Unexpected Encounter

"Thinking back now, I just realised that I have never seen your fiance during the many times I dropped by. Have you guys broken up…"

"Never!" Jillian remarked without waiting for Brayden to complete his sentence.

"I was joking around to lighten up the atmosphere. You didn't have to overreact…"

"That is not something to joke about. I am sure you wouldn't loved it if I said that about you and your girlfriend so refrain from making such jokes because it's not funny," Jillian scolded him fiercely.

She averted her attention to the girls afterwards. "Marl, Mona, go freshened up. I will try to hurry so that dinner will be ready when you are done showering," Jillian instructed the two girls she had gotten a bit closer with during the last few days.

"I can see Lisa has succeeded in making you address her as Mona. Should I be saying congratulations to Lisa for winning you over," Brayden teased.

"Addressing her as Mona is not a big deal. I just needed a bit of time to adjust to it," Jillian muttered. She spun to head back to the kitchen.

"If you haven't started preparing their dinner, I was thinking we should eat out. Not only will you save yourself the stress of preparing a meal for them, but you can also use this opportunity to relax," Brayden suggested, his gaze fixed on her back.

"You can take Marl and Mona out if you want but…"

"I know of a place which prepares the tastiest salad dish you can ever find. I understand you are on diet but if I were you, I wouldn't be quick to turn down my offer. Who knows, this might become your favourite restaurant in the future," Brayden cut in abruptly. He didn't give her the opportunity to reject his offer.

"Mommy, let's eat out today hmm?" Marley joined in as soon as Brayden signalled at her to show that it was their cue.

"When Dad was around, he always took us out to eat once a week. We haven't done that ever since he left us," Monalisa said emotionally.

Although Monalisa was just a little girl, she had a way of making people unable to say no to her.

If she was an adult, people would have addressed her as a good schemer, however, she was merely an innocent kid who knows nothing about scheming.

After a bit of convincing Marley and Monalisa succeeded in getting Jillian to agree to what they wanted.

"You can wait for us downstairs while I get the girls ready. We will join you later," Jillian commanded, signalling Marley and Monalisa to move to her bedroom.

Brayden waited until the girls left the living room before he brought up his concerns.

"Can't I just wait here for the three of you instead…"

"What will you have me do if rumours start circulating that I am two timing because you stayed here for a long time? Will you be able to take responsibility for it?" Jillian confronted, her stern expression fixed on his face.

"I know you wouldn't be able to take responsibility for the damages, so I suggest you do as I said. Besides, we aren't gonna take that long,' Jillian said with a tone of finality. She spun and left without giving Brayden the chance to debate the topic any longer.

Because Marley and Monalisa insisted she wore matching colours with their outfit since this could be counted as their first official outing, it took Jillian longer than she expected to get ready.

At Daylight Apartment parking space, Brayden lost the last strand of patience left in him when he noticed that it had been over fifteeb minutes he waited inside his car.

He got out of the car and was about to head back into the building when he saw three women in blue outfits approaching him.

"If I hadn't received the reports from the private investigator with irrefutable evidence that Jillian wasn't Ashley, I wouldn't have believed that she wasn't the twins' mother. How on earth can two different people who aren't twins look so identical," Brayden murmured his eyes glued on the beautiful tall lady in a blue dress approaching his direction.

Both Monalisa and Jillian wore blue dresses leaving Marley the only one wearing a pair of black denim shorts and an oversized blue t-shirt.

"Didn't you say you weren't gonna take long?"Brayden complained as soon ad they reached the car.

"It was three ladies who were gonna dress up and not one, so what exactly were you expecting?" Jillian replied gesturing at the girls she dolled up to look their best.

"Instead of complaining, shouldn't you be thanking me for making them so beautiful to the point that you are the centre of attention…"

"What are you talking about? Marl and Lisa have always been naturally beautiful. They took after their mother and father," Brayden declared without thinking.

"Mom, is uncle praising you indirectly?" Monalisa asked, gazing up at Jillian's face.

"Hmm… I think you are right about that," Jillian replied beaming.

After making Marley and Monalisa get into the white Mercedes Benz, Jillian joined them at the backseat while Brayden occupied the front seat with a middle-aged driver.

Soon, their white Mercedes Benz car was seen driving on the busy road.

With the Marley and Monalisa there to keep Jillian entertained she didn't feel that they had been on the road for thirty minutes.

The car halted causing Jillian to look out of the window.

"Have we reached our destination already?" Jillian asked.

"Yes," Brayden replied before he pushed the door open and climbed out of the car. One by one the three women occupying the backseat also got out of the car.

"De Supreme," Marley read out the name of the restaurant boldly written on the signpost.

"Let's go," Brayden said as he led the way into the glass building.

The family of four immediately gained attention as soon as they walked through the glass entrance.

While Brayden was discussing with the ladies at the counter about their booking Jillian averted her gaze to the large restaurant which had about twenty-five customers.

Out of all the tables in the vast room only two were empty, others were fully occupied.

"Apple!" Jillian exclaimed with widened eyeballs the moment she sighted her favourite idol sitting at the extreme corner of the room with a lady in front of her.