Saw a video online about this, so incorporated it in. We're nearing the end of this story.
Chapters 9 and 10 have been posted at the same time!
Quote of the ending of this story: "She could do this. She was stronger now. This was her chance to prove it." ― Talena Winters, Finding Heaven.
"I'd like to order a pizza please," Kenna says, eyeing Antoine slowly sipping on his beer as he watches the TV.
"Ma'am, this is the emergency services-"
"I know. I've got the right number," Kenna quickly says, her gaze going over to her restless two-month-old baby. "Uh, I'll give you my address." She tells the operator her address and swallows hard. "I'll have a small pizza..." She lowers her voice. "With me."
"I see," the operator replies. "Is the aggressor in the room?"
"Yes, and I'll have a drink with that. Any good options?"
"Can you get somewhere safe with your child?"
Kenna bites her lip. Antoine removed the locks to the door, saying that their home was an open house. Unless she barricades herself and her son in a room, she doesn't.
"No, not that one. Perhaps, a Sprite."
"I understand. Can you stay on the line?"
"I'll give you my address again if you didn't get that."
"Just keep on the line, ma'am. Help is coming soon. Do you need medical attention?"
"Thank you very much. It's..." She repeats the address and goes over to the Moses basket to place a gentle hand on her son's chest. "It's alright, Charlie. Mama's got you. For the last thing, sure why not?" She did feel pain in her waist.
Charlie starts to wail and Kenna jumps when she hears Antoine yelling at her to shut him up.
"Why the fuck is he crying? What does he have to cry about?"
Kenna briefly turns to him, consoling her baby with her hand. "I'll handle it, Antoine. Just... calm down."
"All day, he has been crying," Antoine states in exasperation, getting up from his seat. "You're a shitty wife and a shitty mother. You disgust me."
"I-I know," Kenna whispers, keeping the phone call going. "I'm on the phone to the pizza place. I'll take him upstairs and handle the call."
"Why can't you cook, hmm? You always cooked for that connard, yet you won't for me?" Antoine scoffs, sitting back down. "Useless bitch."
Kenna sighs and lifts her baby into her arm, adjusting him so she can keep the phone on her ear. She heads upstairs and into the nursery, placing the baby on the changing table.
"H-He hurts me," she whispers, keeping an eye out on the door. "I can't do this anymore..." She bites her lip, trying to stop the sobs from escaping them. "Everything I do is wrong. What's the point?"
"Hey, it's going to be okay, ma'am. What's your name?"
"K-Kenna," Kenna croaks out.
"Hi, Kenna. My name's Colette and I'm here to help you and your son," Colette tells her gently. "Are you away from him?"
"Yeah," Kenna whispers. "He's taken away the locks so I-I have to be careful i-if he comes upstairs."
"Okay," Colette says. "I've dispatched a vehicle to your address. Can you tell me his name?"
"Antoine Bourbon. H-He's my husband," Kenna breathes out.
Colette clicks her tongue. He's got previous records. The abuse with his former wife. "Alright. Is there anything you can do? To stop him from getting inside? It says that he's a known domestic abuser."
"N-No-"
"What call to a pizza place takes this long?" Antoine asks, standing at the doorway with his arms crossed. "Who is it?"
"No one, Tonie," Kenna says casually, heading to the dresser to retrieve a fresh nappy. "They're just explaining that they're low on onion rings so they're looking for alternatives for me. I'm really hungry, baby. Go back downstairs."
Charlie starts to cry again and Antoine goes over to him, making Kenna freeze.
"Sometimes," he starts, bringing the baby to his chest. "I think he isn't mine. My older son never cried so much, nor did I. Must get that from your side."
Kenna sighs in relief. Charlie's got his father's eyes, but the midwife helped her by partially lying on her behalf that it will most likely be that way until he turns two due to some things that went on in the womb. Antoine's dumb about biology, so he didn't question it any further when the child was born.
"O-Of course, he's yours, Tonie," Kenna tells him. "See? He's all quiet."
"Put him to bed."
"I need to change him-"
"Now, Kenna."
She places the phone onto the dresser, screen down and takes Charlie from his grip before putting the baby in the crib.
"I want you downstairs."
"Antoine-"
"Don't make me ask again."
Kenna nods and watches as he leaves the room. She looks at the phone and gets it.
"He wants me to go downstairs with him."
"Just keep on acting natural, police are five minutes out, Kenna," Colette tells her.
Kenna nods and slips the phone into her trouser pocket before she heads downstairs and sees him waiting by the counter island. He gestures for her to come over and she does, her heart beating loudly in her ears.
"I did my research," he tells her, grabbing another beer from the fridge and opening up the bottle. "Doesn't Charlie's eyes look too green?"
"Well, my younger brother's eyes were blue for a long time and you've met my parents," she replies. "It's from my side. My aunt and cousin, remember?"
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I've seen those eyes, the shape, everything," Antoine says, pointing an accusing finger her way. "Did you lie to me?"
Kenna falters. "About what?"
"Sleeping with the ex-hubby," Antoine says to her, sipping from his bottle.
Kenna shakes her head. "Antoine, I'd never do that to you-"
"You're lying. I know when you lie," Antoine replies. "It's so obvious, you're so dumb to not even see it. Or realise it."
"Antoine, I beg you, forgive me," she whispers, coming clean. "It was a moment of madness and... we had unfinished business but that was all that it was! I don't love him like I love you. You gave me a life, he never could do that. How could I be with someone who won't give me anything?"
Antoine finishes the beer and looks at her. He chuckles wryly before throwing the bottle her way. He watches her duck in fear, turning to see the broken pieces on the floor by the wall of the TV.
"Always knew you were a putain," he says to her, pointing at her as he scoffs. "Clap for yourself, whore."
Kenna looks away and crosses her arms. "Fine. Charlie isn't yours but he... I mean, Bash doesn't even know. Or if he does, he doesn't care."
"Damaged goods, that's what you are," Antoine tells her, spite in his words. "Someone's leftovers. Didn't you even sleep with men old enough to be your grandfather?"
Father, Kenna thinks but that's not the point he's making. "We were doing so well. You were doing so well. We were working towards a family. What happened, Antoine?"
"You."
"Me?"
"I fucking hate you," he tells her brokenly, his eyes red and watery. "You break my heart over and over again and I keep letting you come back, arms wide open. I'm a fool, for thinking you were the one for me."
Kenna glares at him. "Says the man who does this!" She points to her black eye and split lip. Both made in the morning alone. "And rapes me. And strangles me. And punches me. And screams in my face, threatening me with knives and promises to kill my baby who you believed to be yours! What is wrong with you?"
She turns, going to leave but she's shoved against the door to the back garden. His hands are around her throat and he's squeezing, her eyes widening in fear when she realises that he's squeezing harder than ever before.
She tries to pull his hands away but he doesn't let go, so she kicks him where it hurts, sending him stumbling back and looking up at her angrily.
"I'll kill you. Should have when I had the chance before that little shit was inside you," he spits out, slamming her into the glass.
Kenna gasps when she feels something embedded in her hip and she falls through, everything suddenly slow motion. Her eyes are no longer on him but on the sky above. The evening sky of blues, oranges and pinks.
Her back hits the ground and everything starts to fade.
She wants her baby, she wants to get up.
She can't.
Her hand goes to her hip and she brings it to her eyesight, seeing it stained red with crimson blood. She feels herself weaken by the second and her heart slows down.
Perhaps, this is finally the end.
Release from her tormentor.
The police are coming, they'll take good care of Charlie - take him to his real father. He doesn't need a failure of a mother that she is.
Kenna blinks slowly, tears running down her face. She doesn't want to die but maybe, this is finally going to be pain-free. No more screaming, broken bones, split lips, bloody noses, strangle marks around her neck, threats...
"Kenna, stay with me," Antoine screams to her. "Don't leave me! I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry, baby girl! We can get through this, I promise-"
The police are here, Kenna realises.
She smiles a bittersweet smile, closes her eyes and embraces the darkness.
...
Bash groans at the sound of his phone ringing, opening his eyes and looking down to see a mess of hair on his chest. He sighs and slips out of Rowan's grip, grabbing his phone from the bedside table.
"Oui?"
"Monsieur Sébastien de Poitiers?"
"Oui," Bash mumbles, closing his eyes. "Qu'Est-ce que c'est? Qui est-ce? What do you want?" He's a whole bunch of tiredness, asking questions in annoyance, switching from English to French.
"I am calling from the American Hospital of Paris. Your wife was admitted," the person says in English. "You are listed under her emergency contacts."
Bash's eyes snap open. "I'm sorry what? M-My wife's where?" He doesn't have one.
"Admitted to the hospital," the person says slowly. "Serious injuries. It will better if you came here so you can find out more. Your baby son is being cared for in our in-hospital nursery."
Bash takes a shaky breath. His what? "Mon Dieu. I'm on my way."
He hangs up and wakes Rowan up. She starts with a jolt and glares at him before smirking when she sees his bare chest.
"Ready for-"
"Get out," he says, getting up and getting dressed. "Now!"
Rowan scowls and searches for her clothes, slowly putting them on. "What the fuck's wrong with you? First, you're all for this and the next-"
"Listen," Bash begins, putting a fresh shirt on. "You're just sex to me. Now, someone I love has been admitted to the hospital so I need to be there and not here with some woman who is using me just as much as I'm using her. You're never going to get promoted, forget about it."
"I could sue-"
"Like to see you try," Bash tells her. "Remember your dear friend, Penelope? The same one who my stepmother destroyed."
Rowan scoffs and leaves, slamming the door behind her.
Bash rubs his face and heads to the bathroom, brushing his teeth quickly and putting on some cologne before he puts his shoes on and chucks his toothbrush in the sink, heading out of his room.
"I need a car!"
"Oui, Monsieur," his chauffer says, leading him to the garage. "Voiture de sport ou tous les jours?"
"Sport," Bash says and chooses his Ferrari. "You're driving, I won't find a parking spot in time."
The chauffer nods and Bash gets in as he also gets in. "Where to, Monsieur?"
"The hospital."
...
Francis paces the room, Bash doing the same across from him. They both are restless and Mary rolls her eyes, shushing a crying Charlie in her arms. She looks up at Bash.
"Don't you want to hold your son?"
Bash turns to her, stopping his pacing. "I can't. Not without Kenna's permission."
"But-"
"Francis," Bash warns his brother. "I need to know she's fine first."
He wishes he never let her go so easily. He should have convinced her not to go back to Antoine. Tell her that he's manipulated her by using crocodile tears against her and false promises. But wishes aren't reality.
"I'm just relieved she didn't change her emergency contact," Mary says. "I'm on there too."
Bash sighs, takes a seat and rubs his face hard. "Merde. Merde. Merde!"
"Hey!" His brother calls out in surprise. "A baby's here."
Bash turns to him. "Merde."
Francis smiles wryly and sits beside him. "She'll be okay."
"We don't know anything," Bash tells him.
Charlie starts to cry and Mary struggles to find a bottle or something to feed him. She sighs, turning to Francis. "I'll take him home. There's some formula there."
"I'll wait with Bash," he replies, pressing a quick kiss on her lips. "Go."
Mary leaves but not before squeezing Bash's shoulder on the way out. He's a bundle of nerves, anger and worries, he doesn't know how to act and jumps at the touch, his mind in and out of the room.
"If I lose her for good..." Bash trails off, bowing his head and taking a shaky breath. "I don't know what I'll do."
"Be a father," Francis states. "Tell Charlie what a wonderful person she was. But you don't have to worry about that - she'll be perfectly fine. She's strong."
"You and she had words-"
"I regret them," Francis mumbles. "I was just so mad. Mad on your behalf because you were admitted to a clinic because of her."
Bash tuts. "Do you know how hard it is for someone to leave their abusive relationship, Francis?" He asks his brother in disbelief. "She... No matter what, she'll defend him and tell herself to believe that he does it out of love. They don't see it until it's too late..." His heart clenches and it's painful and he winces. It's like his body is preparing him for her loss. "Oh, God... Mon Dieu."
Francis leans back in his seat, tears springing to her eyes. "I was... I wanted her to come back to us. We are all here for her and she won't accept help. Mary's worried sick. She barely ate one day because she had this terrible nightmare that Kenna was lying on the floor, dead. Blood everywhere and Antoine standing over her, laughing. I'm surprised she didn't take today badly because it's bad."
"She was calm for Charles' sake," Bash mumbles. "I'm sorry Mary's having nightmares. We're in the same boat. But mine started since... the divorce. I talked about it with my therapist." He takes his phone out. "I should probably find a great one for Kenna. She's going to need all the help she can get. T-The lawyers are already drawing up a divorce petition to file against that son of a bitch and-"
"Calm down," Francis says slowly. "One thing at a time, brother."
Bash nods shakily. "Yeah. You're right. Let's focus on keeping him without bail and her safe. I'll ask dad to get some bodyguards-"
"You're overreacting-"
"I haven't reacted enough, Francis!" Bash cries out, standing up. "What serious injuries take this long, hmm? He's hurt her very badly and... she may be on the verge of death and about to leave her baby boy. My son... You're telling me that I'm overreacting that someone has tried to kill my son's mother? What if it was Mary, huh?"
Francis closes his eyes. "Don't. I can't... I can't bear it enough as it is."
"Think about it," Bash continues. "What if Mary was in surgery right now? Bleeding out from every part of her body, her body twisted or bent or whatever. Black, blue, purple, red."
Francis covers his mouth. He feels sick. "I'd kill him myself."
"Bourbon is lucky that I'm not over there, abusing our family's power in France to get myself alone in a cell with him," Bash says lowly. "His family will have been called to be informed that he was dead."
"Monsieur de Poitiers?"
Bash turns. "Bash is fine," he tells the doctor, following him out of the waiting room. "How is she?"
"The surgery was successful. We managed to stem the bleeding and stop it. She had glass embedded into her back, a large shard cutting into her spleen but its functions shouldn't be affected," the doctor informs him. "We... noticed that she had two broken ribs and her skin had old and new injuries. Finger marks, strangulation marks-"
"Her husband did that to her," Bash states.
"I thought you-"
"Ex-husband," Bash corrects him. "I'm her ex-husband and her child's... father. He's been hurting her for a long time and at one point, she was safe with me but she went back to him. And now... this."
The doctor sighs, taking his glasses off. "I see cases like this one every week. There are a stigma and lack of support. We can only do so much. Try and convince them to seek help before it is too late. The emergency caller said that she disguised the call for help as a pizza delivery order. She saved her own life."
Bash smiles wryly. "She's smart." He looks away. "How bad is she?"
"Injuries today alone, black eye and split lip... strangulation-"
"I-I get the picture," Bash breathes out. "Is she awake?"
The doctor nods. "She is. She asked for her son."
"He's been taken somewhere safe," Bash informs him. "Thank you."
"Follow me."
...
Kenna nervously raises her head to meet Bash's eyes. He's been standing there with his arms crossed for a while now, so many emotions in his face and she has no words. If she had just stayed... None of this would have happened.
He finally scoffs, looking out the window. "What am I going to do with you?"
Kenna flinches, reminding herself that he's not Antoine. He wouldn't hurt her. He'd never hurt her. But those damn words...
"Bash, I'm sorry-"
"God, no!" He cries out, his eyes meeting hers again. "What for?"
Her face scrunches up and she sniffles. "I put our baby in danger."
"Francis was wrong to say that," Bash says softly. "Kenna, it's hard. I understand-"
"You don't," she whispers brokenly. "How could you? How could you understand the fear in the pit of my stomach every day? I thought he would get better, Bash. What am I going to do without him?"
Bash rolls his eyes. "You're going to survive without him. You're going be stronger, healthier, happier... I'm not letting you go this time. That was on me. This is on me."
"No..."
"Yes," he whispers, covering his face as tears spring to his eyes. "I did this. I let you go back to him. I cursed you. I told you that he was going to hurt you again. Kenna, he... he pushed you through a fucking glass door. He strangled you. Punched you... I'll never forgive myself."
Kenna burst into sobs, closing her eyes shut as she shook. "Oh, God..."
"Can I hug you?"
She shakes her head, meeting his eyes with a wry shrug and a helpless little laugh. "You wouldn't want me anymore anyway. Not when he..." She looks down.
"He fucking raped you-"
"Don't-"
"I'm going to kill him-"
"Bash-"
"Why would he...? How many times?"
Kenna swallows hard. "Remember when we met up at the bar? The day we talked about him getting beat up by Julien and me losing my virginity... It started then."
"Almost a year?" Bash breathes out in shock.
She nods slowly. "I don't know. I'd just blank it out. When he was done, he'd fall asleep and I'll lay there in the dark just wondering why I upset him so much. Wondering why I couldn't be the partner he needed. Why I loved him anyway. I've gone through so much concealer and foundation in twelve months, the amount of money I spend on it is disgusting."
"Tell me everything," Bash says softly, taking a seat by the bed but not too close to alarm her.
"He'd lock my phone up," she whispers sadly. "Tug my hair hard if I didn't please him. Controlled my bank account, physical cash and my calls. He wouldn't let me leave the house and he took the locks off every door. He'd pinch me when we have company, warning me, keeping me in check. He'd call me names. Say it's my fault. And it is... because I slept with you and he knows... he knows that Charlie isn't his. And he wanted to kill me."
She's sobbing now, so ashamed and disgusted about herself. Her breath hitches in her throat when Bash slowly gets up as to not alarm her but he fails and she turns to him.
Her hand reaches out and he looks at it fearfully, as if she's fire. Then he takes it and she sighs in relief, tears streaming down her cheeks as sobs rack her shoulders.
"Hold me?"
"Yeah," he croaks out, hugging her tightly and pressing kisses on the top of her head. "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you-"
"Just hold me," she whispers. "Don't say anything. Just... hold me."
...
Home.
She places the glass of Whiskey down and sighs, thanking God that Mary started Charlie on formula. She needed this drink. So badly. Just one to calm her nerves.
Because she's home.
The staff greet her and shower her with support like no other, welcoming their old lady of the house back with warm, open arms. The female staff take over in looking after Charlie to settle her in as Bash organises a nursery with the household manager in tow.
He meets her eyes and she nods slightly, looking out the window to see that it's raining. Closing her eyes, she starts to hum a song, a song of hope, of happiness, of certainty.
Her eyes open and she eyes the bottle of painkillers her doctor gave her for the pain she'd most likely feel over the next couple of days or so. Looking around, she's alone in the kitchen, sat at the bay window in Adidas shirt and trackies. Her feet are bare and when they touch the ground, its cold beneath them.
She takes the bottle and sees the pills inside.
There were days she wished she could do it. But she'd been pregnant or still nursing her baby and she couldn't leave him with that monster. Now... Now, he was safe with his real father and she would never burden him or Bash.
She unscrews the lid and puts five pills onto her palm.
Then something in her switches and she quickly stuffs the pills back inside and places the bottle onto the counter. She shakes her head and returns back to the window, letting out a muffled sob.
"Madame?"
She sniffles and looks up, planting a small smile to the older woman. This woman helped the manager with the day-to-day running of the house. Taking over cleaning, organising menus for the day and other things of household duties.
"Madame Prescott," Kenna says warmly. "Take a seat."
"Non," Mrs Prescott says softly. "The Monsieur asked me to ask you what you wanted to eat."
Kenna shakes her head. "I'm fine-"
"I saw you with the bottle," Prescott says under her breath. "You are strong, you hear me?" The woman is shaking now, on the verge of crying herself. "Strong. Forgive me for stepping over..." Her English is broken but Kenna understands. "That boy needs a mother. That man, a wife. Ever since you left this house, nothing has been the same, Madame. It's good to have you home. We will protect you now."
"I thought you all hated me," Kenna says lightly.
Prescott scoffs. "You did always sneak in extra pay during Easter, Christmas and Summer. Bribe or not, you were better than Mademoiselle Delphine. We missed you."
Kenna sniffles. "You won't tell Bash about..." She eyes the bottle.
Prescott shakes her head. "Beef stew it is, Madame. We still have your Scottish recipes," she says, changing the subjects as Bash enters the kitchen. "If you'd like to add anything, let us know. Dinner will be ready soon. I will fetch the chef."
She respectfully bows her head at Bash before leaving the ex-couple alone. Kenna eyes him warily and gestures for him to finish her drink but he rejects it.
"I'm, uh, trying not to drink. I find myself-"
"Fucking your secretary?"
Bash stills. "How-"
"Doesn't matter," Kenna cuts him off. "It's fine." She even smiles a little for good measure. She can't be salty. "I have all the evidence on my phone. I just... I just need to get that."
"I'll have people go there right now."
"The knife, everything."
Then it dawns on her and she rushes up from her seat, making it to the downstairs water closet in time to vomit down the toilet. She almost died. She almost fucking died. Her child would have grown up motherless and now she thought about suicide and-
"Let it all out," Bash says gently, rubbing her back in circles. "There we go."
Kenna starts to sob as she pulls away from the toilet and slumps down with her back against the shower door. She looks up into Bash's green eyes and all she sees is love and fear for her.
"How could you want this?" She asks him in disbelief.
"I never stopped," Bash replies, honestly. "In fact, you have never looked more beautiful to me than you look right now. Black eye and split lip aside, deep down I know my Kenna is still in there. I need you to come back to me, to us. You never gave yourself credit either. I may have hated myself at various points of my life and found myself unworthy of love but you...? You ran the world once."
She laughs. "Really?"
He joins in. "Yeah. God, with your ever-changing dress sense and flower headpieces. You'd sing and dance and even before we were together, I saw something special. I didn't love you back then, we were only friends but I knew you'd go far. That someone worthy of your love would be in your life. The people who know you, know how caring and understanding you are. How sweet and clever..."
"That's not me anymore," Kenna tells him sadly, tears slipping down her cheeks. "She's gone. Broken. Killed."
Bash swallows hard and shrugs. "I don't know," he mumbles. "I think she's in there."
"She really isn't."
"How do you know?" He asks.
Kenna blinks more tears down her cheeks. "Because she died the moment I let my love for you go."
His face falls. "When?"
"The day after we made Charlie," she admits. "Small price to pay. Or a big one, if you look at it. Oh well. I'm sorry."
Bash shrugs. "I can't really be upset after all that you've been through. I should be the sorry one."
"I really thought we had a future again. But I can't," she tells him gently. "Not after... Perhaps, even ever. I have to focus on myself. And Charlie. He's important and I want you to be in his life. Don't shut him out because of me-"
"I'll never shut my child out," he assures her. "Don't worry."
She smiles in relief. "You're a good guy, Bash. Any woman will be lucky to have you."
"Until you get back on your feet," he starts, getting up and helping her up too. "You and Charlie can stay. I can bond with him, let him get to know me, his papa."
"Thank you," she replies, taking his hand gratefully. "For everything. I don't deserve it, much less from you but... Thank you so much."
Bash nods. "I need to sort some things out and help you get that phone back. Are you okay on your own for a bit?"
Kenna gives him a small smile. "I'm a big girl."
"I'll be quick," he promises her, coming forward to kiss her but he stops himself. "Merde. Sorry."
Kenna eyes his lips and then his eyes that are not on her but looking at the ground in shame. She presses a quick kiss on the corner of his lips, brushing her thumb over his cheek a little before resting her forehead on his and sighing.
"You're a good man," she whispers.
Then she lets go and he leaves. As he reaches the door of his car, he throws up and breathes heavily. He closes his eyes hard, wishing he could stop being so... him. She broke his heart, killed his dreams of being a proper family with her and their son and he... he lets her stay?
Getting up, he gets into his car, starts it and drives, pushing all thoughts about the almost kiss away.
...
"Oh, no, no, no," Mary says, tutting as she fills up Kenna's shot glass. "One more!"
Kenna gasps, bursting into giggles. "Mary, you're getting me drunk!"
"And so?" Greer asks her. "Not drunk enough, in my opinion."
"Well, it's not needed," Kenna teases her.
Lola laughs before she sobers up. "Oh, has it been a year already?"
Kenna's face falls. "Yep."
Then hands are consoling her and she waves them off, her hands rising up in defence.
"I'm fine," she tells them. "I am, truly."
She and Bash have something more in common. Both their ex-partners committed suicide.
Antoine killed himself in prison by strangulation the day she left the hospital. Apparently, he wrote a letter to her but to this day, she never opened it, leaving it buried under a whole bunch of other shit she wants to forget.
"I'm fine," she repeats, her voice wavering now as tears brim in her eyes. "I'm fine-"
"Oh, Kenna..." Mary coos, hugging her tightly as Greer and Lola join in. "We're sorry. We shouldn't have brought it up-"
"He wrote me a letter," Kenna whispers. "Before he..."
Greer looks around. "Where is it?"
"Bash's office," Kenna says, wiping her nose with a tissue Lola gave her. "I told him to keep all the shit that reminded me of Antoine locked up. Including my old phone... Should I read it?"
"Kenna, you owe that son of a bitch, nothing," Greer states. "His last words can remain unspoken, unread, unknown. He doesn't deserve that."
Kenna flinches. "But I need to know why. Now is as good as any time to find out."
Lola sighs, sharing a wary glance with the other women. "If you're sure..."
"I am," Kenna says. "I'm ready."
She retrieves the letter and invites the women to the master bedroom where they settle themselves on the spacious double king size bed. It's over-excessive but as Kenna had realised she never stopped loving Bash, after all, she was still hesitant to share a bed with him but craved his presence of protection and safety. They seldom spoke through the night until they fell asleep, separate ends of the bed.
Slowly, but surely, the space between them had shrunk and sometimes, they had their son sleep between them, both of their hands joined over him. Their little joy and bundle of life that no one could take from them.
"Okay," she breathes out. "Here goes nothing."
'Kenna, if you're reading this, I'm gone. It will be easier this way, for you, for me, for everyone. I never meant to hurt you like that, seeing you slowly dying, your son crying for your comfort, it made me realise that I never stopped being the monster you feared me to be during our relationship. I am a broken man, I always have been but that is no excuse. No amount of help would change me, not even the dream of being reunited with my son and having a child, a family with you. Bash may not have been able to give you the world, but he gave you safety - something I could never give you. I'm sorry. I know it's worthless to you, my apology but I don't want to go to hell without apologising to you. I deserve it. I even deserve my grave being spat on and my family cursing me. I have never pleased them, I was never good in their eyes and I shouldn't use that as an excuse but it is the truth. I hate people first before they hate me. I wish you all the best and be happy, Kenna. Charles seems like he'll be a great kid too. He is his mother's son after all. Bonne chance. Antoine.'
Kenna folds the letter back up and turns to her friends. "How do I react to that?"
"Forget about it," Mary whispers. "It's over, he's gone. You're safe, happy and let's get back to this bachelorette party!"
"Yeah, that letter is the past," Lola starts as they get off the bed and head back downstairs for drinks. "We're in the future now, baby!"
They giggle and the front door opens, making them all freeze, the bottle of pink champagne in Kenna's hands. They wait for the footsteps to get closer before Bash walks in, eyeing them all suspiciously.
"What is this?" He asks.
Kenna smirks, showing him her engagement ring. "What do you think?"
"I leave for one weekend for a business trip and my wife's become an alcoholic," he says lightly, gesturing to the multiple of opened bottles on the table.
Greer laughs loudly. "That's just yesterday's. We've barely started on today!"
"It's," Bash begins, checking his watch. "Eleven at night? Where's my son?"
"Fast asleep," Kenna says, coming over to kiss him. "So mummy can play."
He chuckles, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "I'll wait and see your hangover tomorrow morning for you to swear off nights like this." He looks at the other three. "You might as well stay. Try and not wake the baby up, please."
They laugh, continuing to pour drinks and Kenna quickly leads him upstairs and to their bedroom. The second the door's closed, they're all over each other, her dress loosening as his trousers become undone.
"Kenna!"
"Fuck-"
"Coming!" Kenna sings. "Give me twenty minutes."
Mary giggles. "You guys are so fucking-"
"Madame Valois, do you mind?" Bash calls out.
"Alright, I'm gone. Just make it quick!" Mary replies, laughing before she heads back down.
"Where were we?" Kenna asks, beaming when he attacks her neck with kisses before she stops and gasps. "Did you call me your wife?"
He pulls back to look at her. "Y-Yeah?"
"We're not married again yet," she whispers softly.
"And so?" He asks. "Whenever I meet someone interested in my family life, I say I have a wife and a son."
Kenna's eyes water and she smiles happily. "Okay, I do the same too. Thank you for being patient."
"You're my world, Kenna. You always have been," he says, running his hand through her hair. "Marry me."
"I already am," she whispers, showing him the ring. More expensive than the first one he gave her, he's saving his grandmother's ring for their wedding day.
"No, I mean," he takes a sharp intake of breath. "Tomorrow. Like we did the first time."
Kenna gasps. "You mean elope?"
"We'll bring Charlie and we can do it our way and not how our mothers are taking over-"
"Yeah," she whispers, grinning. "I want that."
He smiles. "Great. Now, I want my way with you."
She growls a little, making him laugh. "You can have me."
She dances out of his grip and strips completely, getting onto the bed. She watches as he takes his own clothes off, tilting her head to the side in arousal.
"Like what you see?" He asks, coming to hover above her.
"Maybe," she replies coyly.
He chuckles, kissing her nose and then her lips before he trails to her jawline, neck and collarbone. He keeps going down and he stops at the scar on her hip.
"It's healed up nicely," he says quietly.
"You saw it last week," Kenna mumbles.
Bash nods. "But today..."
"The anniversary," she finishes. "I know." She looks down at him where he's staring up at her with those beautiful, green eyes. "I'm fine. I've let go of the past, I just want a future."
Bash comes back up to kiss her hard, deeply and she moans into his mouth. He pulls away and says, "When we are married, again, you'll never have to fear anything."
"I know," she whispers. "I trust you."
He smiles and kisses her. "Do you think they'll mind if you don't return downstairs?"
"Hopefully, they'll be too drunk to notice that they're at a hen do without a bride," she says, making them laugh."
He smirks. "Good. Because you, my beloved queen, need to be worshipped."
"Oh?" Kenna asks coyly. "Just... how exactly?"
Bash's lips trail down and down and down... "I'll show you how."
She closes her eyes, biting her lip happily as he laughs against her skin when she pinches him for being to slow. Giggles leave her lips and she realises that it's always been Bash for her. The better lover, the more understand and caring one, the frugal one, the happy one, the one who had a shitty childhood as well but didn't punish those around him for that fact.
"You mean everything to me," she says, a sob leaving her lips.
He's up in a flash, looking down at her in concern. "Kenna?"
"Nothing," she says, deciding not to tell him about the letter. "I just don't deserve you."
"I'm yours regardless."
The women downstairs do forget that the bride hasn't returned to join them as they party the night away, and the bride is worshipped and treated like royalty a floor above them.