Sasha knelt and hugged her daughter. "Why did you run off? I told you to wait for mama. You had me worried Rosie," Sasha said to a tearful little girl.
"I'm sorry mama. Rosie got excited! Wanna see mama's friends," the little girl replied to her mom.
Sasha then looked up and saw five pairs of eyes looking at her. She smiled at them as she stood up.
"Hey!" She said.
The girls though still in shock, rushed to hug their friend. None of them knew that Sasha has a kid, they didn't even know she got pregnant.
"I want you all to meet Lily Rose, my daughter," Sasha said to the girls.
"Rosie, say hi to your aunt Shay, aunt Lucy, aunt Troian, aunt Ashley and aunt Cece."
"Hi!!"
"So adorable. How old is she?" Cece asked.
"She just turned 3."
Sasha knows the girls have too many questions to ask her. What happened to her the last four years, why she didn't tell them she got pregnant and that now she has a 3-year-old daughter. It was a decision that she was forced to make, she wanted to tell the girls but her life got too complicated. It was hard, but she's thankful that through it all, one girl never left her side. It may have taken them some time, but Janel is more than just a friend to her now. She smiled at her friends knowing that she needs to talk to them.
"I'll tell you everything later. But now, don't we have a fitting to do?" She said to them.
"Mama. Rosie gotta go," the little girl said to her mom as she tugged on her mom's skirt.
"Okay baby. Mama will bring you," Sasha said to her adorable daughter.
"I'll just take Rosie to the bathroom," Sasha said to her friends.
Her friends nodded as Sasha made her way to the restroom.
As soon as she was gone, Ashley gathered the girls.
"Did she get married? Why didn't she invite us? And her daughter is 3 years old. What's going on?" Ashley questioned the girls.
"I think, not one of us knows. She never posted anything on her accounts about getting pregnant or having a baby," Troian said.
"We messaged each other in the last 6 months, but she never mentioned having a daughter," Lucy added.
"Guys. You heard what Sasha said, she'll tell us later. So maybe we should just wait for her to tell us and not jump to conclusions," Shay said to her friends.
"Shay's right. She'll tell us, we'll just have to wait," Cece added.
Before anyone can say anything, Sasha and her daughter got out of the restroom.
"Janel will pick Rosie up in 20 minutes, she just got caught up with something," Sasha said.
"Why? She can stay here and watch us try on our dresses," Lucy said.
"Yeah. Lucy's right, Sash. Janel doesn't have to pick her up," Troian said.
"It's okay. Janel wants to spend time with Rosie too. Plus, she'll just play around here and make a mess. I don't want her destroying any of the dresses," Sasha said laughing a little.
"Mama. When is mommy Janel coming? Rosie misses her," the child said to her mom.
Everyone in the room exchanged glances. What the hell is going on? Why is the kid calling Janel, mommy?
"She's gonna come today hun, and you get to spend time with mommy Janel. But you have to be a good girl okay?" Sasha said to her daughter.
"I promise, mama. Rosie is going to be a good girl."
Shay is looking closely at the mother and daughter. The kid looks a lot like Sasha, except for the hair. She got Sasha's dimples and eyes. She also got the blonde's attitude if one would look closely at the two. She has so many questions just like the girls, and she can't wait for Sasha to tell them everything.
Janel is now out with Rosie but she promised to get back in a few hours to hang out with the girls, who are now busy trying on their outfit for the wedding. Everyone was a little occupied with their dress when Sasha spoke.
"I'm sorry for not telling you ladies about Rosie. I really wanted to, but I couldn't," she started.
"Why? What happened? You can tell us now," Lucy said.
"After I've gotten my degree at BHU, I immediately started teaching there. Janel was working for Hotchkiss Technology and we both stayed on campus. My mom, wanted me to take over the business, but at that time, I really wanted to teach. I met Rosie's dad at BHU. We first met in my senior year, but we started going out when I was already a TA. Rosie's dad is the eldest son of the Hotchkiss family, Taylor. We were supposed to get married but something happened. He was killed."
"Wait. You mean, you were supposed to marry Taylor? THE Taylor Hotchkiss? I heard about his death, but they said it was an accident," Cece said, clearly shocked about the news.
"You know this guy?" Shay asked her fiancé also shocked about this information.
"Yes, babe. We've had a few encounters during parties. You know where the 'rich and famous' socialize. To be honest, I hated those gatherings. Taylor's cool though, we would talk sometimes and he would make those parties bearable."
"Actually, he mentioned you, Ce. He didn't expect us to know each other. Anyway, you're right. It was said on the news that he died because of a car accident, but Claire paid for the news cover-up. They didn't want anyone finding out about his murder. They didn't want to draw any attention to the family, well, actually they didn't want his murder to affect Hotchiss Technology."
"This is crazy. This is the kind of stuff that you only see on TV," Ashley said.
"Yeah. Well, welcome to my life now," Sasha said.
"I still don't get the reason, why you can't tell us about your pregnancy and your baby," Troian said.
"We think Taylor was murdered because of Hotchkiss Technology. But we can't prove it. What we know is that a big security company wants to buy his program, but Taylor refused to sell. He thinks that his program will be used for something else. He did not tell me everything, but I know enough, after his death, we were all put in protective custody. Claire and everyone at Hotchkiss Technology believed that we were all in danger because the killer was still at large. During that time I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to talk to my mom, to you, but they wouldn't let me. They don't want to risk our safety. Claire was particularly scared of losing her granddaughter."
"Since you're here, does that mean you are no longer in protective custody?" Troian asked.
"Yes. You're right Troi. The man who killed Taylor was arrested 6 months ago. It took them almost 3 years to catch him," Sasha answered.
"So, you're safe now? You and your daughter?" Cece asked.
"Not entirely. But they have allowed us a little freedom. We still have bodyguards following us around, Claire wants us protected all the time. They think it's not 100% safe because we still don't know who had Taylor killed. The trial will start next month, and we hope we get answers and justice for his death. "
"Will it be on the news?" Ashley asked.
"No. They paid a lot of money for all of these to get off the press. Taylor died in a car accident and that will remain as the truth in the public's eyes," Sasha answered.
"You've been through a lot. How are you coping? Does your mom know about this?" Shay asked.
"She only learned about everything when I saw her 6 months ago. She's shaken up but she's glad we're okay. And she's very happy about Rosie."
"Wait, can I just ask? How about Janel? Why does Rosie call her mommy Janel?" Ashley asked.
"Oh that. Well, Janel was in protective custody with us, since she also contributed part of the program. She basically helped me with my pregnancy and in raising Rosie. It was difficult to explain to Rosie why she's not with her dad. So Janel told her, that some kids, instead of having a mom and a dad, have two mommies, especially when the dad is in a faraway place. Rosie seemed to like the idea and it makes sense to her, so that's why she calls Janel mommy. Claire is okay with it, she's known Janel for as long as she knew me. She's just glad that Rosie has two strong women as her moms. And yeah, Janel and I are together now."
Just as Shay was about to say something, Sasha's phone rang.
"I need to take this. It's Janel," Sasha said to her friends as she stepped out of the room.
"Hey, Jan. Is everything okay?"
"Yes. Everything's fine. Don't worry. I just called to tell you we're at the ice cream shop and your daughter wants to know if mama wants some ice cream."
"That's so sweet. Can you buy for everyone, including the girls?"
"Of course. We will back in an hour."
"Okay. See yah."
With that, Sasha ended the call and headed back inside.
"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked.
"Yes. Rosie was just asking if we want ice cream."
"That's so sweet of her," Troian said.
"Yes. I sometimes wonder if she's my daughter. I was never that sweet when I was young," Sasha said laughing.
Everyone laughed with her. It has been a long time since Sasha has seen her friends and she's just glad that they are all together now. She doesn't know what will happen in the next few months, but she knows that she's got all she needs. She has Rosie, Janel, her mom, Claire, and now her old friends.