"No, it was perfect. Like, I was really starting to think that good men were nowhere to be found, but Chresanto proved me wrong. He was such a gentleman, so respectful and I felt so comfortable around him for the whole night. At some moments, it felt as if we've known each other for years, that's how comfortable we were with each other. And Kat, he's so sexy and he smells so good and..." She let out a sigh, seeing his face appear in her mind.

"Damn, girl ! He has you gone. He must be very exceptional for you to talk about him this way and you didn't taste him yet, if you know what I mean."

"You nasty," she commented chuckling.

The two best friends had been on the phone for the past hour and they were now finally talking about the date, which was what Kat ha really called for. She couldn't wait any longer, so she called her friend as soon as she woke up, at eight in Chicago and nine in New York. The time difference was the least of her worries though.

Since Ebony hadn't heard her best friend's voice for the past few days, she let it slide and didn't hang up in her face.

"You know me. Do you think he's been blessed down there though ? Like, could you see a lil' preview with the pants he was wearing ? His feet big or what ? What about his hands ? "

Eb smacked her teeth. "You really need to find you someone, horny ass."

"I knooooow," Kat whined, lying on her bed. "Does he have a brother for me ? "

"He does have a brother, but not for you, he's younger."

"And how old is he exactly ? "

"Not your age." They kept talking for thirty more minutes as they then started working on their new wigs. Kat was making hers, while Ebony was styling hers.

After that much-needed phone call, Ebony got ready for the day, then decided to head outside to grab some breakfast before joining her sister at her photoshoot, to support her. When she got there, Lyona was doing her thing, making her big sister proud.

Ebony made sure to not disturb as she discreetly sat on a chair in the back and continued to watch, nodding her head at the pictures that came on the screen. There was not one that she didn't like; she thought they were all perfect.

"Great ! Last picture ! " the photographer announced as they wrapped up the shoot. Eb stood from her chair and went to her sister to congratulate her.

"Oh, you came ! " Lyona hugged her excitedly.

"Of course. Wow, look at you, you're a whole woman now."

Lyona stale-faced her. "I've been a grown woman, don't play me."

"And I bet you've been doing grown woman's activities since your ass got bigger and your hips are bit wider, and you're glowing. Boyfriend treating you right, huh ? " she asked smirking.

Her little sister didn't respond to it and just rolled her eyes, then shook her head at her big sister as a small smile appeared on her face. As she went to change her clothes, Eb asked to see some of the photos and actually helped to choose the five favorites, which could potentially be used.

"Oh, this one is so beautiful ! I love the attitude, the face, the body, the hair, everything is perfect."

"Me too," the photographer agreed as Lyona made her way towards them.

"Look at this, baby," Eb told her sister as they turned the screen, so she could see.

"Oh, I like this one. And this one too."

"I'll send them to your agent, and thanks again for helping me with my portfolio." He gave her a warm smile.

"You're welcome." They shook hands.

Not too long after, they were out in the cold, causing them to shiver in their coats. They didn't waste time to get in Eb's car, then drove to the nearest restaurant so they could have lunch. They felt like eating a sandwich, so they went to Subway.

The place was packed, but they managed to find a table. While one stayed at the table to keep it, the other sister went to order. They had to wait twenty minutes, but at the end of the day, they were able to eat.

"Thank you God for the food, amen," Lyona said before shoving her sandwich in her mouth. She woke up at six to get enough time to get dressed and have breakfast, but she took too long with her hair, so she only had time to grab an apple and a poptart.

Ebony chuckled, blessing the food as well, then she began feeding herself. They didn't talk for the following ten minutes as they enjoyed their meal.

"So, how was your date last night ? " Lyona asked, then drank some of her Sprite.

"Phenomenal ! Everything was perfect, I have nothing to complain about. I just wish it was longer, because it was too good. He's respectful, talks properly, is well-mannered, funny, like he's such a sweetheart."

"Dang ! Were you on a date with Jesus ? "

She laughed, "shut up."

"Well, I'm glad it went well for you. It's about time you finally meet a nice guy. Did I tell you how happy I am that you broke up with Jerome ? He really didn't deserve you. Now, I hope that Mr. Chresanto is not an undercover and we find out that he is another fuck boy. I will beat his ass."

"Thank you, and I hope too. I'm not trying to fall for another fraud. Anyways, how are you and Kenneth ? Still planning a future together ? "

"Hell yeah ! He's stuck with me forever, he's going nowhere. It's gonna be five years in September. Like, can you believe it ? "

"Yes, I can. You used to sneak out the house to spend some time with him. I would never forget the day mama caught Ken in your room. I think people in India must have heard her screaming," she chuckled, shaking her head. Their mother lost it that day and was ready to kill somebody. The girls had to play human shield so she wouldn't get a hold of Kenneth, who almost pissed himself.

"Then she tried to kick me out, no matter how many times I told her that we didn't have sex in her house. Now she be like, where's Ken ? I miss him, tell him he's invited for dinner." She sucked her teeth before drinking again.

"That's mama for you. But you should be happy that they're getting along now."

"Yeah, trust me I'm happy." She laughed slightly.

"How is your relationship with his family ? "

"Oh, I loooooove them ! And they love me too, like I'm best friends with his sisters and mother. I like his aunts too, they're super funny. And he has this one uncle that stays high no matter what, he's hilarious." She grabbed her purse, taking out a white envelope. "Talking about family, let's talk about ours. Did you get it ? "

Eb sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, this morning. Are you going ? "

She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, but I'm more leaning on nope. I don't know how to feel about all that. We didn't really talk for the past six months and we've never had that one conversation that we need to have."

Lyona's father, Earnest Harlow, was married to their mother for eleven years. He was the only man their mother got married to, the first and last husband she ever wanted to have. Their marriage wasn't the best one, causing their family to break.

Dealing with alcoholism, Earnest started hitting Sanaa, taking his frustration out on his wife. The girls were eight, eleven and fourteen --Paris being the youngest-- when they lived through the most traumatizing night of their lives.

Daughters are not supposed to see their father/step-father disfigure their mother, his wife. The physical abuse immediately stopped after that one accident, but it led to some sequels.

The girls were already not too much of a fan of their father, but their relationship went more downhill when Ebony caught him cheating on their mother with another man. She was coming back from school, and seeing this was the very last thing she expected to witness.

It was weird because Earnest used to talk so much shit about homosexual people, and it turned out that he was actually one and --in his words-- had been ''fighting it'' for the most part of his life, until he decided to live his truth.

The girls just didn't know who their father was, and as he got to know himself even more, Earnest pushed his daughters away, creating this awkward distance between them. They didn't know if it was because he felt guilty or was ashamed of himself, but whenever they tried to talk about all their problems with him, he would run.

At one point, they stopped talking altogether for a year and a half, until he reached out to the girls about two years ago. But their relationship hadn't really improved since then.

"Well, on my part, I'm not going. I don't want to risk ruining his marriage, cause I'm not sure I'll keep calm the whole time. He's marrying the man he was cheating on our mother with. I don't know, it's so weird. I don't know if I'm ready for all of this."

"Honestly, I would feel like I'm betraying mom," Lyona said with a sad voice, looking down at her lap.

"I mean, he's your father, so I can understand why you would want to support him on one of his happiest days."

Frowning, she looked up at her big sister confusingly. "Eb, he's our father." she said with a sigh.

Earnest entered Ebony's life when she was one and since her biological father was nowhere to be found, her mother's new lover took on this role, willingly. By the age of three, she was calling him dad and Lyona's arrival didn't one bit change the way Earnest treated her. They were family no matter what.

But once she found out about the abuse and directly witnessed it, she began to distance herself before he could do so; then she caught him cheating, which was the last straw for Ebony. She forgave him, but she would never forget and no matter how many times she tried to trust him again and accept him back in her heart, there was always something that prevented her to do so.

When he stopped talking to them, Ebony actually felt relieved more than anything else, but never told a soul because she knew it was wrong for her to feel this way. Truth was, she was happy she didn't have to push him away anymore since he removed himself. Less work. But then he decided to come back into their lives, and Ebony never knew how to feel about this.

In addition, she also had issues with her biological father, so realizing that life didn't want to give her a decent paternal figure, she decided she didn't need one and went about her life not bothered so much about having a father by her side.

Although she kind of had a paternal figure with her uncle Jake, but it didn't really feel the same. He was more like an uncle than a father, if it makes sense.

"Not anymore."

Walking in the kitchen, the two sisters were greeted by their mother and youngest sister, who were eating grapes and sipping on some champagne while talking. Paris looked super happy about something and they couldn't wait to find out what was going on.

"Hey, my babies ! "

"Hey, mom," they said in unison, hugging her before sitting around the table and getting comfortable.

"Why are you smiling like this ? " Lyona asked, wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk on her face.

"Cause we finally gonna know what happened at Eb's date. Girl, don't make me wait, spill ! " She hit her palms on the table.

"Girl, really ? " Eb arched a brow.

"I live through you ! So until my romantic life gets exciting, I need to know everything about yours. Taaaalk ! "

Ebony laughed at her younger sister's antics, then proceeded to tell them about her date with Chresanto. At this point, it was the third time she was talking about it, and she was getting annoyed. After that, she wasn't repeating herself anymore.

"Okay, sounds like a nice guy. When am I meeting him ? " Sanaa asked, causing her daughter's eyes to open widely as she almost choked on her own saliva.

"Mama, we're not even together."

"Well, the way you're talking about him...I would think otherwise. Hell, I already think otherwise."

"Anyways ! " Lyona intervened, saving her sister, who winked at her to show her gratitude. They loved their mother, but sometimes she could be a bit invasive. "Dad sent us an invitation to his wedding. Question of the day: should we go ? "

Paris frowned. "Hey...I didn't even get one. I thought Earn and I were close. I guess we're not." When her father re-married, he invited Ebony and Lyona, although the three didn't really have any type of bond. Paris didn't want to admit it, but she was truly hurt.

Earnest had been in her life since she was born, and since she was living most of the time at her mother's house, she saw him a lot. Well, he was her stepfather, her mother's husband. He was bonding with her as much as he was with her older sisters, until he suddenly stopped caring. One day he was just like I don't give a fuck about Paris.

Since then, she thought that he was mad at her for being a constant reminder of that period when his now ex-wife cheated on him. She never asked, but she was sure it was the cause of his sudden rejection. What she couldn't really understand was why he first accepted her as his own, then pushed her away. But then again, he did push everybody away.

"I'm not going, and nothing can make me change my mind," Eb let everybody know, rubbing Paris' back.

Sanaa nodded. "What about you, Li ? "

She let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure. On one hand, I feel like I should go because he's my father, but on the other hand I really don't feel like going." she said, scared to make eye contact with her mother.

"Princess, don't feel this way because of me. I won't be mad if you go. And if you want to rekindle your relationship with your father, then do this. What happened between him and I, has nothing to do with y'all."

"But you're our mother and he hurt you, a lot."

She played with Lyona's hair, giving a weak smile. "I forgave him. And I did some dirts on my part too. Nobody is perfect. Don't force yourself, but if you really want to get your father back into your life as he used to be, then do it. All I want is to see all my baby girls happy. This is what matters the most to me, your happiness."

Lyona bit on her bottom lip. "I'll think about it."

"On a brighter side though, I'm hosting a club tonight. Y'all coming ? " Paris changed the subject of the conversation, smiling. You could always count on her to make things better.

Eb nodded. "Yes, been awhile since we partied together."

"What the fuck is that ? " Santo asked Kofi, looking at his best friend with a weird face. Tonight, they were going to a party for this new movie that was coming out in less than two months. The premiere will be happening in three weeks, and they'll be attending this as well, in Los Angeles.

"These are my new YSL sunglasses. They are the new trend." he answered, proudly putting his Saint Laurent new wave 98 California on.

"And the inspiration for those came from...Willy Wonka ? They're ugly." Santo scrunched up his face, then put his watch on to finish his outfit.

He shrugged. "You're just jealous. Where's E at ? "

"I'm here, we can go." He snorted, "what the fuck are those ? You trying to be Willy Wonka ? "

"No ! Y'all two know nothing about fashion, y'all wack."

Elin and Chresanto laughed as the three finally made their way out. Arrived outside Kofi's building, they saw a black BMW car with a chauffeur standing next to it, holding a paper with Mr. Alfa written on it.

"Oh, we're fancy ! " Elin exclaimed, clapping his hands.

"I didn't even know they were sending a car. Well, let's go," Kofi said, leading the way. They greeted the chauffeur before he helped them to get in the car.

Forty minutes later, they were at the party, which was happening in this new French restaurant called Poire. Getting out the car, they had to help Elin to keep his balance since he was a bit tipsy. In less than thirty minutes, the young man drank more glasses of champagne than he could take.

"Man, for the rest of the night you're drinking water," Santo told him, already getting annoyed with the night. He didn't want to come in the first place, but his friends insisted, so here he was. He was just hoping that nobody would bother him.

An hour in the party and Santo was yawning for the umpteenth time, getting bored more and more as the minutes were passing by. He was sitting at a table in the back, listening to the music that was playing for the party, as he was scrolling down his Instagram timeline while everybody else seemed to have the time of their lives.

"Why are you here by yourself ? You're too good for us ? " Somebody sat next to him, attacking his nose with their strong perfume, wich he quickly recognized to be Hypnôse from Lancôme. He instantly frowned, looking up at the young woman that came to make conversation with him.

"Christee ? " He raised a brow, locking his phone screen. Out of all the people, he wasn't expecting to see his ex-girlfriend here. Once they broke up, it was like they erased each other from their lives, acting as if they'd never had a history together.

Except her hair color and length, she didn't change much. The blonde hair matched so well with her caramel skin tone. He couldn't deny and say that she wasn't looking good in her sleeveless black dress, which stopped at her knees, accompanied with a pair of black Chanel stiletto shoes and a set of gold jewelry. She was still as beautiful as before, but he wouldn't tell her, not wanting to give her the wrong impression.

Chresanto met Christee in his second year of college at a party, and since then they'd been friends for practically two years, until they realized they had grown feelings for each other, so they began their relationship in their senior year and it lasted for about three years.

Why did they not work ?

Because of money and sex. In short, Christee wanted a sugar daddy, and Chresanto wasn't going to give her that because he wanted more than this in a relationship. Although everything was good in the beginning, at one point they weren't on the same page anymore and they grew tired of one another, so they mutually decided to let each other go.

"Yes, it's me." She smiled brightly. "Long time since I've last seen you. What have you been up to ? " she asked, placing her gold glitter clutch on the table before crossing her hands on her lap.

He nonchalantly shrugged. "I've been good. What about you ? "

She nodded. "Yeah, I saw that you were doing great with your shop. It's not as little as it used to be, I'm proud of you. And I've been living life."

He chuckled surprisedly. "You're proud of me ? " He raised a brow.

"Yes. I wasn't thinking when I said what I said."

"You wished failure for me and other things that I won't repeat, Chrissy. I wouldn't even say that to my worst enemy." He used her nickname, not even realizing it.

"I know." She rolled her eyes. "But nobody is perfect. Well, except you, right ? "

"No, I never said that. Anyways, what you came here for ? You have a bunch of ballers, actors and other millionaires over there, you should be hunting if you want to achieve your goals. I have nothing to offer, haven't I ? " The level of sarcasm in his voice was high.

Once again, she rolled her eyes. "I apologize for all the stupid things I told you, you didn't deserve it. You've been nothing but good to me."