8 Zoey

"The girls are not just fucking rude and demanding but they are the true definition of little devils. Just take a look at what they did to my hair and clothes," Summer, who bumped into Brayden at the door, complained bitterly.

Not only did Marley and Monalisa splash water all over her white shirt and make it transparent but they repeatedly pulled at her hair when she tried to dress them up.

"I know they went overboard by ruining your hair and clothes but I wished you would be a little understanding. They are kids after all and I am sure they acted in a similar way when Ethan was alive. You don't expect them to change overnight…"

"It is fine if they behaved that way with President Ethan, he was their father but you are not him but Brayden Lawrence," an angry Summer interrupted fiercely.

"He will never come back. From now onwards you need to repeatedly make them understand that you are not their father and as such will not condone their silly behaviours…"

"Will you just shut up!" Brayden hollered. His angry voice vibrated like thunder, forcing Summer to shut up like he wanted.

"The girls are in front of you listening to everything you say. If you are not gonna filter your words carefully, I will suggest that you leave right now," Brayden ordered while pointing at the exit. He hurried to the startled girls' side without sparing Summer another glance.

"Yes, you were right that they aren't my biological kids but they are still family. And that is all that matters," Brayden added.

He averted his attention back to the girls after he told Summer how he truly felt.

Summer stood at the door and watched Brayden dress the girls up without being able to say anything.

"I have a shoot coming up in twenty minutes. I need to leave now but I promise to come back some other day," Summer said. She swerved and left the house when Brayden said nothing to her.

For two weeks Brayden had to juggle between his work and taking care of the two girls left in his care.

Because of this, he had no time for himself not to mention going back to his past lifestyle.

For a guy like him who loved hanging out, having to move from home to the office and repeating the same thing every day was hell no one could understand.

Today, just like every other day Jillian left home early in the morning in search of work. She returned late in the afternoon frustrated after another futile effort.

After gulping down a glass of chilled water she moved to the green sofa in the living room to rest her tired body.

She hadn't laid down on the green sofa for up to five minutes when she dozed.

An hour after Jillian fell asleep, her cell phone rang thereby forcing the exhausted lady to wake up.

Without opening her eyes Jillian reached out her hand and carried her cell phone from the centre table where it lay.

"Jill, how was it? Did you succeed in getting the job this time around?" A worried lady's voice asked as soon as Jillian answered the line and brought the phone close to her ears.

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? You are scaring me with your silence," the anxious lady shouted when she got no response despite waiting for a while.

"Nothing changed, Zoe. Every mall and boutique I went to said they can't employ me because they don't want to be on Actress Summer's bad side," Jillian replied. She opened her eyes and sat up with her back leaning against the sofa.

"You said there were no other customers around at the time of the incident, so how did news of what happened spread to other malls and boutiques?" Zoey, Jillian's best friend asked out of concern.

The tall lady of about 5ft 4.96in lady in a green jumpsuit moved away from where her colleagues sat so that she could talk to Jillian comfortably.

"I became her fan after watching her movie ANGEL IN TROUBLE. I thought she looked like an angel with a good heart not knowing that she was more like a devil in real life. She has it all so I wonder why she would act petty over what you said. Besides, it wasn't a lie when you said the dress was smaller than her," Zoey vented, her fist clasped as if she was the one in trouble.

"Thinking about it now I feel like she might have made things deliberately hard for you because she feels threatened by your looks and figure…"

"She is your idol after all. You don't have to badmouth her to make me feel better," Jillian replied, her eyes fixed on the white wall clock on the wall across her.

"And so what if she is my idol?" Zoey hissed, her head cocked to the sides. "My best friend will always come first before an idol," Zoey declared.

Knowing how awful must be feeling Zoey abandoned her colleagues and spoke to Jillian on the phone for a long time.

"I know you must be feeling awful that the reputation you had built for years had gone down the drain because of one insecure lady's words. Do you want me to come over to spend the night?" Zoey asked after spending over fifteen minutes on the phone with Jillian.

"I know today is the day you always set out to spend quality time with Marvin. I am not that heartless to steal that from you. Besides, my Bae is coming back soon so you don't have to worry about me," Jillian turned down her offer.

"I trust Oliver that he will take care of you but not as well as I would have done…"

BOOM***

A blast that erupted at Jillian's end made Zoey and Jillian jump to their feet.

"Jill," the startled Zoey called the moment she regained her composure.

"Jill, come on say something. What happened over there," Zoey shouted forgetting that she was in a cafe filled with other customers.