"Ah." Khari breathed heavily as he rolled over beside Julia, wrapping her in his arms.

"Damn, you did that like you missed me or something." Julia joked causing Khari to laugh, shaking his head at her.

"Because I did. I ain't see my women in some days because she's been working hard." He said kissing her forehead before standing and grabbing his towel to go shower.

"I mean we wanna be rich right?" She asked as she sat up in the Queen sized bed , wrapping the sheets around her body.

"You wanna be rich, baby I'm already rich and as your man I'm determined to make you as wealthy as I am." Khari said bluntly. "Ima go shower, you wanna join?" He smirked.

"No, I actually have to go run some errands. I'll see you later tonight?" Julia asked

"Fasure." Khari said walking away and over to the bathroom.

Kiara slid her heels on and stood from her bed looking herself over in the mirror. She walked to her closer grabbing her coat as she did so she mentally prepared herself for what was waiting for her in a few minutes.

"Kiki, The limo is here." Mfs. Gonzalez knocked on the door.

"I'm coming." Kiara lowly spoke. The door opened showing Ms. Gonzalez with her hand behind her back.

"Come sit." She pat beside her as she sat on the bed. Kiara walked over sitting beside her. "I'll hold your hand when we go inside. But before you go I'm giving you this." Ms. Gonzalez pulled out a heart shaped locket from behind her, next putting it around Kiara's neck. Kiara opened it seeing the picture of herself, her granny and sole random women. "The women on the left beside you is your mother, before she left and went to lord knows. You were only a month old here. I've never told you this but me and your mother were good friends, best friends at that. It was coincidental that we got pregnant around the same time and we promised that our kids would be the best of friends. When she left your granny and I became closer and she treated me like I was her own, that's why I treated you like you were mine. Every girl needs a mother and I wanted to be yours because the way your mother left you was wrong and I could never forgive her for it but your granny did, you know she was all into the karma bull crap, but I promised your granny, when she got sickly that I would care for you for the rest of my life. So when we walk into that funeral home later I will hold your hand for as long as you want me to, I will hold you for as long as you want me to and I will until my heart stops." Ms. Gonzalez told Kiara. Kiara was in tears and she hasn't heard anyone say in a while that they loved her. She's always looked at Ms. Gonzalez as a mother and she was extremely grateful for her.

The two walked outside and into the limo together meeting Troy and Karla. They drove to the service. Once they reached the funeral home they all walked to the front. As they got closer Kiara saw her uncle and beside him was a women, Kiara grew angry and marched over to him.

"Carlos you seriously bought one of your hoes to your mothers funeral? How high and fucked up could you be?" Kiara snapped. "Lady ima need you to move to the back." Kiara said grabbing the women's purse and handing it to her.

"Kiki.." Ms. Gonzalez bagan.

"No. She has to go." Kiara spat.

"Actually I belong up here." The women spoke.

"I'm sorry but are you high? I don't know you."

"Yes you do. I'm your mother Kiara.."

Khari turned his music down as he pulled into his father driveway. He stepped out and began walking towards the door and ringing the bell.

"Hey Khari." Courtney his step mom said as she opened the door carrying Nyla his little sister in her arms.

"Hey and heyyy Ny." He said scooping the 3 year old up. Courtney and Jean adopted Nyla a while back, Courtney wanted another child but she didn't want to physically go though it so they adopted, she had a 13 year old daughter. Khari loved all of his siblings, blood or not, he treated them all the same.

"Where's your husband?" Khari asked as he tickled Nyla in his arms.

"He upstairs in his office taking a call. You know he's always working." Courtney said walking into the kitchen.

Khari's dad was an author and a successful business man, he spoiled Khari all his life and he regretted it. Jean had regrets because Khari believed he could have any car, any house, any girl. He was too cocky and he wished he could've humbled his son better. When Jean and Lisa split Khari stayed with his mother up until his Junior year of high school, Jean got custody over Khari letting Lisa see him over weekends.

"Money don't stop so why should he?" Said Khari. "Ima head up." He sat Nyla down at her toys and began heading up the stairs to his fathers office. Khari knocked on the office door next hearing his father tell him to come in.

"Well look who decided to stop by." Jean said as he sat his phone down on the office desk.

"Yeahhh, I know, you've missed your favorite son." Khari joked.

"You're my only son."

"I know, that's why I'm your favorite." Khari said sitting across from his father.

"But what's up? What you want?"

"I wanted to talk about mom.." Khari began getting Jean's full attention. "I'll talk to her, I ain't being her friend but I'll talk to her. I wanna know the truth about why I got treated the way I did before it's too late, I wanna let her know that I genuinely care about her but ion like her." Khari insures his dad.

"That's all I needed you to do was talk to the women." Jean was proud of his son for finally coming to his senses. "Anyway how you and that girl doing, what's her name? Jayla, wait no. It's Jaylin."

"Julia, pops, it's Julia. And we're doing good, I actually just gave her a raise." Khari grinned.

"For what? Licking ya balls? Son, I didn't pay for your college tuition to get a degree in business to just be throwing money around." Jean told Khari.

"I'm not, she actually does her job well."

"All she does is get you coffee and have sex, that's all. That girl isn't for you. She doesn't love you either, I've had plenty of girls like that in my life and trust me you don't want nothing to do with them."

"Yeah yeah, great great." Khari shrugged. "But I came here to show you what I wrote for that little event you got me booked for." Khari said sliding his phone over to his dad.

"Now you know ion like reading your stuff, recite it boy."

Khari cleared his throat and prepared himself before reciting his new piece. "Here we go." He thought to himself.

Kiara sat in the pew in between Ms. Gonzalez and Troy as she listened to the lady who ran the funeral home speak as she read the obituary. Kiara was upset that her uncle knew where her mother was and had contact with her all these years and the fact that her mother had contact with him and never thought of contacting her hurt Kiara even more. She couldn't cry because her cry wouldn't be a sad cry it would've been a "I hate you and I wanna fight you" type of cry.

"If anyone would like to come up and say anything about Ms. Palet." The lady stepped down, leaving the mic open for anyone who would like to come up.

Kiara's mother walked up to the mic with Carlos as they both consoled each other as if they were so hurt.

"Good morning everyone I'm Cynthia's oldest daughter Shivani, I just wanted to say how much of a beautiful women my mother was. She was a great listener, a great mother and most of all my best friend."

"Bullshit." Ms. Gonzalez mumbled causing Kiara and Troy to snicker a bit.

"I thank her for raising my beautiful daughter, Kiara. She has grown to be a wonderful young women." Shivani spoke lookin down at Kiara who was now pissed.

Kiara and Troy walked to the podium causing Shivani and Carlos scoot over.

"Thank you everyone for coming out, I truly appreciate all of you and I can see that my granny was loved." Kiara said closing out the service. The pallbearers lifted Granny's casket and began walking out of the funeral home.

Later that day, Kiara, Troy and Karla were all in Karla's car talking while everyone else was in the house with Ms. Gonzalez talking and reminiscing over Granny.

"Ard but, whatever apartment you find reserve a spot for me to come to sleep over cus if you expect me to sleep on a couch while I had to sleep on a raggedy twin bed in our back room so you could sleep in my comfy bed, you trippin dawg." Troy said to Kiara.

"You didn't have to give me your bed I was fine with sleep on the twin. So shut up." Kiara said hitting him with a Twizzler.

"Ha, you got smacked with a piece of candy." Karla laughed.

"Akekeke, shut ya joe ass up." Troy spat.

"But for real though, let me know what you do regarding this apartment cus ima need to check it out, ion want you just living anywhere." Karla informed Kiara, she didn't want Kiara anywhere sketchy and due to her current situation and old situations she just wanted to make sure that her little sister was safe. "What are you doing?" Karla asked Troy as he pulled out a backwoods wrapper and container.

"Don't is that. You know a ass be in here getting higher than a fucking kite." He began take his wrap out and begin his roll, Kiara kid watched, she'd always see Troy high but he had never smoked in front of her.

She watched as the siblings passed the perfectly rolled blunt around to one another and blow out smoke.

"Gimme." Kiara demanded.

"W..what?" Troy asked as he coughed on smoke, he was shocked to hear his best friend ask to smoke.

"Give me it nigga." Kiara said snatching it away, putting the blunt to her mouth and inhaling the smoke. She closed her eyes and let it set into her lungs before blowing it out smoothly.

"Nah you did this shit before." Karla joked causing the car to erupt with laughter. They stopped once they heard a knock on the window they all looked over seeing Shivani.

"Roll another one." Kiara rolled her eyes before stepping out of the car. "What?" She asked facing her mother.

"I'm sorry."

"Wow took you long enough. I mean only took a good 22 years but I mean everyone does everything when they're ready." Kiara shrugged.

"Kik-"

"No, no, no, you don't get that privilege." Ik a a said lifting her index finger to hush her.

"Kiara, I'm coming to apologize not to argue my rights. I know that I've been a shitty ass mother but I had no form of communication with you all these years, I'm trying to fix it."

"You had communication with Carlos all these years, yet you couldn't find not ONE way to contact me? Chup raho." Kiara said waving her off turning back to the car to get in. *

"I see you're granny taught you well." She smiled. "mujhe garv hai ki tum kya ho gae ho"

"Thank you, I was inspired by you. I worked hard to not be like you."

"Here." Shivani said putting a piece of paper into Kiara's jacket pocket. "When you're ready, use it." She walked to dark Nissan, getting in and starting it up.

Kiara got back into the car with Troy and Karla. "Can we get drunk real quick?" Kiara asked throwing her head back.

"See now you speaking my language." Karla said starting the car up immediately next pulling off.

This was going to be one long night for Kiara but she was ready for it, anything to knock this pain and stress off of her mind.