"Would you look at that?" Mary tells Kenna, gesturing to her four-month-old daughter's eyes.
Kenna glances over, stopping her drawing of the new desk Bash wants in his office. "She's growing so much."
Mary nods. "She is," Mary gushes, pressing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Such a peaceful, little darling. My sweetheart..."
"Her eyes are so blue," Kenna states.
Mary grins. "Thank Francis for that," she replies. "James has my hair but his eyes and Anne has his blonde hair but my eyes. Rose? She's just a perfect blend, isn't she?"
Kenna smiles a little. "Yeah," she mumbles.
They're at the cafeteria, Mary stopping by with Rose to see if Francis wants to have lunch with them. After a while of playing with Rose, the women spot the blonde man and his half-brother come up to their table.
"Ladies," Bash greets them, kissing Mary's cheek and then Kenna's.
Kenna falters under the warmth of his lips and quickly pulls back, ducking her head. "I'm, uh, working on that desk you want."
"Don't worry about it," Bash dismisses her with a wave of his hand as he and Francis sit down.
"Oh," Kenna says, staring down at her hard work.
Bash sighs. "I mean, I don't need it for here. I'm thinking of throwing out the desk at the house. It's on its last legs."
Kenna nods a little and halts her designing. "I liked that desk," she tells him.
Bash smirks. "I wonder why."
Francis chuckles, bringing his daughter into his arms. "Alright, former Mr and Mrs."
"Oh, we didn't-"
"Kenna, don't bother," Bash says with a chuckle. "We all know what that desk was used for."
She pales and she bows her head to continue Henry's office design. "I have to get going soon but the contractors I've hired for the jobs should come in two days."
"Are you going to manage everything?" Mary asks her.
"I've got another project," Kenna lies easily. Antoine forbade me for coming here ever again. "The pay is much higher than this one."
"Ooh, details?" Francis asks.
Kenna blushes. "A mega-mansion in the suburbs. The wife wants everything redone even though the husband just had the last bedroom done up. It's ridiculous but it's money."
"You weren't this undecisive when we bought our home," Bash says making Kenna glare at him. "We knew exactly what we-you wanted."
"Your house is just stunning," Mary tells them as if she's forgotten that they've not been married or together for the past five years. "The white and gold detailing for the downstairs rooms are exquisite and the upstairs with the marble fixtures-"
"We get it," Francis says, chuckling. "You're jealous of their home."
"Bash's home," Kenna corrects them, strained. "I have a loft apartment with Antoine."
Mary pulls a face. "We've never ever visited your new place. It's been two years."
"Maybe one day," Kenna mumbles, her eyes watering up. "I really must go now. I've scheduled a late lunch date with the wife. Thanks for having me."
"I'll walk you to your car-"
"No, you don't-"
"Please?"
Kenna nods and slips her coat on, gently pinching Rose's cheek before hugging Mary and Francis 'goodbye'. She follows Bash outside and she bites her lip nervously as he walks her to her car.
"I can see the black eye, Kenna," he tells her, leaning against the driver's door. "No amount of makeup will ever make me not know how you really look."
"You always did like me au naturel," she replies lightly, gripping onto the handles of her handbag tightly.
"When did you leave our house?"
"It's not ours."
"When did you leave my house?" He asks instead.
Kenna shrugs. "Twelve, shortly after you fell asleep."
"And what time did you have to be home?"
"One."
"And did you get there on time?"
Kenna nods. "I did."
"Then-"
"Why the black eye?" She asks, cutting him off. "Because he wasn't happy with how I spoke to him and he was drunk."
"Do you want me to sort him out for you?" Bash asks, his jaw clenching.
Kenna places her hands on his chest and leans into him. "No," she whispers. "I love him, Bash. He's getting better, you don't need to do anything but stay out of my relationship."
Bash looks down at her and leans his forehead against hers. "You shouldn't stand for this. You're strong, Kenna. How-"
"Don't," Kenna whispers. "I'm fine. I promise you. Antoine and I will start a family and he will be better. Our baby will have a loving home, two loving and happy parents and-"
Bash presses his lips against hers, his hands resting on her lower back. When she pulls away, he opens his eyes. "Do you really believe he will stop hurting you?"
"Why, you think you can be better?"
"Kenna-"
"Been there, done that," Kenna snaps, shoving him off her. "I don't even understand you. Whilst we were married, you barely even noticed me. You'd work long days at work and come home, dinner ready and sex on demand."
"Kenna, the company was going through a really difficult time then!" Bash explains to her. "Just a few more months and I would have been all yours again."
"And Delphine?"
Bash sighs, covering his face. "She was a mistake. I wasn't with her when we were still together. When we separated, I was in a bad place. I missed you, I was depressed and she was there. When you came back, I just... I'm sorry."
Kenna nods and gestures for him to move aside. "You always are."
He steps to the side and lets her open the door. "Kenna, just be safe. If you ever need somewhere to stay. Our home is always open, you know the code and where the spare keys are."
She stares him right in the eyes. "Antoine and I are happy. He never hurts me purposefully. Now go."
Bash sighs but complies, turning around and walking back inside the building.
Kenna watches on as her heart breaks but she can't love him. Not anymore.
...
Mary tries Kenna's mobile, her other hand sifting through the baby bag for a clean nappy. She's still at the company, having their nanny pick up James and Anne from school. Hers and Francis's beautiful twin six-year-olds.
She tuts when it goes straight to voicemail and she looks through the windows of Francis's office, seeing Bash in his with his head on the desk. She smiles a little, seeing him sit back up and let out a short frustrated cry at something before shuffling through some papers.
Her attention is taken to Rose who whimpers and she says, "Just a second, my lovely."
Putting her phone away, she proceeds to change Rose's soiled nappy and the baby is immediately soothed following the fresh nappy change. Mary chuckles and places the baby on her shoulder, kissing her cheek gently and rubbing the baby's back.
She spots Bash again and this time, he's on the phone. He's not saying anything, just waits patiently. Mary figures the person isn't answering as he keeps trying and trying. After the tenth call, Mary gets up and heads into his office with Rose still on her shoulder.
"Rosie, say 'hi' to Uncle Bash," Mary says, handing the baby down to the man.
"What brings you here?"
Mary smiles. "We studied a rare Sebastian de Poitiers making his tenth call to some unknown person. As natural investigators, we were curious."
"Ha, ha," he says lightly. "I'm just trying Kenna. Dad remembered something and I told him I'll let her know."
Mary frowns. "I-I tried her as well."
"No answer?"
"No," Mary mumbles. "I was thinking of dropping by. Give her some cake that the twins helped me bake. We were going to give it to Catherine but she was being her usual bitchy self, saying that she was vegan now."
Bash scoffs. "I saw her put milk into her latte."
"Exactly," Mary says with a roll of her eyes. "You know what? Are you busy?"
Bash shakes his head. "More or less done for the day. Just a few numbers to-"
"Great, look after Rose and I'll check in on Kenna!" Mary says happily. "I got her apartment details from her mum. She visited once and never again for some reason. Said Kenna always rejected their offers and always went to them."
"Isn't that strange?"
"Well, Kenna's always been a private person. Even when you two were married, no one except her family and our immediate friends knew, remember?" Mary replies.
"You know I'm not close with Papa, Maman and Catherine," Bash states.
Mary nods a little. "I know. But a secret marriage? Come on, Bash."
"Well, everyone found out about my suicidal ex-girlfriend," he says darkly. "Just go and give Kenna that cake and little Rosie and I will have fun before Francis takes her."
Mary chuckles, kissing her daughter's cheek. "I'll drop you a text when I've seen her."
"Please do," Bash replies.
Mary gives him a warm smile, returning to Francis's office and collecting her things. She gestures to Rose's baby bag to which Bash replies with a nod, quickly directing his attention into making the baby laugh.
Mary smiles and leaves, the cake tin securely in her hands.
...
Kenna answers the door in surprise, her eyes wide as Mary gasps. "M-Mary!"
"Kenna, oh my God!" Mary cries out, stepping inside and placing the cake tin onto the table by the door before cupping Kenna's cheeks to inspect her face. "What the fuck happened?"
Kenna winces, pulling away from Mary's grip. "I fell down the stairs."
Mary follows Kenna into the open plan living area, watching as the woman grabs a bottle of wine from the fridge. "Have you put ice on it?"
"Yep," Kenna replies, her voice airy. "How did you... My mum, right?"
Mary nods shyly. "I'm sorry. I had some cake and well, Henry remembered something he wanted to tell you..."
Kenna gives her a smile. "Should have figured. He and Bash have been blowing up my phone," she tells Mary. "I hope it's not an emergency."
"Well, Henry's completely against the monochrome idea now," Mary says, making Kenna gasp. "I'm joking!"
"Mary!"
"I'm sorry, you should have seen your face!" Mary tells her, giggling. "No wine for me, I'm going back to breastfeeding. That was for one night only."
Kenna smiles a little, pouring a glass for herself only. "Well, thanks for the cake and whatever you're going to say on Henry's behalf."
"You're very welcome," Mary replies, reaching out to place her hand on Kenna's. "How was the meeting with the client?"
Kenna looks away. "She cancelled," Kenna says. "I came home, excited to watch some Netflix but then tripped down the stairs in my heels."
Mary laughs. "You weren't this clumsy before!"
"Well, when you're overworked, the tiresome starts to kick in," Kenna replies, drinking half of her wine.
Mary frowns deeply when she sees that Kenna's wrist is purply-red. "Have you got a rash or something?"
"Huh?" Kenna asks before her gaze lowers down to her wrist. "Oh, yeah. Allergies."
"In Autumn?"
"Not hayfever," Kenna tells her, laughing. "I tried a new body cream and had a bad reaction to it. I wish I tried things with you like the old days. At least we would have been there to support each other..."
Mary smiles softly. "Oh, Kens... We could again? Girlie nights."
Kenna lowers her gaze. "No, we're both busy being mothers or interior designers..."
Mary gestures to the photographs on the fireplace. "You and Antoine look happy."
Kenna also stares at them. "Yeah," she mumbles. "He's great."
"You're selling your story!"
Kenna laughs wryly. "Every couple has ups and downs," she tells Mary. "We're just going through a bad patch. My work has been getting in the way and he's out all the time."
Lying comes easy to Kenna these days and it frightens her. How quick she is to defend someone who hurts her with the promise of loving her. How she wishes to feel wanted by someone only to realise that perhaps he's not the one but you're stuck with him. Trapped.
Mary studies how Kenna's face falls and how tears water her eyes as the woman looks down, her wine more interesting than her best friend. Just as she's about to say something, the door opens and Kenna's eyes widen, making Mary frown in concern.
"Babe?" Kenna calls out. "Mary's here!"
Antoine comes into view, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he gives Mary a plastic smile. "Mary! Nice to see you again."
"Likewise," Mary says back and watches as Antoine goes over to Kenna, pressing a long kiss on her lips to which Kenna doesn't respond to.
He then forces himself even more and Kenna finally presses her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck as his arms go around her waist.
"I missed you, baby girl," Antoine says, finally pulling away to see Mary duck her head.
"Missed you too, sweetie," Kenna replies, giggling when his lips connect with her neck. Her eyes meet Mary's and Mary questions her silently to which Kenna looks away and kisses Antoine again. "I missed you so much."
"Mary, you should probably get going," Antoine more or less demands of her.
Mary nods shakily, suddenly uncomfortable. "The cake is by the door. I'll call you later, Kenna?"
"Yeah," Kenna says. "Let me see you out-"
"I'll see her out," Antoine says, giving Kenna a stern look.
Kenna turns away and Mary gets up and heads to the door, feeling Antoine's presence behind her.
When he reaches around her to open the door for her, he whispers into her ear, "We'd like it if you didn't come again."
"Why not?" Mary asks him, turning to face him.
"We get complaints from the landlord," Antoine tells her. "Some neighbours of ours are party-people so he limits the timings of which visitors are allowed to come. We can always come to yours if you really must spend time with Kenna?"
Mary narrows her eyes. "We'll see. Well, I better get going."
"Hmm, you should," Antoine says, stepping closer to her.
Mary steps back, dropping her scarf and finally crosses the threshold, watching as Antoine gives her a smirk and closes the door in her face. Her heart beats loudly in her ears and she heads downstairs to her car, wondering what the hell had just happened.
...
"Antoine, don't!"
But it's too late and he slams the bin lid for good measure, chucking the tin into the sink.
"Wash that and return it when you next see her," he tells Kenna, coming over to grip her chin. "This is my home. She can't come here nor any of your little friends. What did I tell you?"
"D-Don't see them any-"
"If you ever let someone into this apartment again, binning that shitty cake won't be all I'd do," Antoine warns her before shoving her into the counter and heading upstairs.
Kenna sinks down to the floor, releasing the breath she'd been holding since he gripped her chin. Tears fall down her cheeks and she curls up into a ball, cursing herself.
"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."
She jumps when she hears a door slam and she stands up, retrieving her phone from the coffee table. She sends Mary a quick apology, promising to hang out soon if she's not busy.
She ignores Bash's incoming call, digging her nails into her palm as her thumb hovers over the green button.
"Why is he calling?"
Kenna jumps, her phone dropping onto the floor as she turns to face Antoine. "It's about wo-"
"Kenna, your ex-husband is calling," Antoine states, lifting her phone and declining the call before scrolling through her recent calls. "In fact, he's called twenty-three times."
Kenna bows her head. "His dad forgot to tell me something. As you can see, he called me a couple of times as-"
Antoine raises her chin so she looks him in the eyes. "You must think I'm stupid."
"N-Not at all-"
"Dumb."
"Antoine-"
"Blind."
"Please-"
Antoine slips her phone into his pocket. "This is mine now. If it looks important, you'll get it back. But I do not want you talking to anyone but me, is that clear?"
"Crystal," Kenna whispers tearfully.
"Now, why the tears?" Antoine asks, cupping her cheeks. "Baby girl, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Kenna whispers. "I just... I'm tired. I had a long day."
Antoine smiles warmly. "Should we call it a night?"
It's only five in the evening but Kenna shakily nods, her gaze lowering down to his chest.
"Perhaps we'll get lucky this night," he says into her ear as he caresses her hip.
Kenna doubts it. She took her pill this morning and every other morning. But she plants a smile on her face and nods.
"We could do a test," she suggests. "In about three weeks time."
"Now, you're talking," Antoine says happily before leading her upstairs. "Come on, baby girl."
...
Mary brings Rose into her arms, pressing kisses onto the girl's head. "I-I saw Kenna."
"Yeah?" Francis asks, not looking up from his work as Mary walks away from the play cot he has in his office for times like this one.
"Where's Bash?"
Francis clicks his tongue. "Emergency meeting with his clients. Their whole PR campaign fell. The damage control is," he pauses to take a sip from his coffee. "Huge. He's working around the clock to sort this out because they need something by Monday."
"Anyway, back to Kenna," Mary quickly says, hushing a whimpering Rose. "She looked fucked up, excuse my French."
Francis stills. "In what way?"
"First I saw that she had a black eye when she came here. Next, her whole face's like a smashed watermelon," Mary says, shrugging. "She told me she fell down the stairs but how she reacted when Antoine came home... I don't know."
Francis frowns deeply. "Bash asked us if we thought she was acting differently."
"She looks terrified of the guy, Francis!" Mary cries out. "I might be wrong but there's something not right."
"Do you want me to check things out?"
Mary sighs. "Antoine said we can't visit them. Their landlord's an arsehole."
Francis bites his lip in thought before he comes up with, "The company is celebrating its ten-year anniversary serving the Mayors of Paris next Friday. We could invite Kenna and Antoine."
Mary nods. "Yeah, seems like a plan."
Mary sits down on the sofa and rocks Rose to sleep.
Have you been a bad friend, not noticing things you should notice? For refusing to believe that the worst thing that can happen to someone you love, actually happens?
How could you live with yourself if you don't manage to see the signs in time? If someone is slipping away from you and you don't bother grabbing them back to Earth?
"Maybe, I'm overthinking things," Mary finally says, meeting Francis's eyes. "They were full-on making out in front of me. If I wasn't there, things would have probably gone a lot further."
Francis smiles. "Well, every couple has their bad days and their good, right?"
"Yeah," Mary says, waving it off as Rose finally settles into a deep sleep. "I'm just being silly."
"Don't worry about it," Francis tells her, but something feels wrong in the pit of his stomach.