a strategy. If you want to experience this warmth, then let us give it to you."

Alexander stepped directly beside her chair, dropping down onto one knee so he was at eye level with her flustered, burning face. He didn’t hesitate to reach out, his long fingers gently wrapping around her free hand, resting it against his chest so she could feel the steady, heavy thudding of his own heart.

"You tested your heart on me today, April," Alexander murmured, a soft, breathtakingly gentle smile gracing his handsome features. "And my heart has belonged to you since the moment you came into my life and performed all your miracles. There is no one else in this world I would rather share this with." ¹

April sat frozen between the three of them—pinned against Nat’s body, holding Xavier’s steady, reassuring touch, and looking straight into Alexander’s unwavering blue eyes.

Her heart was hammering wildly against her ribs, but the terrifying panic from moments ago was gone, replaced by a deep, suffocating, yet utterly addicting warmth.

"So," Nat whispered against her ear, his lips brushing the shell of her ear as a dark, tender smirk returned to his lips, "no more logical excuses, right?"

April let out a slow, trembling breath, her dark eyes shining with an unmistakable, quiet acceptance as she leaned her head slightly back against Nat’s shoulder.

"No more excuses," she whispered back.

The quiet weight of her words hung in the air, leaving all four of them anchored in a fragile, electric stillness.

Xavier, having finally found his grounding, looked at her flushed face. The lingering question that had brought them to this private skyscraper in the first place pressed heavily against his thoughts.

"April..." Xavier began smoothly, his tone low and searching. "Since we have established where you stand... does this mean you want to be in a formal relationship with us?"