Allure

70| Comes to the Light

Blake screwed her face up as she looked up at her mother. Bradley laughs at the reaction of Blake no longer having the ring to keep her entertained. "Things are changing," Bradley tells Blake and Jace. "However mommy and daddy will still be the best parents ever," She assured while kissing both of their cheeks.

Although the thought of never getting back together with Rashad plagued her mind terribly, she knew she would never have to worry about him as a father. They were set to curate the perfect system and routine with the kids best interest and that's all that really mattered. They both had the same goal which was to give Blake and Jace what they never had.

Not wanting to turn the night in early, Bradley fought hard to keep the twins entertained so they could stay up and offer her company, but then they got fussy so she gave up.

She carried them to their cribs one at a time before returning to the front room where she reclaimed her seat on the couch, this time with a glass of wine. All the other unfortunate breakups she's been through in her lifetime, all she did was cry day and night. However now, she couldn't find it within herself to cry more than she's already has. Maybe because she felt like she was to blame.

It felt suffocating not having anyone to talk to about it. Evidently, Rashad wasn't ready to open up about it so she had to respect his decision. She was left to just drown in her thoughts and blame herself day in and day out.

Once she downed her first glass of wine, she sat in silence. Throughout the day, things had managed to register in her head bit by bit, however things still weren't adding up. Bradley knew the last thing Rashad did was prey on her before they met. He was oblivious to who she was. They met by chance and fate not because he had killed her ex two years before. However it had her thinking, was this why Sincere always felt some sort of way about Rashad? Was it because he knew what role Rashad played in this whole big mess he created? Did Sway and Drake know of this? If they did, why didn't anyone tell her. She felt like this was pertinent information that needed to be known before she established this entire life with Rashad.

Things definitely would have gone differently if she knew this ahead of time. However she couldn't help but to feel like God set her life up in this specific way for a reason. Israel wasn't the best for her, in fact he was toxic and manipulating. Bradley was sure that if Israel was still alive, he would have found a way to keep her around as long as he possibly could which would have led to one hell of an unhappy life for Bradley. Israel passing opened up a whole knew chapter in her life. Rashad stepped up and loved her how he was supposed to with no complaints. She was happier with Rashad, she just hated that Israel's demise played a role in it.

Sulking in her thoughts, she had completely lost track of time. Reaching for her phone, she checked the time realizing that it was 12 AM. A deep sigh drifted out of her as she ascended up from the couch. She cleaned up her mess which consisted of her empty wine glass and the platter of veggies and hummus she made to hold her over.

Bradley headed to bed, groaning at how odd it felt not speaking to Rashad. By now, she was sure he had landed in LA and instead of calling like he always did, he went about his night. It saddened her, but this was something she was going to have to get use to if they couldn't work it out.

She checked on the twins before resorting to her bedroom where she crawled underneath the warm comforter. Her almond shaped eyes looked straight up at the raised ceiling in their bedroom feeling an emptiness rush through her heart. Instead of breaking down into tears like she wanted, she prayed.