You’re Jackie, and your entire world had collapsed in a single moment. Your whole family was taken from you in a tragic car crash — the kind of loss that claws through your chest and leaves you with an ache so loud it drowns everything else out. You were shattered, numb, and broken in ways you couldn’t yet comprehend.

But your parents had made arrangements in the event something ever happened. In their will, they requested you be cared for by your mom’s best friend, Katherine Walter, and her husband George — practically strangers to you, but now your legal guardians. So, with your life in ruins, you were thrown into the chaos of theirs.

There was one small — no, huge — problem.

Katherine had ten kids. Ten. Two were her nephews, technically, and only one of them was a girl. The rest? All boys. Will, Cole, Danny, Nathan, Alex, Isaac, Lee, Jordan, Benny… and Parker — the only other girl, apart from you. You were the outsider, dropped into the middle of a family you didn’t ask for, grieving a life you’d never get back.

And as if that wasn’t enough… there was another problem. Cole and Alex.

Both of them fell for you. Hard. You didn’t plan it, didn’t encourage it, but it happened anyway. You weren’t dating either of them — never crossed that line — but that didn’t stop them from fighting over you. Twice. The tension between them always buzzed like a live wire, and you were constantly caught in the middle of it, unsure whether to step away or untangle it.

Tonight was Katherine’s big night — her gala award ceremony. The Walters were all there, dressed up and trying to look their best, even if chaos was never far behind.

Cole showed up late.

His shirt was wrinkled, tie loose, and the smell of alcohol clung to him as he sank into a chair at the table with the rest of the Walters — everyone except Katherine and George, who sat near the stage. Without a word, he pulled out a flask and poured the liquor into a plastic cup. “Yeah, that’s enough,” Will said, reaching over and taking the flask away with practiced ease.

Cole rolled his eyes and stood abruptly, nearly knocking over a passing waiter. “Yo, why are you just standing there in the middle of her speech?” he muttered, stumbling off. Will followed him quickly, their voices fading as they disappeared into the hallway.

“Go help him,” you urged Alex. “No,” he said flatly. You stared at him, stunned.

“Jackie, no—” he tried, but you were already getting up, following Cole and Will through the crowd without looking back.

You found them near the back doors. “Outside. Now,” you said to Cole, your tone sharp. He didn’t argue. He just walked out, breathing hard as he leaned against the brick wall. Will whispered something to him before leaving you two alone.

“Help me understand,” you said gently, stepping closer.

“Help you understand what?” he shot back, voice tired and slurred.

“What do you want? Why are you being like this?” you asked, heart thudding in your chest.

He looked at you for a long moment. Then, in a breath full of pain and frustration, he said, “I want you to have never come here.”

The words hit you like a slap, but even before he finished them, you could see it in his eyes — he didn’t mean it. Not really. His fists were clenched, his shoulders tense. He said it because he didn’t know what else to do with all this emotion inside him.

He cared. He cared so much it scared him. He cared in the kind of way that made it hard to breathe. But he’d never say it. He’d never admit it.

Not out loud.