By the time Mari reached the kitchen, the call connected.

"Hey, Mari. Jamal is not close to his phone right now," Dawn said the moment she answered the call.

Mari smiled. "Hey, Dawn! How are you?"

Dawn smiled. "I’m fine. You?"

"I’m good. Let’s see how we can hang out soon. Just us both. And then we can plan a double date or something. How does that sound?"

Dawn grinned, "Let’s definitely do that. I was telling Jamal earlier how I can’t wait to meet your boyfriend."

Mari laughed. "You’ll all meet him soon."

"Alright. I will tell Jamal you called."

"Please do."

After hanging up, Mari opened the refrigerator. A few seconds later, she emerged with an apple.

She had barely taken a bite when the front door opened, and she looked up just as Chad and Venita walked in.

Chad and Venita froze when they saw her. The siblings looked equally surprised to see her.

"Hello, Mari!" Chad greeted.

"When did you get here?" Venita asked.

Mari folded her arms as she looked from Chad to Venita. "When did you decide it was okay to let your brother lock himself inside a studio and work himself to death?"

Both siblings exchanged a look.

"That’s usually how he works," Chad admitted.

Mari frowned. "Then all of you need to do better. He wasn’t looking so good. Just so you know, he’s not your identical twin anymore. Anyone can tell you both apart now. Somebody needs to make sure he rests as much as he works."

Chad and Venita exchanged a look, equally amused by how concerned Mari seemed.

"We’ll do better," Chad promised.

"Yeah, you should. I’ve placed him on compulsory bed rest. I was hungry, so I came to find something to munch on." Mari pointed at her apple before turning to walk away.

Then Chad asked before she could leave, "When did you arrive?"

"Around noon."

"Did you tell Jax we came to visit you?" Venita asked quickly.

Mari shrugged. "That was not my business to tell. I came here to see my boyfriend. Not to report family meetings."

Both siblings looked relieved until a familiar voice sounded behind them.

"What family meeting?"

Everyone turned.

Jax stood at the stairway. His hair was messy and his eyes still looked sleepy.

Mari immediately scowled. "Why are you out of bed?"

"Because I slept long enough."

Then he looked at Chad and Venita. "You went to visit her?"

Mari took another bite of her apple as both Chad and Venita looked at her.

She jerked her head toward Jax. "You tell him."

Chad sighed. "We visited Mari and her father earlier today."

Jax frowned as he turned to Mari. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Mari shrugged. "Because it wasn’t a big deal."

Jax looked at her.

Mari continued calmly, "They wanted to tell you themselves. And since it wasn’t bad news, I let them."

She pointed at Chad and Venita. "You should be proud of them actually. They took the initiative to apologise. That should count for something, right?"

Both siblings looked grateful.

Jax looked at his siblings for a moment. Then he nodded slightly.

"Well done."

The relief on both their faces was immediate.

Mari clapped once. "Great. Curiosity satisfied."

Then she pointed toward the hallway. "Now let’s get you back to bed."

Jax smiled. "I’m fine. I’ve slept enough."

She looked at him for a moment. "Alright. Why don’t you play video games with Chad?" She said, wanting both brothers to spend some bonding time alone as usual.

Before Jax could respond, Mari turned to Venita. "Let’s all have dinner together."

Venita immediately nodded. "I’ll get right on it."

"Why don’t we order something? It’s on me. You all, tell me what you want for dinner and I’ll order it in. We can see a movie together or play games," Mari suggested.

Jax shook his head with amusement as he watched Mari take Chad’s and Venita’s food orders.

Jax walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist when she was done.

"Come upstairs with me for a moment," he said as Chad and Venita walked to the kitchen area.

"You haven’t told me what you want yet."

Jax leaned down and whispered into her ears, "You’re my dinner."

Mari laughed as she followed him. "You need real food."

"You’re real food."

She giggled again. "I’m dessert. Let’s get this to the main dish."

"You’re my appetizer and dessert."

They laughed as they walked up the stairs together, then Mari looked up at him hopefully.

"So, can I see the painting now?"

"No."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"It’s not ready."

"It doesn’t have to be ready. I just want to see what you’re working on..."

"You will see it when it’s ready."

She pouted. "That’s not fair."

"It is very fair. I want you to see it when it’s finished. I want to see your reaction then."

Mari groaned dramatically. "This is torture."

Jax laughed. "Torture was waking up and not finding you on my side. I thought you left."

"I only went to the bathroom then came down to find something to eat."

"Doesn’t make it less torture."

Mari giggled, then narrowed her eyes when they got to the top of the stairs. "Remind me again, why are we upstairs?"

Jax’s lips twitched as he looked down at her. "To continue our discussion."

"What discussion?"

"The one about you marrying me."

Mari burst into laughter. "You are unbelievable."

Jax smiled. "I’m very believable. And I also happen to be clear-headed now."

Mari laughed again. "Okay."

"Good." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Then together they walked into the bedroom, and the moment they shut the door behind them, Jax pulled Mari to himself.

"So..." Mari drawled.

"Start by telling me what happened at your place. Do you think your dad has forgiven them?" Jax asked as he sat on the bed and made her sit on his thigh.

"He was still pretty pissed. But I know he will come around slowly. They’re your siblings, so he has no choice."

Jax exhaled slowly. "I hope so."

Mari kissed his cheek. "Don’t worry about it."

"I think you kissed the wrong place," Jax said, making her laugh when he puckered his lips.

Mari kissed him lightly.

"Back to our discussion. You said you don’t mind marrying me soon..."

"I have several conditions," Mari quickly said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Let’s hear them."

"One, I want you to forgive your siblings. By that, I mean fully."

"I’ve forgiven them," Jax rushed to assure her, "But going back to the way it was before between us would be difficult."

"I understand that. But you could put in more effort. They’re still tiptoeing around you..."

"They should," Jax said firmly.

Mari raised a brow. "Do you want us to get married or not?"

Jax scowled. "Are you saying you won’t marry me until I totally forget that my brother and sister conspired to get you killed?"

"Like you said, they’re your brother and sister. And they are sorry. I’m asking you to put in more effort into fixing the rift. That’s all," Mari pleaded.

"Like playing games with Chad and having dinner with them?" Jax asked dryly.

"Yeah. I love the bond between you and Chad. They did what they thought was best for your family. Let it go," Mari said softly.

Jax scoffed. "You’re more forgiving than I imagined. But I’ve heard you. I will put in more effort. Satisfied?"

"Satisfied. My second condition..."

Jax groaned. "You have another condition?"

"I told you I have several," Mari said, laughing.

"Go on," he murmured.

"You’ll have to meet my best friends. More like hang out with them. I need them to approve of you..."

"Approve of me?" Jax cut her off with a frown.