TEXAS, HOUSTON 2023~SIERRA~It has been a week. We came to Houston to get more witnesses to testify in the hearing. I didn’t think it was necessary, but Gilbert insisted. We managed to get ten people—my employees and the doctor. Gilbert said Damian might use Atlas's delayed speech, so we managed to get emails from psychologists who helped Atlas. I was printing the emails so they could serve as proof that I addressed the issue already, as he might accuse me of carelessness. I knew Damian could do and say anything to gain full custody of my children.“Don’t worry, I’m sure the court will not grant him full custody.” Gilbert placed his hand on my shoulder. I sadly smiled; my attention was on my kids, who were coloring on the mat. I was with them in my office as I couldn’t afford for them to be alone—Lana and Beatrice went to visit their family while Gilbert went to get more witness statements he had just returned.“Is the jet ready? The hearing is in two hours.” I didn’t want to be late
TEXAS, HOUSTON 2023~SIERRA~I made a mental note to call Nana’s doctor as soon as I was done getting them ready. “Mommy, I said I was done,” Nathan called me, and I shook out of my thoughts."Ow, sorry, baby, I'll come and help you now.” I stood to my feet and walked to the cupboard so I could get the shampoo for his waves; he never wanted them damaged. Nathan loved his waves, and so I took great care of them. I got a towel and gave it to him, and he wrapped it around his waist. Well, that's Nathan, too mature for his age.“Why don't you just cover your whole body?” Ingrid, who was still washing her body, asked.“Because I'm a boy, don't you see Uncle Gilbert? He only covers his waist, not the whole body like a girl.” Nathan rolled his eyes. Well, I didn't understand these two, they always teased each other, but I knew they loved each other so much, as with the love they show each other when one is sick. There was a time when Nathan stayed up because Ingrid was sick. I asked him to s
TEXAS, HOUSTON 2023~SIERRA~I couldn’t believe Nana had been fooling me all this while, but I still didn’t understand the reason she did it. “Ms. Reid?”“Uh, doctor, thank you. Can…can we keep this call between us, please?”“No problem, do you need anything else?”“No, that will be all. Thank you.”“My pleasure. Have a nice day, Ms. Reid.”“You too,” I said, and then he disconnected the call. “I have to confront Nana,” I said subconsciously, then walked to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, so it took me less than twenty minutes to be fully ready. I wore my office clothes as I’ll be going to court straight from the airport."Sorry, did I take too long?” I asked when I reached downstairs, where Gilbert and my kids were waiting."No, you’re just in time,” Gilbert answered.“Where’s Mr. Williams?” I looked around."Oh, he will meet us at the airport, now let’s go, guys, we are late,” Gilbert said, and the kids picked up their backpacks. Well, I didn’t have a bag as everything I needed
GEORGIA, ATLANTA 2023~SIERRA~Since the guards in Houston communicated with the ones in Atlanta, they were already waiting for us. Gilbert was with the kids, helping them get in the car. Atlas was asleep, so he got the back seat to himself. I tried Nana's number again, but she didn't pick up, “still?” Gilbert asked; he was at the back helping Atlas while I sat in the middle row with Ingrid and Nathan.“Yes, maybe she's busy,” I said, and he nodded.“Why don't you try Lily?” Gilbert suggested that, of course, he knew about Lily as I told him how she helped me.“Well, it's… It's not a good idea,” I said as I remembered the last time I spoke to her. I hadn't told Gilbert the detective was suspecting her, as we hadn't had that time, and I didn't want to worry him now, so I nervously chuckled and told him it was okay.“I don't know what happened between the two of you, but from what you’ve told me, Lily is a good friend,” Gilbert insisted, and he was right. Lily had a crush on Damian, but
~SIERRA~I didn't understand what was happening, how could Lily be with Cassie? They didn't seem to notice me as they seemed to be chatting, I stopped moving and stared at them; perhaps they just bumped into each other. Well, with the way Lily spoke about Cassie, I was shocked, as I never thought they could hold such a conversation. What's more, Cassie was now laughing while Lily seemed to be explaining something as her hands danced in the air.“Sierra, let it go.” Gilbert patted my hand, but I didn't move. Then the unexpected happened: Damian and Ava came to them, and he took Cassie by her hand while Ava and Lily seemed to be catching up, like, what the fuck?! These people hated each other—at least that's what they told me, and when my eyes caught the man who was waiting by the entrance door, my chest tightened. Bruce?! This reminded me of years ago at the restaurant when Cassie showed up.“What now? Lucas shows up, and they tell me he wasn't dead.” I unconsciously said. It would not
~SIERRA~ Jane was silent; from here, I could tell that she didn’t know how to respond. “You may continue,” the judge said, and she thanked her before she continued with her case. She went on and told the judge how I restrained Damian from seeing the kids, how I’ve kept them from him, “from knowing their father's family like Mrs. Bruce,” she said, pointing at Ava. “And with that, I can assure you your honor that my client is the right parent to raise the kids as he’s married and...” "Oh, he’s married?” The judge sounded shocked; well, I was shocked too, as I didn’t hear of their marriage. "Yes, your honor, I could bring their marriage certificate, but it is still being finalized.” “I see, so the marriage happened recently?” Wow, this judge was really trained for her job. “Yes, your honor, but I can assure you, Ms. Cassie, um, sorry, Mrs. Winters will take good care of the kids.” Well, I never really liked Jane, but I didn’t hate her, but now I could feel my hate growing. How could s
~SIERRA~Everyone was silent; I could see that they were shocked. “I think we got an answer for that; you may continue,” the judge turned to Mr. Williams.“Thank you, your honor. Well, not only did Mr. Williams emotionally abuse my client, but he broke her self-esteem; during the marriage, he told her she was not good enough and…”“I don't think that is necessary, Mr. Williams,” the judge sidestepped Mr. Williams, “if you want Mr. Winters to be punished for abuse, you should file for another case because we are here for custody and I think I got everything I need to judge.”“You are right, your honor, in short, Mr. Winters cannot be the father of the children, and my client rejects his demand and asks the court for a restraining order,” Mr. Williams said, and the judge agreed.“I have a question about Atlas; did Ms. Reid address his issue?” the judge asked him."Yes, your honor,” Mr. Williams walked to the judge and gave him the testimonials from the doctors. "Your honor, those are te
~SIERRA~Well, Ava didn't surprisingly say anything as she asked Cassie to come with her: “She's still that witch, even the money didn't change her; no class.” Cassie complained as she freed herself from Ava and walked on her own, she was not happy with Ava's reaction.“Sierra, I had to come in, are you okay? What did they say to you?” Gilbert came running, and I smiled as I was surprisingly fine."Yes, I'm fine, just give me a minute,” I said and took my phone, then dialed the house telephone, which was picked up by one of the guards on its first ring, “can I talk to my children, please?”“Just a second, Ms. Reid,” he said, then called them.“Mommy, are you coming already?” Nathan said.“We miss you,” Ingrid added."Ow, I miss you too. Yes, I will come now. Are you guys fine? Is Atlas awake?”"Yes, we are fine; no, Atlas is still sleeping,” Nathan answered.“Okay, I hope you’re not being naughty.”“No Mamma, we are good, just touching the things you asked us to touch, hehe,” Nathan s
FLORIDA, ST. AUGUSTINE 2023~DAMIAN~Ingrid did a good job keeping Sierra out, as it has been over two hours and they haven't returned to the house yet.The sun was setting and everything was perfect; we didn't need to do much, just the colorful lights, as the house was clean already.“Bottle is here,” Nathan excitedly said as he brought the bottle of juice. The bottle was the same as the one for champagne, and since they were too young for alcohol and Sierra was in that condition, we decided to settle for juice.“They are coming,” Atlas, who had been at the window, alerted us, and I quickly stood to my feet and hid the little box."Okay, wish me luck,” I said, and they both nodded, then Atlas switched off the light so that the candles could stand out.“Let us know when she says yes,” they said in unison before they hid behind the sofa.I was nervous. I've never been this nervous, even when I was handling court cases. I never got nervous, but Sierra, God, her reaction scared me.As I
FLORIDA, ST. AUGUSTINE 2023~DAMIAN~Whoever said love was a drug was damn right because I was high on it. Watching someone sleep for over an hour and simply enjoying the view is crazy because for the past week that's all I've been doing—watching Sierra sleep. It somehow gave me peace.After Sierra was released from the hospital, we stayed a week so I could sort everything.Ethan took over the head at the Winters, Sierra, and Thomas caught up as he left the detective work since Sam was not happy with it. Sierra gave them one of her restaurants in Texas, and they moved there—living in Sierra's home while Jane and her family moved into Sierra's mansion, the one in Georgia. Beatrice and Lana took mine as I wanted to express my gratitude for helping Sierra raise my children.After sorting everything, I booked tickets to Florida for a vacation since the holidays were in a month. We were still choosing a place to settle and start a family, as Georgia and Texas held bad memories, so we were
~DAMIAN~The first days we used protection, but after a few, we just couldn't control ourselves as we would get in the moment and only think of protection afterward. I didn't need protection; Sierra was my wife, but she always brought it up.Well, I was just so happy that we were going to have a baby—that Sierra gave me another chance.I walked to her bedside, kneeled, and started apologizing.“I'm sorry, I...”“It's okay; I know you did it to protect me.”“Still I hurt you; I should have told you; I shouldn't have pushed you away like that.”“And I understand; I forgive you; I do.” She was now holding my hands. “Please get up.”“Sierra I…”“Now Damian,” she demanded, and so I was left with no choice but to get up.“I'm really sorry; I promise that was not my intention; I was just trying to protect you and our kids. Ava called me; she threatened me.” She nodded her head in understanding and then squeezed my hand in a comforting manner.“Do you want to feel her heartbeat?” she asked, a
~DAMIAN~ “I was not planning to kill you, but...” Ava said as she walked close to Sierra, the burning matchstick still in between her fingers. My hands were now in the air, pleading with her. “Please… Whatever I have done, please just... Just let Sierra go, punish...punish me.” "Oh, sweet Damian, my cousin is in love,” she mockingly said, “but this is not about you; it's about her, her mother!” she yelled. “Actually,” she calmed herself, “it's about the both of you; your father did my mother dirty and her mother did my mother dirty, and so you are both going to pay.” It was not the Ava I knew; this woman sounded crazy. “Ava…” “Kneel!” I didn't want to argue, as I knew trying to reason would not work, so I kneeled my eyes on Sierra and the matchstick between Ava's fingers. “Good,” she mockingly said and blew to the matchstick so the fire could go as it was below her finger. “Do you want to hear a little story?” She asked as if I had a choice. Then she started talking about h
~DAMIAN~“Speed up!” I yelled, and Thomas agreed with me as he asked the driver to drive faster. Each second we were wasting was ticking as Sierra's life was in danger.When Atlas returned, he told me about the people who kidnapped him and how they told him that I was his father. I knew it wasn't the right time, but I took him upstairs to his siblings and told them the truth—that I was their father and that Sierra and I were once together.I didn't tell them about the contract as I thought it might be complicated for them, and so I told them about making a horrible mistake that made Sierra walk away. They were understanding, as they didn't judge; instead, they were happy that I was their father.I was not in a better mood, so I forced them to eat and helped them get ready for bed before I left Mrs. Woods with them as Jane had to get home to her baby. Sam and Thomas stayed downstairs with the officers, who came to help check for clues, and waited in case the kidnappers called—they thou
~SIERRA~Ava explained planning Damian’s parents' deaths because, as she said, the company and everything the Winters owned belonged to her. She explained how she got Damian on a drug so he would have terrible headaches. “I haven't been giving it to him lately, so he seems to be overcoming it,” she added. Then she explained using Carl to have her revenge on Mr. Reid since Damian’s parents were out of her way now."Oh, and the second man who left my mother couldn't be found. Turns out my so-called father wasn't useless as he took him down, leaving his son and wife in the streets.”“Son?”"Yes, your brother.”“What?!”“Ow, don't tell me the detective hasn't told you that you're his sister; that's why he has been protective over you; it's because you're his little sister.”“What?!” again I asked, as this was too much. How was it possible that Detective Thomas was my brother? Okay, nothing was making sense.“The man your father was cheating with was Thomas’s father.” She said, but I shook
~SIERRA~I haven't seen Ava since forever; she said to be in New York working with patients. How was it that she was here? My eyes roamed the room, and I realized, unlike where Lily took me, this place seemed like a home as I was on a sofa. I was almost relaxed, but when I saw that both my legs and hands were tied, I panicked.“W-what's going on? Why am I here? And…”“This is not the time for questions, Sierra; trust me.” Ava cut me as she picked a glass of wine on the table and took a sip before she placed it down and then stared at me.I still didn't understand what was happening, but something was clear: Ava tied my legs and hands, which meant she was the one who caused that accident; she was the one who kidnapped me.“Ava I…”“I will shut your mouth for you if you don't shut it; it's me to talk, not you.” She calmly said, and I nodded my head. Then she stood up with the glass of wine in her hands and said, "See, years ago, Rosemarie was just an innocent girl who didn't know the w
~SIERRA~I cleaned my cheeks and then walked toward my car. My driver was standing out as he opened the door for me. “To the station,” I told him as he waited for my instruction."Yes, ma’am,” he said and then started the car.Again, I found my hand traveling down to my flat belly. I never planned for this, and now that Damian didn't want the child, I was not going to keep it. I haven't seen myself pregnant for over five years, especially with Damian's child again.Or maybe he knew that I fell pregnant and he was doing the same thing he did years ago, running away. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. No, I couldn't let this distract me; I won't let it get in my way of finally having peace.“Ms. Reid,” the driver's voice shook me out of my thoughts. I then realized we had arrived at the station. “Should I come in with you?” He asked as he opened the door for me. I shook my head and told him to wait for me there; he just worked for me; I didn't need him to mix with my problems.When I
~SIERRA~No, this was not happening; I won't let it happen again. So I banged once more and the door flew open, and Damian, who looked healthy like he was not just in a coma, opened and asked me to come in. I could tell by his facial expression that something was wrong.“Do you want anything?” He asked as I took a seat on the sofa. No, I was calm. I was not the same Sierra from years ago who burst when he started acting like this. I was a mature, respectful woman. I couldn't act on my emotions, so I asked him for a glass of water.He walked away to the kitchen, and my eyes couldn't help but roam the area; it was just the same as I left it, in Cassie's style.“Water,” Damian's voice made me turn to him. I took the glass from his hand and thanked him, then placed it on the table.“Okay,” I cleared my throat as he looked restless like he wanted me to leave. “The doctor called me and told me you left without his consent.”"Yeah, I'm feeling fine; why should he keep me there?” He sounded r