~SIERRA~ I had forgotten that I had plates in my hands until I heard the tinkling sound of the glass meeting the sink. I quickly turned and realized the plate was broken. I uncomfortably cleared my throat and tried to take the broken pieces, but Damian was quick enough as he held my hand, stopping me just as I was about to take the first piece. Again, that made us have a moment as our eyes met, his eyes still soft but now with affection. No, what was happening? Damian was my ex-husband. I couldn't keep having these moments with him, so I quickly looked away and again cleared my throat in embarrassment. “It's okay, I…” “I will do it,” he cut me, and I nodded as I wanted to be at a distance from him to catch my breath. I moved away from him to wash the dishes. I pretended to want to wipe them dry, but in reality, I was just pulling myself together. After a few moments, I turned to Damian, who had successfully removed the broken pieces from the sink. “Thank you,” I said, and I walke
~SIERRA~It's been a week; life was getting better; the company was doing well; I interviewed with Elite; and the contract was signed. The Winters were now being recognized again, just like when Mr. Winters (Damian's father) himself was running it. Nothing has been heard from Lily, and the detective had no leads, or maybe they just refused to tell me as Detective Thomas had recovered and was back on the case, but every time I went there, he would just tell me they had no leads and request for Damian, thus he has been visiting the station lately, and he said it was to see his brother, which was a lie as whenever I went there I would find him in detective Thomas’s office.He did ask me to stay away from the case and take care of the company once, but my response made him take back his words as he instead asked me to be careful. “You're the mother of my children; I don't want anything to happen to you; I will solve this case for you.” These were his words, which were kind of him, but wi
~SIERRA~We were now in my office, and I walked to my seat so it wouldn't get into any uncomfortable situation. “Was she arrested?” I asked as I stood behind my seat while he stood a distance from me.“No, she went in to report a robbery.”“A what?”“She claimed to be robbed.”“That's impossible,” I said, getting into my thinking position. There was no way Lily was robbed; she was surely there for something.“I thought so, but Detective Thomas believed her; he said someone was robbed around the area she mentioned.”“Oh my god, but why didn't they arrest her? Or even take her for questioning; the detective knows she's somehow involved.”“He couldn't; James is nowhere near to confirm the allegations.”“Did the detective tell you that?” I asked, as I thought he trusted me, why would I lie? Damian nodded his head. “So he doesn't believe me?” “It's not like that; the detective was given a last chance; if he blew it up, he would be permanently cut off from the case,” he explained, and it m
~SIERRA~ After a few awkward minutes of silence, we finished, and Nana took the kids to their room. She looked so excited as if she had planned everything with the kids, as she even winked, and I rolled my eyes. When they disappeared, I stood up to clear the table, but Damian stopped me. “I will do it,” he said, his hand now on my wrist. I looked down at where he was holding me, and he quickly realized as he removed his hand and apologized. I nodded and bid him goodnight. He seemed surprised as if he was expecting me to help him or something, but he cleared his voice and said goodnight to me too, so I walked away, but as I reached the door, he said, “I could use the company, though.” I turned and told him I was tired when, in reality, I knew I couldn't be around him.Then I rushed up and almost bumped into someone; it was Nana. “It’s okay to give yourself a second chance,” she said, and I shook my head and walked past her, running straight to my room.
~SIERRA~Seeing my name made me feel things I didn't want to feel, as I didn't know how, but my hand was now on his chest. My fingers outlined the letters of my name, and then I felt his strong hands caressing my arms. It was strange, as back in our marriage years, Damian never bothered to touch me this way, but I didn't stop him as it felt nice.My skin had now developed goosebumps at his touch, so I stopped moving. I slowly looked up at him and met his eyes, as his eyes were already staring at me. I didn't break eye contact, as somehow it felt like he was communicating with me through the eyes.We were still staring into each other's eyes, while his left hand had now reached my face. He used his thumb to rub my upper lip. I don't know why I didn't stop him as I stood still. Then he leaned into my lips, and when he was inches from my lips, he stopped and asked if he could kiss me.It took me by surprise, as the Damian I knew would never ask. I mean, back then, he never kissed me, bu
~DAMIAN~I shot my eyes open and got off the bed at the first ring of the alarm. I wasn't asleep; I'd been up for an hour, just with my eyes closed, as I still couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Sierra left the bed before me. Now I understand how she felt on those days when I used to leave her in bed.It's not a good feeling, and if I were to go back in time, I would change it. I would have been better, treating her to breakfast in bed, helping her with her bath, or even reading a novel or something. If I could go back, I would do better, but no matter how much I regretted it, there was no going back, and I just had to accept it and do better if she gave me a chance, which even when she left me this early, I didn't doubt as I knew I was a step from winning her heart again.Inside the shower, I ran the tap and ran my hands through my hair. As I thought of a way to win her back, surely finding Carl was not enough; I had to do more than that. Then I remembered the scar on her abd
~DAMIAN~I walked inside and went straight to the living room, then sat on the sofa and tried to process what Thomas just told me. Sierra was his sister, but how would that be possible? Sierra was Mr. Reid's daughter, and it won't make sense that Mr. Reid was also Thomas's father because his father died when he was still a little boy—nine years old, and Mr. Reid was alive at that time.“Damian?” Only hearing Thomas's voice from the other end brought me back to my senses as I realized the phone was still pressing on my ear.“Thomas, how is it possible? Mr. Reid died like five years ago, and your father has been dead for ages now, so how could he be Sierra’s father?” I asked for an explanation. I was breathing at a normal rate now as I had calmed down; sitting down really helped."Well, it turned out Mr. Reid is not your wife's real father.” He kept using wife because, when I was around him, I insisted on referring to Sierra as my wife. After all, to me, she was still my wife.“Does tha
~SIERRA~Waking was a struggle today, but I still managed to pull myself together. Last night's memories kept haunting me, but if there was something I learned to do, it was masking pain and faking feelings, so I told myself I was Sierra and that no man could ever hurt me. Surely to Damian, it was just a night of pleasure, a night to satisfy his sexual needs, and who was I to take it in another way? It was a night of pleasure to me too, even if deep down I knew it meant something more.I've lived the last five years without a man. Gilbert tried, but I always turned him down, so something in me always knew that Damian was the one, that it could be him or no one, and since Gilbert, whom I almost gave a chance, disappointed me, I was set to being alone again.I walked to the shower—the pain between my thighs reminded me of him. I ignored the pain and made a mental note to take an aspirin as it had been years since I had sex, and with Damian’s size, I understood the pain.I took a bath an
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