A week had passed since Kat and Aiden got engaged. They were both on cloud nine and enjoying every moment with each other. Katherine surprised him at his workplace to have a little lunch date. They sat in Aiden's office, conversing while enjoying their meal. "I'm so glad that Nola's butterfly finally hatched," Aiden stated before biting into his grilled cheese sandwich. "Me too. I wish you were there to see the glee in her eyes as she watched it," Kat smiled. "Maybe the next time we go there she can get other species. Imagine if she got enough to build her own conservatory." "That would be a dream come true for her," Kat gushed over the idea. "Then we will definitely make that happen," Aiden assured her. They continued to chitchat until it was time for Kat to return to work. "I think it's time for me to get back to work," Kat stated checking the time on her watch. "Ok, my love. Let me see you out," Aiden suggested. "No that's alright Aiden. You don't have t
Aiden was in his office doing business when his office phone began to go off. Being that he was reviewing some important documents, he left it for his assistant to answer it. Five seconds later, his phone blew up again, so once more he let it go to his secretary. But then his cell phone started to ring. He checked it and saw that it was Katherine. He pushed his work aside and with a smile, he answered. "Good morning, my love. How are you?" He asked, but Kat's heavy breathing told him something was wrong. "Katherine, are you OK? Did something happen to the twins?" He stood up, waiting for her to answer. "The kids are fine, Aiden, but I'm not," she answered, her voice cracking at the end. "Why? What's wrong baby?""Have you seen the papers this morning, Aiden? There's a photo of us on the front page kissing, and now my business place is crawling with paparazzi. I'm even scared to send the children to school right now, so they are here with me.""Oh, Katherine, I'm so sorry, I didn't
Aiden saw that Patrick was sweating like a whore in church. He was nervous, and he had all right to be. He even had the nerve to ask if they knew who was embezzling money. Yes, they know who it is, it's you, Aiden said internally. "Something like that," Aiden responded as he took a seat behind his desk. Patrick stared at him, a bit confused. "What do you mean, something like that? He sounded flustered as he said, “It's either they did or they didn't.”Aiden disregarded the question and followed up with one of his own."Patrick what am I to you?" Patrick observed Aiden with a sense of bewilderment. “What do you mean?" "It's a pretty straightforward question Pat, What am I to you?" Patrick began to consider the question, exploring various ways to respond. "Well," he began. " You're one of my best friends. In fact, you're like a brother to me, even though we don't see eye to eye sometimes. But that's how families are, right?" "So you see me as your family?" He asked as he began punc
During the weeks that followed, Katherine became more understanding and was by Aiden's side every chance she got. He was angry at himself about the situation, but Katherine's presence and words of encouragement made it bearable. Kat's mother and father were also supportive. They would ensure to check up on Aiden every now and again. Things weren't as bad as before, and they couldn't be happier. Aiden and Dustin were at Aiden's house waiting for Katherine and Taryn so that they could have couples game night. They were setting up the different games they would play on a large, round coffee table in the center of the living room. They also had an assortment of snacks and other treats. "I'm looking forward to a night of fun and games," Dustin spoke as he placed three bottles of sparkling wine in an ice bucket. "The ladies are gonna love this," Aiden added as he placed four large cushions on the floor. "Yeah, I think they will," Dustin agreed. "They deserve this,"Aiden
Katherine was awakened by the scent of smelling salt and cleaning agent. She knew she was in her Café, but her head felt dizzy, and her thoughts were scrambled. "Kat, can you hear me?" Taryn's voice echoed in Kat's ear. and everything came back to her memory. Her mind was no longer dazed and confused by the atomic-bomb-like-news she had gotten from Violet. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Violet was telling the truth or if she was lying because she was hurt because Aiden turned her down. "Kat?" Taryn called out loudly, making Katherine's ear ring. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked, waving three fingers in Kat's vision. "Three, and I don't think you should be waving them if you want me to see them clearly," Kat stated as she tried rising to her feet. Taryn helped her up and placed her in a chair to sit. "What the hell happened? Please don't tell me you used too much bleach and disinfectant, and it knocked you out," she said. "No it's not that," Katherine en
The ladies entered the living room, and the smell of pizza invaded their nostrils. They were impressed when they saw how well the men had set up for the evening. "Wow, this looks really good," Katherine stated as she walked up to Aiden. "Thanks, Dustin and I tried." He then placed a small kiss on her lips. "Good job, both of you," Taryn responded as she kissed Dustin. Dustin then whispered something in her ear. "So are you two ready for a fun night?" Aiden asked. "Yes, but we need to freshen up first," Kat said as she took Taryn's hand. "Give me a minute, Kat," Taryn began. "Dustin wants to talk." "Okay, I'll be upstairs," Kat nodded. "I'll go check on the pizza," Aiden said. "Okay see you in a few," Kat kissed Aiden before heading upstairs. Taryn and Dustin were now alone in the living room. "I have news for you," Dustin exclaimed with wide eyes. "News? Is it good or bad?" "Baby, I'm not even sure what to call it, but it's big.""I don't think it's bigger than the news I
Katherine had been feeling distant from her kids since her engagement. Although the twins had packed schedules with school and after-school activities, and Kat was tied up with her job, she hardly ever got to enjoy evenings with them anymore. She was grateful to have Miss Polly by her side. Katherine decided she was going to spend an entire weekend with her children, especially since she and Aiden would be getting married, and she didn't want the twins to feel as if they were no longer the centre of her world. Aiden suggested that she take them to Lake Anna for the weekend and Katherine agreed. She packed up the car beforehand so that when the day came she didn't have much to do. So when Friday arrived, she intended to leave work early so that they could reach the lake before nightfall. "I can't wait to show the kids where Aiden spent most of his childhood," Kat confessed to Taryn, who was going to run the Café for the weekend. "They will definitely enjoy it there. Dustin sh
It was now Sunday evening, and Katherine and the kids got back from Lake Anna an hour ago. They came home to the surprise of a well-prepared dinner spread made by Aiden, who was beaming with joy as he greeted them at the kitchen door. They praised Aiden for his efforts and thoughtfulness as he ushered them to their seats. "How was your weekend ?" Aiden asked the children as they sat down. "It was amazing," the twins said in unison. "We had the best time on the lake," Nate began. "We went lake gliding." "Bird watching," Nola added. "Lake diving." "Yeah, and we went out on a glass-bottom boat and saw so many fish," Nola added. "That must've been amazing," Aiden gasped. "It was." "I even caught a harpon," Nate raved. "Harpon?" Aiden asked curiously. "It's called a Tarpon Nate," Katherine corrected. "Yeah, I wanted to cook and eat it, but Nola got sad, so I threw it back." "You're a wonderful and considerate brother Nate," Aiden said, smiling at him.
Dustin had been waiting for a big break in his career. For the past couple of months, he had been investigating a case that meant a lot to him. A long while back, he got information about a suspected pedophile and since then he had been obsessed with solving the case. The man's name was Donny Perez, but the evidence wasn't much, so he needed something to stick the nail in Donny's coffin. "Everyone, please stay in position," Dustin ordered over the police radios.He was parked in a neighborhood across the street from a lemonade stand. The chief got his nineteen-year-old niece Sarah to work undercover. She was posing as a vendor selling lemonade to help out an animal shelter. Even though Sarah was nineteen, she was really little because she has a trait of dwarfism. She was well-equipped to do the task, and they had police posted all over the neighborhood. Dustin and his partner watched as a few persons came up and purchased their refreshing cups of lemonade. He checked his watch, and
Aiden was at the office when he got a call from Grandma Debs, asking if he could meet up with her. He was curious as to what she needed, so he agreed to meet up at Katherine's Café. Aiden and Grandma Debs have developed a good relationship because Grandma Debs knew that it wasn't Aiden's fault the way things went down with Violet, and since they were going to be a part of each other's lives, it made sense that they remained cordial. On his lunch break, he went over to the Café and found Katherine in her office because she refused to stay home. If Aiden was being completely honest, he loved how beautiful and glowing she was at this stage, and he admired how strong she was. Most women would be at home counting down the days until they gave birth, but Kat refused to stay in bed. As long as she wasn't overworking, Dr. Murray said it was quite fine for her to do some light work. "Hi, my love," Aiden greeted as he entered the office and walked over to her smiling. "Hey," Kat returned th
A week after the ruling, things were almost back to normal. Katherine spoke to Grandma Debs almost everyday. She also invited her to stay with them for the weekend and for the family Sunday dinner. The kids were like the only close family she had at the moment, and she wanted to maintain a good relationship with them. They had movie night on Saturday and it was fun. It was wonderful to see Grandma Debs, Aiden, and the twins getting along so well. The next day, Taryn and Dustin also came over to join the traditional Sunday dinner. Mrs. Lewis, Grandma Debs and Taryn were busy in the kitchen, while Katherine rested upstairs. She felt out of place not being involved, but she knew that at her stage of pregnancy, she needed to take things slowly. The twins were preoccupied helping Aiden and Dustin to set the table and get things in place. Katherine woke up and made an attempt to go downstairs to help, but she was shocked when the twins intercepted her and brought her back to her room.
The trial began a week later, and it didn't take long for the judge and juror to decide the fate of Violet. With all the evidence, it was clear that she was guilty. The only decision that needed to be made was her punishment."Your honour, the evidence presented in this case is damning and inexcusable," the lawyer representing Nate and his family stated. "Though the evidence is there, we see no reason why the book should be thrown at my client being that she's not a repeat offender," Violet's lawyer presented. "Not a repeat offender? If I may point out, she was being investigated for embezzlement and fraud. And if I recall, she fled the country before an arrest could have been made.""That's hearsay, your honour.”"Would I have brought this up if it was only hearsay?" The lawyer pulled out a few documents from a pile that was in front of him. He them gestured to the officer to bring it to the judge. "This doesn't look good, Mr. Ryan," the judge said to Violet's lawyer after reviewi
After Aiden informed Katherine about the trial date, they both decided that they would have a sit down with Nate over the weekend and tell him about what was happening. After Katherine finished work that Saturday evening, they all sat down in the living room to have a discussion. "What did you guys do today?" Katherine asked Nate and Nola, who were sitting on both ends of the large couch in the room and were engrossed in their tablets. "I helped Ms Lewis in the garden. We will have lots of potatoes and strawberries by the end of the month," Nola said as she placed the tablet beside her. "That's great Nola. I can make some strawberry tarts when they are ready.""I played on my tablet most of the day," Nate answered without taking his eyes off the screen of the device. "Nate, can you please put the tablet aside," Aiden requested. "We have something important we want to discuss." "Okay," Nate said as he tucked the tablet in the corner beside him. "Thank you," Aiden said."Alright,
Two Months Later. Things were a lot better for Katherine and her family. She was now seven months pregnant and couldn't wait to give birth. She had to take a break from doing too much work, so she mostly worked in the office of the Café. The twins were back to their old routine, especially Nate. He still visits Dr. Coleman once a week for one-on-one sessions, and exceptional progress have been made. He had a few more visits until the sessions would be over all together.Since the one-on-one sessions had been happening, they would bring Nate to the doctor, and wait in the lounge area until the sessions were done. Katherine and Aiden took turns in bringing Nate to his sessions depending on how busy they were. If they were both free on a specific day, they would all go togetherAiden picked up Nate from school while Kat was busy at work. Nola wanted Nate to stay and watch her practice, but Aiden promised her he would come back for her after her swimming lessons were done.He drove Nate
"What do you think it means?" Katherine asked Doctor Coleman. After Nate showed his drawing, he didn't care to talk about it. Instead, he turned his attention to his tablet. Katherine was worried, and Aiden couldn't help but feel helpless in the situation, so they pulled Dr. Coleman to the side to get to the bottom of things. "Well, it's clear that he has something bothering him.""Maybe I should ask him about it," Katherine pondered. "Baby, remember we tried, and he completely shut down." Aiden reminded her."I know, but I just want him to feel better. He gets up screaming in the middle of the night. He's not eating like he used to, and he's a bit withdrawn.""And these are all expected since he just went through a traumatic situation," Dr. Coleman began. "I would recommend one-on-one sessions for him." "You think that would help, doctor?""It's always worth the try." He answered. "He's the best I know, so let's see what will happen," Aiden suggested. "Alright," Kat finally agr
The next day, Aiden scheduled an appointment for the family to see the therapist. Surprising, the doctor squeezed them in that very same day. He also scheduled another appointment for Katherine to meet with her doctor, since she had been going through a stressful situation. "Nate and Nola are ready," Katherine told Aiden. She had left him on the phone with some clients while she got the kids ready for the day. "Give me a sec, my love," he said to her with his hands covering the mouthpiece of his cell. He then turned his attention back to the call.Katherine went and got herself ready in the meantime. After finishing up the call, Aiden got himself ready, then he and his family headed to the doctor's appointment. The therapist's office was quiet and quaint. Katherine was surprised to know that a renowned therapist would see them on such short notice, but she was getting used to the idea of things being less complicated and hassle-free since she's married to a very wealthy man. "He
The next day, it was time for everyone to go home. Violet, however, had to wait a few days before the process of being extradited was completed. "We're all set and ready to go," Aiden told the pilot after boarding the jet. Liam and Dustin fell asleep instantly as the aircraft took flight. Even though Aiden was tired as hell, he couldn't fall asleep. He watched as Nate looked through the window, admiring the scenery as they ascended high into the sky. "What's on your mind?" Aiden asked Nate as his gaze fell from a comic book that he was reading. "Oh, nothing," Nate answered. "Are you sure, sweetie?" Katherine asked when she noticed how sad his face looked. "Well, I was just wondering what my sister is doing," he said calmly. "Maybe sleeping," Kat said after checking the time. "It's still pretty early in the morning." "Oh, you’re probably right," Nate said quietly. "Yes, but I'm sure she will be thrilled to see you," Kat reassured. "I think so too," Aiden added. "In fact, ever