Page 34 of All That She Needs

"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 forher. 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 mesaying 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."

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'sbeen 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."

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