~SIERRA~No, nothing was making sense now. I walked to the bed and sat down, as I felt like I was losing my mind. “What?!”“It's a long story. I know you think I'm dead, but I'm not, and I need your help,” she said, and I bit my inner cheeks as I thought I was dreaming. “I will explain everything to you.”“No, when did we become friends?”“Listen, I have nowhere to go; Damian probably hates me, and I can't even think of Ava, as I know she hates me too.”“Well, maybe you didn't hear, but Damian has been arrested for your death, which I now see is unjust because you are very much alive.”“I know I heard it, please. I need your help, Sierra; my life depends on it. I will explain everything, why I faked my death, and...”“Oh, so you faked your death?” I sarcastically asked."Sierra, please, trust me; I want to help Damian.”"Well, he doesn't need your help because, fortunately, your body was poisoned and you were not home all day, so Damian is kind of saved.”“I know that, but trust me, t
~SIERRA~“Lily is behind everything.” She said, and I confusedly looked at her. “She's been the one sending you those notes.” I was still confused. What did she mean by that? Sure, Lily betrayed me, but that was because Damian forced her, and no matter how she has been behaving lately, Lily was still the reason I succeeded. When Damian divorced me, she was there for me; she helped me book a ticket to Texas. I even remember her offering me a place to stay when Damian left me in the hospital. Lily was a good person, and I knew there was no way she would ever do such a thing to hurt me.“Cassie, do you know what you’re saying?” I asked as there was no way Lily was behind this; she even lost Lucas all because of the mysterious Carl, so how was it that she was behind the notes? “And besides, we do know who’s behind the notes; we are just trying to get to him.”“Don't try,” she said, and I shook my head in confusion; this was not the Cassie I knew. “Carl is dangerous, and Lily is working w
~SIERRA~I looked at Cassie, who was on her knees, her hands joined together in a begging position. “Sam?” I stood up from my seat as she walked in.“What's going on here? Please don't tell me you set Mr. Winters up because I won't believe you.” Sam was in shock; her eyes were on Cassie, who was still on her knees. Luckily, Beatrice had already closed the door as she left. “It's not what it looks like; I can explain, Sam.”“Explain what? There's nothing to explain here; you set up Mr. Winters; oh my god, was this your way to take revenge?”“Sam…”“She didn't set him up; I did.” Cassie took the blame.“What?” Sam turned to her and said, "It's obvious the two of you set him up, oh my god.”“No,” Cassie stood up, “Sierra has nothing to do with this; I'm here because I need her help.”“It doesn't matter; she still knows you're alive and kept it from the police.”“Police?” Cassie panicked. The mention of the police scared her. I mean, she should as if she killed someone, right?"Cassie, s
~SIERRA~I was looking out the window, lost in my thoughts. I still couldn't believe Lily was behind everything and that she had been playing me all this time. Well, now it makes sense why she sided with Damian the day of the custody hearing; she never liked me from the start; she just pretended to, but why would she go as far as helping me leave the country? Well, if there was anyone to answer that, then it was Lily, but she was nowhere to be found.“Sierra?” Cassie's voice shook me out of my thoughts; I didn't realize we had arrived at the airport. “We’re here,” she said, and I nodded. We decided to come in my car, as we knew taking a cab would risk her being caught. Even though it was impossible with her changed look, we didn't want to risk it."Okay, good luck,” I said. I honestly had nothing to say; we were not friends. I mean, not that I knew how friends worked since Lily turned out to be a fake one.“Thank you for everything,” she said, and I forced a smile. “Also, it's not too
~SIERRA~I couldn’t let that happen. I asked my driver to reverse the car since it was headed home, as now we were going to the station as he was rushed to the prison hospital. My driver agreed and started the car. Well, I wasn’t thinking straight, so I ended the call with Sam and told her I would be there in a few minutes.I wondered if they informed Ava, then I dialed her number, but instead, her phone started ringing from my bag, and then I remembered how I grabbed it from her the other day when she showed me Ethan’s interview; of course, I haven’t returned it, and I wondered why she hadn’t asked for it; maybe she had forgotten. Well, I hoped the news reached her somehow, as Damian and she were very close.I was lost in my thoughts thinking about Damian’s condition. What if he died without me telling the kids he was their father? I know Damian has been a bad person, but I would never be able to forgive myself. My children would hate me; that's when I made a mental note to tell them
~SIERRA~It's been a painful hour; yes, I've been checking on my phone for the time. I texted Lana to put the kids to bed since I earlier texted her to keep them up, but now it was already late and I was not planning to leave without hearing about Damian's condition.“Are they performing the surgery today?” I restlessly asked Sam; I'm sure she was tired of answering that, but instead of annoyedly answering that, she smiled and stood to her feet and came to me.“You need to calm down, Sierra; everything will work out okay,” she held my hands, and I nodded as that was the only choice I had—to stay calm.“You know,” I wiped imaginary tears since I've been holding them in. “I haven't told my kids that he's the father,” I said, and she nodded her head, which showed me that she was listening. “I was so close to telling them today, but something came up,” I sniffed. “I just want them to have a father in their lives; there are things that a father can do that I can't.” Okay, this was the firs
~SIERRA~My response seemed to have gotten a different reaction from Sam, so I cleared my throat and tried to sound calm. “I mean, how is his case related to mine?” I calmly asked.“He lost his father in an accident; it was not normal as some parts were missing from the car, which meant his death was planned.”“Oh.”“Sad, well, he has been trying ever since to find the culprit; that's the reason he became a detective; he had been secretly working on his father's case. That night…” She paused; she didn't look comfortable, and so I nodded my head to show her that she could trust me. “That night when you went to get him, I was there.” I tried hard and recalled the night I went to get him as I wanted to speak to Damian. I was sure someone was there, as I remembered a female figure, so I nodded my head.“Yes I…I almost asked
~SIERRA~ After agreeing to be the CEO of The Winters temporarily, I came home since I couldn't see Damian, and sleeping there would be crazy. I arrived to everyone asleep, except Lana, who was in the living room watching TV, “Ms. Reid.” She quickly stood from the sofa, but I asked her to sit as I removed my heels. “Don't worry, I'm not hungry, and if I get hungry, I will go into the kitchen and warm the food, okay?” I said as I knew she stayed up just so she could help me warm the food. “Thank you, Ms.; um, the kids are asleep with Beatrice.” I nodded my head, then headed up as I took my phone from the handbag. I was very tired; it was like I hadn't slept in forever. I scrolled through my phone while walking up the stairs. I wanted to see if the media people had heard about Damian’s situation, which I knew they had, as nothing went by them; it was like they had cameras installed everywhere. “A successful lawyer and CEO of The Winters Enterprise tried to escape lifetime jail
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