Part 17 Asha
I came back to the office feeling anxious and jittery, my nerves on edge. Walking through the lobby and into the elevator, I couldn't help but worry that I might bump into Liam. Luckily, I didn't. He hadn't called or texted me during the two days I'd been absent, even though Dennis had mentioned that Liam kept showing up, looking for me, until Dennis finally had to threaten to call security for unauthorized entry.
The last time I was with Liam, things hadn't ended well. I was mad, and he knew it. The anger still simmered beneath the surface, and with everything else going on in my life, I wondered why I even had room in my head to think about it. I kept thinking about what I would do if I saw him again. I was too tired to keep mad at him, too exhausted to skirt around the subject and pretend I wasn't mad, but still too disappointed to let it go.
Even though I had only been absent for two days, my inbox had exploded with over a hundred emails, and the stack of reports waiting for my review was overwhelming—far too many to tackle in a single day. It felt almost inhuman to expect anyone to get through it all, but I gladly welcomed it. I needed the distractions. I needed it so that I wouldn't be thinking about my lying, cheating husband and my disappointing new friend.
Dennis had been an absolute godsend. He rearranged my calendar so that I wouldn't have any meetings today, which was almost impossible to do. I didn't know how he managed it, but he did it. My calendar for today was unbelievably clear—something I hadn't seen in probably the last ten years.
Other than delivering my coffee and a bar of the Artisan macadamia chocolate he knew I loved so much, Dennis didn't bother me at all. His silence was so unusual that I almost missed his constant yapping over nothing and his persistent reminders about my next meeting and what I needed to prepare. The thought of him ever leaving crossed my mind, and honestly, I didn't know what I would do if Dennis decided to work for another company. I would pity anyone who had to step into his shoes—the bar Dennis had set was almost impossible to reach.
Unfortunately, the peace only lasted until about five p.m., when Dennis buzzed me and frantically shouted through the speaker, "Alert, alert, fucking alert! Two scariest angelic-looking dudes are on their way up. I wanted to stop them, I really did, but I won't. You know how they scared the shit out of me. Tell me quickly if you want to hide, and I will sprint downstairs and lock myself in one of the janitor's closets. Iwill not face them alone. Asha? Asha, you there?"
Oh, shit. I knew who they were.
Before I could even think or react, I heard their muffled voices outside my office. Five seconds later, both my brothers walked in, with backpacks on their shoulders, telling me they come here straight from the airport.
I quickly scanned their faces—pale and green-eyed like mine—searching for any sign of distress. It didn't take long to find it; the tension was palpable in their eyes, even though they moved with an unsettling calm. I could sense the storm brewing inside their heads, just waiting to explode.
"Who told you?" I sighed.
"Kayden," Mason answered, his tone sharp. Max, the quieter one, simply looked at me with his usual impassive expression. But I knew him well enough to see the mix of emotions swirling inside him. My instinct came from that strong triplet bond we shared. Max was worried. "He called me this morning, asking us to come over. He said you need us."
"Are you okay?" Max asked quietly, his voice softer than usual.
"I'm fine," I groaned, the word almost losing its meaning from how much I hated it. "Let's sit over there and talk." I rose from my seat and gestured toward the seating area on my right, where a couple of sofas and a coffee table offered a more comfortable setting. My brothers followed me, placing their backpacks on the floor next to the sofa as they settled in right across from me.
After I sat down, I noticed Dennis's head poked through the door, his anxiousness on full display. It always left me wondering why he was so unnerved around my brothers.
Sure, they weren't the friendliest guys on earth. In fact, they might be the coldest, most reserved dudes that ever lived. They always seemed to respond with nothing more than grunts or one-word answers when asked questions—except when it came to me, my kids, or my mom. And Aiden, of course. Their reputation wasn't helped by the tattoos that could put Liam and Keith to shame, along with their permanent scowls that clashed with their otherwise angelic faces.
They were pale, with light blond hair, so the three of us shared that same vampire-like look, and Dennis might be right to call them fallen angels descending to Earth to taunt and scare mere humans like him. Because they did, they scared his pants off without even trying. It didn't matter that they were saving lives every single day—Mason was a neurosurgeon, and Max was a cardio-thoracic surgeon. To Dennis, and probably many others, their outward appearances overshadowed their professional accomplishments.
"Anybody want tea or coffee?" Dennis asked as he tentatively walked closer, and I noticed with amusement how his eyelids fluttered copiously. It was his tick when he was nervous.
"Coffee, please. Black." Max replied, with that low, deep tone that would scare little children into hiding.
"Okay," Dennis said as he slowly turned his attention to Mason. He clasped his hands together and shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Dennis was a bundle of nerves, and I almost felt sorry for him. "And you?"
"Same." Mason replied calmly. "Thank you."
When Dennis finally turned to me, I was already laughing. I shook my head, earning a sharp, narrowed look from him. "Nothing for me, thank you."
Dennis immediately darted out of the room as if his pants were on fire, and I couldn't help but laugh harder. I turned to my brothers and said, "It's always amusing to see how you both scare him without even saying anything."
A grunt from Max told me that would be all the response I would get, so I ditched the topic. "What did Kayden tell you?"
"He told me you kicked his father out of the house." Mason said.
I waited. And waited. It was like pulling teeth to getthem to talk. Impatiently, I asked again, "And?"
"Did he really cheat on you?" That was Max asking. And for him to ask that without punching anything was already a miracle.
"Yes." I swallowed hard. "He did. In fact, he fell in love with her."
The fury that quickly flared on their faces was intense enough to make me flinch. "Don't be mad," I pleaded quietly. "It doesn't concern you."
"Of course it does," Mason countered firmly. "He hurt you. He hurt my nephew. Kayden was crying when he called me, and it fucking broke my heart, Asha. That makes it our business."
I understood their anger. My kids meant the world to them. They weren't married yet and didn't have children of their own, so they poured all their attention into my kids and spoiled them like crazy. They even called my kids almost every day—video call, mind you, because they missed my kids so much—while I was lucky if I got a call from them once a week. Even when they were two hours away by plane, they showed more attention to my kids than Aiden.
"Don't. Please. I kicked him out, and I'm getting a divorce. Case closed."
"How long have you known?" Max's question was loaded, and I knew the truth would only anger them.
I winced before admitting, "A few months."
Their eyes widened in shock, almost comically so. "Asha," Mason breathed, disbelief thick in his tone. "And you just kicked him out now?"
"Why didn't you say anything to us?" Max pressed, his voice tinged with frustration.
"I was living in denial," I confessed, my voice trembling slightly with shame. "I couldn't even admit it to myself."
Mason shook his head, still trying to process what I'd just revealed. "And you just... let it happen?
"I didn't let it happen," I shot back, a bit more defensive than I intended, even though I knew it was a lie. I did let it happen. I didn't fight. I did nothing. "I was trying to keep my family together. For the kids, for me... I don't know. Maybe I thought he'd come to his senses. But that didn't happen, and now I'm done."
"Is he with her now?"
"I don't know if he's still with her," I admitted. "All I know is that their relationship was short-lived. They broke it off after around six months, and then he spent months trying to win her back until he suddenly gave up for reasons I didn't know. I thought when he stopped chasing her, he would come back to us."
Max's jaw tightened. "But he didn't. He was still pining for her."
I sighed, feeling my heart shattered all over again. "He came back; his presence did, but his mind was still with her."
Mason's expression darkened as he absorbed the details. "And you just stood by and watched him chase after her?"
My head dropped to my hands as the weight of my guilt and shame pressed down on me. "I know I was wrong. I let it get this far. I let him destroy everything."
Mason's eyes narrowed, his voice laced with anger. "Aiden was never like this. He was all about family. How could he let someone get into his head like that and just... abandon everything?"
"I don't know," I said softly, their disappointment only adding to the pain I was already feeling. "She had such a powerful hold on him he forgot about us. He was willing to throw everything away—our family, our life together—just for her. And when she left, it was like nothing else mattered to him anymore."
Max and Mason exchanged a look, their protective instincts clearly flaring up. But instead of pushing further, Max let out a slow breath. "You should've told us. We could've been there for you."
"I know," I whispered. "But I'm telling you now. And I'm asking you both not to make this any harder than it already is. I just want to move on."
Mason pushed himself up from his seat and walked around the coffee table towards me. "I need a hug." He said quietly. I was about to protest and said I didn't need him to feel sorry for me, but he saw it and quickly added, "For me."
I melted, loving my brothers so much for how much they loved me. I stood and welcomed his long arms, enveloping me in a tight embrace that almost crushed me to death. It was as if he was trying to absorb all the pain I was feeling, taking it into himself so that I wouldn't have to carry it alone. I leaned into him, letting myself feel the strength and protection he offered, something I desperately needed right now. Mason sighed miserably against my shoulder, as if the agonizing pain that I was feeling in my heart hurt him too. "I love you," I said to him.
His response was instant, "I love you too."
Max stayed seated but watched us with an intensity that was both reassuring and heartbreaking. He was always the more reserved one, the one who didn't show his emotions easily, but I knew his love was just as fierce as Mason's.
And suddenly, our emotional and quiet moment was disturbed abruptly when Liam stormed into my office and yelled, "Asha! Where are you? That little shit Dennis lied to me saying you're taking a break for a week, but Keith said that he saw you –" He stopped short when he saw me in the arms of my brother, his turquoise eyes widened so big as they darted between me, Max and Mason. He gasped. "Oh, my God. The elves. All three of them."