BASH
It’s been ten hours since I brought Trinity to Maternity and Children Specialist Hospital, but her cervix only dilates from three centimeters to five centimeters. Trinity is still so stubborn when the contractions kick in, she stops walking and complains of pain instead.
I’m already on my fourth cup of coffee. I’m done reading the book I brought with me. I walked ten times more compared to her just to encourage her to walk more.
She’s wearing a blue hospital gown, and her hair is tied in a messy bun, and her hands are on her hips for support.
I sigh helplessly. “Baby, if you follow what your doctor has told you to do, our baby would be distressed, and you don’t want that to happen, do you?” I ask when she sits back on an empty bench outside her room.
I’m so glad she didn’t suffer too much throughout her pregnancy. I let her stop from her job when she’s in her last trimester. She complains of having edema on her feet, but th
TRINITY Who says there is no such thing as perfect? It’s been six years of a perfect life, and what can I possibly ask for more? It feels like yesterday when I marry my hot and gorgeous husband, and now I have three beautiful kids who enjoy playing at the park. “Baby!” I turn my head to see Bash making his way towards my direction with our twins in both hands. He just comes from the airport, and he’s still wearing his dark blue suit perfectly tailored for him. “Hey, you’re early.” I rise from my seat and walk to meet him halfway. He pulls me into a big hug. My kids’ arms are wrap around his legs. “I miss you terribly, Trinity,” he whispers in my ear. I giggle. “It’s been only eight hours, silly.” I break the hug. “But I was miles away from you. You didn’t miss me, did you?” He went to Boston to visit his branch since he’s been the President and the CEO of Hughes Industries for four years. I, on the other hand, is a full-time mother since Baby Fifth was born. Bash didn’t allo
BASH I am so annoyed with the art teacher who didn’t appreciate my watercolor painting. I hop out of the car without thanking my driver. Sprinting inside the house with my backpack tightly grasp, I stomp my feet to our expansive living room. I was practicing the same concept last night over and over again until it looked satisfactory. I admit I’m so bad at art, but it hurts my ego because I’m excellent at every subject. I can play the piano, cello, violin, and guitar with my eyes closed. I can solve math in just one look at the problem, but art? Ugh! I grimace at the thought of it. I stop to halt when I notice mom and one of her best friends are laughing together. Their voices are echoing in the living room. They abruptly stop when they notice me. I roll my eyes. Mom’s beautiful face lights up and smiles at me. Aunt Zoey, the redhead does the same. I smile timidly back at her. I’m not in a mood to
BASH The chilly air wraps my skin as soon as I step out of my family’s private jet. I inhale deeply the smell of New York City—the city that never sleeps. Welcome Back, Bash! It’s good to be back! Those skyline buildings, the noises, the citylights, and the New Yorkers—I miss all of them. I get inside of the black Rolls Royce of my Grandpa Mike. My stomach churns at the thought of being back. When I think I get myself prepared for this, but I am wrong, and the anxiousness starts crawling in my skin. Now that I’m here, I want to go back to London and stay there for the rest of my entire life. But I promised my family that once I finished college, I will be back—that’s one of the two reasons why I’m here. “Welcome back, Sir Bash!” The family driver of early forties greets me with courtesy; he turns to me and nods from the driver's seat. “I’m Edmund Russell. Your driver, Mr. Hughes.”
BASH My head snaps to Lizzy’s boyfriend, Dean. I don’t like him so much, but who am I to judge, and he seems to make my sister happy. But if he ever hurts my sister, I won’t hesitate to break his face. Dean marches in my direction. As a golden boy, I give him a smile that I mastered since I was a kid. “Good to see you again, man.” I extend my hand, and he grips it tightly with a manly hug. “Welcome back, Bash.” “Thanks, Dean. So, how’s the new lawyer?” His face lights up. Honestly, he’s perfect for my sister. He gets the look that can be the future senator, built like a soccer player, and a brain that could pass laws for the country’s future. “Thanks for asking, Bash. Just got a case yesterday. A company files a lawsuit against your dad’s company. I shouldn’t be discussing this with you, but I know Liz is filling you somehow. It’s not a big deal. Your company will surely win this case. It’s nonsens
BASH I feel the instant coldness of the stainless door handle on my office as I push it open. As I enter, I feel a sudden unsettling in the pit of my stomach when a familiar flowery scent hits my nostrils. A gasp has my head snap, and my eyes are transfixed on the woman in front of me. Everything stops. My surrounding blurs. The beating of my heart races. My eyes widen in shock, and I am surprised that my jaw is still attached to my head. I’m not expecting to see her here in this building, let alone in my office. I wasn’t thinking about her when Dad told me to be nice to my assistant. What’s this supposed to mean? I shut my gaping mouth close and cough awkwardly. “Trinity.” Her name comes out a whisper, and it feels foreign in my ears. She blinks many times before she clears her throat. She smiles at me—a tight smile; just a plain smile; a forceful one. “Mr. Hughes, good Morning, and welcome to your new office,” she greets with
TRINITY My life sucks! Let me tell you a brief story of my life. To start, my name is supposed to be Kiera Trinity Mallory, but the registrar might have been cross-eyed or drunk. Now my name is officially registered as Kiara Trinity. Number one. I am the only child of Zoey and Logan Mallory. I always dream of having a sibling, but I didn’t get a chance to have either a brother or a sister. I felt jealous every time I saw my friends with their brothers. Two. I have frizzy red curly hair that looks like orange in the sun and like instant Chinese noodles. I always got bullied when I was a kid because of my hair. No matter how mom tried fixing it with a hundred hair clips, it wouldn’t just stick together. I got plenty of freckles all over my face. I’m sure you know how my face looks like. My eyes are maybe my best asset—they’re green like a tropical forest, but many girls have green eyes too. Dad loves me so
TRINITY “What am I doing?” I ask myself in the mirror. Last night I kept turning in bed for some reason that I didn’t even know. That was the first night that I didn’t think of Oli since he passed away. All I could think of was the gorgeous gray-eyed who ran away from his office and didn’t come back after the meeting. What’s his problem anyway? I play with my engagement ring on my finger while I’m humming the song on my phone. My officemates are already rushing to get in the cramming elevator. Some say hi, greet a good morning, and some think that I’m invisible. I know exactly what they talk about, so I keep my volume on my headset louder even it’s already deafening my ears. Enough thinking of Bash! You had all that last night! I’m sure he isn’t doing the same. I start my routine as soon as I get into my office. Still no signs of Bash. It’s almost nine in the morning when I check the time on my laptop.
BASH “Why didn’t you tell me that her fiancé died? I could have avoided asking her about him, Lizzy.” She sighs from the other line. I couldn’t sleep after what I just found out about her relationship. It breaks my heart to see her in such pain, and I can’t do anything to help her. “Bash, she needs you. She may laugh, jokes around, or pushes you away, but she suffered a lot losing her fiancé. She needs the Bash that she used to know. She needs her best friend,” Lizzy says softly, convincing me. “She doesn’t need me, Lizzy. You can’t push her on me if she doesn’t want me, and I can’t force what we had to be back to normal. All she needs is to accept her loss and move on. She has you as a friend.” The frown deepens on my forehead. Honestly, I don’t want to be just her friend anymore. I want to be wanted. I want to be someone she needs, not because she was my best friend. “You didn’t get it, Bash.” “Tell me t
TRINITY Who says there is no such thing as perfect? It’s been six years of a perfect life, and what can I possibly ask for more? It feels like yesterday when I marry my hot and gorgeous husband, and now I have three beautiful kids who enjoy playing at the park. “Baby!” I turn my head to see Bash making his way towards my direction with our twins in both hands. He just comes from the airport, and he’s still wearing his dark blue suit perfectly tailored for him. “Hey, you’re early.” I rise from my seat and walk to meet him halfway. He pulls me into a big hug. My kids’ arms are wrap around his legs. “I miss you terribly, Trinity,” he whispers in my ear. I giggle. “It’s been only eight hours, silly.” I break the hug. “But I was miles away from you. You didn’t miss me, did you?” He went to Boston to visit his branch since he’s been the President and the CEO of Hughes Industries for four years. I, on the other hand, is a full-time mother since Baby Fifth was born. Bash didn’t allo
BASH It’s been ten hours since I brought Trinity to Maternity and Children Specialist Hospital, but her cervix only dilates from three centimeters to five centimeters. Trinity is still so stubborn when the contractions kick in, she stops walking and complains of pain instead. I’m already on my fourth cup of coffee. I’m done reading the book I brought with me. I walked ten times more compared to her just to encourage her to walk more. She’s wearing a blue hospital gown, and her hair is tied in a messy bun, and her hands are on her hips for support. I sigh helplessly. “Baby, if you follow what your doctor has told you to do, our baby would be distressed, and you don’t want that to happen, do you?” I ask when she sits back on an empty bench outside her room. I’m so glad she didn’t suffer too much throughout her pregnancy. I let her stop from her job when she’s in her last trimester. She complains of having edema on her feet, but th
BASH I wake up when Trinity whines beside me. I’m sure she had a bad dream, which is weird because since we sleep together, she never wakes me up because of a nightmare. I rub my half-opened eyes and sit up on our bed. I nudge her shoulder slowly, but she doesn’t budge, her whine gets stronger. “Trinity, wake up, baby,” I say as I continue nudging her shoulders. She jolts awake, throwing the blanket away. Her eyes widen, and her face fills with shock. Trinity spreads her legs wider, even in my half-awake brain, my cock stirs. She’s only wearing deep red nighties and thin panties with a bedhead, but she’s still beautiful to me. Then I notice she’s patting her panties. “Baby, what are you doing?” I ask out of curiosity. She sighs and looks at me. “You had a bad dream, that’s why I wake you up.” I kiss the top of her head. “Yeah. I had a bad dream, and it was weird,” she says with worry in he
TRINITY The sonographer presses the transducer on my exposed tummy. Bash squeezes my hand stronger unbeknownst while his eyes are pinned to the monitor. “What does it say? Is everything okay? She’s pregnant, right? Is it a twin? When will we gonna find out the gender of our baby or babies?” He has been babbling since we came to our appointment. The sonographer stops and looks at smiling Bash. “Mr. Hughes, I know you’re excited to find out just like any other soon-to-be dad. Just relax, and Dr. Lee will answer all your questions.” Bash releases a deep sigh. “And you’ve been squeezing my hand, Bash. Relax, I should be the one feeling nervous because I’m the one here having a baby inside my tummy.” “I’m not nervous. I’m just excited. I agreed with you to get a check-up here and not in Paris or Greece or Italy.” Bash scratches his head. He only stops when Dr. Lee walks inside the ultrasound room. We drive back to the
BASH I catch my wife’s unconscious body before she falls straight to the floor. She just turns pale then her eyes flutter close. Everyone gasps and starts to panic. I hold her in my arms when everyone comes surrounding us. “Move away. Give her some air!” I yell while my wife is still in my arms. “Do we have a doctor or a medical expert around?” Mom’s voice fills in the air. “She will be okay, Mom. Just calm down. You will be the next to collapse if you won’t calm down.” Trinity’s parents come closer. “She’ll be alright. I need to bring her to the suite,” I tell them while they’re clutching each other’s arms. I’m not worried. Trinity doesn’t complain about anything weird. She’s maybe a little bit overwhelmed, and I know she has a steady heartbeat because I can feel her warm breath on my neck. When I walk out of the reception area, I hear their footsteps get close. I can’t blame them, though, and they’re just worri
TRINITY Experts said when someone is depressed, he should involve himself with aspiring things and makes time for the things that makes him feels better. I spent every day in this street market since I arrived here in Paris. The entire city has a lot to offer, but art makes me feel better—it gives me a little happiness and diverts me from my sorrows. I found time to visit some historic places; museums, restaurants, and of course, art galleries. I remember Bash told me that once you’re an artist, you will always be an artist. When I grab the paintbrush, start mixing colors on my palette, and brush my canvass, it feels like I did this for years and have never stopped. When Bash gave me a set of art supplies on my sixteenth birthday, I started to paint since then. I still love to sketch, though, when I didn’t want to get messy with paints. It feels natural for me. This is what I love doing after all. Either sketching or pai
BASH It’s been three days since the last time I saw Trinity. I made a decision that I hope was for our own good. I want her to realize that I love her, and I never lied to her. It was torture not to hear anything from her. I even cancel my business trip to the U.K. After sending Dana and her husband to the airport, I came here to my family’s beach house where I was supposed to surprise Trinity after our engagement party. That was my plan, but she ruined it. I already planned a week’s vacation. I was planning to spend it with her, but damn it! Everything went wrong. She doesn’t trust me even a bit. I missed her so much, though. Not a single day I didn’t think about her. More guilt flashes through me, and I should’ve talked to her, but I was taken over by my anger, pain, and disappointment. Teaching her lessons maybe will make her think before judging. Maybe we only lack communication? We’ve been apart for four years, we c
TRINITY Loving so much it hurts, being lied to hurts a lot. But I can feel everything we shared these last three months was real. How could he do this to me? What should I do now? I’ve no place to go. I finally decided to move in with Bash last month when he’s been bugging me that I should stay with him for a good just a week before I moved in. I gave my apartment to Luke and Ryker, and now I’m homeless. “Tri, I was thinking this many times. I think we should stay together.” My fork freezes in my mouth. The dessert is delicious, and I can’t get enough of it. “What can you say?” He looks at me across the table. I pull the fork out of my mouth and swallow the panna cotta. It melts in my mouth, and the aroma of rum fills in my nose. But I’m I almost choked at Bash’ words, not the dessert I’m devouring. “Come again?” I’m such a stupid like I didn’t comprehend what he said.
TRINITY Last night, Sean told me about our high school days before I went to my room, and I’m not that drunk to forget what happened last night. I know this isn’t Sean beside me because I know how it feels when Bash is around. He has my heart, but how about that pregnant woman? What is he doing here with me? I can also feel the ring on my finger, which I can’t remember I put it back on. He must have seen it on top of the dresser where I left. Bash stirs, pulling me closer to him. I can even feel his morning wood pressed against my butt. His arm tightens around my waist because he knows that I’m already awake. “Morning, drunkass.” His voice makes me shiver. Something down there awakens at his presence, and he kisses my shoulder. “No good morning back for your fiancé, Trinity?” he asks when I haven’t said anything. I swallow the lump forming in my throat. “What are you doing here, Bash?” I know he wants to talk to me, but