Nights of Fantasy

by Sherelle Green

  “During my interview, I was just trying to get a feel for your personalities. When you called and told me I got the job, I’d planned on saying something after a week or two, but I couldn’t...”

  “Why?” Autumn asked. “Why would you lie to us for so long and think it was okay?”

  “I never thought it was okay,” Danni said, her emotions rising. “I knew what I was doing was wrong, but every time I got the courage to tell you all the truth, I got cold feet.”

  “Is this what you were trying to tell us in the studio earlier?” Winter asked.

  “Yes. I was trying to avoid a situation like this.”

  “Yeah, well, you had plenty of opportunities to avoid something like this happening,” Autumn said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Over three years of opportunities to be exact.”

  “We let you into our lives,” Winter said as a couple of tears escaped. “Treated you as if you were family. You had so many chances to be honest.”

  I am family... Danni stole a glimpse at Sonia. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Sonia wanted her to cry. She wanted to tell her that she’d told her it would go this way. Crying would only make the situation worse, but when Danni touched her cheek, she realized she was already crying.

  Summer hadn’t said anything and the hurt look in her eyes broke Danni’s heart. “Summer, say something.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Her voice was void of emotion.

  She’s not even looking at me. She’s looking through me. “What are you thinking? How are you feeling? I can handle it.” She honestly wasn’t sure if she could handle it, but a yelling Summer was better than a quiet one.

  “What am I thinking? Feeling?” Summer took a step closer to her. “Trust me, Danni. You don’t want to know what I think about you right now. We see each other almost every day. We both started new lives in Miami together. We lived together before I married Aiden. You may have worked with Winter and Autumn first here in Chicago, but you and me?” Summer’s voice slightly broke then. “We were closer.”

  “I know we were,” Danni said. She wanted to reach out to her but thought better of it. “We still are. That doesn’t have to change.”

  Summer briefly closed her eyes. “We’re thirteen months apart, right?”

  Danni nodded her head. “Yes.”

  Summer looked at Sonia. “So you gave birth to me, then left and got pregnant with another man’s child?”

  “Let’s not act like you didn’t know I was cheating on your father. Danni was a mistake that I just happened to keep. And for what?” Sonia said, looking around. “What good did it do me? You still haven’t offered me what I came here for.”

  “You already delivered the news you came here for,” Winter said. “What more could you possibly want?”

  “You already know what I want. Look around,” Sonia said as she did a 360-degree turn. “Because of me, y’all are a success.”

  “You don’t have anything to do with our success,” Autumn said.

  “Yes, I do.” Sonia placed her hands on her hips. “If it weren’t for me knocking you spoiled brats off your high horses so that you could see what the real world was like, you never would have made it out of that small New Jersey town. Your father never had a backbone. Y’all needed tough love and that’s exactly what you got from me.”

  “Tough love?” Winter said, raising her voice. “That’s what you call the way you treated us? The way you mentally abused us? The way you wore us down any chance you got, going out of your way to make us feel like it was our fault that you were a terrible mother?”

  “Listen here,” Sonia said as she pointed her finger at Winter. “The world doesn’t give a shit about you. Life isn’t wrapped in one pretty red bow and given to you on a silver platter. You have to take what’s yours and make the most of the cards you’ve been dealt. Love is for suckers.” Sonia stood straight and smoothed out her dress. “The best thing I could have done for you girls was treat you the way that I did. It made you strong women. Determined women.”

  Sonia strutted around the room and glanced at the men. “It gave you all this. Successful, good-looking men with money to buy you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

  Sonia set her sights on Danni. “Now that I see what my real daughters have made of themselves, I won’t need your money anymore.”

  Real daughters... It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did.

  “You’ve been giving her money?” Autumn asked. “Why?”

  Danni opened her mouth to speak but Sonia beat her to it. “To pay me for my silence. Duh. She showed up in Vegas sad and lonely, whining about how she believed I was her birth mother and blah, blah, blah. I knew she was telling the truth because she looked just like her daddy. Unfortunately she didn’t get any of my features.”

  Sonia looked Danni up and down as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Anyway, I sent her on her way. Until I realized that she’d tracked you all down and was working for you. I knew she didn’t have the guts to tell you the truth, so I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”

  Danni looked at Autumn first. “She told me that she wouldn’t tell you guys my true identity if I paid her.” She was so wrapped up in her own emotions that she hadn’t noticed Jaleen come to stand near her until she followed Winter’s, Autumn’s and Summer’s eyes. She wasn’t surprised when Taheim, Ajay and Aiden went to stand by Winter’s, Autumn’s and Summer’s sides, as well. All eyes were on them. She didn’t miss the look of disappointment they were giving Jaleen, either.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I can handle them.”

  “Aw, isn’t this sweet,” Sonia said, clasping her hands together. “So who’s writing me my next check?”

  “We’re not giving you any money,” Autumn said. “So you can leave now.”

  Sonia’s laugh was filled with disdain. “Oh, really? Well, I wonder what the tabloids will think about this little story. I can picture it now.” Sonia raised her hands in the air. “The bastard daughter of Vegas headliner Sonia Dupree has been secretly working for Dupree’s daughters in the guise of a lingerie boutique store manager.”

  Sonia smiled. “Do you know how much publicity I could get from that? Those tabloids love a good story. Face it, you each have something to lose.”

  Sonia looked at the women. “Aiden, you’re some type of famous photographer now, right? And you just opened up a business right down from Summer’s new store in Miami. Autumn, didn’t you and Ajay just purchase several additional bars and lounges in the Midwest? You were in the paper for that, right?”

  Sonia looked from Winter to Taheim. “Didn’t you both just create an online clothing app not too long ago? And aren’t you set to go on a clothing tour again this fall?”

  Sonia glanced around the room. “You see, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

  “We aren’t falling for your BS,” Autumn said. “And I think we’ve already listened to you long enough. You need to leave.”

  Sonia’s smile dropped, then she turned to Danni. “Danni, what about everything I’ve done for you? You owe me.”

  “I don’t owe you anything.” Danni looked at her square in the eye. “And the only thing you’ve ever given me is a DNA test. Even that I had to beg for. Without it, I wouldn’t know for sure that these amazing women are my sisters. But let’s get one thing straight, Sonia. That’s the only thing you’ve ever given me.”

  “Not true, little girl,” Sonia said, waving her finger in the air. “Life! I gave you life.” Sonia turned to face her other daughters. “I gave all of you life and let’s not forget that I could have had each of you sucked from my body the minute I found out I was pregnant. So the next time you decide to team up against me, just remember... I brought you into the world and I can damn sure take you out of it.”

  With that, Sonia left the shop, leaving
a mountain of mess in her wake. Winter, Autumn and Summer looked emotionally and mentally drained.

  And it’s all my fault.

  “I know you ladies don’t believe me,” Danni said. “But I truly am sorry. I know there is nothing I can say or do that will make this better, but I hope that, in time, you’ll want to talk about it.”

  “There’s something you can do for me,” Summer said sternly. “Rip up that partner agreement and be out of my condo by the end of the week.”

  Danni cringed. “Okay, I can do that.” It’s the least I can do.

  “Let’s give your sisters some time to talk to each other,” Jaleen said, wrapping a supportive arm around her.

  She looked at each woman one last time, hoping for any sign that she hadn’t screwed up as much as she thought she had. That she hadn’t just lost some of the most important people in her life. But she didn’t see anything other than anger and hurt.

  Jaleen held her an entire block before she finally couldn’t walk anymore. She felt herself slowly falling to the ground, oblivious to the people walking up and down the busy Chicago street trying to avoid stepping on her.

  She barely recalled Jaleen swooping her into his arms and carrying her into an alley. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” His consoling words enveloped her in a blanket of comfort as he set her down. The gravel pavement was rough on her skin and, in a way, she welcomed the pain. She already hurt so much that sitting on sharp gravel that probably contained shards of glass seemed minimal compared to what she’d just experienced.

  “I can’t believe that just happened,” she said in a voice she barely recognized. “That couldn’t have gone any worse.” Her tears were freely flowing now, creating moist puddles on her shirt and Jaleen’s.

  Danni couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried this hard. The last time she’d felt so much emotion that it almost seemed unbearable. When Dad passed away, she thought. That’s the last time I felt like this. And even then, she’d had two years to prepare for his death.

  “I love them so much,” she said into Jaleen’s chest. “I can’t lose them like this.”

  “Just give them time,” Jaleen said. “A lot was thrown at them today. They just need time to process everything.”

  She heard what he was saying, but deep in her heart she knew that things would never be the same between them. They’d trusted her with so much and, in turn, she’d been lying to them.

  As she sat in the alley, clinging to Jaleen with the little energy she had left, she understood all too well what it had taken her years to realize. A part of her had already loved Winter, Autumn and Summer when they met because she’d known they were her birth sisters. After one meeting, she’d realized they were amazing women and were nothing like Sonia. However, they’d loved her like a sister regardless of a DNA test. They hadn’t even known her true identity and they’d loved her anyway. Offered her a part of their business despite the fact that she wasn’t blood to them.

  That’s because you were sisters in all the ways that mattered.

  Now she may have lost them forever.

  * * *

  Jaleen checked his watch for the third time in the last ten minutes as he tried to calm his nerves. These past ten days had been extremely difficult. Not only had there been numerous issues with one of the South Beach hotels, but he’d also had to deal with Cordelia popping up in his personal space every chance she got. Luckily, Cordelia was gone and he could finally see the possibility that they would finish the renovations only slightly behind schedule.

  “Hey, man,” Jesse said as he peeked his head through the door. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

  “No, I should have everything under control. I’ll lock up soon.” Everyone on the job site had already gone for the day. The week hadn’t been easy for his contractors, either, but his biggest worry was that Danni wasn’t as okay as she seemed.

  Every time he’d seen her lately she’d been bubbly and joking around about having free time now that she was out of work. Despite his best efforts to try to convince her to move in with him until she figured something out, she’d insisted she stay in a hotel for a little while instead. He hadn’t wanted to argue with her or to make her upset, but he felt like he was growing even more gray hairs worrying about her when they weren’t together.

  Even though she’d been putting on a good facade, he was elated when she’d agreed to go on their fourth date tonight. He’d been prepared for her to say she didn’t want to go, but, thankfully, she’d said it was exactly what she needed.

  After everything that had happened, Jaleen had to face the fact that he cared about Danni more than he’d ever cared about any woman before. Which meant he had to have a conversation with his father before he took his relationship with Danni any further.

  His phone rang, disrupting his thoughts. “This is Jaleen,” he said without looking at the caller ID.

  “Hey, man,” Taheim said on the other end. “Got a minute?”

  Jaleen sighed. “Yeah, I have a few minutes. What’s up?”

  “You really don’t want to talk to me, do you?”

  “It’s not that,” Jaleen said. “JW is supposed to be in Miami today and he agreed to meet me at my office. But he’s ten minutes late and not answering my calls.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  No, I doubt you really see. “Look, man, I know I missed your calls a couple times this week, but if you’re calling to talk about Danni and ask why she didn’t tell the women the truth, then I’m not having that conversation with you. Winter may be your wife, but it was hard enough on Danni having that conversation with Sonia there, knowing that she was in a lose-lose situation.”

  “Wow, that’s not what I called for,” Taheim said. “Listen, I’m not going to pretend to understand why Danni took so long to tell them, but that’s between Winter, Autumn, Summer and Danni. To be honest, I’m glad she has you to lean on.”

  Jaleen loosened his grip on the phone. “Thanks, man, that means a lot.”

  “No problem.” Both men were silent for a while. “Look, I’ve never gotten into your family business, but after seeing you and Danni together before everything went down, I had to call and tell you that I think you need to stand up to JW.”

  Jaleen smiled. “Funny you should say that, because that’s exactly why I wanted to meet with him tonight. It might not change anything, but he needs to know how I feel about Danni.”

  “You already know he’s not going to understand, so I hope you have a better plan.”

  “Yeah, I do.” Jaleen thought about everything he’d be giving up if he went through with his plan. “If he can’t understand where I’m coming from, then he’ll lose me.”

  “You’d quit?” Taheim asked.

  “For Danni? In a heartbeat.”

  His father had ruled his life for entirely too long and it was past time he did something about it. If his father thought he could continue to rule his life, he had another think coming. There was nothing and no one who would keep him from the woman he loved.

  Love? Damn, I love her.

  Maybe he’d always known he loved her. He’d always treated her differently. Argued with her any chance he got. He’d even concocted this bet to try to get closer to her, so it was obvious that his mind knew what his heart had just figured out.

  “Welcome to the club,” Taheim said, breaking his thoughts.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing, man,” Taheim said with a laugh. “Seriously, though, I know I don’t need to tell you, but Danni’s been through a lot and she probably feels as if her world is falling apart right now. Be the reason her world feels like it’s finally coming back together, and not the reason it feels more broken. In other words, just make sure you figure everything out before you lose her.”

  “I will,” Jaleen said. “I
will.”

  Unfortunately the first part of his plan would have to wait. He read the incoming text on his phone.

  Canceling on me? Again?

  It was the second time he’d tried to meet with his father in a week so, clearly, JW wasn’t making him a priority.

  Chapter 17

  Although Danni had been trying to pretend her life wasn’t in shambles, she truly appreciated the fact that Jaleen had asked her to go on their fourth date. The only problem with them going on a fourth date was that a fifth date was right around the corner and she didn’t know if he’d be interested in still dating past the fifth date.

  When Danni had spoken with her mom earlier and finally told her that the Dupree sisters knew the truth, her mom had felt relieved. Regina Allison was even more of a worrier than Danni, so she hadn’t been surprised to learn that her mom had spent the past few years hoping that things wouldn’t escalate negatively. Once Danni had learned about her mother’s fears, she hadn’t had the heart to tell her the entire story, nor had she told her about Sonia Dupree. Danni simply stated that the women needed more time to process the information which she guessed was true to some extent.

  Aaliyah and Nicole had checked on her, as well. When they’d asked Summer what had happened, Summer had told them she hadn’t wanted to talk about it. To Danni, that was worse than her telling them what had happened. Not saying anything meant the wound was still too deep for her.

  Danni had decided to tell them what had happened and both women had been beyond surprised. Thankfully they had offered their support and promised to keep an eye on Summer, too. They hadn’t said anything out loud, but Danni had noticed the look they’d shared. The four of them had gotten even closer over the past year and the business was doing great. Danni and Summer being at odds meant the dream the four of them had seen for Bare Sophistication Miami no longer looked the way they’d imagined.

  Danni glanced in the elongated mirror at her outfit and hair. Tonight she’d chosen to wear an olive A-line dress, cream colored heels and a light sweater in case she got chilly. Her hair was wild and wavy in her natural curls and she had on just enough makeup to accentuate her look. Her mood had been up and down so much lately that her dusty-rose lip gloss was the perfect blend of dark and sassy.