𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝑰𝑽

I didn't care to be around any of Syre's people, with the exception of his parents, sister, and Keoni. I didn't want to be around the people who smiled in my face everyday while knowing, and participating, in the same thing that ended the relationship to begin with. I had no reason to even hold the slightest bit of communication with them so I didn't, and it's been like that since the second I stepped foot between the doors that secluded me from the rest of the world.

"You do realize I'm stronger than you, right mamas?" I watched her struggle to pull her body out of my hold, until she eventually gave up with her shoulders slouched in defeat. "Now you upset?" I raised an eyebrow at her little attitude she liked to keep up when she didn't get her way.

"Merie!" Glancing up, my smile only widened watching Keoni running over out of breath. It shocked me sometimes that just 2 days ago, he was that little 2 year old in his uncles car. And suddenly he was 7 and I had my own baby, his cousin, who's just a little younger than when we met.

"I missed you my baby." I poked my bottom lip out while crouching down slightly to wrap my arms around him in a tight hug.

"No!" Malani yelled from next to me with a little stomp, before attempting to push me back. "You baby" she pointed to herself with a small pout.

"Shut up Lani." Keoni sucked his teeth, giving her a light push that made her dramatically fall down.

Throwing my head back, I listened to her whine until she eventually started crying loudly. Crouching down, I just stared as she flailed herself around on the ground without even a scratch of dirt or bruises on her body.

"Malani get up." I tilted my head while she tried her best to make tears come out. Taking a deep breath, I glanced up watching Syre lead everyone else to the court yard with 2 officers on either side of him. "Look at daddy over there, he been waiting all day to see you and you think he want to see you crying mama?" I spoke softly, but she wasn't trying to hear any of that.

"Who fucking with paw paw's princess?" Elias's voice rang out, and almost immediately, Malani popped her red face up to look in the direction of the voice. Her bottom lip trembled before she raised her arms up for him to pick her up.

She loved her grandfather more than life itself, her clinginess with Syre not even comparing to that of Elias. When it came to her grandparents period, it was like neither of us existed.

"Papa" She spoke softly with her head laid along his shoulder. "Ki hit!" She pointed towards Keoni who smacked his lips in annoyance.

"I ain't do nothing to her." He waved off, before running back over towards the rest of his cousins.

"She's just being a diva as always, nobody did nothing to her." I sighed, picking up the purple blanket she dropped. It was one she'd had since she was a newborn and just never let go of it, wherever she went she needed her blanket no matter what.

Feeling eyes, I looked around until making eye contact with Kimberly who gave a small simple wave and a tight lipped smile, one I chose to ignore to focus back on Malani. Since everything happened, most of Syre's family and friends didn't like me and I knew that despite the way they tried to "hide" it. 9/10 they didn't acknowledge me, and when they did it was always with some sort of tension or hostility behind it. Yet unfortunately for them, I couldn't care less about any of that.

The only reason I even allowed myself to be around and tolerate them was because of my daughter, and because I wasn't petty enough to restrict the access to her I could have had my parents do. But it wasn't necessary, the same way it'd never be necessary to take that away from Syre because she's innocent in all this. And with everything I'd been through, and all the promises I've already broken to her, the one I'd never go back on is giving her the big loving family I never had.