Thanks all you lovely readers and friends for voting and commenting on You're Still The One. Love u all so much. Muahhh... :D
Dedicating this chapter to @HarsuSFk :)
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Once again a day started with a massive headache, clearly the result of a sleepless long night.
Emma glared at the file on her desk, the glass of clear cold water sitting beside that damned file... the contents of which failed to get Emma's attention.
Someone snapped their finger in front of her face a few times loudly making Emma jump a little and straightening her spine with alarm. She looked up at the blue orbs staring coldly at her.
Jonathon. How the hell could she forget about him sitting right in front of her.
"Thinking about Brandan, are we?" Jonathon's eyes narrowed at Emma, an anger filled throaty chuckle made it's way through his lips.
Emma quickly looked away. How she was going to deny his obvious observation when she was truly doing that - thinking about that one person she shouldn't.
"Jon... I..." She started speaking but stopped midway not knowing what she really should say. What should actually be spoken in this type of situation?
Jonathon's lips formed a thin line, the anger shimmering in his eyes disappeared behind the facade of absolute expressionless mask but not before Emma got to see a pinch of that anger's presence there.
He spoke out in a cool and collected tone, "I was thinking about asking you if you wanted to go with me on this art exhibition but clearly you would be busy thinking about a certain persons and if not that... you are always busy nowadays in one thing or another. So never mind huh..."
Standing up Jonathon proceeded to make his way to the exit. Emma too stood up abruptly after him. "Jon stop! Jon I don't know what is going on but... but you are clearly misunderstanding..."
Jonathon just stood there stiff, his back facing her. Heavy silence made the air inside the office dense with tension. After a good few seconds which felt like a long stretched hour - Jonathon's rigid, tensed shoulders slumped.
"I hope so Emma. I hope that I am just misunderstanding."
Without giving Emma a chance to reply he stormed out and away from her. Emma slumped back down in her chair, the headache turned into a terrible migraine in a matter of a minute.
She was so confused - so very confused. Since that night she bailed Brandan out of jail, since that car ride - his sensuous words - that kiss which shook every molecule of her existence, she couldn't think straight. Two weeks had passed after that night.. that night when she stood in the heavy rain suddenly realizing that her heart was in risk again. It was in risk of falling in that wicked trap from which she picked up it's broken pieces years ago.
In these two weeks, Brandan never left a chance to make her uncomfortable. No.. he never touched her in any way inappropriate again but never failed to leave her hot and bothered - incapable of thinking straight with her weakening knees and speedy heartbeats.
It was ridiculous, whenever she was with Jonathon she felt like she was cheating Brandan and when she was with Brandan she felt like she was cheating Jonathon. Why Brandan had to come back ? She thought mortified. Why did she have to feel like this for him again?
Emma gulped down the whole glass of water in one go. The coldness numbing her throat, the result should have been soothing but instead it did nothing of that sort.
She was walking out of her office before she realized what she was doing. But then she knew that she had to have thins conversation with Jonathon. His extremely weird behavior wasn't something she was familiar with.
Not just the Brandan issue, she could feel that something else might be going on. Before any other relationship Jonathon was her friend first. And she would be damned if she wasn't there for him if he was in any kind of problem - like he was there when she was.
Long before she could reach his office she found him standing beside the fire exit of the floor.
Scrunching her brows she realized he was talking on the phone. His body posture was enough to tell her that he was furious - extremely.
As she went closer to him with slow steps she had to halt on her way right behind him at his sudden hushed yellings at the phone.
"Those bags... I want them ported here in two days." After a pause he hissed. "How much money is at stake do you know that? They will rip my throat off and feed my head to the dogs if they don't get what they demand at this stage. After all they had kept their words and had done their side of the deal. I can't put my name in their black book..."
"Emma!" Lila, a colleague and a very friendly middle aged woman called out Emma's name as she saw Emma there.
Emma jerked and looked back at Lila with shock. At the same time Jonathon turned back to look at Emma, his conversation with the unknown person long forgotten.
Lila was about to say something cheerfully to Emma who was still standing there dumbstruck. Jonathon's chilling tone boomed through the corridor making Lila stop.
"Leave us alone for a while Lila."
Nodding awkwardly Lila left.
Heart thudding in her chest Emma turned to face Jonathon to find his face was pale, his eyes were shimmering with anger.
Though she didn't mean to over hear it surely look like it, Emma pointed out flustered.
"Why were you over hearing Emma?" Jon asked through gritted teeth and Emma gaped in shock. This was a completely different Jonathon she was witnessing. Why was he behaving like that?
Getting no answer Jonathon crossed the little distance between them briskly and grabbed her shoulders. "What did you hear Emma?" He demanded shaking her roughly.
Emma was too shocked to answer.
"Answer me damn it." He bellowed making Emma push him away with all her force.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She yelled back at him stumbling back.
With a shaking hand Jonathon dragged a hand down his face, he closed eyes briefly before opening them and looking at Emma much calmer than before. But he was still disturbed, she could see that.
"I'm... I'm really sorry Emma." Joanthon apologized not making eye contact. "The workload is so much and I'm really stressed out hon."
Emma didn't say anything, she didn't have anything sensible to say. She just stared at Jonathon's retreating back wondering what the f***ing hell had gotten in to him.
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Dragging her tired aching feet inside the house Emma huffed in pleasure after getting rid of those killer heels. The next second she almost jumped and died of fright when Elli suddenly chuckled over her shoulder. Emma snapped her head towards Elli, clutching her heart she glared at Elli which made her chuckling stop abruptly.
Elli cleared her throat. "Someone had a really long day."
"And you find it funny!" Emma snapped back. Elli was a strange girl - slightly insane in the upstairs which is called her brain in polite language, but Emma wasn't ready to bear her insanity right now maybe because she was going insane herself with more complicated matters in her hands.
Elli gave her a look which could mean anything, rolling her eyes Emma looked away and regretted that action immediately when her head throbbed with the day long headache.
She took a few steps forward and stumbled on a yellow truck which made Elli chuckle again.
Emma made a face looking at the cute little yellow truck, no matter how much she taught the children to keep their toys in place they would never listen. Right after the lecture was finished they would instantly forget. It was like a tradition for the twins.
She looked around the house for the little trouble makers placing her fists on her hips and that's when she noticed that the house was way too much quite. Scrunching her brows Emma turned to Elli with a questioning look. "Where are Sammy Sarah?"
Smiling Elli opened the bottle of nail polish in her hands - ready to paint her nails into perfection. "They are at Brandan's since morning."
Emma irritatedly shook her head. "Seriously, doesn't he have any work to do? Has he stopped going to office now too?"
Not lifting her head up Elli answered, "Why would he have to go to office when he has so many slaves working for him there?"
True said. Emma grumbled more in irritation. She then huffed slipping back her heels and stomped out of the door and towards Brandan's to drag her kids back.
She wanted her kids at home when she came back from work and no where else and that's that. And she was going to screw that information in his dense brain properly today.
Oliver jumped straight from his relaxing sitting position in the sofa at the sudden banging.
Someone clearly intended to break the poor door down.
"Hold your panties whoever you are."
He shouted at the person still banging the door with passion and laughed at his own words. With slow steps he made his way towards the door and looked through the peep hole, then made a double take looking at a very angry - irritated looking Emma. Nervously he opened the door. Since the day Elli threw all the garbage over him that unfateful day - he was always extra careful with the ladies population.
Emma looked at Oliver's smiling face, he opened his mouth to say something but Emma had no mood for useless chats. So she held her palm up in front of his face gesturing him to shut his big mouth down.
"Where are my children?" She asked straight away.
Oliver cheekily grinned and pointed upstairs. "Go straight to Brandan's bedroom, I believe they are camping in there."
Emma looked at the direction of Brandan's room and sighed in indignation. She didn't want to face that cheeky tormentor any time soon, it was already getting too difficult to hide how he and his actions affected her.
"Would you please call them down?"
Oliver fought back his laughter biting his tongue inside his mouth. The exchanges going on between Brandan and Emma were not not unnoticed by him, in fact if anyone didn't notice it they must be blind or nuts.
"Actually I would love to but I'm ummm... kinda busy." He said as seriously he could and walked towards the kitchen making Emma glare at his back. He could feel the power of her glare making a hole in his back but chose to ignore it.
"Yeah right." Grumbling Emma stomped her way upstairs and towards Brandan's room. She stopped for a few seconds in front the closed door. Taking a deep breath she gripped the door knob, twisting it she opened the door and then froze on spot.
The scene before her made her headache, irritation and all the anger evaporate immediately.
Brandan was sleeping right in the middle of his king size bed, Sammy and Sarah sleeping at his both sides - their little hands gripping his shirt. Brandan had his one hand upon Sarah's head and the other on Sammy's back. He might be patting them to sleep, Emma guessed. All of their faces looked so relaxed! Brandan had a faint smile gracing his lips, his hair was sexily ruffled from the sleep.
It looked like - like it was meant to be. She leant sideways resting her shoulder on the doorframe, a smile of her own crept across her lips as she took her time to observe and appreciate the similarities among the three of them. Sarah Sammy had so many things similar to their father.
Right then a thought popped up in her head, the amount of pain and agony she had gone through in her life, if all that had lead her to the point of her getting Sarah and Sammy - she would happily go though them all over again. She would never change a thing because all of that gave her such beautiful gifts - her children.
Her eyes then studied Brandan's handsome face, her heart melted for a second there. And she realized, the inevitable might be happening - happening all over again.
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So, that's it. I would like to repeat Emma's question once again - what the f***ing hell had gotten in to that guy?
Anyone - any idea?
Would like to know you views readers. What's wrong with Jonathon? Or is this just simply workload and stress like he said.
If you've enjoyed reading this chapter - then don't forget to vote, comment and share. Follow me to get regular notifications whenever I updt.
Take care.
Love you all.
_ Lara.