Dwayne was not that blind. He saw it in her. Those innocent yet cold eyes were just a facade, behind those eyes, clouded in fuzzy, was her fears and trepidation. She had tried to wade the fear off —better still try to rule over them, but somehow, they kept coming back to her; hurting her down.If not that she was strong on her own, Dwayne, on the other hand, knows she would have broken down to her least —for long. Her little sister is strong, but not enough to fight off the trepidation that were slowly eating her up.“Most times, I wish I never met him because I keep having this feeling that he only used me to his advantage.” Her voice was at the verge of breaking, but she still managed to maintain her calm tone. “I was such a fool, right, Dwayne?”“Don't say that, little sister…" Dwayne cautioned her lightly, as he moved closer to her, holding her head unto his broad chest. “He did not use you, he may have tried, but look at you; you manage to slip off his grip when he least expected

“Aunt Ciara…" The little boy smiled widely, his smile reaching his eyes as he rushed to go embrace her. Ciara, as if waiting for him to, caught him and lifted him up, reciprocating his smile. Still, the boy's smile was wider.Derrick is Uncle Kent's oldest and maybe only grandson and the closest to his grandfather —and since Uncle Kent is pretty close to Dwayne and Ciara, they get to meet more often, creating a bond more than ever.“Little Rick.” She renounced before dropping him down. In response to her, Derrick pouted his lips childishly, masking his face up in a displeased expression. Ciara noticed his new made - up look, and she squatted down to his height. “What is it, is something wrong?”Derrick nodded his head multiple times in reply before speaking. “Yes.” He mouthed slowly, drawling his words. “I don't love the sound of the name you keep calling me, aunt Ciara.”“Eh —why?” She requested simply with her brows raised in a questioning manner. “Why don't you love it? Isn't littl

"It was a huge mistake on our part, Brandon, to let her live till this day. I had told Ferdinand to wipe her off when he had the chance but he hesitated, you can see the result now?" She heard uncle Kent muttered, his voice laced with annoyance.‘—wipe her off’? Who's her? Ciara pondered as she realized the meaning behind the wiping off stuffs, fear settling on her heart as she felt it drop to the pit of her stomach. What in Pete's name are they discussing about?"I was glad when I heard she ran away from home and I've hope she never comes back..." Uncle Kent trailed off, probably waiting on the person who was on the line reply before speaking again. "She came back home with a pregnancy and the baby's father have no idea..."She know whatever topic their discussion may turn to be, it's about her and Dwayne —mostly herself. Her heartache in realization that uncle Kent had told the rest of her uncles what was supposed to be amongst the three of them only —herself, Dwayne and uncle Kent

“I needed some space, I could say.” Ciara stated simply, with no readable expression on her face, giving Dwayne no chance to pinpoint whatever thought she was having on her mind. “—and to be away for as long as I can.”Dwayne stared at his sister, with an obfuscated look on his face and his brows deeply creased as well. “You needed some space?” He mouthed her words in repeat, like he was trying to memorize it, and disbelief was laced in his voice. “That's one of the weirdest things I'll ever hear from you, Ciara —and horribly funny as well.” “I won't be here if this was supposed to be a joke or something, do I have to lie to you on this as well?” She enunciated, not finding his choice of words pleasing. Why would he think she was in for a joke? “When will you cease needing some space and from uncle Kent, of all people?” He asked, obviously demanding an answer from her —anything for a reply, but as expected, he got nothing. “Are you planning on eloping this time as well, for eternity

“So, what was that supposed to mean?” Ryan blurted out in a sharp tone, glaring hard at Anne. “That you want a share in it as well?” Ryan thought he heard wrong, that supposed to be a statement from her at all? He doubts that she is in her right senses at the moment. “You heard me right, Ryan.” Anne fielded his question with a sarcastic reply, her arms folded across her chest as she dramatically moves her left leg, tapping it continuously on the hard marbled floor.Ryan sighed under his breath, trying his possible best to tame his uprising anger. “You have all you want from me, Anne, even though…”Anne quickly cut him off abruptly, giving him no chance to complete his words. “No everything, I did not have of all the things I wanted from you, Ryan.” She told him, returning the same vibe as his; her voice was as hard as his. “Stop making it look like you gave me your life span in the process of having all I want from you.”In as much as she sounded far from the kind of sensible person