Jenny was pretty annoyed when Emma returned home that evening. She let Emma know in details of how difficult it was to clean up the kids and removing those horrid colors off of their skin. But who were they kidding, it was inevitable from the beginning. Emma knew about that. Kids and paints in one place, this was bound to happen.

Emma was happy to see that at last the kids had warmed up a bit to the idea of Brandan being their father and all.

As she sat down on her front porch steps with a mug of her coffee, she was greeted with the scene of Brandan strolling towards her with a calm expression. Emma snorted, here comes the great Brandan Rozario.

"Enjoying coffee?"

"I guess you aren't blind." Emma said indifferently.

Chuckling Brandan sat down beside her. Emma huffed, if he thought that after helping him to get the children warm up towards him, things were going to get suddenly all cheesy between them then he was mistaking a big time. Emma stood up abruptly only to be dragged down by Brandan's strong hold around her wrist.

"Where are you going? Just sit here for a while."

"Why?" Emma asked a little spitefully.

Brandan shrugged ignoring her tone. "Is it important to have a reason?" He asked back.

"If it's involving you, then yes."

Brandan put the palms of his hands behind him on the ground and leaned back, looking at the evening sky as the setting sun splattered various mysterious colors all over the skies.

No one said anything for a long time, every now and then Emma kept sipping her coffee.

"Where are the little bombs?" He asked after a while quietly.

Really? little bombs!

"Evening nap. They were pretty tired after their artistic task this morning."

Emma turned her head sideways to look at the side of Brandan's face, he was still gazing at the sky. Now as Brandan wasn't looking at her, Emma took her own sweet time to memorize the relaxed feature of his face, the slight stubble, his hair cutely yet sexily tousled... maybe because of the slight playfulness of the evening breeze or the result of running his hand through them a few times.

Suddenly, Brandan turned towards her, his eyes lit up with amusement.

Emma blinked and looked away. She bit her bottom lip in embarrassment of getting caught staring. Damn! She cursed herself mentally.

Emma gasped feeling his hot breath suddenly caressing her earlobe, when the hell did he lean so close.

"Take a photo. It lasts longer... you know." His husky voice made her insides shiver in delight and of course there was this inevitable flutter in her stomach.

Gripping the coffee mug Emma stood up and away from Brandan not daring to peek a glance at him, afraid of losing herself again.

"Umm... I... The kids must be waking up, they are alone in there and it's getting dark."

Brandan just nodded smirking as she spoke too quickly then she intended to, making her obvious nervousness even more prominent.

Gritting her teeth Emma walked back into the house. That arrogant son of a...

But why the hell was she behaving this weird? She asked herself. Maybe she was just tired. Yes. That's it, she was tired and nothing else.

Locking the door behind her Emma made her way upstairs to wake up the kids while trying think about anything - anything but Brandan's face gazing up at the sky. Yes. Jonathon, Emma was going to think about Jonathon, he was worth thinking. He was safe. And Emma was good with safe.

Emma thought back about how Jonathon took it so easily that Brandan - the father of her children had popped up in her life suddenly. He said so many comforting words to her, letting her know over and over again that he would be always there for her and that she could always count on him if any problem she finds herself in to.

But... there was a small "but" here. Though Jonathon ensured that he was okay with Brandan's appearance in her children's lives and therefore in her life too, there was this frown on his forehead for a second or two that made Emma think for once - the otherwise.

She couldn't say for sure if everything was okay actually, after all... all men are jealous and possessive creatures no matter how much they try to hide those traits.

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Elli locked the main door from inside shooing Emma away for her evening out. Emma was strolling towards her car as she listened to the loud blabbering of the kids inside the house as they were most probably annoying Elli with their silly fights.

A commotion from the corner of her eyes caught her attention, instinctively Emma looked at the direction of Brandan's house. And what she saw made her heart to stop dead in her chest for a good few painful seconds.

A woman - a very beautiful woman was at his door, Brandan was saying something to the woman intently. Her purse fell down and immediately Brandan picked it up for her.

Emma watched in horror as the woman leaned in to his body and hugged him. What hurt the most was that Brandan hugged her back - so tightly. He was patting the back of the woman's hair lightly with his one hand.

Stumbling back a step Emma gripped the window of her car. She knew that Brandan was free to be in an intimate relationship with whoever the hell he wanted, in fact Emma herself was dating someone, wasn't she?

Then why did this shock her, hurt her so bad?

Emma turned around hurriedly getting back her sense as she saw the woman climbing down the porch steps.

Sliding inside her car, Emma released the deep breath she didn't know she was holding in. She inserted the key intending to sped the car away from here as soon as possible.

But it seemed like fate had indeed some other plan in store for her, as always.

The engine made a terrible noise as she tried to start it.

"Damn it!" Emma cursed punching the steering wheel weakly. "No, no... you can't do this to me right now!"

"Need some help?" Brandan's face appeared outside the half opened window of her car making Emma jump and then close her eyes for a brief second to control her anger considering that she had no valid right in the first place to be so angry at him.

"No thanks." She said as calmly as possible but Brandan didn't seem to take the hint as he stayed in his position intact.

Emma fought with the keyhole for a good ten minutes - to Brandan's utmost amusement. He kept insisting her and she preferred to be stubbornly ignorant after a few blunt - cold refusals.

Groaning, she gave up at last and dropped her head back on the headrest.

"Stop being so stubborn, Emma. My car's right there. I can take you to where ever you're going." Brandan's patience was finally wearing off too. He couldn't get it, Why this woman had to be so God damned stubborn!

Emma stayed indifferent yet once again as she yanked open the door of her car and stepped out. She slid past Brandan avoiding even the slightest touch with him and stormed down the sidewalk.

Growling, Brandan bellowed after her. He thought that they had progressed a bit in their issues earlier but clearly he thought too soon. He could see that now.

"Where do you think you're going?" Brandan snapped.

Emma increased her speed, she was so close to actually begin running. "To catch a bus, now stop following me."

"I said, I would give you a lift, that would be easier." He seemed adamant.

"And I told you I don't need one." She snapped back breathing heavily both from anger and the speed she was walking.

She heard Brandan muttering a faint "Okay then..." gritting his teeth, and the next second felt herself lifted up off the ground and thrown carelessly over his shoulder like she didn't weight a single ounce.

She was stiff because of the shock for a second but then when the whole thing registered inside her mind she began wiggling and thrashing - trying to get out of his hold.

"You can't manhandle me like this, you insolent man!" She screamed and got a snort as a reply from him.

"Put me down. Put me down now!" She was punching on his back maniacally, her hair flying all over the place in the rhythm of walking. "Brandan... Ahhh!" She gasped, her eyes went wide. Did he really slap her on the ass!

"Stop moving if you don't want that to happen again." The warning was clear, his tone serious and Emma was too much shocked to test if the threat was true.

Then another thought raised in her already shaken up mind. With this very hand this man had been doing God knows what with that woman just hours ago. A few visuals appeared in the back of her mind making bile rise in her throat, she had a deep urge to gag but stayed impossibly still instead.

It didn't take long for Brandan to reach his car and put her inside gently. Not looking at her face he fastened her seatbelt and frowned a little when she didn't protest. Not once had she given up so quickly ever before and that made him worried.

He went around the car and got to the driver's side in a blink of an eye.

"Where to?" Staring ahead, he asked Emma as the car grumbled to life.

A moment of silence and then he heard her speaking after a long sigh, finally giving him the address, her voice void of emotions.

"It's a restaurant, Emma?" Brandan pointed out as the car stopped in front of her destination.

"Good to know you figured that out." Emma said in a clipped tone.

Brandan cleared his throat nervously. "Are you...?"

Emma was about to step out of the car. She cut in hurriedly, "It's a meeting." Gulping she continued, "With, urmm... my boss and... a few others." She completed awkwardly, wriggling her fingers under her purse.

Brandan could sense, something odd was going on the whole time but chose to brush the suspicion away. He nodded with a reluctant smile. "Well, I'll walk you to the entrance then."

"No!" She denied, a bit too loudly and quickly. "You've done enough for the evening."

Emma slammed the door of the car behind her and left briskly. She shook her head in the confusion of her own actions.

Why did she have to lie to him? She questioned herself. Why she couldn't just tell Brandan straight away that she wasn't here for a meeting, in fact she was here on a date with Jonathon, who was not only a boss to her anymore.

From where these behaviors of her's were coming from, she didn't know. She just knew that it wasn't right for her to get all bothered up just because Brandan was seeing other women. And she definitely hadn't any reason to hide from him about her date.

Confusion is the hallmark of a transition. But sometimes this transition is meant to be more complicated than necessary.

A billboard read next to the restaurant Emma was walking in, the words hit a string there in her brain but before she could comprehend about them any further Jonathon was already smiling at her appreciatively in that usual charming way of his. And Emma had to walk in his extended arms where the belongingness to somewhere was loudly missing and demanding to be found.

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Oh.. and I forgot to let you know this guys that last week this book had went up to #16 in General Fiction - the highest of all times for this story and descended to #57 after a few days too where it stayed for a long - sad day. So just like Emma I'm having mixed feelings too and super confused as well.

So thanks for taking it up on #16 lovely readers and... keep voting please so that it doesn't fall like that a day later. Each vote... each single vote counts and is so so so precious to me guys. So make sure to hit the Vote button after you've finished reading to show your support to me. And please comment so that I can figure out how you're feeling about this story.

Lots of love, hugs and kisses (on your cheeks silly).

- Lara.