GEORGIA, ATLANTA 2017
~SIERRA~
“We still don’t have a name, but hopefully we will make one soon,” I told her, and she nodded.
“Why are you sleeping here? You can come with us and have the guest room, or why don’t you go to your grandmother? Does she know you’re here?” She asked.
"No, I’m fine here, thank you so much, Lily. My grandmother doesn’t know I’m here.”
“You didn’t get a chance to call her?”
“No, I would rather not,” I said and she nodded.
“Should I come pick you up tomorrow?”
"No, it is fine, I’ll find my way. Thank you so much, Lily,” I declined, as I didn't want to invade her busy schedule.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Call me if you need anything. I have to go now,” she kissed my cheeks before leaving.
When she closed the door, I felt lonely. I have always been alone. Damian never reciprocated my love, but just the thought of him being my husband filled that loneliness, now that he mentioned divorcing me, the loneliness was here.
“He’s just nervous, he will come around,” I convinced myself as my hands reached to my cheeks and wiped away tears. I closed my eyes and focused on sleeping.
*******
“Mrs. Winters, are you ready?” The nurse asked for the fifth time.
“Yes,” I said, taking in a deep breath as she disconnected the IVs from my wrists.
“Please follow the doctor's instructions, no wine or any form of alcohol until after the delivery of your baby,” she reminded me, and I nodded.
As she was done disconnecting the IVs, I made my way to the bathroom. I cleaned up and changed into my clothes. Done, I walked out of the bathroom, seeing that the nurse was not around. I took my bag and walked out.
I didn't need to go to the receptionist, as everything was already with me, so I went straight out and started searching for a cab.
I looked around, and my eyes fell on a couple. The woman was pregnant, just a few weeks from giving birth. I could easily tell from her swollen belly. The man supported her as he walked her inside the hospital. I adored them for a minute before a cab pulled over and asked me if I needed a ride.
I got inside and showed the driver my location from my phone without saying a word.
My thoughts wandered to my husband, did he perhaps change his mind?
But even deep in my thoughts, I didn't miss the time the car came to a halt as I pulled out a ten-dollar note and handed it to the driver.
“Thank you,” I said and went out. I took a deep breath before I approached my matrimonial home.
Our home was outside town, not my choice. As he said, this was supposed to be their home with Cassie. I tried to make him trade it, but it only led to arguments.
When I was inside, I removed my coat, and once again as I looked around I was reminded of her. Everything, the way the house was decorated, was all in Cassie’s style. I couldn't even change it, as I had no right.
I threw myself on the couch, and that’s when I realized someone was in the kitchen. Curious as Damian was supposed to be at work, I walked to the kitchen, only for my eyes to land on the beautiful woman from the restaurant, Cassie.
“You’re here early, Sierra, right?” She asked, pouring water from the water boiler into a mug. I remained dumbfounded as my eyes caught her nightgown, it was mine.
“Is that my nightgown?” I asked.
“Yes, Damian said you don’t use it anymore, I mean, with your body, I agree,” she responded without care as her fingers played with the spoon. It was true I couldn't fit in the gown as I gained so much weight, but it still didn’t give her the right to wear my gown.
“And you wore it because?”
“Because I didn’t have a gown, or did you prefer I wear Damian’s shirt?”
“What? There are a lot of bathrobes here, you could have used that, and besides, what are you doing here?”
"Oh, spare me, it’s just a gown, and it’s not like it’s you who bought it. I’m not up for an argument right now. If you can’t guess I had a wild night,” she said and attempted to walk out but stopped by the door. “Oh yes, Damian left you the papers by the table, put your signature on it, and let me know once you're done,” she said and walked out.
I didn't stop her as I rushed to the table and saw the documents on the table. With trembling hands, I clasped the documents and read the bolded words out loud.
“DIVORCE AGREEMENT.” I gasped and immediately rushed to the bedroom, following the woman.
“Cassie!” I called her name as soon as I opened the door. She was lying on her back in my bed with a mug of coffee in her right hand and her phone in her left.
“Why are you yelling?” She asked annoyedly as she sat up.
“What’s going on here? Where did you get these documents?”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m very serious. Where did you get these documents?” I repeated myself. I felt my palms burning as I dug my fingernails into them.
“Damian left them, he asked me to give them to you,” she explained, noticing my anger.
“No, he can never do such a thing, you’re... You’re lying to me.” I stammered, and she rolled her eyes.
“Now I see the reason he wants to divorce you,” she said. “You have low self-esteem and zero respect for yourself.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course I do. I mean, look around, Sierra, everything in here is designed and decorated just the way I envisioned my dream home to be, from the colors to the furniture, or he didn’t mention that to you?”
“This is exactly the way I like it,” I lied.
“You can lie to someone else but not me, and let me tell you something, Damian is and will forever be mine, I’m here to claim what’s mine. You should sign those divorce documents and leave, or how long do you think he’ll stand seeing your fat, ugly body when my sexy one is around?”
“You have no right to say such a thing to me, my husband and I are just having a misunderstanding. We will fix it,” I told her as I walked out. Even when my heart was breaking, I couldn't give her the pleasure of watching me break.
I cleaned the tears from my cheeks as I worked my way down the stairs.
GEORGIA, ATLANTA 2017~DAMIAN~When Sierra insisted on following me on a lunch date with my friends, I was hesitant. My friends never liked her—only Lily, but the rest didn’t. Wanting to teach her a lesson for being clingy, I agreed.We arrived, and as usual, my friends and I started talking about law. While Ava and Lily talked about women's things—brands, clothes, or whatever women talk about—Sierra looked completely lost, just like I expected. Everything went well, and then Cassie appeared. Of course, Ava mentioned that Cassie would return, I just didn’t know she was already in town. She called me days ago to tell me about her divorce. I just wanted to be there for her, I even offered her the CEO position of my company, as it would take a weight off my shoulders. Managing a business, being a lawyer, and being Sierra’s husband was draining.My heart felt at ease seeing her again until Sierra ruined it with her fake discomfort. Angry, I asked her for divorce just for the doctor to co
GEORGIA, ATLANTA 2017~DAMIAN~I woke up earlier than usual. I looked at the beautiful woman who was in a deep sleep. The sheet barely covered her body, her perfect ass was exposed, and I beat myself for even doubting or caring for Sierra’s leave last night. I carefully crawled on the bed to her side and started kissing her legs and she giggled.“Damian… I’m still not awake,” she said, half asleep.“I know, I’m just trying to cover up your body, I don’t want the people on TV to start gawking at my woman,” I said. She let out a small, attractive laugh. After securely covering her body with the sheet, I removed strands of her hair from her face. I tugged it behind her ear and kissed her cheek. When I was done, I got up and walked to the bathroom.I was already naked, so I just headed straight to the shower. I let the tap run as my hands ran through my hair. I took a bath net and started washing my body. When I was done, I closed my eyes to wash off the soap and that’s when I saw her
GEORGIA, ATLANTA 2017~DAMIAN~"Yes, Mr. Winters, how are you?”“I’m doing well, how are you, detective?”“I’m also well, how may I assist you today?”“My wife is missing.”“Sir, Mrs. Winters is missing?”“No, she’s not missing... I mean, we had a misunderstanding, and she’s nowhere to be found,” I explained. Why did he even care?“Oh, alright, sir, maybe she’s with her grandmother, or...”“No, she left the country, I just want you to find out which country she went to.”"Okay, that’s simple. I can go to the airports with her information, and I’ll easily find out the country, but for that to happen, we need to have a case against her, the ports don’t give out personal information unless we have a case.”“I understand, tell them she departed with my assets,” I thought quickly."Sir, that can be..”“Just do it, detective, or are you tired of your job? You know I can..”"Understood, sir. I’ll get back to you before the end of the day.”“That’s what I thought,” I said and hung up.Just as
TEXAS, HOUSTON 2017~SIERRA~"Shit, where’s that belt?” I cursed as I started looking for my belt. It’s a challenge for us plus-size women to wear an office skirt without a belt, it makes you look unprofessional. When I found it, I placed it around my waist. It would also help in case no one wanted to hire a pregnant woman, as my bump was already showing. “I should register for a yoga class,” I reminded myself as I looked in the mirror. My hands unintentionally reached my bump. “We need to get this job,” I said out loud, and my eyes caught sight of my hair, it was copper, my natural hair color. Three years ago, I had to dye it to my husband's —well, now my ex-husband’s demand. Lily sent me a copy of the divorce last week. I’ve been in Houston for two weeks now. I have been looking for a job but with no luck. They all either wanted to be bribed or get into my pants. I was not going to lose my dignity, especially now that I was pregnant. After I admired my hair in the mirror, I gra
TEXAS, HOUSTON 2017~SIERRA~“Ms. Reid, we can cancel the event, we still haven’t confirmed with them.”“No, the event will go on.”"But, Ms. Reid, the ingredients will cost more than they are paying,” my supervisor insisted.“I know, but we are trying to make loyal customers, trust me, it is a good business move,” I told her and continued calculating the event budget. We finished with the paperwork yesterday, and now I am the legal owner of Wine and Dine. We agreed on the cost of seven hundred thousand, which left me with enough money to at least build this restaurant. There’s a wedding event taking place, and the budget forced me to use my funds.“I didn't inform you yet, but the chef quit.”“He what? Why?”“He got a better offer, Wine and Dine is broke and couldn't pay him a reasonable salary,” she said, and I nodded.“That's fine, just get all the ingredients we need and ask two of the waitresses to wait for me in the kitchen, I'll do the cooking,” I told her, as I couldn't affor
TEXAS, HOUSTON 2023~SIERRA~“Oh my gosh, Ingrid!” I was frightened as my daughter jumped over the colorful tires.“Don’t worry, Ms. Reid, she's fine,” Beatrice, my assistant, assured me.“Mommy! Mommy! I jumped,” she excitedly screamed."Yes, you did my love, now come to Mommy,” I sweetly said, as I didn't want her to continue jumping over the tires. These activities were fun, but I always got scared whenever I saw them having this much fun. I didn't want them to get hurt or for anything to happen to them."No, Mommy, I still want to jump.” She refused and continued jumping. Ingrid was my copy, she had Damian's brown eyes, but her facial features and hair were mine. She was outspoken, but I loved her dearly because of her confidence.My eyes landed on Nathan, who was on the hopscotch. He was very good at numbers, and he outdid his friends. Nathan was Damian’s copy, with his loose waves, brown eyes, nose, and all his facial features —exactly Damian. He was smart and careful. I smiled,
~SIERRA~“Please tell Lana to pack the kids’ bags, you can pack your bags too, we are going to Georgia,” I told her as she picked up the phone, which fell on the floor and ended the call.“Right away, Miss, should we pack for a month or...”“Just for a few days,” I said and turned to my instructor, who was waiting expectantly. “I'm sorry, but we have to cancel class today. I have to fly to Georgia for an emergency.”"Alright, I understand, Ms. Reid. Just let me know once you come back,” she said as she gathered her things."Yes, of course.” I tried to sound strong, but deep down, I just felt like crying. Nana was the one who raised me, my mother died years ago of stomach cancer. She was the reason I married Damian. My mother needed money for surgery, but my father was not willing to help. Damian was my father's lawyer. The time I went to beg for money, he was with my father, and the next day he showed up at the hospital and offered to pay for my mother's surgery only if I married him
~SIERRA~“Are you sure?”"Yes, Ms. Reid, it is a good financial move,” he said."Oh, are we doing formality again?” I joked as I sipped my glass of wine and sat on the stool."Well, I’m still your employee, and we are talking about business.” Yes, Gilbert was my lawyer and financial advisor. He also helped manage some of my restaurants while balancing his job as a lawyer and financial advisor. He told me he was living his dream life.“So what companies are you suggesting?” I asked as I placed my glass of wine on the table and focused on my laptop."Well, there are a lot of options. The Fosters need shareholders and investors, while The Winters desperately need shareholders.”“Wait, did you say The Winters?” “Yes, they are going bankrupt..”“Bankrupt?” I didn’t let him finish.“Yes, and now it’s easy to get a hold of their shares because their shareholders are selling their shares.”“Interesting,” I said as my mind thought for a second. It would be good to buy shares in Damian’s compa