Part 18 Asha
I could feel the heavy stare my brothers cast on me, saying silently, " Who the fuck is this guy? "
"Liam," I entangled myself from Mason and marched over to him with a glare. "You cannot just come here and yell like that. This is my office. I could be in a meeting with someone."
Liam's eyes stayed on my brothers like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, his mouth still agape. Dennis appeared behind him, balancing a tray with two steaming mugs. "I know," he said to Liam with a knowing nod. "There were times I half-expected them to sprout wings." Then, in a barely audible whisper, he added, "White wings for Asha, and the blackest black wings for those two devils."
"Liam!" I called out, raising my voice slightly to snap him out of his daze. It worked; his gaze slowly shifted down to me, but the way he looked at me—with softened, slightly misty eyes and a sheepish smile spreading across his face—wouldn't go unnoticed by my brothers. A million questions must be brewing inside their heads, and I would surely feel the burn from it in the next few hours. Maybe minutes.
"Hi," he said softly. "You disappeared on me. I was about to go crazy." Then, to my absolute horror, he added, unabashedly, "I missed you. Are you still angry at me?"
I could only stare at him, my mouth opened and closed like a fish; I didn't know how the fuck I should respond to that.
As if oblivious to the fact that my brothers were there, Dennis was there, and that he knew I was married, he kept babbling on, "I'm sorry. I need to explain. It's not what you think at all. I—"
"Liam, shush." I hissed, panicking. Then I whispered, "Not now."
"Oh, yes." He straightened up, suddenly looking serious. He shifted his gaze back to my brothers, looking over my head as if he was towering over me. "I need to introduce myself."
Before I could stop him, he was already walking around me and approached Mason first. He extended his hand. Mason gripped Liam's hand as he shook it, but he stubbornly didn't speak a word. "I'm Liam Banks. My office is across the hall. You must be Asha's triplet brother..." He trailed off, expecting Mason to fill in the blank with his name.
Knowing Mason wouldn't oblige, I filled in instead. "Mason."
"Right." Liam nodded, then moved over to Max, who was still seated and didn't bother to stand, though it would have been the polite thing to do. Good thing my mom wasn't here, as otherwise, she would twist his ear until he screamed.
"And that's Max," I added, and winced when Liam's extended hand was ignored entirely by Max. Liam retreated his hand, looking a little dejected, but when he turned around and his eyes found me, his face lit up all over again like he was so happy, so, so happy, to see me.
What the hell is going on?
Dennis somehow decided that he should contribute to the conversation, saying, "Liam is the founder of InfiniTech." Always the biggest cheerleader for Liam to be the potential Mr. Asha, he also added, "I'm sure you all heard of that name. It's been all over the news. InfiniTech is listed in Forbes' Cloud 100 companies worldwide., you know."
One look at my brothers, I knew they couldn't care less. Apparently, Liam didn't care either, because it seemed he even didn't hear it. He was too busy looking at me like a lovesick puppy.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He gave me that adorable, dimpled smile instead.
I rolled my eyes, giving up.
"I need to talk to my brothers," I told Liam. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"
Liam's face fell so quickly that I was startled by the change. "No," he said petulantly. "I've been fretting for days, driving myself insane, waiting for a chance to apologize. Keith even had to stop me from going to your house and waiting outsi—" He paused, realizing too late what he had just confessed, then tried to backtrack. "Not that I know where you live..." Another pause. "Okay, I know where you live. Theo is a wizard at tracking things. But now that I'm finally seeing you again, I won't wait."
He glanced at my brothers, who were staring daggers at him and probably contemplating murder. But Liam wasn't deterred. Not even slightly. He didn't even flinch. "So, I'm going to sit in front of Dennis's desk and drive him nuts again." Then, with that same lovesick puppy look, he added gently, "Take your time."
With that, Liam gave my brothers a nod and dragged a stunned Dennis with him out of my office. Over his shoulder, Dennis mouthed to me, "That's so hot," while fanning himself.
I waited, closing my eyes, my back still facing my brothers. I braced myself for the inevitable outburst, counting the seconds until the first shout erupted from one of them.
It didn't even take five seconds until, "What the fuck , Asha?" That was Mason.
At the same time, "What did you do?" That was Max.
Sighing, I turned around. "I did nothing. He's just a friend."
"A friend who just said that he missed you," Max pointed out.
"And was looking at you like you hung the moon," Mason added.
I scowled at them. "I don't like this. You two are ganging up on me."
"Are you cheating on Aiden, Asha?" Mason asked bluntly.
"I am not!" I bellowed. "I'm not lying to you. I don't even know why he was acting like that. Last time I saw him..." I trailed off, unwilling to share more with my brothers. "We had an argument. Then we didn't see each other for a few days, and suddenly, he's... that!"
"That man is clearly infatuated with you," Mason said.
"He's a bit young, though." Max frowned.
"He is young." I agreed.
"You don't want to jump into a new relationship when your existing one isn't done yet, Asha," Max said in a gentle voice, the kind he only used when he was trying to put some sense into me, knowing I'd just yell at him if he raised his voice.
My hands flew into the air in exasperation as I stomped back to the sofa and flopped onto it. "I am not jumping into anything. Can we drop this subject now?"
Mason raised an eyebrow. "And discuss your feelings about your impending divorce instead?"
I paused, considering it, then quickly changed my mind. "You're right. Let's talk about both of you instead. How's Isla?" Isla was caught in a challenging situation, entangled in a love triangle between my two brothers. Both Mason and Max fell deeply and possessively in love with her. She dated Mason first, but after a few months, their relationship ended. She then moved on to Max, only for their relationship to end after a few months. The cycle seemed endless, and I suspected there was a time when she was involved with both of them simultaneously. Isla, a vibrant and compelling doctor at their hospital, was undeniably captivating. Her beauty and charm were irresistible, and I totally understood why my brothers were so helplessly infatuated with her.
"Don't change the subject, Asha," Mason grumbled, clearly irritated. Isla was a sensitive topic that should only be discussed when the two of them were not in the room. While it seemed like a perfect distraction from my own issues, I was genuinely curious about the current situation between the three of them.
"No, really. I want to know. What happened to her?"
"Not going to discuss that." Max grabbed the coffee mug that Dennis made from the coffee table and took a sip.
I ignored that. "Is she still working at your hospital?"
"Yes," Max answered, his famous one-word answer.
"Which one of you did she date now?"
"None." Mason replied.
"So, you guys just... gave up? Or did she choose to leave both of you? Finally, fed up with your shit."
That question was met with silence. Undeterred, I pressed on. "Why not both of you date her? If you both love her and she loves you both, at least you wouldn't have to deal with jealousy, since she'd be with someone you trust."
Their brows furrowed in unison, looking at me like I was insane. "I'm dating someone now," Max said, surprising me.
"Really?" I asked, taken aback. My brothers had rarely committed to anyone besides Isla. They preferred to keep relationships casual, without the complexities and responsibilities of a commitment. The one time they fell in love, it was with the same woman. Oh, the drama. Even more complicated than mine.
Mason stood up abruptly, followed by Max, and I knew that meant the conversation was over, with no chance for me to get my answer. It's okay. I could just ask them later. "We're staying at your house," Mason declared. "Are you coming home now?"
"I still have some work to do, and Liam is waiting outside. You go ahead and take Brody with you. He can come back and pick me up after that."
"Don't do anything stupid, Asha." Max warned.
"I'm not stupid. I know what I can and cannot do." I countered, annoyed.
"You know what I meant."
Mason strolled over to me and kissed my cheek. "See you at home." Max did too, before he led the way to the door, followed by my other brother.
When my brothers finally left, I stepped out of my office and found Liam exactly where he said he'd be, sitting in front of Dennis's desk. Dennis didn't look thrilled about it; his concentration was clearly shattered, especially with Keith and Theo sitting next to Liam.
"This isn't good for me," I said, addressing them with a frown. "I can't have too many guests who aren't related to work."
"We want to make sure you're giving Liam a chance to explain," Theo said, looking utterly miserable. "We can't stand to see him moping around the office and snapping at anyone who was unfortunate to cross his path. I'll scream if I have to endure it for one more day."
I chuckled at Theo's dramatic expression—it was rather comical. "Okay, we'll talk."
"Thank you!" Theo exclaimed, suddenly pulling me into a hug and nearly knocking me off balance. "We'll go now. Good luck!" he added, directing the last part to Liam. Theo practically skipped to the door, with Keith following behind and giving me a relieved nod. I wondered about their relationship—whether there was something more between them or if they were simply colleagues.
Without another word, I returned to my office, expecting Liam to follow. Once he settled into his usual seat, I deliberately placed some distance between us, taking a seat a little farther away, feeling uneasy after his earlier behavior.