章 12: The Favour
"Only a few people knew about that so how did you get wind of the nanny's incident? Are you perhaps monitoring me?" Brayden accused, frowning.
Madam Lawrence ignored his frown as she sat beside Marley on the medium-sized bed.
"Are you asking because you have forgotten the household you are from after being away for a few years?" Madam Lawrence snarled. She raised her hands and patted Marley's pretty little face.
"Also, as a member of the reputable Lawrence family, how could I let my grandchildren suffer without doing something about it? And do you think that just anyone is qualified to take care of my precious grandchildren?" Madam Lawrence retorted as she moved to stroke Marley's sleeping face. She retracted her hand as soon as Marley changed positions.
"Wait, are you trying to say that you had something to do with why their nanny suddenly quit?" Brayden accused, ready to rain down brimstone if peradventure his hunch turned out to be true.
"Of course not. I only called the nanny agency and asked them to give you their best candidate for the job. I would have rejected her if I had known that she would be so unprofessional," Madam Lawrence ranted, her fist tightly clasped.
"I thought I told you that I would take care of everything that has to do with the girls since they were my responsibility, so why did you do that…"
"And how could I entrust the entirety of my grandkids to an inexperienced boy like you who knows nothing other than flirting with girls and hanging out in bars and clubs? I am not crazy if you were to ask me," Madam Lawrence blurted out how she truly felt. She covered her mouth when she realised what she said.
"Despite having two boys, you have no experience in taking care of children. How are you any better than me who hasn't been a father before…"
"Brayden!" Madam Lawrence shouted, forgetting that there were two sleeping girls beside her.
"You are the one who started this so it's pointless trying to shut me up with your fierce eyeballs," Brayden hissed.
He spun and stomped to the brown door. He halted in front of the door with his hand holding onto the doorknob.
"You said you just wanted to check up on how they are doing and now that you have done that, don't forget to shut the door upon leaving the room," Brayden muttered. He proceeded out of the room without turning around.
"How dare he think he can order me around just because his brother left him in charge of everything including his kids? He is lucky that I have no other children apart from him," Madam Lawrence grumbled while clenching her fist.
After leaving Marley and Monalisa's hospital room, Brayden searched for Jillian. He became quite easy after he searched all the possible places she should have been and couldn't find her.
At that moment he regretted not collecting her line when he saw her again.
He looked for her a while longer. Brayden finally gave up hope of finding her afterwards.
"I know she is just a stranger but I wished she had waited for them to wake up before leaving. Marl and Lisa would have been so thrilled to see her again. I can already imagine the excited Lisa dancing and jumping around," Brayden murmured. He strolled into the hospital's rooftop with a dejected look.
"Lisa's Dad?" A voice called out causing Brayden to divert his attention towards the side of the rooftop the voice came from.
'She hadn't left yet! Thank goodness, I am saved!' Brayden's face magically lit up the instant he saw the lady he was searching for.
"Why do you look so tired and worried? Are the girls ok or did the doctor tell you anything different from what he told us?" Jillian asked out of concern even though she wasn't very fond of Brayden.
"The doctor said the girls are well enough to be discharged and I have sorted out their discharge papers," Brayden replied. He seized this opportunity to move closer to her.
"If they are unharmed then why do you look so worried?... You don't have to tell me if it's something personal," Jillian added as if she was trying to tell him that she wasn't the nosy type.
"Marl and Lisa are brave kids who say and do whatever they want. I can't bring myself to imagine how terrified they must have been to collapse from the effect of the blast," Brayden said emotionally. He turned and sat beside her on the brown bench.
"No matter how brave and lively they are, kids will always be kids. You can't expect them to react like an adult should have done," Jillian said, staring at the face of the guy sitting beside her.
"What I am trying to say is that their reaction was normal. It's pointless to beat up yourself because of what has happened. Besides, stressing over the incident won't change the outcome, right?" Jillian expatriate.
Since Jillian had let her guard down around him, Brayden used this chance to chat with her. They talked for a long time before Brayden decided to wrap up their conversation.
"Jillian, can I ask you to do me a difficult favour?" Brayden asked after bidding his time.
Because of the seriousness of Brayden's tone, Jillian didn't reply immediately.
"What's this difficult favour if I may ask?" Jillian enquired at last.
"Because our apartment was badly affected by the fire, the kids and I can't return there. I was hoping that maybe you…" Brayden trailed, not knowing the right way to say the words without catching Jillian off guard.
"Go on," Jillian urged him oblivious to the bomb he was going to drop the next minute.
"Will you please let the girls live with you for a few days? Just until our house gets repaired," Brayden asked peering into her grey eyeballs.
"Never!" Jillian shouted, jerking to her feet as if she had just been bitten by a poisonous bug.
"I said you will only look after them for a few days, aren't you overreacting with your solemn declaration?" Brayden quizzed.
Though he had expected that she would not accept his request immediately, he never imagined she would react the way she did.
"Judging from the designer outfits you wore on our two encounters coupled with how you were able to easily book the most expensive VIP room at this hospital. It shows that you are rich enough to afford the most luxurious presidential suite in one of the top hotels in the city, so you don't have to put on a pitiful act in front of me," Jillian scolded him at length.
She stood up from where she sat and moved a few steps away, breaching the closeness between her and Brayden.
"Also, on our first encounter, I played along when the girls called me mother because our staff was at fault for what happened to Marley. Apart from that, I have no experience in raising kids. In fact, I hate kids, so if you know what is good for you, you will keep your girls far away from me…"
"Same here. I have no experience in raising kids. I particularly hate anything that has to do with marriage or children…"
"Then why on Earth did you bring them into this world if you hated having kids that much?" Jillian retorted, her murderous glares shot at his face.
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