~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
~DAMIAN~ At this point, I knew nothing I could do would save me, so I started apologizing to Sierra. I apologized because I knew I would never see her or my children again, and I wanted her to know that I was sorry. For all I made her go through, I was stupid. I wish I could turn back time and make everything right, but I couldn't, so it's just something I had to live with. Sierra looked shocked and hurt at the same time. There, I did it again, hurting her. Maybe I was not the right man for her. Maybe I didn't deserve a second chance. As the officers placed me in their car, I silently looked down as I thought of my children. Yes, I was accused of making a deal with a drug lord. I mean, maybe it was the deal I made Sierra's father sign, the deal where he shipped Carlos’s drugs, but that was years ago and no one knew about it. How could it come out now? And Cassie, I swear, I didn't touch even a hair on her head; she collapsed. And yes, I made a mistake. I listened to my cousin, whom
~DAMIAN~I muttered her name got off the bed and walked to her. I told her she shouldn’t be here, but she sidestepped by greeting me. I knew chit-chatting with her would hurt more, so I asked her to leave. She had to be with the kids, but knowing Sierra was always seeing the good in people, she refused to and demanded the truth. She wanted to know if I killed Cassie.Well, I felt bad, but it was for the best, and so I took the blame, and to make it believable, I confessed to killing Mr. Reid. Yes, I knew Sierra had been looking for her father’s murderer. I even remember her going to the office and asking me for the contract. I didn’t give it to her, as I was afraid of losing her. She would blame me for her father's death, as it wasn't yet clear to her how he died, but I knew how he died, and I knew she would do anything to know the truth. But now here it was, me confessing to her. I didn’t care if I was going to be locked up here for the rest of my life. I only wanted her safe.I knew
~SIERRA~But the knowing look was easily replaced with confusion as he ran his hands through his hair. “I'm guessing you had no idea?” I asked, and he nodded. “You didn't suspect anything?” He raised his left brow. “Your father, maybe some files or...”“Nothing, Sierra. If I knew, do you think I would let him work for me?” He asked, and I looked at him confused. “He would run the company; you know I hate being CEO,” he said as if it were obvious.“Then why did you become CEO?”“Because of you,” he stopped pacing as he came close to the cell. “I had to be close to you; I had to prove to you that I was a changed man,” he said, looking into my eyes. I don't know why my heart was beating fast; no, I couldn't allow this; I just had to help him for the children, not to get back with me.“I…” I broke eye contact and cleared my throat, and he took a hint as he looked down, clearly hurt. “I recorded my conversation with Ethan,” he nodded, “but I won't give it in, at least until you talk to him