"I know that look. What did I say that was so wrong? Is it that wrong to want to know what has changed in your life? Don't blame me. I'm just a curious individual." Scott replied defensively. That was one thing about him. He was someone who didn't know how to own up to his mistakes. He had always either blamed it on his family or lack thereof or his personality.

"The woman you saw me with is my wife." I responded, ignoring the question about Julia. If he had the concept of common sense, he'd realize it wasn't a topic I wanted to talk about.

"Ah…" He responded. "I didn't realize you were married. My bad."

I nodded, and we continued eating before he broke the silence.

"Does the fact that you responded to my text mean that you have forgiven me and no longer hold the incident over me?" He asked, looking straight at me.

I simply shrugged. "We'll see." The incident he was referring to had taken place over two years ago. I had still been fresh in my grief and regret over Ethan's death, and I'd realized that Julia had been with me because she had been in love with Ethan, but he'd wanted nothing to do with her. He probably had seen her for what she was. I'd always argued with him because it had been like he had firmly been against her for no reason.

Fresh in my grief and feeling of betrayal, I'd gotten wasted at a bar, and Scott had been called by the owner of the bar. It hadn't my best moment if I could give an excuse. Scott had responded to the call but I'd found out he had been busy with my ex-girlfriend when the call had come in. Apparently he had also liked her and didn't know my attraction had been that deep, and stupidly hadn't bothered to wash her stench from him. The smell I was very familiar with because not only had I recommended the perfume to her but had bought it for her. I'd simply lost it, and the fight that had been in the video had happened. Julia, probably seeing good content for future threats, must have recorded the video from the CCTV then. I'd refused to speak with Scott after confirming that I'd, as a matter of fact, not killed him, simply broken some of his ribs, and for some stupid reason I was now regretting, I'd pretended that I didn't know Julia had been with my closest friend mere hours after our break and had left her in her position as a director in my office. After all, she had been with us from the beginning.

All in all, I was going to blame age for the fucked-up situation. Ethan had been murdered at the age of twenty-two when I'd been twenty and Scott had been a year older at twenty-one. Neither of us had been in our right senses or at the age not to make stupid decisions.

My phone started ringing, and I picked it up, knowing it was my driver. "Hello. Have you picked them up?"

"Yes, sir. I'm close to the place now. Is your meeting running late? I could quickly drop them off at home if you still need more time."

I was almost done with my meal, so I shook my head. 'No. Don't bother. Call me when you get here."

"Alright, sir."

Scott glanced at me. "Is everything okay? It sounds like someone is waiting for you."

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for the food." I placed my hand on the table and looked straight at him. "Now, do you mind telling me the real reason you called me out?"

He sputtered. "But I told you. To apologize and know if you were doing okay even with the scandal."

I nodded, even though I didn't believe a word. I've been betrayed by so many people to believe in an old friend right now. Plus, I was at a point where it was evident I needed all the help I could get with the threat I currently found myself in. "Right. Well, it was nice seeing you again. I have somewhere else to be." I said and stood up, and Scott stood up as well.

"Alright, man. Thank you. You are also welcome to come back. Maybe with your wife someday. It will be nice to meet her."

I wasn't going to ever do that, but I didn't say anything, pretending like I was okay with it. "Alright."

My phone started ringing again, and I showed him the phone, taking it as my excuse to leave in a hurry. I would think more and question his responses later when I was calmer and more relaxed. And I would continue meeting with him, alone. I wasn't going to allow him to meet Danielle, since I was smarter than that. After all, it was better to keep the enemy closer.

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As I approached the car, I realized that my driver was standing in front of my door looking worried, and I knew it wasn't because he was waiting for me so he could open my door. I'd specifically requested that habit be stopped. Had something else happened?

"What's going on?" I asked him, having hurried to go and meet him.

He looked at me with anxiety-filled eyes. "Nothing much. It's just that the kids are at the back since I can't keep them with me."

What, then, had him so tense? "Is that all? I can handle them. It's just going to be a couple of minutes."

He shook his head, a shadow of a smile appearing. "I just forgot to mention they're not babies. They're twelve and ten and very curious individuals."

I curved my eyebrows. Okay, I had expected the kids to be babies. At least he was preparing me in advance, but I could still handle them. What harm could two children do? They weren't even teenagers yet.

My driver smiled and opened the door. I frowned at him and entered, and he closed the door behind him. I heard him move to the driver's seat. I turned to the two young kids, a boy and a girl, who were looking into their phones. There was not even a glance at me. They both had brown eyes and brown hair, and their outfits were a gateway to what their personalities would be, from what I could see. The girl was wearing a hoodie and leggings, and the hoodie had the print of a growling tiger. The boy, on the other hand, was wearing black shorts and a black shirt and had on a red hat. If they had been trying to go for intimidating and unwelcoming at their young age, it was probably working.

I closed my eyes. If they wanted, they could ignore me, but did they realize this wasn't a norm, and if not for how kind I was, they would still be in school waiting for their father to come and pick them up?

I scoffed at my thoughts, closing my eyes. The exhaustion of the day must be getting to me. Unfortunately, they heard my scoff, and I finally began to realize why people believed kids could be scary. Both kids were now glaring at me. I glanced at them and shrugged, reclining in my seat and closing my eyes again.

"Do you have something you want to say?" I asked in a bored tone.

"Aren't you the one in this video?" The girl asked; I guessed she was the younger one.

I shrugged, knowing what video they possibly could be talking about. "Most likely. Don't take me as a role model and fight in school. Fighting is bad. I was just out of my mind that day."

I heard the boy laugh. "You mean drunk? Ailee wasn't asking because she wanted to copy you. She is telling you that fighting was bad."

I peeked my eyes open to see both of their eyes on me. "Alright. I've admitted it already. I know fighting is bad." Thinking to turn their attention, I gestured to the girl. "If she's Ailee, what's your name?"

Ailee frowned at me. "How did you know my name?" Did my dad tell you?"

The boy laughed. "I just mentioned your name, idiot. My name is Max. What's your name?"

Ailee glanced at me. "I'm not an idiot." She shouted. "Tell him."

Great. Just great. I turned to Max. "Don't call your sister an idiot. She probably didn't hear you mention her name." I was going to make a great father, if I did say that myself.

While Ailee had a satisfied expression, Max glared at me, so maybe I had gone slightly ahead of myself with that assumption. "Tell me about yourselves, both of you. How was your day in school, or what do you like to do"?

"I like..." They both yelled at the same time, and I decided to make a rough guess. I'd never really dealt with kids before, and growing up, Ethan had always had the first choice; my opinion had rarely been considered important.

"Alright. Since Max is older, Ailee, why don't you let him go first? You can tell me about yours when he's done."

"But that's not fair. I'm the younger one, so I should go first." She glared at me and turned her back to me. I glanced at Max, who simply shrugged. "She's pouting. That's the way she acts. Leave her alone."

I looked at the button I used to communicate with the driver's seat, contemplating whether I should press it or not.

"Jonathan." Max called, getting my attention, and I glanced at him.

"I like playing soccer. I'm going to be a soccer player when I grow up. I also like doing puzzles." He reduced his voice. "I play it past my bedtime, but my mom doesn't know."

I smiled and nodded and tapped Ailee. "Alright. How about you? What do you like to do?"

She turned to me a little, and her face was still expressing how unhappy she was. "I don't know." She muttered.

I turned her until I was fully staring at her. "There are two of you here, and you both can't talk at the same time. I don't know how things are done in your house, and I apologize if I offended you. Do you forgive me now?" I asked, making a silly expression, and she giggled.

"Okay. Me, I like my room. And I like reading. My teacher says I can be a writer when I grow up."

Max scoffed. "She's just a nerd, and she doesn't have friends; that's why she reads books."

Ailee rolled her eyes at him. "That's not true, and I'll tell Mom that you're staying awake past your bedtime." She threatened and stuck her tongue out, and both of them started screaming at each other. As for me, I wasn't prepared for this type of parenting, so when they get tired, they will keep quiet. My assumption proved to be right, as they got tired of shouting just as their father pulled into the garage in my house.

I sighed with relief and grabbed my bag, preparing to leave the car when Max grabbed my hands. Ailee was also looking at me expectantly. I turned to them. "Do you want my attention now after you've screamed at each other like two-year-olds?"

They both had apologetic expressions. "Sorry." Max said and hugged me. Ailee also moved closer, but since she was closer to Max than to me, he pushed her away. "Don't breathe on me."

I shook my head. "Max, she's your sister, not your enemy. It's better you treat your sister well; if not, nobody else will treat her well. She's your sister, and you have to have her back at all times." I glanced at Ailee, whose face held a victorious expression. "The same applies to you, young lady. Max is your older brother, and you should treat him as such. You should also have his back and treat him well. You guys can fight and annoy each other, but it's very important that you remember that you're siblings and should love each other more than anybody else."

"Even Mom?" Ailee asked, and I tapped her cheek.

"Don't tell her I said that." They both giggled, and the car came to a stop. "Alright. I had fun with you guys, but I have to get home now."

Ailee pouted. "Will we see you again?" and her father opened my door with enough time to hear her question. I stepped down from the car.

He shook his head. "Oh no. We don't want to bother him. Say goodbye to Mr. Carter now."

Max poked his head out. "Goodbye, Jonathan."

His father gasped, and I laughed. "Leave them. I introduced myself to them like that." I turned to the kids. "Maybe when your school is over, and you're on summer break. We can spend a day or two together."

"Yay." Ailee exclaimed, and even though Max didn't say anything, I could see he was pleased by that news.

I waved to them and headed upstairs to my home. Most of my staff stayed a few miles away from my home, and there was a vehicle that was always available for the last staff to clock out for the day, which was mostly my drivers, so I didn't need to worry about them.

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