~SIERRA~I felt like the car wasn't fast enough, so I asked my driver to speed up, and he did. I couldn't wait to reach the company and face Ethan. Taking Damian's position was one thing, but speaking dirt on his name, wow, he must have something against Damian. I mean, everyone will now believe him because he is Damian's friend, and who knows you better than a friend? And they don't know that Ethan is a fake friend.The driver alerted me that we had arrived. I told him to wait in the car, then ran straight inside, ignoring the employee's eyes. I didn't even bother to check in with the receptionist as I went straight to Damian's office, as I was sure Ethan was there.“Sierra?” Ethan looked shocked to see me. He seemed to be on a call as he pointed at his ear, clearly asking me to wait.“I don't have the whole day. I know you tricked Damian into signing the contract, and if someone should be arrested, then it's you.” He quickly ended the call and stood up. The receptionist had arrived
~SIERRA~How was Damian’s father his father? He might be playing a joke. “Wait,” he said, then came back to the table. He opened the drawers and then brought out an envelope and gave it to me. I quickly opened it and saw it was a DNA result. “I did a DNA test with Damian,” he said, and when I looked at the results, it showed a ninety-nine percent chance of being siblings, which I knew was positive.“So he's your brother?” I was in shock.“Yes, Damian is my brother,” he confirmed.“Then why are you doing all this? Why send him to jail?”“Because he took my place, I'm the elder son; I'm supposed to run the company; I'm supposed to be the CEO!”“Does he know?” I asked in a calm tone, and he shook his head. “He doesn't?” I wanted to be calm so he could tell me everything, as I knew arguing would not help me solve the problem.“He doesn't, my mom...” He walked back to the window and gave me his back. “Mom and Dad were very much in love; they've been together for years; mom was disowned bec
~SIERRA~I didn't respond. I steadfastly calmed myself. Yes, Damian disrespected me; he didn't care that I was pregnant, but he was making up for it, and it was not like I was getting back with him. I didn't expect him to love me; he loved my children. Going to jail without defending himself just so they could be safe was enough to prove it.“You should never let him walk on you like that, this is time to get your revenge; get on my side, and let's make sure he remains there together,” he said. I only stared at him, understanding the pain he went through, but I didn't think Damian deserved his wrath; he didn't know about his father's mistake, and no child should be punished for their parent's mistake; that was just so wrong. “Sierra?”“He didn't know anything, Ethan,” I said, and his lips tightened into a smile, clearly making fun of me. “You have to forgive your brother, he's innocent,” I added, and he burst into laughter as if I had said the funniest thing ever.“Forgive him? Do you
~SIERRA~Well, it sounded like a joke. Ava said James was against Damian, but I was going to take a risk—anything that could help Damian—and so I agreed, and we picked the time and place. After the call, I went to the bathroom and washed my body. I wore comfortable clothes and then walked down. My kids were watching TV; they seemed to have forgotten about Damian. I joined them, and we watched the series together. They talked of school, and I told them they would start attending again soon. I prayed that the case would be solved soon so that our lives could go back to normal. I had hoped since Carlos’s address was found—he had been the one scaring me the most.After the TV, I helped them take a bath, have their dinner, and then got them in bed, they fell asleep almost instantly, and I left Lana and Beatrice with them.“Please speed up; we are late,” I told my driver, and he nodded before he fastened his speed. I was already five minutes late. It only took ten minutes for us to get to t
~SIERRA~“What are you going to do?” James asked, and I shook my head as I couldn't tell him. I then walked towards the door. I bumped into the waitress who had a tray of our food. I apologized as I had to leave and told her he would pay as I didn't come with money. Then, when I reached out, I got in the passenger's seat and instructed my driver to drive straight to the detective's apartment. He gave me his address in case I called him and he wasn't with his phone.We were now in front of the detective's apartment. I took out my phone and dialed his number; he seemed to be asleep as he picked up the fourth ring, which was unlike him. “I'm outside your apartment; I need to speak to Damian now,” I said, and he scoffed and ended the call without responding. Soon his apartment lights lit up, and he was already coming towards our car with his shirt in his hands.“Ms. Reid, do you know how dangerous this is?” He asked, and I nodded. My eyes were still on his apartment window. I wondered wh
~SIERRA~“Cassie joined the school towards the end of the semester; I…I was the most popular boy you know, high school life,” he swallowed, and I nodded to encourage him to keep talking. “Well, we were two; there was another boy who was popular for having a good voice, so for prom, it was either him or me and Cassie…Cassie was the most beautiful, so we made a deal: whoever got her would win and go to prom; the one who loses must find all the excuses and stay,” he explained, and it was really new to me. I thought Cassie was his first love, so I asked.“So you didn't love Cassie?” It was a silly question, but I still did.“I did; I mean, the love came after, but not anymore. I mean, now she's no more, but I didn't love her even before she died; I realized I never did,” he sounded like he was trying to assure me. He then explained how the bet went and how they all tried to get Cassie, but she was too hard to get. “And then I did something stupid,” he said, running his hands through his h
~SIERRA~Oh my god, Damian killed my father to protect me. All this while I thought he killed my father for his selfish gains, but one thing didn’t make sense: Why did he protect me when I was just his substitute? “You didn’t love me, you always told me that, so why did you protect me?” I asked as I wanted the truth.“I did, Sierra; you were never just a substitute; I loved you.” My heart skipped a beat hearing him say that. I know it was not the first time he told me that the day he went to get the kids, but here it felt so real and it made me somehow happy; it’s like I’ve been waiting for it for years. “I don’t know when it happened, but it got to a point where I had to avoid you so I wouldn’t show it. I was raised by parents who didn’t believe in love.” Well, now mentioning his parents reminded me of Ethan, but I wanted to know how they didn’t believe in love if his mother asked him to get married. “Mom and Dad…their marriage was arranged by my great grandfather; Dad would sleep wi
~DAMIAN~Where should I even start? Everything is messed up right now. It happened so fast that I don't even know where to start, but I'll try. It all started when Jane called me that morning. She told me Dr. Sanchez was dead, then forwarded the message he sent her. I couldn't believe Cassie had been fooling me all this while, so she was neither pregnant nor sick. Of course, I should have known, but I wondered where she took the money she had been taking from the company.Just then she came in and looking at her, I could tell she was guilty; of course, she denied it, and before I could probe further, Ava came in and showed me the video that said I was dealing with a drug lord, which was a lie. Yes, James was my friend; he was involved in many shady businesses, but we have kept our friendship private, well, if you call it friendship because it's usually him blackmailing me.Well, I tried to deal with it while Ava took care of the kids. I called Jane, who said she was working on it. I t
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