"Ok, we'll meet you at Victoria Station at five. Thanks for letting me know, Violet." "You're welcome, dear. Everyone's excited to meet you and little Sasha!" I chuckled under my breath. "I hope so. Thanks again. Have a good afternoon." "You too. See you at five," click! Lowering my phone down from my ear, I glanced over at Sasha, who was still munching away at some ginger nuts in the kitchen. I was standing out in the hall, unaware that there had been a knock at the door which our nice hostess answered. She approached me with a pleasant grin, motioning to the parlour situated behind her with her thumb.

"Someone's here to see you, doctor." "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Jenkins. Uh, can you please keep an eye on him?" My forefinger pointed to my son and she kindly nodded. "Yes, of course. Take your time, I'll teach Sasha how to bake some sultana scones." "Heh, thank you, ma'am. This shouldn't take long," I assumed- wrongly- that Daphne had popped by to pay me a visit. We didn't get a chance to speak much yesterday and I'd like to get to know her more. But my heart instantly jumped up into my throat when I rounded the corner to the parlour, finding NOT Daphne standing in the middle of the room waiting for me.

My throat grew as dry as cotton; I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. My body felt like it was sunburnt all over….. "A-Anthony?!" The man darted around on his heels to look at him; his face pale and as flushed as mine. His lips parted a sliver but it took a moment for any sound to come out. "Miss… Er, Dr. Sharma. Good morning," his hands clasped behind his back as I could tell he was attempting to gain full control of the situation. It didn't help that I acted like a shocked, speechless little kitten, ogling him flabbergasted and concerned. And my heart was still beating a mile a minute…..

"What are you doing here?!" I suddenly found the courage to ask, nay demand as I stomped into the living room, getting closer to him. My next thought beside absolute stun was Sasha; this is NOT how I envisioned him being re-introduced to his father. I didn't really have an idea of how that would play out, but I knew for certain that this WASN'T it.

Anthony blinked, arching his back a tad. His expression tried to contort to one of distain, though I could tell by the colour underneath his eyes that he was caught off guard too. "D-Don't flatter yourself. I'm not here to see you….. Or well, I am, but not for the reason you might think." Frowning and trying myself to look serious, my arms crossed unimpressed. "Keep your voice down. I don't want Sasha to hear you." This made him frown for real, furrowing his eyebrows. "May I remind you that he's MY son too? I can talk to my kid if I want to." "I beg to differ. Now what do you want? What are you doing here?"

He paused, nearly froze, suddenly glancing away from my demanding stare like he was embarrassed. To ease the tension he was clearing feeling, he coughed into his hand, clearing his throat before verbally responding. "I-I'm here…. I'm here to…. to apologize."

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Apologize? I didn't even know he knew how to do that. Was that word in his vocabulary? Evidently so….. Blinking incredulity, my head cocked to the side slightly. "Apologize?" I repeated unintentionally and his cheek muscles stiffened up once more- he was obviously very uncomfortable right now. "Like I said, don't flatter yourself. I-It was my sister's idea. She said I should come over here to smooth out the waters….. B-Before our, er my family met you and Sasha," if I didn't know any better, I'd say the colour under his eyelids was getting pinker.

If I didn't know any better…

Sensing an in here, I felt the compulsion to be playful. I had him in the palm of my hand now, after all; it might be fun to watch him squirm a little. Keeping my arms crossed, a mischievous grin crept across my face. "Apologize for what?" Oh…. Oh the glare he flashed me just then made it all worthwhile. He looked like he wanted to throttle me and was doing everything in his power to resist. His strong hands balled into annoyed fists down at his sides.

"You know what for!" "Pfft, some apology," I rolled my eyes and Anthony huffed in anger. "I didn't come here to beg your pardon, "Dr. Sharma". It's merely an act of courtesy." "An act of courtesy? After what you said to me yesterday," my voice unconsciously rose a little and his chin bowed a tad. "I shouldn't have said that. I was upset and furious and…. and…." "So you saw fit to take it out on me?" My eyebrow raised and his sharp glare returned my way. "That wasn't my intention! Try being in my shoes! This woman shows up out of nowhere with a kid, declaring that it's yours. Any man would be taken more than a little aback, all things considered." "Great. Then you know how I felt the morning I woke up to find a strange little boy in my room calling me "Mom". We're both in the same boat now."

Anthony didn't reply to this immediately, instead staring intently at my face for a second. It's like the reality of the matter was finally hitting him for the first time, and his brain was rebooting. But then something scary happened; something downright terrifying.

I wanted to smile.

It hit me just then how much I enjoy looking at his face, his gorgeous, perfectly symmetrical features. God, he's so lovely….. I could stare at his face, those eyes all day. I'd never seen anyone like him before; someone so…. so physically attractive. And what made it so terrifying was that I DIDN'T want to have these sorts of thoughts. I didn't want to be attracted to my sister's fiancé! How morally wrong and bankrupt was that?! There had to be some way to turn it off. I'm sure if he insulted and yelled at me more, I'd get the "ick" from him soon enough. But even when I imagined him doing this, the raw, human attraction was still there. Even the sound of his voice…. It's like it was etched into my memory somehow. I'd never forget it, no matter how hard I tried. I didn't know I could feel this way….. This wrong, horrible, disgusting, dastardly way.

Anthony too… He just stood there, still as a statue, beholding me for a long minute. His fingers kept rolling in and out from his palms. His lips eventually opened a tiny bit, but nothing came out- at least for a second. I watched him inhale deeply, and when he spoke next, he used a tone I'd never heard from him before. "I'm sorry….."

Another heartbeat skipped. I felt the sudden urge to comfort him, and I had no idea where this came from. It's like when Sasha's scared or upset; it's just there and all-consuming, whether I like it or not.

"N-No! It's ok… I-It's….." "It's not ok. You're… You're the mother of my child. Daphne's right; you deserve….. heh, a modicum of respect," he chuckled, smirking and I couldn't stop myself from grinning at this. "Oh? Just a modicum?" "One step at a time, Dr. Sharma; one step at a time." "Well, I guess if you can do that for me, I can show you a "modicum" of respect too." He chuckled once more, shaking his head softly. Then his eyes met mine again.

"Let's face it. You don't like me." "Oh, I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole," I freely admitted with a cheeky grin, and he rolled his eyes. "My sentiments exactly. We don't get on, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But we should at least try to be civil…. At least in front of my family. F-For Sasha's sake," he was quick to add on. After watching him another moment, a calm smile graced my lips and my head lowered a bit. If I didn't know any better- again- I'd say there was a hint of melancholy to my gesture and body language just then….

"You're right. After all, we're going to be brother and sister-in-law. We should at least try to get along." Anthony's muscles visibly tensed at this and he didn't say anything. After another quick look into each other's eyes, he cleared his throat again, swiftly brushing past me to head for the exit of the room. I didn't budge an inch, keeping my back to him, so I didn't see when he stopped to steal one last peak my way. I only heard his steps stop right before the hall and he stood there for a second, glancing in my direction with his lips parted ever so gently. Then, after a very tense moment, he chuckled softly to himself, lowering his eyes so incredibly sincerely.

"Heh, why do I get the feeling that it'll be very hard for us to get along?" "Maybe because we don't like each other?" I responded, not daring to peer over my shoulder. My heart was already racing so fast, I feared I might faint any minute now. His breathing could almost be heard from where I was standing too….. Another soft chuckle fell from his moist lips. "Heh, it's not my fault. I'm used to women being more agreeable. You're the only one who's been nothing but a ripe headache this whole time." My mouth dropped open a touch as my balled up hand lifted to my red-hot chest. I think my breathing was audible right now too….. "And you're definitely NOT a headache for me," I quipped back sarcastically. This made him chuckle one final time, authentically so…. "You're so different…. I can't remember ever meeting a girl like you. Heh, not that that's a compliment." "Heh, then I won't take it as one, "Mr. Bridgerton"." And he smiled- his first real smile in my presense. I can't remember seeing him smile- like at all- before this moment. Not a smirk, not a menacing grin, but a smile. Just a smile. "Well, I will give you one thing.

Despite how utterly infuriating you are, you're easy to be around, "Dr. Sharma"."