“What the fuck!” Keynauri roared with anger. He garnered the attention of a few onlookers, which only made the situation more uncomfortable. I stood up, grabbing Kiaya’s hand in mine.
Rage filled my body as I stared at the woman who once held my heart in her hands. I felt like I was in the fucking Twilight Zone as I gaped at the people in front of me.
“This shit is crazy,” I whispered to myself while rubbing the side of my face. Keyami squeezed my hand, and my eyes dropped down to make sure she was okay.
“Daddy, I really want those shoes.” She pouted. I shook my head because I should have known better. My daughter was a spoiled diva who hated not getting her way. Her mother was to blame, but that was a conversation for another day.
“I already told you that you can get the shoes, but what you did wasn’t nice.”
“What do you mean? That little girl tried to take the shoe I wanted,” she reasoned, clearly missing the point. I guess it was to be expected because in her nine-year-old brain, it made sense.
“It was a display shoe, not the real thing. They only use it to show you what the shoe looks like. She didn’t take anything from you, and you need to apologize for your behavior,” I urged.
“But, Daddy—”
“Now, Keyami. You are older than her, and you had no business trying to fight her over a shoe in the first place,” I spoke through gritted teeth. My finger pointed over to the little girl who had an almost identical face as Keyami, with piercing blue eyes. Every emotion I could think of flowed through me as I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. No one could have convinced me that something like this was possible.
Reluctantly, Keyami shuffled her feet over to the little girl. I stepped a little closer to ensure there were no further issues between the two.
“I’m sorry for snatching the shoe from you,” Keyami whispered. She hated admitting when she was wrong, so I expected nothing less from her.
“Louder, Keyami. She can’t hear you.”
She glared at me before turning back to face the little girl.
“I’msorryI snatched the shoe from you. It was mean, and I shouldn’t have done it..”
The little girl’s arms remained folded as she stood in front of Keyami.
I sent Logic a text, letting him know I needed him before I lost my cool. My security was there, but Logic was the only person who knew how I could get.
“Do you accept her apology, Teeny?” her mother asked her softly. Her ass avoided eye contact with me, and it was probably for the best. With the way I felt inside, I wanted to put a bullet in her head.
“No, Momma. I don’t accept it. Can we go now?”
I chuckled at her stubbornness, recognizing a trait in myself.
“Now, that isn’t right, Kiaya. She said she was sorry. Let’s show some kindness back to her,” Naiari reasoned. Baby girl shook her head back and forth, letting her know she wasn’t feeling her suggestion.
“Come on, Momma. I need to get my shoes.” The little boy huffed. My heart twisted in my chest as I looked at the two of them. There were so many questions lingering in my mind, and I wanted to understand how we got here.
“I’m sorry, baby. Here I come.” Naiari stood to her feet before reaching for the little girl’s hand. For some reason, the tiny princess couldn’t seem to take her eyes off me, and it made me nervous.
“You have the same eyes as me. She has them too. My momma said they are rare. Does that mean you’re special too?” Her little finger pointed toward Keyami and me.
My heart stuttered as I tried to hold it together. I stepped closer before kneeling to her level. Keyami’s hand remained locked with mine as she stood next to me with questioning eyes.
“I guess that means you’re a part of the cool club. What’s your name?” I inquired.
She looked up at her momma to make sure it was okay for her to answer. Ari nodded her head in approval, which irritated me to no end. This shouldn’t have even been a thing.
“Umm, my name is Kiaya, and that’s my brother, Keyaire. We’re twins,” she informed me matter-of-factly.
“Wow, that’s really cool. How old are you, Kiaya?”
Again, she looked to her mother for confirmation.
“I’m six.” Kiaya held up her fingers as she spoke.
