Chapter||38

This is for my people who just lost somebody

Your best friend, your baby, your man or your last

Put your hand way up high

We won't never say bye (no no no)

Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins

Sonya looked stunning as she stood with her head held high in front of the full-length mirror in her black custom-made Stella McCartney dress that hugged her curvy frame perfectly. The v-dip on the dress gave room for her neck to be framed by one of Eric Mavachev's handmade pieces which 2 letters resting in between her boobs.

The letters resemble the two people who meant so dear to her but sadly would no longer be walking this earth. She raised her hand to touch the letters as she looked at herself in the mirror, water began to blur her vision as the thought of losing them was too much to bear.

She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to God in her head, "Dear God please give us the strength of your love and guide us through this difficult time, I don't question your actions because I know it's for a purpose and I hope you show us through this, I know you'll keep them safe until it's my time to meet them again, amen," she finished off her prayer with a kiss to the Lord.

Omar stood at the door as he stared at his wife mourning over their losses, the dried-up tears stained her bare face indicating the crying fit she had previous to his arrival.

He walked up to behind her placing his head in between her neck as he snaked his arms around her waist. Her vanilla scent suffocated his nostrils as he stared intensely at his wife through the mirror. She gave a weak smile but Omar knew his wife too well, her eyes told a different story which he knew to be sadness. It was the same look she had on her face at her brother's funeral.

"I'm with you every step of the way," he gave her assurance as he placed soft kisses on her neck, it was his way of calming her down.

"I should be the one saying that to you, you don't have to be strong I know you want to cry," she turned around and placed a hand on his face, should see the distress written on his face even though he tried to not show it. She brushed her thumb across the scar that lingered from above his eyebrow to just above his mouth. The battle scars that tattooed his body made Saniya love him even more, it showed his journey through life and how far he has come.

"We've got our children out there that need us now more than ever, Kains starting to rebel and his anger has risen while Kairo is silent, I'm worried about them," Saniya expressed her concerns for her children knowing this was the hardest death they've had to face so far and this is how they chose to cope.

"We just have to give them time, it's time to go now," Omar glanced down at his Movado watch that graced his wrist noticing that the limo should be outside anytime soon. Saniya turned around to fix the purple and blue tie that strangled his neck and then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you to infinity," Omar beamed as he grabbed her hand stroking it as he stared at her beauty. He didn't know what he would've done if he didn't have her by his side and he was forever grateful.

"I love you to infinity," Saniya smiled genuinely as she squeezed his hand allowing him to lead the way out of the closet.

Kairo stood at their bedroom door admiring his parents' love, he hoped to love a woman as much as his father loved his mother. The way he looked at her was like no other, it was as if his eyes glistened at the sight of his wife. The same energy was reciprocated with Saniya, her husband was her one and only. From the day they met everything in her life seemed to be perfect for her relationship, there was no cheating from either party, no miscommunication, and they vowed to always talk out their feelings with one another. Yes, they had ups and downs but whose relationship didn't, they talked about their problems and made compromises in the name of love.

Omar was Saniya's king and Saniya was Omar's Queen.

"Hey baby," Saniya gave a tight smile to him as she embraced him in a comforting hug. Kairo didn't say anything as he hugged, words couldn't even express how upset he was.

Kairo gave his mum a tight smile in return before being guided out to meet the driver who stood waiting outside of the limo.

Kairo embraced Jakari and Armani tightly who were waiting in the living room quietly. No words were spoken between the cousins as they hugged for a while spreading comfort through their bodies.

"Come on yall, the limo is waiting," Saniya announced as she admired their moment together with Omar's arm wrapped around her waist.

_______________________

"We gather here today not to mourn but to celebrate 2 lives, lives that were sadly cut short, lives so full of spirit and happiness but God wanted to see his angles earlier than we anticipated," The pastor preached as the White family sat front row of the church.

Kain couldn't bare the thought of never seeing her again as his eyes travelled everywhere around the church but not the casket. Seeing the casket would set in stone that they were never coming back and he wanted them to come back.

He needed them to come back.

The people laying in the casket gave him so much, even when he felt low all he had to do was look at their smile and he would be smiling right along with her. Kain lost his train of thought and gazed his eyes onto his screaming mother who was being consoled by his father, the father who also wanted to scream and cry about his precious loss but kept it cool for his family. In his father's eyes, he had to be strong because if he wasn't who would be there to help everyone else when in reality he was the one who needed help from the lost.

Losing an immediate family member is one of the hardest things an individual has to endeavour. But losing two was unbearable, especially at such a young age. Losing a child was something everyone had a soft spot for, everyone could agree that no parent should bury their child but instead the child bury their parent.

In this case, the White family was hit with the hardest one.

Kamiya rubbed Kairos's leg to try and calm him down as he bounced it up and down.

"I love you," Kairo placed his hand on top where Kam's resided and brushed his thumb across it. He was grateful to have her in his presence at this time in his life.

The service lasted for another hour before it was time to go to the burial site. Kairo and Kam sat in the limo drowning in their thoughts, Kam could tell Kairo was tired, the bags that rested under his eyes to his puffy red eyes all gave it away.

"I miss them so much," Kairo closed his eyes as he took deep breaths trying to control his feelings. Kam turned in her seat and grabbed his head pulling it towards her so it now rested in between her boobs which Kairo had no objection to as he took in her comfort. She rubbed the back of his neck to try and soothe him as he sobbed into her chest.

"They are in a better place now baby, this world was too cruel for them, just look into the sky and you'll see them, they always look down on you from now on," She tried to be as comforting as she could remembering the things her aunty used to say to her when her father passed. That was the hardest day of her life and if wasn't for her siblings and aunt she wouldn't know what she would've done.

"Thank you," He managed to let out before he buried his face deeper into her chest even if it was suffocating him, he found comfort in her touch and always wanted to be in her presence.

He couldn't believe he fell hard for Kam, he would do anything for her a knee she would do anything for him. The fact that he was cheating on her lingered in his mind, he couldn't tell her nor could he stop, he didn't want to break her heart but his dick always thought before his head when it came to pussy.

"Always," she replied before she kissed the top of his head and they rode in silence all the way to the cemetery. They made it to the family cemetery in 25 minutes with Kairo managing to take a quick nap in that time frame.

"We're here baby," she spoke softly to him nudging him to wake up, he stirred before he fully proceeded to take in what she had said.

"I don't wanna go anymore, he mumbled with his head still in between her boobs.

"Yes you do, come on they waiting for us," she saw his parents, Jakari and Armani exit their own limo.

It took him a while to gather himself but he finally exited the vehicle with Kam holding his hand with a blue and purple rose in the other. They headed towards the rest of the family ready to bury their family members.

"I love you," he placed a kiss on the caskets before they were lowered into the dirt. They all threw the blue and purple flowers onto the casket once it was on the ground.

The men began to throw dirt on top of the coffins as the rest watched with teary eyes. Destiny hugged Armani tightly as they cried into each other.

_____________________

The present

"Where are they, are they okay, what happened, I thought everything was going good with them," Kairo fired all in one breath as he ran into the hospital bumping straight into Deshawn as he paced around the hospital waiting for the doctors.

They were engulfed in a brotherly hug, Deshawn tightened his grip every millisecond just wanting that comfort since he was by himself at the moment. Asia was still in jail so she wasn't even able to see her kids, Deshawn hadn't even told her yet because he knew she would be stressing and cursing him out even more about her kids. Kairo's parents looked at Deshawn as another kid so they were on their way to with Armani who had trusted Ryan with her baby.

"They ain't telling me nothing, them stupid ass nurses keep telling me to wait, remember last time we had to wait and them people done told us she died," Deshawn reminisced on the time they waited hours on hours for the nurses to tell them information on Kairos sister and aunt, they held so much hope and was presented with sadness once the doctor pronounced them dead.

"Hey, don't think like that, they're going to be okay," Kairo tried to keep his calm inside but the thoughts of being back in a hospital brought back so many memories. The death of his sister and aunt will always be fresh in his mind as if it was yesterday whenever he steps foot in a hospital.

They all spent hours and hours in the waiting room waiting for her back from the doctors with the hope of good news. Sadly the good news never came and ever since then, Kairos has been traumatised by waiting for the doctors' results.

"I-I don't kn-know how it happens K," Deshawn expressed in the best way he could. His kids meant the world to him and if anything happened to them would tear his life apart.

This was the first time since Asia had been in jail that Deshawn realised that he needed her. He needed to hold her and for her to tell him that everything was going to be okay. Asia brought out the soft side of Deshawn, she was the only female that could calm him down. He was starting to regret his decision on sending her to jail but knew it was in her best interest to do so.

The thought of losing the twins and Asia not being able to see her then was breaking his heart, he would never forgive himself for depriving his children of their mother on their last days. Regret filled him but just as fast as it came was as fast as it went. He knew he made the best decision on how to keep her and his kids safe so he left that thought in the back of his mind.

"You didn't do anything wrong, sometimes things like this happen and we have no control over it, you've been the best father to them, especially with their conditions in which you catered to them," Kamiya expressed to her brother as she tried to calm his nerves down even though hers were just as high but she knew she needed to be there for him.

The thought of losing her nieces was something she couldn't live with. The distraught look on her brother's face poked at her heart, she'd never seen Deshawn look like this even when their father passed so she didn't know how he would take it if she tried to console him.

"I-I just... I can't lose them, Kam, I can't," She pulled him into a bear hug which invited his tears to fall down his face as he buried his face into her shoulder. The height difference between the two made Kamiya go on her tippy toes while Deshawn's back bent causing it to hurt but he didn't care. The hug from his sister made all the pain go away.

"Family of the Valdez Twins," A doctor said as she searched around the waiting room looking for any signs of the family.

Deshawn's head popped up instantly and they both made their way to the doctor who previously stood with her arms in her pocket and neck held up high. The multiple sudden rises of people after the mention of Valdez stunned her a bit but she held her composure.

"Are my babies okay," Deshawn rushed out as soon as he was in arms reach of the doctor.

"They are fine for now, but will need to stay overnight just so we can monitor them and see if things worsen as you know they have sepsis so we have to be cautious especially with them being so little," She spoke the final verdict of their condition before sending a warm smile in the family's direction to reassure them.

A dark cloud was released over their head when those words came out of her mouth and Saniya silently praised the Lord that her grandbabies were okay, she softly squeezed Deshawn's hand signalling him that everything would be okay.

"Can we go see them now," Deshawn eagerly asked before anyone else could speak.

"Of course, only 2 visitors at a time and they do end soon, right this way," She guided them to the twins' room, which was located in a private area on the top floor courtesy of Omar and his money, they slept peacefully in a baby bed protected by the sides.

Deshawn nearly broke down at the sight of his babies but was grateful that they were alive at least. He reached his hands out to touch them both and gently smiled when their little hands wrapped around his index finger. The thought of losing them even broke his heart, he needed to find a safe way to get Asia out of prison without putting his family's life in danger. He couldn't do this single-parent life alone and needed his other half to help me desperately. Yes he had help from his family but they needed their mother and sadly it took him this long to realise that he should've just come clean to her and his family about his struggle and crisis.

It's been hours since the twins were in the hospital and visiting hours had expired a long time ago. Kairo huffed as he plumped down onto the seat next to where Kamiya held a sleeping Aaliyah. It was just the two of them in the waiting room since everyone else was inside the twins' room saying their final goodbyes. Kairo contemplated whether he should speak to her or not, they haven't had a real conversation in weeks so this could go left any second.

Kairo glanced to the side of him to look at Kamiya. Her beauty was something he would never get tired of. Regret filled his mind as he stared at her, Kamiya could feel his stare but refused to look in his direction, she was tired of this back and forth they were doing and could no longer keep up with these shenanigans.

"I'm gonna take her home she's getting sleepy," She stood up quickly propping Liyah on her hip and adjusting her in a comfortable position.

"Okay I'll walk you out," Kam didn't say anything but nodded her head as she allowed him to. Kairo took Liyah out of her arm to strap her into her car seat, he gave her a kiss before closing the door.

"I see you got a new car," he brushed his hand against the door admiring the car as he tried to make conversation with her.

"Yeah I felt as though I needed a new start, sold the other one," She kept it plain and short as she got ready to hop in her car, she didn't feel the need to talk to Kairo at this very moment.

"Well it looks good on you," he complimented her as his eyes scanned over her body.

"Goodbye K," She hopped in her car after giving him a tight smile.

_________________________

6 months later

Saturday 30th August

"Every time I looked at the twins in that hospital bed I think of all the possible ways that could've been Aaliyah, whether or not it was a medical or an accident, it still could've been Liyah and knowing that it could've been Liyah and we're not on best terms right now doesn't sit well with me." Kairo blurted out to Kamiya who simply kept her head down pretending to wipe something off Liyahs face. She's been through this with Kairo many times and each time things never changed, she was tired of it all.

"The fact that we can barely be in a room together bothers me. How Aaliyah could be dying and she wouldn't be able to witness the love of her parents, I'm not saying we should get back together but at least be cordial and friends where we can actually have fun with each other without being awkward. I want Liyah to see her parents being nice to each other and not just fighting all the time." Kairo couldn't lie and say he didn't want Liyah to grow up in a 2 parental household which he had, the fact that he ruined her chances played with his head, she wouldn't be able to remember when her parents kissed and the love they had for each other poured throughout the kiss they shared in front of her. His selfish ways and actions led them to this path.

It's been nearly 2 years since he'd felt Kamiya's love, and the way she smelled still lingered in his mind as if he smelt her just this morning when in fact it had been months. He knew it was selfish to still want Kamiya and only her after all the pain he caused his entire family over the issue but he loved her dearly. He wasn't ready to let her go yet but knew he had to which is why he kept his distance from her for these past few months so he wouldn't get tempted.

He'd even been celibate since coming out of rehab for the 2nd time and even though he sinned, he prayed to God every day and hoped that he could forgive him. He was bettering himself not only for himself but for his daughter, he couldn't imagine her growing up without him.

Kairo was trying to find a way out of the game, he hadn't really been in the drug business since rehab but kept tabs on the workers mainly handling the legitimate side of the business such as the clubs and his father's gold mines that he finally told him about. Omar didn't plan on telling his sons about the gold mines and that side of the business until he was out of the game completely but with Kairos' lack of sense in the drug game lately he decided to inform them. It took a few months for Kairo to get back on his dad's good side, especially after how Kairo treated his mum, Omar kept a close eye on Kairo just in case he did decide to fuck up again.

After a few months Kairo became familiar with the business and couldn't believe the amount of money his father made just from the gold alone, he wondered why his father never went legit all those years ago but decided not to press the issue.

"Liyah go put your shoes on for daddy," Kamiya put her down allowing her to run off. Kamiya didn't understand why Kairo wanted to say all of this today but since he started she was going to continue this conversation.

After Liyah was out of earshot, she focused her attention on Kairo to see what all he had to say.

"For months I've been this bitter and evil person to you because of your past which you cannot change, I've ruined everything we've built because of this and I don't know how to fix it, I don't even know if it's fixable because of the amount of damage we've caused. After I found out about your connection to Nick I distanced myself drastically from you and blamed you for everything that happened after that but in reality, it was the guilt I felt. I made it difficult for you to tell me things since I could remember it was me who did everything in this relationship wrong and the moment you did something slightly wrong I jumped at the opportunity for us to break up because I knew you deserved better I just didn't want to admit it. After all, I love you and still do." Kamiya stayed silent as she let Kairo get everything out, she's heard this from Kairo many times but for some reason, this time felt different. It felt as if he was actually being genuine and meant what he was saying but she don't let it show on her face, she simply looked at him with a blank stare. She knew that him going back to rehab really helped him and was seeing the improvement even though she hadn't been in conversation with him like that.

"When I look back I regret everything I did and the way I reacted because look at where we are now, we haven't spoken in weeks, you drop Liyah off at my mum and I pick her up, I don't want that kind of co-parenting and the reason why we're doing it is because of me and I'm sorry. I can't fix the past and as much as I love you I doubt we will be together again because of the severe damage I've done so the least we can be is cordial with each other, as you know I'm at therapy right now and that's been great for me, I feel my old self coming back and I'm ready to be more positive in life and see the finer things," Kairo tried to read her face but felt nothing, even her eyes held nothing in them. Kairo at this very moment knew he had lost her, a piece of him was gone. But he continued knowing his therapist told him it was good to release your thoughts.

Kairo couldn't stand that he had to drop Liyah off at his mum for Kam to pick her up, to him it was childish but Kam really didn't want anything to do with him.

"Even though I shouldn't, I still love you K, I do, but I'm not going to act on that love, co-parenting is the best option for us. We've both made mistakes that we can now both admit which was the downfall of our relationship because we didn't fix them sooner. I'm letting any resentment I had towards you go, it's bringing nothing but pain to me," Kairo soaked in everything she was saying and listened closely to the words that rolled off her tongue. The fact that she still loved him brought warmth to his heart, of course, he still loved her too but his heart knew it would never be.

"It's not helping us get a better relationship for our daughter, we should start by not having your mother pick and drop off Li, we're grown and should handle it ourselves. We need to have a talk with Liyah and try to explain to her what's happening because I know she's confused, she doesn't understand why her father was gone for so long, I felt as though it should be you to explain the reason, you're an amazing father to her K and I'm proud of how far you've come," she gave him a warm smile to reassure him that better days were coming but even she didn't know if that was true. No matter what they said, actions spoke louder than words.

"I'm truly sorry, can we hug it out," he sent a smirk her way in which Kamiya laughed but didn't object as he leaned forward to hug her.

"I promise to be a better person for both you and Li, I really do Kam and I hope from now on you see me trying to be this better man, this better father I know I can be, I love Li with my whole heart and she means the world to me so we need to keep the peace and if you do happen to find another man to love I hope he treats you well and I can meet him before Li does if that's okay," He ended off his speech before he pulled away from her giving her a peck on the forehead.

_________________________

Zap had disappeared from the face of the earth and King still had no idea why each passing week he became more suspicious of his actions. He disconnected his phone and took him and his family out of the house they occupied. King didn't want to think the worst of him so he assumed that zap got scared of the war they were encountering and dipped.

Kain didn't believe a word King said in defending Zap so he hired a private investigator to find out what really happened. The PI found where Zap's mum was now living but he hadn't physically seen Zap enter the house, Kain held this information from King until he got most of his facts so he could handle this nigga Zap once and for all.

Kain had never really trusted Zap, which he expressed to King but was brushed off. Kain was suspicious of Zap for a while before going to his brother because he followed him one night to an apartment complex then a few months later Kain and King discovered it was where their opps had resided. Kain thought it was top of a coincidence for Zap to go into that apartment complex but as usual, King brushed it off mainly because he was the older one and thought he was right.

That had been the way Kain's whole life, being the younger one meant he was in King's shadow. His parents showed them, love, equally but outside of that Kain always felt he competed with King. They went to the same prep school, and the same middle school so the teachers always compared the two. This is why Kain hated social media and society as a whole, he didn't understand why people compared siblings as if it was a competition, especially of the same gender.

Kairo was good at basketball which pushed Kain to be even greater, Kairo was smart in maths which pushed Kain to be an excellent mathematician. As the years went by Kain himself began to see it as a competition so extreme that he meaty thought Kairo over the matter.

"Where the fuck is this nigga," Kain breathed out in frustration as he waited another 12 hours outside Zap's mother's house. He couldn't understand why Zap had yet to be by his mother's house for months, his sisters and cousins had all been by but him. Kain was beginning to think Zap was dead at this point.

That was until a car Kain didn't recognise as the ones he's seen before, it was a black jeep with a customised licensed plate. This made Kain cautious because he knew no one in Zap's family could afford a car as expensive as that.

"This bitch," Kain waited until he got confirmation on who he thought it might be and when he confirmed that he was right he quickly hopped out of the car hoping to stop the person before they got to the door.

"Haven't seen you in a long time," He made his presence known right before Zap managed to open the door. Zap turned around startled by the sudden voice behind him thinking it was one of his family members however shock plastered his face when his eyes came into contact with Kain. He tried to master the look of shock but Kain caught it right before his facial expression changed into a fake smile.

"Wassup nigga," Zap went in for a dap but Kain was fucking with it, he stood firmly where he was with his arms across his chest. Zap noticed he wasn't moving to greet him so he awkwardly put his hand down.

"Where you been nigga, we been searching for weeks, nigga didn't even get a goodbye or nuttin' just dropped off the face of the earth as if he running from something, you ain't running for something are you," Kain stepped forward towards him as he loosened his arms intimidating Zap who tried to hold his ground but being 5'8 compared to Kain's 6'3 frame was a bit hard for him, especially a man of Kain's status.

"Had this family emergency I had to deal with you know how that goes," he tried to loosen the tension with a laugh but Kain wasn't budging.

"Mmmhh, don't do that shit no moe," Kain announced before pushing a white heart's card into his chest, confusion spread across Zap's face as he tried to catch whatever he pushed into his chest. Kain walked away from the porch before Zap could comprehend what just happened, he picked up the card that was now on the floor and a horror looked spread across his face, he flipped the card around to read the letters.

Boo Bitch

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Sorry for the long-awaited chapter, I've read the comments and in the chapters to come there will be some of your ideas on what you guys wanted to happen in them and credit will be given. Thank you for being patient with me and I will try my best to give regular updates. 🤍🤍🤍🤍

Think I should start doing a discussion at the end of each chapter for the characters to see how you guys feel about them. Sooo Kam and Kairo finally had yet another talk, do you guys think this will be any different to the other talks they've had???