BASH
I am frustrated. That’s what I exactly feel right now. I walk away from Trinity, frustrated.
The moment her door closed behind me, I felt I was helpless. I release an exasperating sigh. Running my fingers on my hair, I walk away without looking back because once I look back, I know myself, I will knock again, and this time I’ll grab her head and press her against the door and kiss her to release all my frustrations away.
I meet Edmund waiting for me at the parking lot wearing a goofy smile, but he doesn’t say anything. A song by Collective Soul is playing when I enter the car.
“Shut off this fucking song, Edmund!” I fasten my seatbelt. Our gazes meet at the rearview mirror. He changes the song to a pop song saying something like I’m without your kisses. I’ll be needing stitches. I roll my eyes.
“Seriously, Bash. What’s the scowl for? I thought you and Miss Mallory had talked?” he asks while driving out of the
BASH It’s been two days since the last time I heard from Trinity. She’s been ignoring my calls and messages. My thought scattered. I’ve never been restless and anxious for the whole weekend. My sleep is deprived because of that kiss. “Who are you?” My eyes narrow to the thirty-ish curvy woman with curly hair and bronze skin in front of me. She tries to open the door for me, and she has a folder in her hand. “Good morning, Mr. Hughes. I’m Lindsey White. Your new PA,” she says, following me. I slump my back dramatically into my chair, my hands clasped under my chin. The woman doesn’t walk in front of me, but she keeps staring at me inquisitively. “Are you just gonna stare at me all day or you’re gonna do your job?” I’m being an ass, but I am not in a mood to exchange pleasantries. She clears her throat. “I just talked with Ms. Kiara Mallory about—” I raise my hand to stop her. Just someone me
TRINITY A heat creeps on my cheeks when Bash pulls himself away from me. I’m sure my lipstick smears over my lips. I bite my lower lip to avoid trembling. What was I thinking kissing Bash again? And this time in the office building. It never occurs to me to have a relationship with my boss or worst my best friend. But it has always been a part of my dream to get his attention. Does he even want to start a relationship with me? And is there anything he wants more than just those kisses? God! I’m in so much trouble. I tilt my chin up to see Lizzy’s grinning at me. My brows furrow with confusion. “Well, aren’t you two lovely?” Lizzy chirps. My jaw almost drops. I feel a possessive hand on my waist that makes me stiffen, though I know whose hand belongs to. This is so awkward. His sister just caught us kissing in the hallway. “Do you want something, Lizzy?” Bash asks. I can’t even feel or hear
TRINITY I place the two suitcases on my bed when I notice Saph is flipping pages of my floral printed diary that I wrote when I was in high school. I haven’t seen that diary since I started dating Oli. “Saph, where did you get that?” Saph is lying on her stomach, propping her elbows with her eyes fixed on my diary on her hands. When I ask her to give it to me, but she doesn’t even look at me. Instead, she continues reading and flipping pages as if she’s so hooked up reading a romance novel. “Saph, ever heard of privacy? It’s a diary for a reason. Hand me that thing and help me pack. May I remind you the reasons why you’re here,” I called her earlier to help me pack my things? My hand is still hanging in the air. “Saph, put that thing down, and I have a flight to catch tonight!” I yell at her, and that catches her attention. She grins instead of getting annoyed. “That much, huh?” She finally talks and starts to dr
TRINITY I open the door wider after checking in the peephole. I think he’s Bash’s Korean friend Alex. A man of twenty-year-old something, around six-footer fair complexion with a black shiny straight hair just above his shoulder. He looks attractive with a dark color set of eyes. He’s also fashionable like he just came from a runway fashion show. He smirks when he notices me checking him out. I clear my throat. “Can I help you?” The smirk was still on his face. “You must be the redhead Trinity?” He asks with a slight British accent, but his Asian root is still there. My eyes widen. “How did you know my name?” I ask inquisitively while we are still in the door. “So, it’s you then. I’m Alexander Shin. A friend of Bash,” he says, holding out his hand. I shake it immediately. “Oh, please, come inside. Bash is still in his room.” I step back. “Is he still giving you a hard time?” I narrow my eyes at hi
BASH I know being with Trinity is going to be amazing, and while my mouth is moving in sync with hers. Her hands travel from the lower of my back, pushing my shirt up. I shiver as her fingers touching softly against my skin. As I suck her bottom lip, she claws her fingernails on my back. The sensation sends through my cock, and I’m already hard as steel. I can kiss all night if she let me. I pull my lips away from her lips, tracing small kisses on her chin. “Trinity, please, don’t make me stop?” I beg when I start kissing her neck. She arches her head back, giving me access. “Did I say anything?” Her voice is huskier, pulling my shirt off my head. I lean my elbows caging her in as I look at her with heavy lids, flushed face, and swollen lips with tousled hair. “I like kissing you.” “You’ve already said that,” she whispers back. “I want more than this, Trinity.”
BASH Dad played me well. Who would have thought that my old man has a roguish side? What is he trying to imply? He closed the deal last month before I even came back from the U.K, and nobody mentioned this to me. I flew over here for nothing. We just tossed over a fucking Champagne. I look like a fool in front of the Korean team. It’s all my fault. I agreed with Dad about the documents. I should’ve checked it before the flight. I just trusted that old man, and I thought he wouldn’t play with me like this. Lesson learned. I stomp my feet to the car waiting for us. Trinity doesn’t say anything when she notices me scowling. I feel her hand on my thigh, gripping it. My idiot of a cock stirs. Squeezing my eyes shut, I release a deep breath to calm my nerves. Edmund remains silent at the passenger seat while the Korean driver pulls the car out of the parking lot. He’s instructed where to take us after the meetin
TRINITY Bash and I went to the small market down the village. It feels good to walk with him hand and hand, pushing the thoughts back about how limited our time here, then we’re going back to how we’re used to be—I’m back to Kiara Mallory, and he will be the Bash Hughes, the CFO. It was fun to pretend as his wife while we were on the market. The people in this area are very conservative, so we pretended to be on a honeymoon from the U.S. I don’t even know what he said to the old woman. He embraced me tightly and kissed my forehead while they were so engrossed with what they were talking about. “Trinity, penny for the thoughts? You’ve been gripping my hand.” Bash’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. We’re still walking up in the gravelly road up to the hill. “What did you two talk about earlier?” I inquire, but more likely I am being nosy. Bash looks amused. “You’ve been thinking about that all this time?”
BASH Damn if it doesn’t hurt being rejected. Being rejected by someone you love and you thought she has feelings for you. I feel so embarrassed, and I need to run away from her. I can’t even face her. I sit on a stone plate in front of a small pond. The wind is chilly, but I don’t want to get inside the house, yet. I’m still upset. I frown and look down the water, and I see my reflection--a very sad Bash. I also see the crescent silver moon. I place my hand on my chin, leaning my elbows on my knees. I lift my chin up and am just amazed at the night sky with uncountable twinkling stars above me. I always think about her whenever I saw the sky full of stars. That’s how fascinated I am with Trinity. Those freckles on her face are like stars twinkling on her face. She’s also like the sky--she seems near, yet she’s so far. But even the sky is still reachable, right? I’m not losing hope, especially now that we shared precious moments.
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