Briana POV The happiness in Noah’s eyes had been my undoing.When he hugged me, I returned his embrace and put my arms around him.I had not intended to blurt it out like that, but I was so worried about my brother and Martina that the words came out unnoticed.“Noah…” I protested when he hugged me tighter. I was worried that we were going to squish the baby in my tummy.“Did you see a doctor?” He asked when I pulled back, grinning happily.There were sparks in his eyes, but I realized later that it was tears because they fell and ran down his cheeks.My husband is crying.I reached out a hand to wipe his tears.“Hey. Are you unhappy with this new addition to our family?” I asked, suddenly feeling unsure.Noah was quick to dispel the fear that burgeoned inside me. He forcefully shook his head to deny my claim.“Of course not. These are happy tears. You have no idea how I desperately wanted us to have another baby. I wanted to experience what first-time fathers experienced. I was d
Briana POVThe children run to the hallway that serves as the waiting area for the elevator. They stopped before the control panel and reached the up and down button.“Are we going up or down?” Mason asked with his finger pressed on the down button while Brixx pressed the up button. While I shook my head at them, Noah, on the other hand, kept pressing his palms to his pockets. It appears as if he was searching for something.I had a hunch, and so I asked innocently.“What are you looking for?”“My key.”Impatience spread all over Noah's face. He gave up when his search yielded no result.Seeing the frustration in Noah’s expression, I discreetly nudged Riley.My son turned his head up to look at me. At first, he was slow on the uptake. He did not know why I was getting his attention.I widened my eyes at him, pointed to his dad, and gestured for him to produce the key.While Riley and I were busy communicating silently, Noah was already calling Chris.“I seemed to have lost my key.
Noah POVI took my family to my office first while Chris made an appointment with an OB-Gynecologist.Surprisingly, Riley, Brixx, and Mason were quiet while they watched their favorite cartoon series.Briana, on the other hand, looked tired.I made a mental note to buy a recliner Briana can use when she stays in my office.“Are you sleepy?” I asked.She nodded and looked at the children sitting comfortably on the three-seater couch, which meant she had nowhere to lie and rest.“I’ll have the Penthouse ready,” I told her.The Penthouse used to be my residence. It was convenient since I did not have anyone to go home to before.When I learned about the children, I bought a house directly across from Briana’s home to be near them. The Penthouse has remained unoccupied since then.“I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.” She told me.I shook my head.“Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” I assured her.Briana shook her head and leaned back on the headrest of the single-seater couch
Noah POVI watched Briana’s back, heaving a sigh of relief.It was close.At least, she did not think anything about it.The car parked in front of Briana. The driver got out, but I beat him to the door and opened it for my wife while the triplets ducked from under my arms to get in.They found their slots, and I strapped them in. “If you are tired, you can rest,” I told them, seeing that one of them was already yawning.They had a full afternoon, and I don’t think the kids will be resting anytime soon because of the party tonight.I sat down beside my wife and ordered the driver to go.“If you are tired, you can take a nap,” I told Briana and pulled her toward me.She rested her head on my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her.“You smell nice.” She commented and continued to sniff me until she found my neck. She even raised her body a little to be able to reach the crook of my neck and took a deep breath.“Briana.” I protested because her nearness was doing things to my body that
Noah POVIf anything, my admission added to my wife’s nervousness.When the car stopped, I got busy waking up and unstrapping the triplets from their seats.Riley saw Briana march out of the car.She went ahead of us without looking back.“What happened to Mommy? Did she forget about us?” He asked.I shrugged because I didn’t know what was going on inside Briana’s head.I took Riley’s hand on my right and Mason’s on my left. Brixx held hands with Mason.At the hospital lobby, people stopped and stared at us.“Why are they looking at us?? Riley’s voice echoed in the hall.Briana walked back to us. She took Brixx’s hand and walked to the information section to inquire about her doctor’s clinic.The receptionist gave us the information and smiled.“Thank you.” Briana muttered, and again, she took Brixx"s hand in hers. When he saw what happened, Mason wiggled out of my hold and took his Mommy’s free hand, leaving Riley with me.At the doctor’s clinic, Briana and the triplets sat in the
Briana POVSo that was it?I could not hide the dispiritedness from my eyes, and Noah quickly pointed that out."What is wrong, wife? You do not want to marry me?"Noah's stricken look matched the dismay in his voice. For a moment, it made me feel guilty about my reaction.The disappointment on his face mirrored my own.I shook my head to dispel any negative thoughts.Noah already declared his love for me on national television.It was more than an average woman could ask for.But somehow, it felt lacking to me.I felt cheated because the world knew his proposal before I did. Would it make me too fussy to admit I wanted to be romanced, too?I want flowers, balloons, and the whole shebang of a proposal.Certainly not something he
Briana POVAt the Penthouse, Noah showed me to the master’s bedroom.“I want to take a shower,” I told him and went straight to the bathroom.
Briana POVAs I looked at the grinning faces of the people dear to me, I could not help but feel so much joy in my heart.“Thank you everyone!” Noah got the microphone, and he was talking to our guests.There were too many.I could see our family – the triplets, my brothers, and Jenna, my sister-in-law.I also saw familiar faces in the crowd, like my best friend Hanna, and Noah’s friend, Brent. Then, there was Langley, Chris, Belle, Ed, and so many more.While Noah talked, the large LCD monitor that serves as our backdrop plays a video of us – a compilation of our photos since we were younger, our first marriage, up to this moment. Whoever made the video collage did not fail to include my brothers and the triplets, too.While I took in everything around me, Noah regaled the gue
Beth POV “Oh my!” I said dazedly. Brent stopped to scrutinize my face. “You are not going to change your mind, are you?” He asked, looking nervous.“You see, it would be a shame to cancel everything.” He added. It was like he was trying to convince me not to change my mind about marrying him. I laughed and shook my head. “Of course not. I told you I was going to marry you. Whether it’s now or on a later day does not matter.” I assured him and saw the expression on his face. He expelled the breath that he was holding and hugged me tight. “Thank you, sweetie. You know that money is not a problem, but I can’t let a day pass that you are not bound to me. I want to tie our lives forever and never separate.” He admitted. I understand what he meant. I do.Though Brent’s decision took me by surprise, I don’t have any objections to it. I wanted to be married to him right away, too. After all we had been through, I realized we already wasted so much time with our pride. We don’t
Beth POVWe both became silent. The tears were all spent, and Brent sat me on his lap while he wrapped his arm around my waist. Fortunately, Krizzie and her friends had not shown up yet to break the exclusivity of our surroundings. “I love you, Beth.” Brent kept saying in my ears while he showered my nape and shoulder blades with butterfly kisses. I gripped his hand that met on my waist and slowly turned myself around. “I love you.” This time, the words sounded so sure, without any reservations. And it felt liberating - to tell him my feelings without fear restricting me.Brent smiled. “Enough to marry me?” His body tensed while he waited for my reply.His body’s reaction gave me the sense of urgency to put him out of his misery. I kissed him, just a smack before I nodded my head. I smiled at his stunned look. I did not know whether it was from the shock of what I had done or from my answer to his question.“I am going to marry you, Brent,” I told him, smiling widely at the
Brent POVI realized Beth and I needed to cry for our lost love to be able to move forward and continue with our story. So we both cried to vent out the pain. Our cries subsided, and we both felt spent. I pulled back to wipe Beth’s tears before wiping mine. I swallowed when I saw her pink cheeks and nose. “The night I left you.” I started. Beth looked intently at me. “After I told you about being pregnant with Krizzie.” She interjected, and I swallowed in remembrance. “I told you I was on a mission and had an accident. I was in a hospital for a while.” I grabbed Beth’s hand to press it over my chest so she could feel the beat of my heart. We talked about what happened to me right after walking out of her that night, but not the full details. I never told her all the hardships I endured to survive that fatal shot. “I thought I was going to die and would never see you again. When I woke up from my surgery, the first thing I did was to make myself better, submitting to coun
Brent POVIt was taking her a long time to respond.Dread fills my heart as I watch the emotions on her face. It was not what I was expecting.She was torn.I could see it on her face.My confidence failed me that moment when I saw tears drop from her eyes to run down her smooth cheeks.It shook me to realize that while she was willing to let us try again, I was making this hard for her.She was not ready to fully commit to me.My chest heaved,
Beth POV“We did not have anything when we were younger, Beth,” Brent said ruefully.His words reminded me of how we scraped for money after we married young. “I wasn’t able to give you anything.”Brent continued to explain, and I could feel his deep sadness over it. It was like he regretted that we did not have much, and he could not afford to give me anything beyond the basic necessities. But I clearly remembered that those were the happy times of our lives. I never asked for anything Brent could not provide. “When I already amassed wealth, we were divorced and you have too much pride to receive anything from me.”“Because that is the right thing to do. We don’t have anything connecting us except Krizzie. I was no longer your wife to warrant accepting your generosity. But I never denied you the opportunity to give Krizzie whatever your heart desires, even if you did not want her in the first place.” I saw him wince and was eager to take back the words, but I already said them
Beth POVI woke up to the sound of children’s giggles and realized I was already lying in something soft, a bed, maybe? Frowning, I sat upright, my eyes scanning the room I was in.I was in bed alright but it looked too elegant to be my room. I could only hazard a guess that I was in a hotel. “Mommy! You are awake!” I heard Krizzie’s voice and was relieved when I saw her. She was hiding her body at the back of the door. “Who are you with? Where is your father?” I asked. Krizzie pouted. “He had someone on the phone. He was just outside. He said he did not want to wake you up.” I nodded and beckoned for my daughter to come to me. She turned to her back and gestured for someone. When she approached my bed, the Hunter siblings followed her. “Daddy said we have to watch over you,” Krizzie reported and giggled. “But how can I guard you against Daddy?” The innocent question had me frowning. “Why? What did Daddy do?” I asked curiously. He kept kissing your lips, your eyes, and
Brent POV“Brent!”From somewhere, I heard Beth’s shaky voice, and not long after, I felt her arms wrapping around me from the back.The fight went out of me when I felt her trembling arms surrounding me.My hands released their hold on Dr. Roberts to grasp Beth’s hands with mine.“Beth,” I uttered her name, feeling an uncontrollable fear engulf me.Immediately, the fight went out of me, especially when I heard her choking sobs.Beth's tears made me weak. 
Brent POVI was trying so hard to control myself because I knew that if I let myself go, I would mince this man to a pulp.“How dare you accuse my wife of cheating when it was you who was guilty of the crime?”The audacity of the man stumped me. How could Beth agree to date someone like him was beyond me?“Well, she was lying to us both. She was stringing you along while she dated me. What does that make of her?” Dr. Roberts said with enough conviction.It was clear what he was doing.He wanted to sow distrust between Beth and me. He wanted us t
Beth POVI looked at the time and realized I had skipped lunch. My patient had a very demanding visitor. I could not leave my station because she rang the emergency bell all the time. She was gone now, and I heaved a sigh of relief.“Beth, someone’s calling you while you were attending to a patient.” My co-worker informed me when I got back from my rounds. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was Brent who called. I was about to type back a reply when Dr. Roberts called my name. “Beth, may I have a word?” My body stiffened silently, rejecting the request.I do not want to talk to Jeremy because he lied to me. I thought he was a friend, but clearly omitting that he was married while he was dating me was a big no-no for me. It was my non-negotiable. “What do you want?” I did not intend for my words to come out sharp, but what happened last night was still fresh in my mind. I trusted him, and he was one of the reputable doctors in the hospital, so it was hard to imagine him doi