Frank looked at his mother, who was behind the counter and looked to be downing a bottle of wine, then looked at Shelby, who was so excited to see him.She ran into his arms and held on to him tightly."I missed you so bad," she cried out.Frank just stood there, staring at his family in confusion. They had made a pact never to tell anyone where they were, and Shelby would not just pop up unless one of them told her.Shelby let go of him and looked up at his confused face."I love the blonde hair; it makes you look more adorable when you are shocked," she laughed.Frank kept staring at her"Come on, join us; Angel was just telling me about all the cool places here," she said.Frank quickly held her hand."How did you know that we were here?" He asked.Shelby looked in Angel's direction, and Frank now understood what Angel meant over the phone. "Do not crucify me; he held on to your location for more than a year before finally telling me," she confessed."What?" Frank looked in Angel'
"What?" Frank was caught tongue-tied.He wanted her to say she was joking, but she handed him the pregnancy stick with two lines and jumped on him."I know this is not what we planned, but I think a baby is what we both need to heal," she kissed him all over his face.She paused for a second, noticing that he was quiet. She was not surprised; she expected such a reaction. She slowly led him to a seat and said, "Frank, I know this is a little fast, but we have known each other for years," she explained. "So this should not seem like we are two strangers."Well, this is unexpected," Frank finally said."And we are going to do fine, and from the way you have taken care of Angel and Sarah, I know you are going to be a good father," she said.Frank got up, rubbing his hands in his hair; the news confused him for a second.A knock came at the door, and Ireen walked in."Shelby, are we going to the bakery?" She asked"Guess who is going to be a grandma for the first time?" Shelby got up exc
Nera drove back home laughing; she was not in any way affected by the fact that she found Marcus fucking a stripper. She was somehow glad, she was not affected.She kept laughing all the way home; she never loved him; or did she and those feelings disappear when she met his stupid nephew?She wondered if she would have reacted the same if she had caught him with a slut in the first year of their marriage, it would have saved her from a lot of shit. Or maybe if she had listened to her uncle, who was very much against marriage to an old man.Thinking of her uncle, she stopped the car on the side of the road and dialed his line. She was not sure he was going to answer because she had not spoken to him in years but to her surprise, he answered."Uncle, I am coming home," she said the second he answered her.There was some silence on the other end of the line, but Uncle Luke cleared his throat and said;"I have always told you this is your home, so you are welcome," he said.Nera broke dow
Meanwhile, Nera was still stuck in a loveless marriage like a prisoner. She was free to leave; Marcus was not holding her prisoner. The prison had a wide door open, but Marcus insisted that if she wanted to leave, she was supposed to leave her two children with him.That was not even a question for Nera; she would never leave two babies in the hands of Marcus. That was equivalent to her sentencing them to life imprisonment.But it was either that, or they would go and fight for them in court and lay all their secrets bare for the world to hear. He only hinted and never gave specifics on what secrets he knew about her.She had tried to have a talk with him, but he asked her to let sleeping dogs lie. A year had passed since he dared her, and she was still stuck in the marriage.Uncle Luke, who was tired of waiting for her after she promised to go home. He tried to talk to her, but she asked for time, which now amounted to a year and he eventually stopped asking.For the love and protect
Angel finished his story and looked up at his watch. It was 3 a.mMost people were asleep, and no cars were moving about, so it was just the two of them.He had spent over an hour narrating how they moved to Cuba and what each family member was up to.At some point, he could hear the old man struggling to breathe even though he had stopped talking the second he introduced himself. Not once did Marcus beg for help."Old man, are you still breathing? Are you alive?" Angel asked, but there was no response.He had watched enough documentaries to know that he was not supposed to touch anything at an accident scene or a crime scene."I guess this is the end," he said and walked to his car, where he called 911 and called for help. The one hour was enough to bleed to death unless the old man was some kind of wizard. He drove straight to the hotel, packed his bag, and was seated at the airport by 7 am, skyping with Frank.Meanwhile, Nera woke up to an empty bed. She was not surprised. She was
For the entire week, Frank could not sleep, and all he could think about were Nera and her kids. He had tried to heed his mother's warning, but he wanted to see Nera and tell her the truth about what happened the night she went into labor.He respected his marriage to Shelby and was not going there to rekindle his love for Nera. A lot of people were married people who still had feelings for their ex or old flings but were married to other people, and if they shared children, they chose to coexist.That's what he wanted, even if Nera chose not to forgive him or if she decided not to introduce him to his children. He was fine with it as long as she knew exactly what happened that night.So he eventually decided to tag along alone on Angel's university search in the USA. Sarah and Ireen were not for the idea; they had both hoped to forget about the USA; but it was not the case.They decided to just watch and hoped Frank was going to use his head this time.The day to travel finally came
The kiss was long and rough because she was forcing her lips on him and he was not kissing her back, which frustrated her and forced her to kiss him roughly.She stopped and looked at him, breathing heavily."Nera, I am a married man," he whispered. He knew it was not fair to say that to her, but he had no option.Without hesitation, she slapped him hard on the cheek, turning it red. She was also married when they used to fuck around, so he had no reason to even mention such words.She pulled his collar and checked on his scar from the poison. She placed her hand checking on it. It appeared real, and Marcus poisoning him was not far-fetched. Marcus was capable of a lot.Frank moved away, uncomfortable with her touching his scar, but she pulled him closer."If what you are saying is true, you would at least just let me know you were alive even if we were not going to be together," she whispered.Frank was quiet.Nera chuckled, "COWARD!" She spat out."Do you know the kind of hell I ha
"Frank, Frank, Frank, are you there?" Shelby kept asking, but Frank was deep in thought.It was like the universe was set up for him to screw up. He was not allowed to have a normal life."Frank!" Shelby yelled, finally snapping him out of his thoughts."Hello… Hello… Sorry, I dropped my phone, and I am having trouble hearing my calls," he lied, and he asked her to repeat what she had said."There is no one to take care of Dad Frank, and we can't move him here; the hospitals are pathetic," she explained.Frank got up, scratching his head. "Are you coming with Charlotte? Angel and I planned to come back there tomorrow.""Yes, Frank, I know you are running the farms, but I asked Sarah and Ireen to join me, but they all refused, and since you are there, I thought it would be fine if you extended your stay," she pleaded.Frank was quiet. His mother and sister hated the United States; it brought back bad memories for them so he understood."Frank, I do not have a relationship with my fathe
Nera froze in horror. Texas was too big for Elijah to find her address in a single day.She was asleep and it was all a nightmare, he couldn't have guessed the right address. Someone must have told him, but she doubted Frank did. Now that she thought about it, she never told Frank either."Stay in here; I will handle this man to man," Frank said, asking her to lock the door.He walked downstairs and found Elijah spinning little Aria around who was giggling in excitement."Put her down!" Frank yelled.Elijah frowned and put the little girl down."Let's talk outside," Frank ordered."I am here for Nera and not you," Elijah politely replied."This will only take a second unless you are not a man and scared of a little talk," Frank stated.Elijah chuckled and led the way outside.Nera walked downstairs and ordered Sam to take Aria upstairs while she locked the door. She did not have time for the two fools, though she was curious to know what they were talking about so she stayed in the k
"How did you get in without knocking?" Uncle Luke got up, irritated. "Nera, talk to me!" Frank ignored him. "Are you carrying my baby?" He was at the door and about to knock when he heard the word "abortion."Nera looked away, irritated."Nera, you cannot abort my child! You cannot punish the unborn child for my mistakes," he began pleading with her."It's not your baby," Nera replied without thinking. She wanted him out of the house. He had no right to listen in on a private conversation.She walked up to him and folded her arms."You were not the only one that I was fucking in that house!" She yelled at him.Frank felt a sharp pain in his heart as he moved a step backward. He had tried to ignore the fact that Nera was fucking Elijah too but it looked like she wanted to hurt him it.Uncle Luke stared at Nera out of words and decided to walk out of the house. All the anger he had intended to throw Frank out of the house with, vanished. He was tired of the drama and just wanted to go
Uncle Luke finally came to his senses as he breathed in and out. His hand was covered in blood from the punches he had landed.He looked at Frank, whose face was also covered in blood and still in a kneeling position.Nera had her hands over her mouth in shock. Everything was happening so fast.Greg quickly pulled Uncle Look out of the room and told Nera to close the door in order to prevent Sam and Aria from entering the room.Nera thanked him and closed the door.Frank was still motionless on his knees."Are you okay?" Nera asked, not sure what to say."I am fine, Nera," he replied.Nera walked to the bathroom and grabbed a towel for him."Would you get up from the floor?" She instructed."How can I get up when I am still trying to tell you the other side of my story?" He asked."Frank, you are hurt!" She yelled at him, irritated."Not as hurt as the feeling in my heart," Frank replied. "To be honest, I did not feel the punches. The pain is in my heart, and I am not leaving until yo
A week elapsed, with Nera spending most of her days in her room. The crying stopped days ago, and usually, she just stared out the window.The window that she had jumped out of the night of her wedding which eventually led to her meeting Marcus.The door opened, and Sam ran in excitedly."Mommy, Mommy, JR will be here," he said.Nera smiled. She was only glad the horror happened when her two children were too young to understand anything."Is this the new friend you made?" She asked."Yes, his father wants to take us to see the horse rides," he said.Aria ran into the room too. "Mom, I want to go too," she said."I do not think..." Nera tried to speak, but Sam interrupted her."His father says he knows you, and if you want, you can tag along," he said."What?""Please, Mom, let us go," Aria began pulling on her.Uncle Look walked into the room."Let them go; JR is a nice kid," he said."You know this boy? Who are his parents?" She asked.Uncle Luke cleared his throat. "Yes, JR has bee
Nera slowly opened her eyes. A white ceiling was staring back at her, and she could tell she was not in hell yet, though she would have preferred it."Nera, thank God you are finally awake!" Uncle Luke rushed to her side.Nera looked around, surprised that he was in Georgia."Uncle Luke," she whispered."Yes, dear, it's me. I came as fast as I could when I received a call from that nurse," he said, holding her hand."Aria…Sam?" She asked."They are with the nanny; I called her too," he explained.Nera closed her swollen eyes."According to the nurse, you fainted when you read the DNA results," he asked. "Whose DNA results are they?"Nera was quiet; she did not have the energy or will to explain the horror she found out, and that was why she had hoped to have woken up in hell."Nera, please talk to me; I am your uncle, and I promise I will not get mad," he said to her.Nera opened her eyes. "Take me to Texas; I will do something stupid if I stay in this place longer," she requested."
Frank and Ireen sat in the garage in silence. They heard the gate open and a car driving in and out, and they knew it was Nera leaving. Frank was supposed to run after her and tell her his side of the story, but he had no energy to get up. His entire world was crushed in front of him. He never expected Nera to find out about the contract, and even if she did, he pictured an environment where he sat her down peacefully and told her everything himself. But seeing how she attacked him and the hurt in her eyes, it numbed him down. "You have to get up, Frank," Ireen said, breaking the silence. Somehow she was relieved the woman got to know about the contract, even though she did not like how she discovered it. Now they needed to start planning for the aftermath. There was a slim chance Nera was going to press charges, but she was a scorned woman, so anything was possible. "You need to call your lawyer and get ready," she replied. Frank looked up at her. "Is she ever going to forg
Nera's stomach contracted into a tight ball as a wave of acid welled up from her belly. Her eyes were completely dry; she had cried already, and there were no tears left.She grabbed the phone from Elijah and played the recording again. This time, memories came flooding back of how difficult it was for her and Marcus to have a child.It had taken Marcus a long time to take a test, and even when he got the results, they tried, but she did not get pregnant. He refused to adopt or for her to undergo artificial insemination.He insisted on having Rashwell blood and kept insisting they make a baby the natural way. Then they went to Alabama, and he came with the beetroot herb and the sex drugs.The sex became hot; it was different, but she thought it was the herb because she was slow in the head, and she finally got pregnant. But after they found out that Sam was allergic to dairy products, they tried to have a child again and failed. Every test came out negative until Frank showed up. Mar
Without warning, Ireen landed a hard slap on Nera's face and screamed in frustration.She did not move, and neither did she flinch."Don't you have some dignity?" Ireen yelled. "What will your children think of you? What explanation would a mother give to her children when she brought them into a stranger's house to have a good fuck?" Nera kept her eyes fixed on the floor in silence."You couldn't even leave them with a relative, but you brought those innocent kids for your prostitution rides!"Nera finally looked up, her hands clenched into fists. Her breathing became rigged, and she was tempted to punch the woman in the face, but it took all her might to control herself.Ireen paused her words for a second."I will ask you, woman to woman, mother to mother, please leave. If you really love my son, then free him and let him go," she begged, getting on her knees.Nera moved away in confusion; she was not expecting to see the woman on her knees considering how she had stormed into th
Nera could hear her own heartbeat as the woman began moving closer to her. Even though the two never met, Nera had seen photos of Ireen, and she knew what the woman looked like.And from the way she was looking at her, she could tell she was not there for a friendly visit.Frank quickly grabbed Ireen's hand before there were any confrontations."Let go of my hand now," Ireen yelled."Mom, calm down. What are you doing?" Frank asked her, his eyes searching for the presence of Shelby."Please, Mom, not here; Shelby is home," he pleaded with her.Ireen looked at her son, who was breathing heavily, then at Nera, who averted her eyes. "Mommy, I am hungry," a little girl said as she walked from the kitchen. "Mommy, come and finish making the porridge," she said, pulling on Nera.Nera's eyes were fixed on the floor, she did not move or flinch. She thought she had prepared for the day she would meet Ireen but she was wrong.Aria looked up at Ireen."Uncle Frank, who is that?" She askedIreen