“Nigga, you fucking crazy,” Caesar shot back, wanting to swing on his brother right then and there, but he knew this wasn’t the time or place for it.
“I leave the fuckin’ city for three days—three fucking days—to take care of business, to make moves for this family, our livelihood, our business, and the only thing, the one fucking thing I ask of you while I’m gone, is for you to watch out for our sister, which should’ve been a given. And you fuck that up.”
“What? So this is my fault?” Caesar still couldn’t believe his ears.
“You’s a fucking pussy!” he passionately accused of his brother. “And you just a disgrace to me.”
Fitz tightened his grip on Caesar’s arm. He stared at his brother, the twin of his sister, and all he could see was Annalise—minus the hair, makeup, and all the glamour girl stuff that his sister never left home without. The two, Annalise and Caesar, were the spitting image of each other. He sucked his teeth and shook his head in disgust. “I can’t stand to look at you, because every time I look at you, I see and think of my sister, and it makes me want to kill you with my bare fucking hands.”
Fitz’s harsh words really put a hurting on Caesar, and before he could speak, Fitz did. He leaned in and spoke clearly and firmly. “If I didn’t think it would kill our mother to lose another child, I would shoot your soft ass in the face right here. Right fucking now!” He pointed to the ground but never lost eye contact with his brother. “So that I don’t hurt Mommy, please, do our loving mother a favor and yourself a solid, and get the fuck out of my sight . . . out of my fucking city.”
“Fitz?” Caesar wanted to defend himself, but it was too late. Fitz had already spoken, turned, and walked away. Caesar had no choice. It was a done deal.
CHAPTER 1
Six Years Ago in Virginia
“No freaking way!” Bianca tried to convince herself that her eyes were lying to her as she glanced into the foggy bathroom mirror and wiped it. Suddenly her heart dropped. “Oh, no!” She shook her head to see if that would help her shake away the image of her pudgy waistline.
Bianca was in true denial, even after missing two menstrual cycles. Even when she started getting morning and motion sickness, she still refused to accept the possibility that she could be pregnant. She prayed to God so hard to make the vomiting go away, but to no avail. For months, every time she went to the bathroom and wiped herself, she would be hopeful that blood would be on the toilet tissue, from either her period returning, or, if she were truly pregnant, as the symptoms of a miscarriage. Neither ever showed itself.
Before she knew it, she was four and a half months pregnant. Her mind was spinning with so much fear that she forgot to lock the door to the bathroom that she and her older sister, Bella, shared off their joint bedroom. She finally accepted it. There was no way she could deny it any longer. She was pregnant.
A butt naked Bianca had just stepped out of the shower and was reaching for her towel when Bella barged into the bathroom.
“Damn, girl. Can’t you see I’m in here?”
Bianca’s belly made her slow to the draw. By the time she covered herself with the towel, it was too late. Her big sister had already seen her growing baby bump.
“Oh my God!” Bella covered her mouth. She looked like she had seen a ghost. “What the hell?” a dumbfounded Bella said upon quickly shutting the bathroom door.
“Get out,” Bianca aggressively said to her sister, not wanting to face the reality.
“Bitch, don’t try to divert,” Bella said, her eyes just as bucked as Bianca’s. She kept her eyes glued toward her little sister’s belly that was now covered with the towel, but not for long.
Bella ran over and tried to snatch the towel off of Bianca. “I know good and well my eyes are not deceiving me.”
“Leave me alone. Please,” Bianca said as begrudgingly as she could.
“No!” Bella firmly said.
“Get off of me,” Bianca demanded, engaging Bella in a game of tug-of-war with the towel. She tried to plant her feet firmly and get a grip on the floor, but the tiles were wet and she kept sliding forward.
“Give me that towel,” Bella ordered, using two hands to pull on it.
“Get the hell off of me,” Bianca yelled, terrified of being found out. She didn’t want her sister to know about her big, growing secret. She’d managed to ignore her own suspicions for months, hoping, praying to God, keeping her fingers crossed that someway, somehow God would make that baby go away before anyone ever found out.
So much for prayer, she thought.
“Naw, bitch. I know what I saw,” Bella insisted. “And you better not be—”
“Get the hell off of me!” Bianca spat with all her strength as she continued to struggle with her sister. She was getting so angry and embarrassed that tears formed in her eyes.
Bianca and Bella were great sisters to one another. They were best friends. Unlike some siblings, they never argued, fussed, or fought. The term “bitch” was kind of like a term of endearment for them. They didn’t mean it in a bad way. So, having this little fight truly was a first, and it was all love and love licks. There had never been as much as a small case of sibling rivalry or jealousy between the two of them either, even though people had always tried to ignite such a feud between the two.
Bella was the complexion of Wesley Snipes, clearly taking after her father, because Ella was a light caramel
