~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
~SIERRA~Well, I didn’t expect Ethan to come clean. I thought of visiting him again, but it seemed I didn’t need to do that anymore as he came clean. “I will call you back,” I told the detective and ended the call as I wanted to see what else Ethan would say.“Mr. Winters and my mother were together before he married Damian's mother,” he said, and I turned up the volume. “I grew up with hate. I wanted to punish Mr. Winters for what he made my mother go through, but hearing of his death, I decided to go after Damian instead.”“And Damian is your brother?” the interviewer asked.“Yes,” he cleared his throat. “He is my little brother, and I apologize for what I did; I shouldn't have. I am sure he didn't know about me, and I truly regret it.” He sounded sincere. “I wish I could turn back time; I was blinded by anger that I ended up tricking him into signing a fake contract, and yes, the drug dealer doesn't exist; I made it up and leaked the contract to the media,” Ethan explained everythi
~SIERRA~So, giving Jane a knowing look, I followed Ava, who led me outside. “Did anything happen to Damian? Is he okay?” I asked as soon as we were out.“No, no, he's good. I mean, except from being locked up, he's fine.” She sadly smiled. She really cared for Damian, and that alone relaxed me. At least I knew there were people willing to help Damian, Jane, Ava, and now Ethan, but I still wondered where Lily was. I then remembered how she said that Damian forced her to testify against me. I had to ask Damian about it, but not while he's here. “Well,” Ava said, clearing her throat, and I shook out of my thoughts. I rubbed my arms—not that it was cold, but it felt weird talking to Ava; she never liked me. I mean, now I at least know none of them did because Lily was pretending.“You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable,” I said as Ava looked hesitant.“No, I have to. I mean, Damian told me he confessed to you, and that made me realise just how much he loves you.”“Ava…”“Don