This Time Around

Chapter 75 - Preston

"Do you know what it feels like to be surrounded by love but never feel loved? My family loves me unconditionally. I'm the center of attention. Anything I want, I say it, it appears. It can get overwhelming at times, but I have never really felt love outside of them."

Shit, all I want to do is spoil the fuck out of her and give her all of my love and attention.

"I don't have a submissive personality. I'm my father's daughter. However, I was taught to be a subservient. Maize groomed me for that role basically from birth. I know you all think that I'm a pushover, but it's what I know. When I met Ken, I was willing to do anything."

Clearly, not everything.

"It was crazy. The first time I saw him, he smiled at me and I felt drawn to him. I can't describe it. I wasn't searching for a man to replace my father or to teach me how to love. My father was there. He's always there."

She pointed to her left and we could see Kino and Keli standing on the beach with their hands in their pockets looking towards us. She starts laughing.

"I don't care where we are, if he's around, he's there. All I have to do is look to my left. That's also how I tell them apart, Uncle Keli stands to my Daddy's left. Closest to his heart. Uncle Keli was born second, my dad is his protector but they are equals. Their souls were so powerful, God had to split it."

"Keli told you that bullshit."

Rome starts laughing. He finally calmed down. I have always respected this man because of his character and reputation in the streets. Watching him showcase his love for his son, shed new light. I feel honored to know him. 

He's a family man, and the example I want to follow. My dad was never around so I only had Uncle Jeff to use as a model. Due to the fact of my lifestyle, I had to watch him from afar. Rome is living the same life.

"No, it was Grandmother. You know how she gets when she is drinking from those pineapples. I wanted a life outside of my Daddy. I wanted to prove that I was a big girl and could do things on my own.

What's the first thing he does? The man buys my roommates. Tiff would never admit it, but I don't think they really wanted me as a roommate. He saw how happy I was and they checked out on paper and she was your daughter.

The apartment was an added bonus for them but he gave them cash to keep me out of the clubs and parties. See how well that worked out.

Roman included me. He never took me to any parties but we did a lot of things. Things I would have never experienced during college if I had waited on my roommates to show me. We talked for hours. I would be studying and he would be drawing. I still have them. He would just throw them away after he finished them."

She looks at me.

"The wolf pack, Roman drew that."

She has a picture framed in her office of a pack of wolves. All of their eyes glow purple. There's four wolves. One silver wolf, a white wolf, a black wolf, and a lavender wolf. The detail is so damn realistic.

"Me, him, Tiff and Aiden, my wolf pack. We just connected on another level. I was obsessed with him. He never pressured me to be someone that I'm not."

She takes a few deep breaths. I know this is her form of a sedative. It calms her down enough to express herself.

"I saw how he would look at other women when we were out. He tried to be inconspicuous, but I'm very observant. I should have known that something wasn't right. I mean he would always say something to guys who would stare at me and even get physical if it was necessary."