2 years

"I'm not drinking that." Ana speaks as she scrunches up her face.

The smell of the liquor was beginning to make her sick to her stomach there was no way she would be able to handle anymore.

"Come on Ana! Just one more you never get out of the house." Aariana begs her friend.

Ana rolls her eyes and takes down the last shot. Aariana claps her hands and drags her friend back to the dance floor. Ana enjoys the music playing loudly through the speakers, moving her body to the beat without a worry in the world. She feels a pair of arms snake around her waist and she turns to become face to face with Ryan.

"You look good out here friend." He whispers into her ear.

Ana giggles and pushes him back playfully. She and Ryan had met not long after she arrived in Ontario. It took awhile for her to grow to trust him, but they had developed a solid friendship.

"Thank you. Don't get too handsy you know I hate that."

Ryan nods and apologizes.

"Sorry. Sometimes I can't help it."

Ana blushes and goes back to dancing with Aariana. Another hour passes and the ladies exit the club hand in hand with Ryan and his friend Julio following close behind them.

"The Uber will be here in about ten minutes. You going home Ana?" Aariana ask as they stand on the somewhat busy sidewalk outside the club.

"Um, I don't know. I'm kinda hungry."

"You know what that means!" Julio chimes in while draping his arms over both women's shoulders.

"Hot wings!" Ryan shouts from behind them.

"Back up Julio, yo breath." Aariana complains as she shrugs out of his hold.

"Nigga my breath smell like yours we was drinking the same shit."

"Nah you got a little something extra going on in there."

Ana and Ryan laugh while Julio waves aariana off. Ana scrolls through her phone making sure she didn't have any missed calls from Aaliyah or her mother. Aariana was right she didn't go out much and was constantly in mommy mode when it came to her son. tonight was doing her best to relax and enjoy her night out with her friends. The cool wind blows and Ana pulls her jacket close to her body as they continue to wait for the Uber. She looks around and sees a man standing across the street looking at her and her friends. He stood tall, making sure to keep his face out of the street light. Although she couldn't see his eyes she knew he was looking in her direction.

Ana shakes her head and focuses on the conversation Ryan was having with Julio as the Uber finally pulls up. They all climb inside and Ana takes one last look at where the man was standing only to see he was gone. Shaking the negative thoughts from her mind she buckles her seatbelt and enjoys the ride to their favorite late night restaurant.

xxxxxx

"Stop fucking crying." 

Aaliyah sniffles and wipes away the few tears that had fallen. She looks up and over at the three men who were seated on her loveseat in her living room. The smell of cigarette smoke fills her nostrils as her puffy eyes water again.

"Keep crying you gone end up just like yo mama." East chuckles.

Aaliyah does her best to compose herself knowing his threat was all too real right now.

"Now.... ima ask you again. When is Ana coming home?"  Adonis ask.

"I-I don't know she's out with her friends."

"I already Fucking know that." He says as he slams his fist down on the coffee table. "Call her. Ask her when she'll be home."

Aaliyah reaches for the phone on the table but it's snatched up by Hood.

"Unlock the phone I'll dial her number."

Aaliyah does as he ask and he dials Ana's number. Aaliyah prays silently to herself that she doesn't answer.

"Hello?"

Adonis sits forward in his seat hearing her sweet voice ring in his eardrums for the first time in years.

"When will you be home Ana?" Aaliyah ask trying her best to keep her composure so she won't alert her over the phone.

"I'll be home in about ten minutes we just finished eating. Is everything okay?" Ana ask.

Aaliyah pauses and looks around the room. She was outnumbered and definitely not in the position to fight back. Adonis narrows his eyes at her warning her not to do something stupid.

"Aaliyah? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, sorry. Everything is fine I'm just waiting up for you."

"Awe, that's sweet. I'll be home soon."

Ana ends the call and Hood places the phone in his pocket before sitting back down next to Adonis. The room grows silent as they all wait for Ana to arrive. Adonis takes a moment to look around the home seeing pictures of Ana and their son on the wall. He clenches his jaw as he takes in the toddlers appearance. Ayden looked just like him when he was a child and nothing angered him more than knowing he had missed out on the first few years of his life.
His train of thought is broken when he hears a bedroom door creep open.

"tete, I want juice." A small voice speaks.

Adonis looks up and sees Ayden make his way into the living room. Adonis hands his pistol that was sitting in his lap to East and scoots forward. His eyes meet the toddlers eyes who shared the exact same ones as him and a smile spreads across Ayden's face.

"Daddy?" He questions before running toward Adonis.

Adonis nods and picks up the small child seating him in his lap. He hugs him and holds him tightly trying his best to hold back the tears. Ayden giggles and begins to play with the diamond tennis necklaces around his neck.

"You heard my son. Go get him some juice." Adonis grits at Aaliyah never letting his eyes leave his son.

Aaliyah does as he ask and grabs Ayden's juice from the fridge. She hands it to Ayden and sits back down on the couch.

"Tank you." Ayden speaks as he begins to suck down his juice.

"Why won't you just let her be Adonis?" Aaliyah ask quietly.

Adonis hands Ayden his phone to keep him occupied.

"Why would I let my wife be? Make that make sense."

"She doesn't wanna be with you anymore. Why force her?"

"She doesn't wanna be with me because of you and your annoying ass mama. Me and Anastassia were good, but y'all kept butting in. After tonight won't be no more of that."

Aaliyah looks up at him and shakes her head. Hearing the locks turn they all turn their heads toward the front door. Ana steps inside and removes her jacket she turns around and freezes as her eyes land on the scene in front of her.

Adonis smiles at Ana as he sets Ayden down on the couch next to East. He slowly walks toward her and Ana never lets her eyes leave him. She watches his every movement like a hawk. A lone tears falls from her eye and Adonis reaches down and cups her face in his hand.

"Shh, don't cry baby. You not happy to see me?" Adonis whispers as leans down closer to her face.

His free hands reaches up and he moves a string of her jet black bone straight hair that stopped at her shoulders.

"You cut your hair?" He questions rhetorically. "I like it." He mumbles against her lips.

Adonis wipes her face free of the tears and steps back.

"Aight. Now that you're here let's get on with it." Adonis speaks as he grips her arm tightly. "Hood, East, watch my son and take care of Aaliyah while Ana packs her shit."

His two men nod and do as he ask while he pushes Ana toward the bedroom down the hall. They enter her room and he cuts the bedroom light on.

"Just pack a few things for this long flight we about to take. Then pack some shit for my son."

Ana doesn't respond just silently doing what he asked her to do. After so much time passing she had finally stopped looking behind her shoulder and was hoping he wouldn't catch up to her.

As usual she was wrong.

"You lost your voice or something baby? You had a lot to say when you were hanging with your friends and your little boyfriend tonight." Adonis smirks.

"I don't know what you want me to say." She responds as she zips up her bag.

"You really don't have to say anything. Everything that comes out of your mouth seems to be a lie. You love me? But you keep tryna leave me and you took my son from me."

"I do love you. I only left because I was tired of being your punching bag."

Adonis chuckles and shrugs.

"I told you what you had to do to stop that. You just hard headed. But it's okay, from now on it'll just be me you and Ayden I'm making sure of it." Adonis speaks.

He grabs the two bags Ana had packed and follows behind her back into the living room. Ayden was now sleeping on the loveseat while East stood in front of Aaliyah with the pistol pointed at her head.

"No. Adonis, please don't do this. Don't hurt her or my mother please."  Ana begs.

"It's too late for ya mama." Hood speaks as he refers to the woman who laid dead in her bedroom.

Ana begins to cry and tries to run toward her sister. Adonis grips her waist and holds her close to him as he watches East screw the silencer on the gun.

"It's fine Ana. I love you." Aaliyah speaks lowly.

Before Ana can respond East lets the gun fire twice into aaliyahs skull. Ana goes to scream but Adonis places his hand over her mouth while shushing her in her ear.

"Shh, it's okay. it had to happen." he whispers as he rubs her hair. "Grab these bags for me Hood. Ima grab my son, East handle ana."

Adonis releases her and walks over to his sleeping son. He holds him close careful not to wake him while East grips Ana's arm and follows behind Adonis into the black SUV. Adonis slides into the car next to Ana who kept her eyes on the window watching as the trees whipped by. She was numb and knew she would never be the same after tonight.
An hour passes and they pull up to a runway and a private jet. Hood helps her out of the car and on to the plane. Adonis places Ayden down on the plush couch so he could sleep peacefully before sitting down next to Ana.

"Stop crying baby. You'll get over it and we'll be happy again."

Ana looks up at him and shakes her head. She was never going to be able to get away from him.

The jet begins to make its way down the runway and Ana closes her eyes.

they ascend into the clouds going to a destination unknown.

It only took one man to ruin the rest of her life.

The end ☺️

Or is it? 🌚

Thank you for all the support on this book. I really appreciate it.