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twelve.

"Wait a minute." Aaliyah gasped. "Your child!"

She smiled and then pulled out a cell phone. When the screen lit up, she immediately saw the picture of her sister, Tommy, and a little boy. With a head of raven hair, blue eyes and a coffee creamer complexion, he was, without a doubt, the spitting image of both his parents. "Ryan. Oh, he's such a gem. He's with the nanny right now."

Aaliyah frowned. "Nanny?"

"Oh. It's like someone who watches your-"

"I know what a nanny is." She interrupted. "I am just surprised you have one. And Ryan?"

Ghadiya tensed. "Yes. That is his name."

Aaliyah faltered. "I just thought you would have given him a Bialyan name. That is all." It was tradition for boys of Bialyan roots to have a name synonymous to his culture.

Ghadiya rolled her eyes. "That's so old fashioned Li." The younger girl's frown deepened. Li? "Besides. I don't even go by that name anymore so why should my son be burdened-"

"Burdened?" Again, Aaliyah interrupted. "It is tradition. And what do you mean that name?"

"You know." She shrugged and grabbed her phone, sliding it in her pocket. "It's Gabriella here."

Aaliyah's mouth dropped. "But why?"

Ghadiya looked at her sister and giggled. "Did you not hear what I said? Tommy was a spy. Heaven forbid they tracked us down...we needed a clean break."

"From me too?" Aaliyah murmured and dropped her head.

It was so much to take in. A lot to take in. Here she had gone two years mourning the death of her sister, blaming herself for the alleged murder, but no such thing had taken place. Her sister was never in danger that night, because she left before the attack commenced.

"Hey." She looked up when Gabriella placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You know, I wanted you to come with us, but it was too dangerous. If we were caught and..." she trailed off and Aaliyah felt a pang of guilt. Of course her sister wouldn't abandon her unless there was no other choice. That didn't make the blow any lighter though. "I just wanted you to be safe. You understand that, right?"

No, she didn't. "But it was an attack sister. Hardly anyone was spared. What made you think I would survive?"

Aaliyah's voice held strong emotion, while her sister smiled coyly. That irritated the younger woman. She failed to see the humor in her statement. She didn't see the humor in any of this.

"Shirutian men always fall victim to a pretty girl with a decent body." She tilted her head. "It's a shame what happened to you face though." Aaliyah looked away. "Nevertheless, I see you still have that amazing figure."

Aaliyah nodded numbly and forced a small smile. Something felt wrong. The story made sense and though she was hurt; she understood why her sister did what she did. She was just looking out for Aaliyah and for her unborn child.

Her reasoning for why she felt Aaliyah would survive was weak and not without errors. How could anyone honestly believe a person would be spared in the midst of a genocide simply because of sexual means? It made no sense. Then again, hardly anything did these days.

"Did you have something to do with Oliver saving me?" She asked bluntly. It was a stretch, but something told her that her sister knew more than what she was letting on.

Gabriella tensed again. "What?"

Aaliyah shifted on the plush sofa. "He saved my life that night. I would like to know why."