Taylor almost didn’t recognize her sister when she walked into the dressing room. Unlike the woman before her, the Nicole she’d known had always been well-put-together from head to toe. This Nicole was wearing a cheap, synthetic wig and a dress Taylor recognized as their mother’s.
Nicole hadn’t spoken to Taylor since Lincoln had dragged her creepy fiancé out of her and Victor’s penthouse. If there had been a side to choose, she had chosen. Like Tammy Wynette, Nicole had chosen to stand by her man no matter how deviant his behavior. Every now and then, Nicole would reach out to their parents. But, without so much as a look back, she had completely cut Taylor out of her life. So, curiosity, if nothing else, had caused Taylor to wonder what her sister was doing at a rally to elect Victor as president.
Taylor stood and gestured her staff toward the door. “Gimme a minute,” she instructed.
Without words, they filed out. No doubt, they were just as curious as she was about her sister’s unexpected visit.
“You don’t look all that happy to see me.”
Taylor chose to ignore the disdain in her tone and smiled. “Of course, I’m happy to see you, Nicole.”
She moved toward her sister with open arms, but she was rebuffed with a wave. “You’re not gonna want a hug after you hear what I have to say.”
Here we go...
After a long sigh, she returned to her seat on the couch and prepped herself for the bullshit that was about to come out of her sister’s mouth. “What is it that you have to say, Nicole?”
CHAPTER 31
NIYAH
After exiting the Uber, Niyah hurried inside the hospital. She took quick steps to her office and closed the door. With her back to the door, she covered her face with her hands and slid down the door.
“Oh, my God,” Niyah whispered with a breath that she’d been holding since leaving her mother’s house.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Niyah jump. She looked up to find her new intern standing near her desk with an awkward and horrified look on her face.
“Dr. Reed, are you okay?”
Niyah jumped to her feet and narrowed her eyes at the intern for asking such a dumb question. Of course, she wasn’t okay. Nothing about her was okay. “What are doing in here, Dr. Leer? What do you need?” Niyah asked in a tone that was weirdly calm for someone who’d just gotten caught falling to pieces.
Katima blinked with confusion with Niyah's bipolarized response. “I-I,” she began. “Are you sure you’re--”
“What do you need?” Niyah repeated.
“Well…” Katima picked up a note from her desk. “There’s another gangbanger murder.”
Niyah balled her fist until she could feel her nails pinching her skin. “Fuck me!” she cursed, kicking back at the door with her heel.
Katima returned the note to the desk and approached Niyah with a wrinkled brow. She must’ve thought she was insane or at the very least, too emotional about one homicide in a city like Chicago. “Dr. Reed, are you okay? Can I do anything for you?”
Niyah shook her head and sighed. “No. But, thank you. I’m just tired. Been working like crazy.”
To avoid the heat from her intern's glare, Niyah pushed off the door and moved over to her desk. “Thank you, Dr. Leer,” she said, coolly concluding their encounter.
“Yes, Doctor,” the intern conceded before leaving.
Niyah leaned over and pressed her palms on the desk. “Goddamn it, Naomi!”
TAYLOR
Without an invitation, Nicole sat in a chair in front of the sofa and crossed her legs.
Taylor rolled her eyes at her smug grin. “What’s up, Nicole?”
Nicole lifted her chin defiantly and announced, “I have a son!”
Taylor’s frown had to have revealed her disgust at the possibility of Nicole reproducing with Jeffrey Morgan, the disgraced water commission who was serving time because his deviant behavior had finally caught up with him. “How is that possible?” Taylor questioned. “Did you actually marry Jeffrey in jail? Does he get conjugal visits?”
