~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
~SIERRA~I scoffed as this was just insane, but the law was decided, and even if I didn’t want them with Damian, there was nothing I could do for now. At least I was given hope; if Damian got into any kind of trouble, he would lose his rights, and that was what I was going to do, so I agreed, and then Damian’s PA bid goodbye and left.“You made a great choice, Ms. Reid. It might hurt now, but it will get better, and trust me, this is the best for the kids considering they are already five. It won’t be long till they start asking for their father,” the judge said, and I nodded as she was right, they already started asking for their father. “I wish you the best,” she said, and I warmly smiled as she walked away.“What did she say?” Gilbert came to me, I didn’t answer him as I tugged my hand in his arm and walked toward the door. When we reached the parking lot, the guard opened the car door for me, but I didn’t get in as I looked back at Damian, who was surprisingly looking at me—I coul
~SIERRA~ Seeing my children jump in happiness filled my heart with peace. Maybe it was meant to be. There's a saying that children can feel everything; they can know if the person is good or bad, so if Damians’ intentions were bad, they could feel it and tell me. Well, it was a dumb belief, but I relied on that. “Wow, I guess you told them?” Gilbert's voice shook me out of my thoughts. I cleared my throat and asked my kids to stop jumping; they didn't even notice that Gilbert was there. “Kids.” “Sorry Mommy, is Uncle Damian here already?” Ingrid asked. "Mommy, we promise we will be on our best behavior,” Nathan said, and Atlas agreed with a nod. Atlas seemed more lively. "Okay, good. Now can you go to your room and pack the things you need,” I instructed, and they agreed, then ran out of the dining room. “They didn't even notice me.” Gilbert sounded like he was complaining. “Yeah,” I said as I couldn't deny it. “Wait, do they love him more than me?” He said it in a jokey tone,
~SIERRA~I knew Damian well; living with him for those years enabled me to read his mind so I could tell when he was lying and when he was not, and I could tell his emotions when he showed because, during those years with him, he never lied; he always told me the truth since he didn't care about my feelings, and right now I could tell that he was being honest. Yes, there were some points back in the years when I was convinced that Damian loved me, but he crushed it the next moment. But the question is, did I believe him now that he was telling me he loved me? It was hard to answer, but what I knew was I was not going to forgive him, not in this life, so I shook myself out of my state and pretended not to be shocked as I changed the topic, ignoring his confession.“Sierra, can…can you give me another chance, I…”“You are married, Damian,” I sidestepped him, “and I'm getting married too.” I lied, and he shook his head as if in disbelief. “And what makes you think I would ever forgive yo
~SIERRA~After the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and left the bathroom. Gilbert was surprisingly seated on my bed, and he stood up as soon as he saw me. "Oh, you haven't left?”“I will not leave until we talk, Sierra.”“There's nothing to talk about, Gilbert; now can you leave my room? I need to change.” I walked to the couch.“I understand,” he nodded his head, and I froze for a second. He stood up and came to me, “But I have a question: are you going to marry me?” He sounded serious, and I didn't want to break his heart. “You have to answer me honestly, and please don't lie to me.” He was now in front of me."Gilbert, we don't have to...”“To what? Do this now, I know. I know you're not in the mood.” He didn't sound serious, then I realized he was mocking me, as I always told him I was not in the mood. Well, it was good to see how unserious he took my emotions. “But I won't leave without an answer tonight, I am also tired of feeling in the middle.”“Gilbert, you're a good
~SIERRA~Nana looked confused and shocked at the same time. Of course, she asked me to stay out of her business, and here I was bothering her again. Well, I couldn't live with doubts anymore, and confronting her was the only way to get rid of them. "Oh, you're not going to answer; I'm your granddaughter Nana, or have you forgotten that?”“I understand your pain,” she sounded calm, which confused me. “Gilbert told me, but trust me, you are going to be fine, Sierra; I know you will because I raised you.”“That's your problem, always changing the topic to me; I know you're hiding something, and I am going to find out if you don't tell me.”“Damian is not a good husband but surely a good father.” At this point, she didn't make sense. “I know he will take care of them if that's what you're worried about,” she said, and I sighed as I realized there was no point forcing her to talk; she was a suspect—a criminal would never admit. I shook my head and placed the water bottle on the counter, th