I'm changing Kai's age. She's 6.

Update: It's now the end of August, 1st grade is starting for Kai and Junior year in college for Vanessa. I know I didn't include Kaseem and Vanessa's birthdays, that's why I'm doing this.

Victoria- 27
Kareem- 28
Vanessa- 20
Kaseem- 21
Kai- 6

The flashback is after Victoria lost Jasmine and before she caught James cheating.
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Victoria

"You better be good at school, Kai. All that talking gotta stop," Kareem spoke as he parked in the driveway of Layla's house.

Kai's first day of first grade was the following Monday and she was excited.

I heard the clicking of the seatbelt and then I felt Kai's presence in between the passenger and driver seats.

"But what bout when I finish my work," she questioned in a hopeful voice. Kai loved to talk and everybody that who had met her knew that.

"Still don't talk. You disrupt the other students," Kareem replied before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car to help Kai out.

"Aw man, okay dad," She reluctantly agreed and then pouted.

I smiled at her because she was so beautiful and smart. I couldn't wait to have my own health baby to love me unconditionally.

Her pout was replaced with a smile when I tapped her nose and smiled in her face.

"Bye, Miss V," Kai grinned, exposing her missing tooth that was right in the front of her mouth and giving me a tight hug around my neck.

"See you later, love. Have a good first day," I replied with a smile on my face, hugging her back.

I watched as Kareem walked Kai to the front door of Layla's house with her bag in his hand. Kai knocked and after a few seconds the door was pulled open.

As Kareem and Kai exchanged their goodbyes until later in the week, Layla's eyes glanced in the direction of the truck where I was sitting. I could see her lip twitching like she was ready to mug me.

My being me, I waved at her ass, which caused her to roll her eyes, get Kai's bag from Kareem, and then go in her house.

That apology was gonna come eventually, but not soon.

Kareem had me all the way bent if he thought I was taking orders from him- somebody who gets violent whenever and wherever.

I had no problem admitting that I was wrong because I swore I was done fighting after I somewhat attempted to end James' life. My actions were not admirable, but I can't change them.

I bet she won't talk out the side of her neck again though.

"So petty," Kareem mumbled as he got back in the truck.

I rolled my eyes at the sound of his hypocritical ass.

He's the king of petty.

"I'm aware."

Kareem shook his head and put the truck in reverse, backing out of the driveway.

*

"Where are we going?"

I looked up from my phone and to my left where Kareem sat, leaning back in his seat with his right hand on the wheel and his left playing with his beard.

We should've been back to his house but instead we were on the freeway heading out of Houston.

"To see Aiesha."

*

Kareem

"I'm only bout to ask you one time. Is this a set up?"

After driving damn near three hours out of Houston and to a secluded area to meet, I sat across the table from Aiesha with a blank face. Victoria was on my right, much more calm than I expected.

We were accompanied by my colleagues from Cuba, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Congo, and many more places around the world.

Lining the walls were about fifty men dressed in uniform with various different weapons strapped to their bodies.

There were two snipers on the roof of this place and people hiding in unimaginable places, just waiting for some shit to pop off.

You could never be too safe.

"Mi mean wat mi seh. Mi nuh waan crosses tuh yuh."

"But that's ya blood," I shook my head. I'd never understand how you turn on ya own damn husband and sons.

They must've really did this woman dirty.

"Parson christ'n him pickny fus. A mi tun."

Biting my lip at Aiesha saying that they were only looking out for themselves and it was her turn to do the same. I continued to analyze her.

I was not trying to play a game of chance and lose my life.

"I owe your woman a favor too. Dat a mi gyal," she nodded at Victoria.

I stared at her for a lil while longer before turning my head to my right where Victoria sat.

She was irritable but I wasn't worried about it at the moment. We could talk about the issues when we left.

Victoria was staring at Aiesha, reading her like she does me. That was a useful trait to have, especially in what I do. But I didn't plan on bringing her with me too many more times.

She was too good of a woman to get lost in this life.

But... Hm.

Reaching to the right of me, I grabbed my baby's hand, "She genuine?"

Her eyebrows furrowed before I saw something gleam in her eye. Victoria nodded her head, "Yeah."

I nodded my head at one of the men on the wall, signaling for him to bring me the briefcase in his hand. He swiftly came and sat it down in front of me before returning to his place on the wall.

Placing the middle finger of my left hand on the pad of the briefcase, it popped open. I smirked at the contract that sat deep down in it, protected by a thick black frame.

After she signed this contract, I was one step closer to leaving this shit in the dust.

As I took the papers out of the case along with the black and gold pen, Victoria spoke, catching mine and everyone else in the room's attention.

"Aiesha."

She placed her glasses on her face, looking in Victoria's direction.

"Anansi rope tie him maasa."

Be careful that you are not caught in the traps that you set for others.

Flashback
*
*
*

Victoria sat in the kitchen of the Jones' mansion with Aiesha. She was the mother of James and Aaron, and the unhappy trophy wife of Jamero.

There was a steaming hot plate of Jerk Chicken sitting in front of her, but Victoria was no where close to being hungry.

She was silently mourning over the death of her daughter. It was so bad that James had to beg her to come with him to Jamaica.

Across the fairly large island that sat in the middle of the kitchen, Aiesha stood breaking down the her favorite flavor of weed- vanilla.

Every time that her sons and their father were together she had to be under the influence just to remain sane.

She wished that she would've been attracted to the good boys and not the ones that ran the streets. Aiesha also wished that she'd given birth to girls instead of boys. But then she realized that Jamero would have still manipulated them to his advantage.

He was just that cruel and heartless.

It seemed fine when she was younger but when she got older Aiesha accepted the fact that she'd screwed up her life and everything she could have been.

Aiesha had no family because, similar to James with Victoria, Jamero pushed them away. The only difference is that they never came back.

However, the first time that her youngest boy brought Victoria to his home, something had been tugging at Aiesha's heart. That hope that had faded away in her youth was slowly arising. 

She wouldn't admit it, but Aiesha appreciated Victoria's company. Her aura was refreshing even if she was going through things of her own.

"Wah di rass?!" The two heard Jamero yell and a loud slap sound followed. Altercations were usual experiences and as odd as it may sound, Aiesha and Victoria ignored them.

"Ah suh di ting tan. Niam." When she noticed that Victoria hadn't even touched the food that the chef made Aiesha reassured her that Jamero's rath was normal and told her to eat.

"I'm not hungry," she replied in a voice that was barely audible over the yelling that was going on in another part of the house.

"A weh yuh a seh?"

Victoria chewed her lip before choosing to lie, "I'm fine. But I wanna pray for you."

Although Aiesha was a nonchalant woman Victoria always noticed the change in her demeanor when her sons and husband were together.

"Black bud say fi im pickny fus."

Rolling her eyes at Aeisha basically telling her to worry about herself, Victoria got up from her spot at the island and walked around it.

"Give me your hands."

"Easy nuh."

Victoria clenched her jaw and grabbed for Aiesha's hands.

"Mi a kunk yuh."

"Do it," Victoria dared with a poker face.

When Aiesha didn't hit her like she threatened, Victoria grabbed her hands and immediately began to pray.

She prayed for Aiesha's mental health, strength, and so many other things that Aiesha had never even considered for herself.

By the time Victoria was done, Aiesha was in tears. She felt something that she had never felt in her lifetime. She felt like somebody genuinely cared for her.

"Thenk yuh," Aiesha spoke with a great amount of gratitude in her voice and heart. From the prayer she felt unstoppable and like it was time to make some changes.

"Don't thank me," Victoria replied with a smile on her face.

She didn't do things for acknowledgment. Victoria did good deeds simply because she knew somebody could always use a blessing.

"Yuh tallawah but yuh need to leave fi mi bwoy."

Victoria chuckled and shook her head at the recurring advice that Aiesha was giving, "That's what everybody is telling me."

"All mout nu set fi tell di same lie."
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Sorry this took so long. I didn't edit.

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