Liam Hastington

"I'm looking for an engagement ring and two wedding bands," I told the employee before he could ask me what I was looking for.

"Very well, Mr.Hastington. Do you—"

"I want to see your greatest option," I added, and he led me to the private room. He and two other employees immediately brought out their options.

There are fifteen options for the engagement ring, and I knew which one right away. I chose an emerald-cut white diamond, and it's around 25 carats. As for the wedding band, I bought a simple silver band, but I will have something engraved inside the ring for her.

"I'll take this one and this set."

"Great choice, Mr.Hastington. That would be 5 million dollars in total."

Alyssa Takada

"We have three options matching your description, Mr.Hastington and Ms.Takada. This is the first one, and it's a modern mansion with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms." Felix, Liam's real estate agent, said as he led us in.

The first house was very modern, with a black and white interior. It has three floors, with a big pool, a big backyard, and a big home gym. I'm not fond of it because it's too big and doesn't feel cozy.

"No elevator?"

"We can install one," Felix said, and Liam shook his head. He turned to me, and I shook my head, giving him a signal that I wouldn't say I liked it.

"Let's move on to another one." We drove for five minutes and arrived at the second house.

From the exterior, I love the second house more. It's a Scandinavian-style mansion, which I like. When we walked in, I instantly fell in love. Everything was a Scandinavian style, and I was hooked.

"Three floors in total. We have seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. We have an elevator, a big pool, and a big backyard. Sadly, we don't have an in-home gym, but we can—"

"How much?" Liam cut him, and I turned to him, completely surprised.

"Thirty-five million dollars, Mr.Hastington," Felix said, and Liam nodded.

"Give us the full tour." He said, and Felix gave us a full tour of the house. I can tell that Liam loves the house as much as I do.

"You have to connect us with your interior design," Liam said as we walked down the stairs from the second floor.

"Is there a part of the house that you don't like?"

"We can't live with floating stairs. Especially when there's no railing. We're going to have two dogs and two kids, it'll be fucking dangerous. I also don't like the transparent elevator, and I don't want my kids to bump their heads." I was so surprised that he was being upfront. I thought the same thing, but we would discuss it later.

"Anything else, Mr.Hastington?" Felix asked, and Liam turned to me.

"Do you have anything that you want to change?" Liam asked as he walked over to me.

"The glass windows to bulletproof ones, and maybe we must add some fences along the backyard."

"You heard her."

"Very well, I will take notes and contact our interior designer. We will reach out to you."

"Leave us for a moment," Liam said, and Felix excused himself.

"How do you know that I love this house?" I asked him as soon as Felix closed the front door.

"You go through every corner, and your eyes light up." He kissed my cheek.

"Well... I think this is the one."

"Two kids, two dogs, and two turtles." He said as he looked around, "It's going to be a shit show." I smacked his chest.

"A family, Liam. They're not a shit show."

"Right. Hastington clan."

"That's more like it."

"Let's buy the house." He immediately closed the deal. The real estate agent called their interior designers right away, and they will come in an hour to talk about our future home. While waiting, we got the keys and decided to stay at our new house.

"I never imagined this," Liam said as he sat in the living room and looked around.

"Imagine the house?"

"No. I am settling down. I'm excited." He smiled as he looked out to the backyard. "Two kids, two dogs, and two turtles." He repeated, and I chuckled.

"They're going to love you." My statement made him turn to me.

"I hope they do."

"They will. You'll be an awesome dad." I assured him.

"I hope so." We both turned silent for a couple of minutes, enjoying ourselves while our thoughts circled our minds.

"I'm not the type of guy who can imagine my life ten years ahead. I love to be in the present and live my life to the fullest, but after realizing how much I love you, I started to get... a little greedy. I want more. I want a family who I can come home to."

"You know that our lives will be exciting."

"Chaos, but exciting. I hope our kids don't take over me. I mean, they can take my looks, but not my brain." I chuckled, and I got up to sit on his lap.

"They'll still be our kids, no matter what. We will love them unconditionally."

"I know, and I'm excited." He wrapped his arms around my body.

"When should we move?" Liam asked.

"We can change the interior first and then move."

"Two kids, two dogs, and two turtles." He often repeated that sentence, and I think he's too excited for this. He kept smiling every time he repeated that sentence.

"Or we can have more kids, dogs, and turtles."

"Riri and Lili don't need more friends, Aeri. I'm not turning the backyard into a fucking pond for them." I laughed when he said that.

"That's a great idea! We should have a pond!"

"No. We have a pool. If they want to swim, let them swim in the pool." I laughed harder.

"If I ask you to make a pond, will you let me make one for Riri and Lili?" I asked, looking at him with my puppy eyes. He shook his head, and I pouted.

"Babe, the pond will be dangerous for the kids and the dogs. I don't think—"

"Can we please add a pond?"

"No."

"You're mean."

"No. We can buy them a fake mini pond."

"I want them to have a real pond."

"No, love."

"Fine! Two kids, three dogs, and two turtles."

"No. Two is ideal, no more than that." I crossed my arms in front of my chest, glaring at him.

"Then I change my mind."

"Change your mind what?"

"Three kids, three dogs, and three turtles."