Mom was staring at me with a hard look.

"Surprised that the guards let me in? Maybe they aren't listening to your instructions at all." She brusquely let out.

"I never gave instructions to restrict your entry." She raised a brow.

"Lucky me!" Hostility was dripping from her words.

"I guess that you haven't come to talk and settle things." I was hoping for a positive answer but it seemed far from possible.

"You decided that it was in your best interest to not attend a family dinner. So I came to see what's holding you back." She turned her gaze towards Brae which was anything but soft.

"Of course I was in for a surprise." I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

"You're pregnant. Seems like I have been right all this time." With furrowed eyebrows I looked back at mom.

"All this time?"

"You don't know of our little meet-up, do you?" I looked at Brae who was clearly avoiding meeting my eyes.

"We had a coffee date. I asked her if she was pregnant but she said no. Of course she lied now as we see it." As soon as the sentence left her mouth, Brae roared out a protest.

"I wasn't lying." Mom's eyes twitched in anger.

"Why will you even meet her and ask such meaningless questions?" I found this absolutely ridiculous.

"Oh it wasn't meaningless! I guessed that she had a motive and I was right." While Mom kept on throwing accusations at her, I kept growing more and more confused. Motive, about what?

"No, you weren't right, at all. I just figured out about this baby." Brae shut her eyes and took a deep breath after her outburst.

"Look, right now I'm pregnant and extremely pissed. I don't need those judgments at this moment." Motive? Judgement? Some explanation would have been so nice!

"I knew it. You are using your pregnancy to stay in Evan's life." I stared at Mom in surprise. I didn't expect her to say this.

"Mom." She paid no heed to my warning.

"Do you not understand, Evan? This was what she wanted. She is using her pregnancy as a means to be in your life." I clenched my jaws and looked away because I knew that words coming out of my mouth next would be anything but pleasant.

"God knows if that child is at all yours!" That was all it took for me to snap.

"That's enough!" Mom looked startled as if she hadn't expected me to say anything at all.

"You don't get to speak to her like that." My voice was controlled but cold.

"I'm speaking the truth."

"I don't need your "truth"!"

"You don't raise your voice at me, Evan." I ran my hand through my hair before looking back at her.

"You won't give us a chance to explain everything while you go on piling up accusations against her. Honestly, I'm tired of this." Her eyes flickered between our faces and ultimately rested on mine.

"Evan!" Brae called in a warning tone.

"Let's come to an agreement. You have failed to make me see your point. You won't accept Brae and I won't let her go. It's for the best that we follow our own paths because I won't have anyone insult my girlfriend." I was determined to set boundaries. This had been going on for a long time and I failed to realise when my life had turned to a soap opera. Mom stared at me incredulously before letting out a humorless chuckle.

"Amazing! You can cut ties with your mother but you can't let go of that one girl." I couldn't remember seeing my mom resenting someone to this extent though she had always been extremely stubborn and she wouldn't listen to anyone once her mind was made up.

"I love that one girl. Besides, she isn't the one forcing me to pick sides, she isn't the one insulting someone I love and care about." She scoffed loudly before glaring at Brae.

"You have him wrapped around your finger just fine. You do deserve an applause!" Her words cut through the tense atmosphere before she turned on her heels and left.

...............................

Brae came out of the shower with the towel wrapped around her head. I saw her stealing a quick glance of my face through the mirror.

"Care to explain why I didn't know about your meet up with Mom?" Through the reflection I saw her biting her lip. She took her time in drying her hair, pretending to have not heard me.

"Brae, I'm asking something." She audibly breathed in before looking at me.

"She asked me to meet her at the cafe and I thought maybe she was ready to hear me out. So I went to meet her." She ended with a casual shrug.

"And I shouldn't have known about this, why?" She leaned back slightly against the dresser.

"There was nothing to talk about. We didn't really have a sweet exchange of words as you might have guessed." I looked on without blinking, causing her to release a sigh.

"You and Victoria are already at odds. I didn't want to make things worse between you." I climbed down the bed.

"We weren't supposed to keep secrets, remember?" She opened her mouth only to close it without even uttering something. I turned around to leave the room.

"Evan!" She called after me but I was already on my way to the study.

Braelyn's POV

I shut my eyes as soon as I heard the door open. After a minute, the bed dipped beside me. Evan's cologne filled my nostrils as he pulled the cover properly up my body. I quickly opened my eyes and grabbed his arm when I felt him leaving.

He looked back when I was already sitting up and switching on the light. He kept on staring at my face with his lips pressed in a thin line.

"Are you still angry with me?" At my question, he let out a small sigh and sat down on the bed.

"I shouldn't have kept a secret from you. I'm sorry." I didn't like that we hadn't talked properly the whole day. I wanted to jump into his arms and cuddle. Evan shook his head in disagreement.

"I am not angry with you. I-" I waited for him to find the words.

"I guess I was just upset with whatever happened. I hate that you had to hear such things from Mom." I cupped his cheek and made him look at me.

"It's fine." I firmly said staring into his eyes wanting him to believe me.

"No, it's not. It can't be. Whatever she said was mean and degrading." He looked really distressed. I held his face between my hands before he could look away.

"I'm not saying that I didn't feel hurt at what she said but you were by my side. You took a stand for me and that's what made me feel fine, you know." I knew he was searching my face for confirmation before slowly nodding. His eyes shifted to my lips causing me to unconsciously bite my lower lip. Just then I felt his lips press against mine. I sighed in relief and wrapped my arms around his neck. We broke away after a minute.

"God! I feel like I haven't kissed you since ever." I exclaimed as I got on his lap. His chuckle was cut short when I urgently placed my lips on his.