"You have to stop calling me like this. My girlfriend is starting to ask questions."

Harry scowled at the road upon Jason's dry response coming through the phone. He was still mad, Elena's words still ringing in his head. He was not a starchy workaholic and he had a sense of fun, whatever that was. And he wasn't trying to control her.

"Harry? You there? Did you butt-dial me-"

"I'm here,"he said, saying anything to stop him from talking. The car system was a bit too good as it projected his cousin's voice all over. Silence reigned for a few moments.

"So why'd you call? I take it that this isn't a social call and you did something wrong again? Or is this your new form of torture? Dead air."

"Why am I wrong? Why can't it be her fault?"Harry demanded as he overtook a slower car. He was driving from beaches to beaches, anything to get her words out of his head. So far, it hadn't done anything. In fact, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he agreed with her.

Having grown up with abysmal parents, with all their attention and energy equally split between the company and Xavier, he had keenly felt their absence. And when they had given him attention in his early twenties, he was ashamed to say that he had changed much to fit into their preferred image of him. Becoming cold, distant, arrogant.

It hadn't been until he's met April a few months ago that he'd been confronted with the changes within him. Jason had torn into him a new one when he had been his usual arrogant self. And, now that he thought about it, he didn't blame his cousin. It had, in fact, brought them closer.

Which was one of the reasons why he was going to Jason for advice about Elena even though their cousin, Cameron Ballard, had been married much longer with a lot of kids. If they didn't know any better, it looked like Cameron was aiming to get a whole football team. Another reason would be the fact that Jason was also running his own company so he had to have the same trials and tribulations.

With that in mind, Harry returned back to the conversation at hand while parking in an empty lot. As late as it was, he wasn't surprised at the emptiness. It suited his purpose. He needed to focus on this conversation and navigating the roads wasn't going to help. Even if he knew the roads like the back of his hand; this was the only activity that had helped him destress since he'd taken over.

"Cuz, we're guys. Unlike women, we don't call each other just to catch up. There's always a reason. Now, I know you're worried about Xavier but you wouldn't call me for that. The only other reason would be Elena. So what'd you do?"

"What's your opinion on women working?" Harry could tell he'd surprised Jason from the short silence but he truly didn't know how to broach the subject. He didn't want to admit that he's wrong.

"Well, let's see. As long as they have the necessary skills, they should do whatever they want to. Why are you even asking- Wait. You didn't- Harry, did you do what I think you did?" From his dread and horrified tone, Harry knew he'd really messed up. "Harry, tell me you didn't tell Elena not to work?"

"I'd be lying if I said that,"Harry said, trying to lighten the mood but even his own tone was dour.

"Why? Despite your charity auction a few months ago, I know you're an avid supporter of women's rights. You support charities that advance women's access to education, sanitary products-"

"I don't need a recounting of my past philanthropic endeavours. What I need is advice. How can I get Elena to stop working?" Harry knew there was a very low chance that Jason would answer that question and he was right when Jason let out a snort of disbelief.

"I think what you need is a kick up your ass. When did you regress to being a Neanderthal?"

Unable to take the ribbing, Harry decided to turn the table back on Jason. "What'd you do if April wanted to work?"he shot.

"I'd say alright and ask who's going to take care of these kids. Unlike you, I don't have any problem with her asserting her independence. It's the fact that she wants to take care of the kids more. God, of all people, you're the last person I thought would have an issue with this. What did she say when you showed this side of you?"

"She-" He paused while he let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, the toll of the past few days came over him. Exhaustion was pulling at his bones, making gravity's pull even stronger. He'd tried to be reason it out in his head but his knee-jerk reaction was to get her to stop and move in. And it took all of his energy to stop the words that wanted to rush out. He knew he could have been a lot worse than he had been. "She took it as well as you think."

"Dude. Man. I don't know what to say to help you. I don't even know why you called me."

"This isn't the only reason we're fighting. She keeps saying that I'm going to be an absentee father. It's a point of contention between the both of us. So how do I convince her that it won't be like that once the boys are here?"

"Well, the simplest way would be to show her now. Show her that you can carve out time and spend it with her. Prioritise her and the kids. But that's also the hardest thing to do." Amusement momentarily sparked in his gloom. Jason sounded aggrieved and as morose as he was.

"I thought you had this down?"he asked, not resisting the urge to tease his younger cousin. He needed something to be going for him tonight.

"When did I give that impression? If anything, I'm worse off than you. My son doesn't want to be more than five feet away from me or my girlfriend. He clings and won't let go. My daughter is having an early start on the Terrible Twos stage. Everyday, I will hear April and her scream. And, the worse of all, April. My girlfriend cries at the drop of a hat. Commercials, food, clothes. All and any would make her cry. Then she'd complain about her weight. And how her clothes won't fit her. How her ankles are so swollen that her shoes won't fit her-"

"Are you complaining about me?"

Harry had to cover his mouth when April's voice came over the phone. His lips lifted up into a wide smile as April began to tearfully shout. Not that he enjoyed her pain. What he was really enjoying was how Jason was stuttering and struggling to calm his distraught girlfriend. He mustn't know that the call was still active. From the way their voices were sounding, Harry had a feeling Jason had thrown his phone to the side when April has announced her presence.

"-I know you hate me. I'm so fat and ugly-"

"No. Babe. I don't hate you. And you might be fat but you're never ugly. Um, that's not what I mean-" Harry winced.

"You're saying I'm fat?" Harry was lost. Now she sounded mad. She was crying a second ago. Was this the extreme mood swings he'd read about?

"What? No! Babe. Baby. Wait. Stop. Let me explain-"

That was the last he heard from them. The sound of a door slamming shut explained why. Ending the call, Harry couldn't help let out a short laugh. Typical of Jason. He always put his foot in his mouth at the worst occasions. Ever since he was a kid. Surprisingly, he had managed to overcome this hurdle to succeed in the corporate world. Unfortunately, that was still a major stumbling block in his personal life.

Starting his car again, Harry decided to return to the city. And as he drove out of the parking lot, Jason's words came back.

The simplest thing would be to show her.

He couldn't help but agree.

But how?

----@@@@----

Walking into the store, Elena gave Lara a wan smile. She hadn't had a good night's sleep, tossing and turning, vacillating between anger and crying. She was officially worn out.

It was taking all she had to not burst out into tears. From the way her had been leaking all night, she thought she was all out of tears. Her body was proving her wrong. And she didn't even know why she was crying. She shouldn't care so much about what that goat was trying to do-

Her mind stopped working when she entered her office. Her eyes flitting over the desk and shelves. The couch and the seats. The walls and the floor. Everything had changed.

The walls were now a bright pale yellow, a stark contrast from the mud brown it had been yesterday. And she could see the walls, which meant all the posters and hooks were gone. Both made the room seem bigger and brighter.

Although the bookshelves are the same, the shelves themselves were neatly arranged. Everything was still in its place but just less cluttered. All the papers placed in clearly labelled boxes.

Even the floor was cleared of all boxes and unnecessary items. The hardwood floor was gleaming, all so shiny that she could almost look at her reflection.

And her desk. It was clear. Nothing on it apart from her stationary, desktop and the file she had been working on when she'd left yesterday. Exactly as she wanted to achieve in the near future. All completed within a single night.

"Do you like it?"Lara asked.

AN: Hey guys. Hope you're well. What do you think about this chapter? Do you like the ending? I feel that it's so cute. I think they're just so adorbs together.

Anyways, please VOTE and COMMENT if you like it. And don't forget to follow me on Wattpad and Twitter, sai_rahman.

THANKS