Her short time in California, she’d liked it, but now she wanted to fall in love with it. She made San Diego her permanent residence and her family came, too. She had too many bad memories of not being happy with Ray in the house they’d stayed in. She needed to be refreshed and start anew.
~ ~
Detective Chris hired a lawyer and went to trial, but he didn’t win his case. Instead, he was able to get his charge reduced down to second-degree robbery and he was sentenced to three years. He wasn’t pleased about serving time or being held responsible for the million dollars reported missing. He hadn’t got a cut of the money and wondered who had. When he find out Bella had been released, claiming self-defense, he assumed she’d gotten a cut of the money and he also assumed it was an inside job. He thought Jacob was in on it, and possibly, Nikki as well. He didn’t have the proof to build a case. He also knew he didn’t have a team to back him up either. He knew he had done so much wrong to others, especially Pebbles, that no one would be on his side. He started making plans for when he got out. He had to start from the bottom and build himself up again. This time, he planned to come better than he had before.
. . . 25
Olivia was nervous, hands shaking and palms sweating. She leaned up against the Kia rental in front of the prison, waiting for her love to walk through the gates. When he did, her heart stopped. Sean headed towards her and she jumped into his arms. They started kissing then he put her down. She was happy to be back in his arms, relieved to be able to start fresh and anew.
“Hey, baby,” she spoke to him.
“Wassup, girl?”
Sean was relieved to have his freedom back. He’d done a long four years behind bars. They got in the car and headed to the airport.
Sean had filed an appeal and blessings had worked in his favor. His lawyer had done a great job of showing it wasn’t even Sean’s gun he’d used to kill Brian in self-defense. He was given time served and released with no strings attached. He knew he was blessed to make it out of that situation. Olivia had stayed by his side and they’d learned to work through their problems. They loved each other too much to move on. They had both learned a valuable lesson in trust and loyalty.
~ ~
After their long flight, they finally made it to Dubai. The view landing was beautiful. They knew they were going to enjoy living there. Ray and Chyna were waiting for them at the airport.
“Wassup, bro?” Ray said, happy to finally see his brother. They gave each dap and a hug.
When they made it back to the house, Lashan was relieved. She said a quick prayer, thanking the Man above. All her children were under one roof, safe and in good hands. She was also enjoying their new home. She’d never imagined living in such beautiful place. She’d grown up struggling and had also struggled to raise her children. She was beyond thankful and appreciated her new life.
All day, everyone had helped prepare the homecoming meal. Tara had decided to come, too. Even though Chyna had worried her at times, she loved her for not leaving her and for dealing with her mood changes. She planned to get a nice, part-time job to keep busy. If Chyna needed help with the children, she planned to be right by her side.
Like Nikki promised, she’d paid to have their home built from the ground up. Chyna wasn’t selfish and shared the home with Ray’s family as well. It was a nice six bedrooms, with six-and-a-half bathrooms and a finished basement, close to the beach. Nikki couldn’t make Dubai her new home because of her work, but she had promised to visit more. Tone had promised to visit more, too. Chyna had started back doing her online classes and was patiently waiting to start her career.
This was the happiest Ray had ever been. He was home with his children, Sean had his freedom back, and most importantly, he loved seeing his mother happy. He’d decided to get into racing and was building a race car.
“Okay, okay, y’all!” Lashan said, getting their attention. Everyone was sitting at the table outside, eating and talking. “I’m beyond happy to have my family present! Lord, thank You!”
“All right, y’all,” Ray said, getting their attention. He stood up so everyone could see him.
“I want to thank everyone for being patient through this whole situation. It’s been a rough road, but we managed to get through it and we’re still making progress. Chyna’s and my relationship has been rocking for ten years, and we’ve learned to make it work. With that said . . .” Ray pulled a small box out of his pocket and bent down on one knee. “Baby, I love you and I can’t do it without you.” He opened the box and pulled the diamond ring out. “We riding for life?”
“YES! YES! YES!”
He placed the ring on her finger and kissed her feet. Chyna started laughing. She loved his charming ways.
“Baby, you know I can’t live without you! I was on my way to L.A. to whup Bella’s ass if she’d hurt you!”
She got up and kissed him. Everyone congratulated them and celebrated the blessings of life well into the night.
Playing With Fire: Loyalty Demolished Page 21
