~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
~SIERRA~I suddenly found it difficult to stand on my feet, and just as I thought I was going to fall, someone held me, and by the scent, I quickly figured it to be Damian. I didn't have the time to struggle as the pain in my chest was too much, but still, I wanted to hear the whole story, so when Damian suggested I get to a seat, I shook my head and asked Nana to explain.“I think you should process this first.”“I don't need you to tell me what to do; I want the whole story now!” I demanded as I knew I wouldn't concentrate without hearing the whole truth. Mom and Dad got married before I was born, so I knew there was more to the story."Okay, I will tell you,” Nana said, cleaning the sweat on her forehead. “They were in love…” She then narrated everything. It turned out her husband's family wanted her son to marry another woman; marrying that woman would bring their family closer, but the son didn't listen as he was in love with his mom. “I had no choice but to accept his marriage b
~SIERRA~If it weren't for them, then I wouldn't see the point of living anymore. But to think of it, Nana didn't really hide the truth from me; maybe it was me who never dug deeper, as I remember her telling me about dad, well, now Mr. Dempsey or, let's say, Mr. Reid, falling in love with mom and even refusing to marry the woman Nana chose for him. She talked of my mother betraying him, and I remember asking her why he hated her so much; it was all because she cheated on him. Not only did she cheat, but she made a baby out of it, who is unfortunately me.Maybe my mother was trying to fix everything, but Mr. Reid never believed her. That's why Mom got into that addiction to drinking alcohol—it was part of the reason she died; the alcohol damaged her inside organs as well.I was deep in my thoughts but didn't miss the knock on the door; it could be my kids, and being a mother, I've learned to be cautious.“It's Damian, can we talk?” But as soon as I heard Damian's voice, I relaxed, as
~SIERRA~We were now on the road; my eyes were out the window just thinking of how I was going to tell my children about Damian and their reaction. I had been delaying it for so long, but not anymore. I had to tell them or I would end up like Nana; she kept the truth from me, and now I felt like I couldn’t trust her; I didn’t want my children to feel that about me too.I didn’t realize we were already close to the station. Ingrid’s scream was the one that shook me out of my thoughts as I turned at the back and quickly asked if she was okay. Damian was the one driving the car while I sat in the passenger seat Mrs. Woods was in the other car that came with us as it had guards who we needed for protection.“I saw a butterfly,” she said, and I quickly calmed down turned to Damian, and asked him to continue driving as he planned to pull over.“It’s just a butterfly, Ingrid; it’s not even special,” Nathan said, and Ingrid rolled her eyes.“It’s very special; do you know how lucky we are to
~SIERRA~It’s been a week; business was going well, and when I say business, I mean my businesses—my restaurants. Everything was well managed as I appointed restaurant managers since Gilbert had disappeared and Bruce confirmed he was never coming back as Bruce was still Gilbert’s friend.Ethan had taken over the company. I mean, after settling his case, he still needed to go for a hearing or whatever, but he was free, and surprisingly, the scandal only brought in more clients, as from what he tells me, the company was making more than ever.Damian helped Bruce at times with cases; otherwise, he was a full-time father even when I didn’t tell the kids he was their father, as I still haven’t found a perfect chance, at least not while Nana was gone, as she had disappeared, leaving only a letter claiming she was clearing her mind.Damian still helped Detective Thomas with the case, and I didn’t think they had any leads now as Damian only kept asking about Nana if I knew where she was, whic