BASH
I walk out of her bedroom, taking the business card with me. I know Trinity is still in the shower, but I can’t wait for her to be done.
Anger rises through my head. Why does she have a business card of that motherfucker? Sean Rexwell is not only my number one enemy but our business rival too.
Blowing a shaky breath, I stomp down the stairs after changing into a white button-down shirt and pants. I notice Edmund is already waiting for me in the living room. The card is crumpled in my fist.
“I thought you need a rest, Bash.” He catches my arm before I can walk out the door.
“I don’t need a rest,” I say dismissively.
“Well, I need a rest.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t need any. We won’t stay out long. I just need to meet someone.”
He shakes his head, giving me disapproving looked. “I don’t think I like your plan, boy.”
“Don’t dare to disagree with me, Edmund, and don’t call me a boy, or
BASH We flew back to New York yesterday after the news has cleared off. If what Sean said was true, then he made his revenge against me to a whole new level. Or he said that out of his anger? Trinity stayed silent since that encounter. I can see the guilt in her eyes even though I never blame her. “Tri, you’ve been silent since yesterday. If you think that I’m mad at you, don’t you even think about it. What happened yesterday has already happened.” She came with me yesterday. I don’t want her to go alone to her apartment. If I can only convince her to stay with me, I’m going to do that. But maybe we have to apply the baby steps kind of shit first. “He threatened you, Bash.” She looks at me through the wall-sized mirror in front of us. Her eyes are full of concern. “Baby, it’s not new. He’d been doing that since we were in high school, remember?” She nods slowly. “Yeah, because of that girl you dated, but he’d nev
BASH It’s been days since dad tightens the security. No report from those guys dad hired to watch out Tennings’ whereabouts. With all the tensions about our safety, there is still something great happening, and that is my relationship with Trinity. She’s the best woman I can ever ask for, and I can say that she’s a keeper—she’s a God gift and always so sweet and thoughtful. Of course, there’s a part of her that’s annoying, but what’s more annoying is that I love it, and I love everything about her, especially the flaws she never tries to hide. Trinity complains about everything I offer, not that she doesn’t like it, but she argues first before accepting it. We’re back to work after our long discussions about that email, and I failed to convince her to take a two weeks break to travel to France for a seminar. I thought she would be glad, but she wasn’t. She’s really something but that something makes me fall for he
BASH My eyes bulge, and my pulse races the moment I recognize him. I can feel the sound of my heartbeat thrashes in my ears in terror. I’m still glued in my place, and I am unable to move a muscle even if I want to. My jaw is locked up even if I want to scream for help. Everything just freezes. He slips his right hand inside his coat. The only thing that comes to my mind is maybe he’s pulling out his gun. Is he going to kill me now? My parent’s words flash right into my face. He’s a psychopath! “Bash, I’m not gonna hurt you.” His deep voice makes me blink and brings me back to reality. I’m in front of a fucking murderer for fuck sake, yet I can’t do anything. He’s blocking the only exit I know unless I jump from the rooftop. And there’s no way I will survive, or maybe I end up with a couple of broken bones. When panic strikes me, I raise my hand and drop the half-empty bottle to the floor. “Don’t come clo
TRINITY I wake up to the muffled voices from my apartment’s living room. Bash is still sleeping soundly in my bed. I feel so bad for him, but I can’t change the fact of what he just revealed to me last night. His family loves him, no doubt about that. My heart breaks for him and for his family who loves him unconditionally. “Sorry, sweetheart. Did we wake you up?” Aunt Abby stands up, pulling me into a hug. I doubt if she even sleeps. She looks so stressed with a puffy face. I guess she cries all night. I squeeze her into a hug, giving her a smile that I can do best. I can feel her pain because I love Bash so much. “No, Aunt Abby. He’s still sleeping.” “I’m sorry for the trouble, K,” Uncle Seb looks so affected. The looks on his face say that he’d been up all night—sad eyes and his hair looks like he’d been running his fingers a thousand times, but he manages to give me a tight smile. &nb
BASH I can still remember the hissing sound of the bullet passed through the air, and that terrifying sound pierces my ears, then there’s that moment of silence that is more horrifying. I despise silence these days. It’s deafening, and now all I can hear is the ticking of the clock on the wall. Ranjiv left my place about half an hour ago. Trinity hasn’t said a word until now. I know she heard everything that I was talking about with Ranjiv. She’s just looking at the copper-colored wall in my kitchen, and she’s so drowned in her own thoughts. “Tri, please say something. I know you heard everything we talked about earlier.” I lean my elbows on the countertop, and she reaches out for my hands, squeezes them, then lifts her chin to give me a tight smile. I bring her hands to my lips, kissing them. “I was worried hell about you, Trinity.” She shakes her head. “I was worried hell about you, Bash. Your life has b
TRINITY The clock seems to stop ticking, and everyone is anticipating the result to see. Though whatever the result is, I know it won’t affect how much they love Bash. But Bash needs to find out the truth. The expression on his face changes--he looks shocked. Is this what I think it is? I suddenly feel an ache inside my chest. His mom calls him. I can’t move, and it seems that everything is in slow motion. Then he laughs out loud, his voice echoes in the entire office. He rushes to his mom, yanks her up, and spins her in the air. Finally, Lizzy and Uncle Seb release a huge sigh of relief. He hugs her mom tightly. “Mom, I love you much, and after all that you’ve been through you still nurture me and love me unconditionally. You’re the best mother in the world.” A tear fall from his eye when he releases his mom, then he moves to his dad and hugs him. “I’m sorry if doubted you as my dad, and the reasons wh
BASH Something is off. After the party everyone seems can’t stop talking about the game. I guess they like Lizzy’s idea, and what they like most is the grand prize Lizzy gave. A 1k gift certificate Luke found. Trinity got only one pumpkin, and the prize is not bad, but she’s been silent, and I don’t think that’s the reason. “I can’t believe Lizzy added a box of condoms as a prize,” Pyke scoffs. “You’ve got a good supply, I guess,” Dean teases. He laughs, giving Dean a high-five. “Lucky Luke,” I announce. Luke grins and looks satisfied. “I hate my best friend right now. She should’ve told where she placed the lucky pumpkin.” Saph pouts. “That would be unfair, don’t you think?” Xandry snorts that end up Saph slapping her brother’s thigh. He jerks. “Whoa! Easy there twinnie. You might hit the wrong area,” he says with a scowl on his face. “I don’t think I wouldn’t miss the hit if I wan
BASH My rage is still over the edge. I can’t even think straight. No one else came and out of my penthouse, only Trinity. So, this is all the silence and odd behavior are all about? How did she even know? I never tell anyone about that journal. I have never gone through the pages of it, and worse, I don’t have any copy of it. What gives her interest in that? I hear Edmund’s voice from the doorway since I keep my office door open. “I’m in here!” I yell from my desk where I use to lean on. I feel like I lost all my strength. Edmund and Derek are almost in the same sizes, but Derek is a lot younger than him, and he’s in his mid-thirties. “What’s wrong, Bash?” Derek speaks. “Have you seen the feeds?” I am referring to the video footage. Edmund raises his brow. “Video feeds? Yes. Nothing’s off in your parking area, elevator, and outside your penthouse. Why did you ask?” I clench