𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁

Chapter 18

February 17th, 2022

3RD PERSON

"Okay, my mom is here." Rhianna stated when she saw her mom's car park outside of the house through the window.

"Noo, stay a little more." Phoebe whined, making her best puppy eyes as she tried to convince Rhianna to stay.
"I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Ugh, okay. I will bring this to school."
"Okay." Phoebe followed Rhianna out to the front porch.

Just at the same time, Jaden was leaving the house for his dinner date too.

So he said bye to his kids, waving at Rhianna and Sasha that were in car before they drove off.

He drove to Linda's office, waiting for her to come out leaned on his car.

He looked down at his hands that were crossed over his torso. It felt and seemed so empty without the ring on his hand.

And he felt as if he was betraying Isabella at some level, but he decided to trust his daughters when they said she would want him to meet someone else that would make him happy.

"Hey."
"Hi. Did you wait for me too long?" Jaden and Linda smiled and gave a hug to each other before pulling away.

"Nah, I just arrived. Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Jaden opened the doors for Linda, before walking over to his side.

"So, how was work?"
"Exhausting, but also kind of exciting today."
"Good combination." Jaden chuckled as he looked at Linda, "Why's that?"

"Oh, I got told I'm getting to work on a higher position." Linda stated with a smile on her face.
"Really?"
"Yeah, one of judges is going to retire in two weeks, and so they had to make a choice and find someone 'worthy' of his place. And it looks like I'm the one."
"That's amazing."
"Yeah, it is."

Once they made it to the restaurant, waitress showed them their table, leaving them to check out the menu.

"Do you know what you want to eat?" Jaden asked as he finsihed looking through the menu and decided whta he want to eat.
"Yeah. Do you?"
"Yeah." Jaden chuckled as he called the waitress over.

They talked while waiting for their food. Jaden found Linda very polite, but funny woman.

"No, but not many people actually like Gordon. I mean you're new in the city, but I'm pretty sure you already heard about him." Linda and Jaden were currently talking about her job and about the judge that is retiring.

"So Gordon is retiring in two weeks?" Jaden asked shocked, now getting even more invested in what Linda was talking about.
"Yeah." Just as Linda answered waitress came with their food.

"That means Jimmy and Jason are going down soon too?" Jaden asked, more hope building in his body to save Sasha and her kids.
"I'm pretty sure that will happen. So you know about them?"
"Yeah. That's great."
"Yeah. They are nothing without Gordon to protect them."

Jaden felt so happy that Phoebe and Sara made him go on this date. He found out some amazing news.

——

"No Jaden, that's really not okay for you to pay the whole dinner."
"Oh calm down, Linda. It's no big deal. Ready to go?"
"Next time it's on me." Next time.

They got their jackets on and left the restaurant, making their way to Jaden's car.

"I had an amazing evening with you, Jaden." Linda said as Jaden parked in front of her house.
"Me too."
"We should definitely do it again some time. Do you wanna come inside?" Linda asked, not in a way to get Jaden in her house, but more just being polite. At the end of the day, he drove her around and paid for the whole dinner.

"No, thank you. I'm going to head home to my kids and see if they made any mess." Jaden chuckled, making Linda nod with a smile.
"Okay then. Call me when you're free?"
"I will." Jaden smiled at woman, before she left the car.

Jaden drove back to his house. He actually thought about going on another date some time soon.

"Hello." Sara and Phoebe peaked their heads from the corner with smiles on their faces when they saw their dad walk in the house.

"Hi." Jaden chuckled as he set his car keys on their place.

"How was it?"
"He has a smile on his face, I bet there will be another date." Phoebe teased as they lead their dad to the couch while he laughed.

"Talk."
"Spill." They both said at the same time, making Jaden laugh even more.

"You guys are really funny."
"That's not what we told you to say. We want to know everything."
"What, I picked her up, drove to the restaurant, we ate and I drove her back to her home." Jaden quickly explained with a smile on his face as he thought his daughters looked fmvery funny.

"Daddd!"
"More details."
"Do you like her?"
"Is there going to be another date?"
"Did you kiss?" Jaden laughed, throwing his head back. Sara and Phoebe were bragging about it so much, it was too funny to him.

"There might be another date. But no, we didn't kiss." Jaden stated the truth, making girls' eyes lit up.
"Yay!" Girls jumped on their dad, hugging him as he continued to laugh.

"We're so happy for you dad!"
"Did you guys eat the dinner?" Jaden asked, looking over to the kitchen counter.
"Yeah, it was delicious."
"Good. Did C shower? Where's he even?"
"He took Astor to back yard." Sara answered, making Jaden get up.

"Oh, okay. I'm just gonna go say hi to him. It's late, he should go to bed." Jaden kissed his daughter's cheeks before getting up and walking to the back yard.

"Hey." Jaden said as he approached his little son in their back yard.
"Hi Poppy." Connor smiled at his dad, giving Astor enough time to steal his toy from Connor's hand.

"What's up? Why are you out here? Isn't it a little cold?"
"No, Astor and I are playing."
"It's late buddy, you have school tomorrow. I think it's time for shower and bed." Jaden stated, making Connor sigh.

"Ugh, okay."
"C'mon Rudolph." Jaden kissed his head as he lead Connor back inside with Astor following them.

"Do you need help to shower?"
"No."
"Okay."

"Why don't you girls get ready for the bed too?" Jaden asked, making his daughter's get up with a little groans and murmurs. Soon, all three of kids disappeared upstairs in their rooms.

Madi:
Break tomorrow. I need to hear about everything.

Jaden chuckled as he read the message, shaking his head.

Jaden:
Okay. Standard place.

He got up and went to his room. Once he showered he went to Connor's room to check up on him and say goodnight.

"You ready for bed buddy?"
"Mhm."
"Okay. Sleep tight." Jaden kissed his head before turning off his lamp and going out of his room.

He said goodnight to Sara and Phoebe before going to the doors to check if they're locked and turned off the lights.

He laid in his bed, but it wasn't too long until he heard his doors open and close. Someone climbed in the bed beside him, scooting closer to his body.

"Hey buddy. Came for cuddles?" Jaden smiled as he turned around and looked at Connor through the dark.

"Yeah." Connor whispered, making Jaden scoot closer as he pulled Connor in his chest.

He made sure Connor was all covered up under the blankets, before placing a kiss on his head.

"I love you daddy."
"I love you."

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