~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
~DAMIAN~The morning of the custody hearing Lily showed up at my doorstep saying Jane called her I refused as I knew Lily had always been on Sierra's side and it would break her heart if she saw her on my side, I didn't want to give Sierra another reason to hate me, I wanted to show her that I was a changed man and this would make her think otherwise but Ava insisted that she came too, she told me without Lily I might end up losing the case and with Lily assuring me that Sierra would understand as she had already explained to her that she didn't support her I agreed, Cassie came after agreeing at dinner with Ava and Bruce, I had to be by her side to make her feel comfortable as she was dying and I didn't want her to die sad.The custody trial went well; I got limited time with them, which Ava and Cassie complained about and even suggested we go for another trial, but I was okay with it. As long as I got time to spend with my children, I was sure those limited weekends were enough to f
~DAMIAN~I knew she wouldn’t believe me, but I still told her the truth: I loved her and that I have always loved her. But she cut me off by telling me that I was married to Cassie, which was not true; Cassie and I didn’t get married. Of course, we used that in court, as Ava insisted it would help as the judge would see that I had a healthy home to provide. We were lucky that the judge didn’t insist on seeing the marriage certificate, as she took Jane’s word for it.Well, I couldn’t tell Sierra that I was not married to Cassie, as she might use that against me, so I was left with no words, and since Mr. Sparks came and interrupted. He mentioned the wedding and even dared to invite me. I understood Sierra. If she was marrying another man who loved her then it was not my business to stop her, I hoped for a chance alone and left.I found two cars ready to leave with me, as they said they were the kid's guards. I didn’t want to argue; I just wanted to be with my children, so I accepted an
~DAMIAN~I couldn't stop Sierra from leaving. I mean, what was I to say? So after she left the room, I followed her but made sure she didn't notice me, as I just wanted to see how Gilbert treated her without me in sight. I remained on the stairs and looked down. I could hear them from here, and it looked like Gilbert was drunk as she complained of being left here just to go for a drink.“I know you still love him, so what? I'm supposed to sit here and watch you drool.”“You're drunk; we will talk about this tomorrow,” Sierra said and walked out. Gilbert followed her right after rolling his eyes. Okay, I didn't like that they were having misunderstandings because both of them had taken care of my children when I was not around, but this somehow gave me hope, as Gilbert mentioning that Sierra still had feelings for me meant he had seen it.“I have to step up my game before the wedding happens,” I thought out loud, then walked back to the bedroom. I didn't need to lock the door since the
~DAMIAN~I stood up and excused myself. Ava worriedly looked at me, but I gestured with my eyes that everything was fine. Dr. Sanchez has been my trusted doctor. He worked with Sierra and now Cassie, his death affected me. “What did he say?” I asked as I entered Cassie’s room, as it was the room nearby.“I will forward the message to you, or should I come so you can see it for yourself?”"No, just forward it.” I was curious as to what Dr. Sanchez said. I thought maybe it was about Cassie's condition, so I paced while waiting for Jane to forward the message, and then my phone beeped to a message notification. I hastily opened it and read the message with my inner voice.‘Mrs. Robertson is not sick; she paid me to lie, and the pregnancy is also fake. I'm sorry for lying to you, Mr. Winters, but I thought you should know because my life is ending tonight. Mrs. Robertson is working with dangerous people who are threatening to take my life. I apologize for everything.’My heart was racing.
~SIERRA~I woke up from a dream and realized it was early in the morning. I yawned and then cleaned the sweat from my forehead. The dream felt so real. I quickly reached for my phone, texted Damian, and asked him if my children were okay. I knew it was just a dream, but I couldn't imagine anything happening to my children. I dialed the guard's number, the one who was in charge of their security, and was relieved when he told me my children were fine. I ended the call, stood up, and walked to the bathroom.It was a Saturday, I usually spend this day with my children, but today seemed to be another day as they were not here, and I couldn't go to them as Damian might think I wanted to be around him.It took an hour to put myself together; it was a Saturday, so I wore my casual dress and slippers. “Maybe I should do yoga,” I thought out loud as I tied my hair in a messy bun, with some strands falling at the back of my head. I purposely left some strands to fall on my face too.I did my ma
~SIERRA~I couldn't control my thoughts, and most importantly, I didn't want to accept that Nana had something to do with the death of Dr. Sanchez. What would she gain from killing him? Sanchez was not even Nana's doctor, but at this point, I felt like I was making excuses for Nana like I was trying to see only the good in her and ignore the bad. Nana has been strangely private, but I couldn't look past her recent behaviors, so I cleared my throat and asked him for his location so we could meet. This was not something to talk about over the phone; he promised to send the address before ending the call.I took a deep breath before I turned to the door to leave, but then my eyes met Gilbert, who was standing at the door with his legs crossed. “Are you going somewhere?”“How long have you been there?” I ignored his question.“I just got here.”“Are you sure?” I didn't believe him; he looked like he had been there for a while."Wait, what is this? You're interrogating me now?” He chuckled
~SIERRA~I looked around as I remembered the detective's video call. Nana was at this location. My eyes searched for the house she entered, and I was shocked to see that it was the same house the officers were in; they seemed to be carrying out some investigations there. I felt goosebumps all over my body as if I were feeling cold when it was sunny. I jumped at the detective's voice.“I didn't mean to scare you; is everything okay?” “Yeah, I'm… I'm good. It's just so strange that Nana was here and then now a man dies in the same location. Do you think she did it?” I wanted to be honest.“Can we go to the car?” He pointed at my car. I nodded, then we walked toward the car. “I don't trust everyone here, this is a sensitive case; one mistake can ruin it,” he said as he got in the passenger's seat. I nodded in understanding. “I do find it strange that Nana entered the same room that was a home for criminals,” he said, pointing at a door, which was the house I saw Nana entering in that vi