Blake had a glorious home going. Vincent made sure he sat beside Tiara. He had heard Blake’s final request. Although everyone was making her feel like she wasn’t worth two nickels rubbed together, he wanted her to know that she was the last thought on her father’s mind before he died. He held her hand the whole service and allowed her to ride with him to the grave site. Tiara kept her head down, and she stayed back while everyone else threw their roses on the casket when it was lowered into the earth. When everyone left, Tiara walked slowly to the casket. She kissed her white rose and sent a silent prayer to her father. She hoped that wherever his soul rested that he was at peace, and she apologized for bringing evil into his home. With one last good-bye, she threw her rose on the casket that her father’s body was in.
“I love you, Dad,” she whispered into the wind chill. “Always.”
Vincent came behind her and threw his rose on the casket as well. He put his arm around her and hugged her.
“Come on, Princess, let me get you home,” he said.
“What home?” Tiara asked, shrugging her shoulders. “My mother hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“She does,” Tiara said, her voice shaky. “She can’t stand to even look at me, and when she does, I can see the hatred in her eyes.”
Vincent didn’t know what to say because knowing the type of attitude Cat had, Tiara was probably telling the truth. Instead of trying to console Tiara, she most likely was shunning her like she’d done even when Blake was still alive. Vincent had always felt a closeness with Tiara ever since she’d saved his life. He knew that her heart was kind and this was something she wouldn’t have wished on anyone. He knew that the way she thought and acted was a result of her upbringing, but Cat would never take responsibility for that.
“Come on,” Vincent urged. “We will come and visit his burial site often. I promise we will still have our special moments with him.”
Tiara followed him back to his Mercedes-Benz and got in the passenger seat. Before they pulled away, Tiara asked her cousin a question.
“Do you think Daddy hates me?”
“Never, my love,” Vincent told her. “Blake loved you with all that he had. If anything, he is hoping from his grave that you don’t hate him. I am now in charge of all of your father’s business, and the person who ordered the hit won’t even have a funeral. I want you to know that regardless of whatever happens, you will be set for life. I’m leaving for New York. With your father gone, there is nothing left for me here. But if you ever need me for anything, just call me. I will never change my number.”
With that, he pulled away from the grave site and let the others pay their respects. He nodded his head at the hired hands he had guarding his cousin’s grave site making sure that nobody would come and be disrespectful. He drove Tiara back home and kissed her on her forehead.
“I love you, Princess,” Vincent said.
“I love you too, Cousin Vincent,” Tiara said, trying to give him a smile.
It was a weak one, but he was happy that she was even able to muster that one up. She waved her final farewell to Vincent Rogers and walked in the house. When she entered the house, there were many people there. All Tiara saw was black, and she just wanted to make it to her bedroom. When she walked past a few people, they stopped their conversations mid-sentence. She knew that they were most likely talking about her. She looked around in search of her mother. When she finally saw her across the room, she saw a crowd of people surrounding her. From where she stood, she could hear that people were offering words of encouragement and their condolences.
When Cat’s eyes fell on Tiara, they became daggers, and her nose flared in disgust. Tiara felt like the scum of the earth. To make matters worse, she had no one to turn to. Her best friend was dead, and her boyfriend had turned out to be her ultimate enemy.
“Get her out of here! Why is she just standing there?” Tiara heard her mother say as Cat pointed in her daughter’s direction.
“I will not allow you to speak to her that way!” Tiara heard Stephanie say in her defense. “If you would have been a mother instead of a credit card user, then maybe none of this would have happened, bitch!”
“You’re fired!” Cat countered, but Stephanie just laughed.
“We all know
