Sorry for the mixup and confusion! This is the right chapter.

The next morning!

Fran is sitting at the breakfast table together with the Kents. She is tired and barely listens to the babbling of the girls. She spent a restless night. The situation with Maxwell kept her awake all night. Mrs. Kent eyes Fran with great concern. She notices that Fran is unusually quiet.

"Miss Fine, are you not feeling well? You seem a little distraught." Fran tries to smile.

"No, Mrs Kent. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, probably from the jet lag." Mr Kent nods encouragingly at her.

"Yes, it can really throw you off track. I advise you take it easy this morning. The driver can take the girls to school by himself. Get some rest."

"That's very nice, but it's not necessary. Besides, I have an appointment this morning." During the rest of breakfast time, Mrs. Kent keeps looking over at her. Her female instinct tells her that the jet lag is not the only reason for Fran's tiredness. She suspects that she urgently needs to talk to her nanny and decides to wait for the next best situation.

A short time later, Fran takes Meredith to school and Susan to kindergarten. She sighs in relief after saying goodbye to Susan. She promised her with pinkyswear that she would also pick her up again together with the driver. Fran lets the driver take her to the café, where Maxwell wants to meet with her. She enjoys the peace and quiet on the rest of the journey. The incessant chatter of the two girls was a bit too much for her this morning. When she arrives at the café, Fran looks through the window and discovers that Maxwell is not there yet. This suits her very well, because she already came up with a plan.

Fran has made up her mind to finally confront Maxwell with the newspaper article and the photo this morning. She reaches into her jacket to check that she really did have the article with her. Fran also wants to explain to Maxwell the situation with Aaron. She hopes that he will understand it. After all, Fran herself is not aware of any guilt. The whole thing was entirely her mother's idea. Fran calms herself with the thought that Maxwell has always reacted quite sensibly and never overly jealously. Here in London it often happened as well that another guy had noticed Fran, waved to her or wanted to invite her for a drink or a dance. Maxwell always reacted in a cool way, because he noticed that Fran never responded to these advances. Sometimes he had stepped in and played her protector, making it clear to the guys that Fran was in a relationship with him. This always impressed her very much.

She keeps looking impatiently into the crowd until she finally spots Maxwell and waves to him.

Maxwell is looking forward to his date with Fran, his heart visibly pounding. He is absolutely certain by now that Fran had seen the article and that stupid picture and that's why she was acting so weird. He is a little annoyed with himself for not telling her about CC right away. He knows that this doesn't put him in a good position. He hopes that Fran will still believe him that the whole situation was perfectly innocent. As Maxwell approaches the café, he is very surprised to see Fran outside the café. He wonders why she isn't waiting for him inside and prays that this isn't a bad sign.

But at first everything goes very smoothly. Fran and Maxwell hug each other warmly in greeting. Maxwell looks at her amused.

"What are you doing outside Francine? Enjoying the rare sun while it's shining for once?" Fran winks at him.

"Something like that. I also have a suggestion. How about we go for a walk? I feel the need of some fresh air this morning. And I'm not really hungry. I've already had so much breakfast at the Kents' and if I drink another coffee I'll have a heart attack."

Maxwell stares at her in shock. Was that really his Fran, who preferred to exercise rather than eat some cake in a cozy café? But finally he agrees. They don't have far to go before they reach the park. They stroll through the green area for a while.

Maxwell puts his arm around her.

"And how are you feeling this morning? Are you feeling the jet lag a lot?"

"It's okay. I'm a little tired, but it's not that bad. Or do I look that terrible?"

Maxwell takes her in his arms and strokes her face gently.

"On the contrary. That tired face suits you perfectly. You look really sweet. I'm just imagining how charming you must look in the morning, with sleepy little eyes, a wrinkled face and disheveled hair." Fran gives him a mocking stare.

"I really missed your special British humor." Maxwell grins and puts his arms around her waist.

"And you didn't miss anything else about me?" Fran smiles mysteriously at him, but doesn't answer.

"And what about you? Did you miss me?"

"You bet!" Maxwell plays with her hair. "Every day I counted the minutes and seconds. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're back."

He softly strokes her lips and kisses her deeply. Fran gives in to his caresses and returns his kisses. She feels a pleasant shiver running through her entire body. His kisses feel so good. Fran looks deep into his eyes. His gaze is warm, open and loving. This can't all be just an act and a pretense. Fran's heart starts beating very fast. She must finally know the truth.