Dear readers, thank you for the support. My last month's readers, thank you for the votes, you got this book so far and I do appreciate you. Your votes and comments make this book reach even new readers which makes it grow. Oh yes, I saw a recent review, this book is not going in circles, everything is going how I planned it, and trust me all secrets will come to light soon. Oh, don't forget to vote and comment on the main page of the book as it makes our rating higher. Sending love.
~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
~SIERRA~Coming with Gilbert was not a good idea, but I knew refusing would be another problem. I was glad he didn't run off like last time, and besides, I also needed a friend to be with me. “Wait here,” I told the guard, and they agreed. Then I turned to Gilbert and told him he didn't need to come in if he didn't want to, but he shook his head and got out of the car.I knocked when we reached the door but it was not answered, we kept knocking but nobody came to the door, I remembered a window that could give you a sight of the living room so I asked Gilbert to keep knocking while I went to the window, the window was luckily opened so I picked through but I was shocked to see what was happening, Atlas and Damian were jumping and chasing each other, they seemed to be having so much fun as Atlas was laughing out loud for the first time, then Damian rolled on the sofa while Atlas tickled him, I couldn't help but stare as never has Atlas once laughed this hard, especially to the extent o
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