Sugar

Sugar: 7/10 Cup

Kahlia could admit when she had something of a crush, but things were getting a bit ridiculous. Normally, her phone's messages had no shortage of conversation with Dorian but the two of them hadn't stopped texting since their first date. It also didn't help that was the last time they'd seen each other, and it definitely didn't help that she was teeming with nerves as she smoothed both hands over her sundress.

She sent him a picture, asking if it was too much for a casual breakfast. He replied as he usually did, with cold hard facts, and then followed it up by telling her she looked beautiful. She snorted a laugh and pulled the dress off, switching to a pair of jeans with a spaghetti strap silk blouse in a deep green that complimented her skin. Her hair came down from its up-do, the freshly done braids falling down her back as she pinned them away from her face.

Her father was waiting in the living room when she walked back out, looking a lot calmer than she was. He even looked a little bit at peace. She was happy for him, even while she was preparing herself to go to war on his behalf, should things come to that. Her father had always taught her that turning the other cheek was the right thing to do, and she could adhere to that principle for herself, but not for others. He was the only thing she had and she'd be damned to see him hurt again because of someone who didn't deserve him.

Personally, Kahlia thought that meeting with her estranged mother for breakfast was a horrible idea and a perfect way to ruin an otherwise stunning day. The sun was shining, she felt well rested and the restaurant they were going to had bottomless mimosas. She wasn't a drinker, but something nagging told her she'd have to make an exception just once.

"Are you alright?" She asked her dad for the umpteenth time. Her voice increased in pitch every time she asked, and now that they stood at the doorstep of the restaurant, it was at a near inaudible squeak.

Her father, saint that he was, pat her hand reassuringly and smiled. "I'm fine, my daughter. Are you?"

Kahlia swallowed thickly and nodded once. They stepped inside, meeting with the bush atmosphere of a place that wasn't her own. It wasn't often that she ate out but when she did, she appreciated being on the other side of things.

Immediately she spotted the woman by the ramrod posture and the reddish brown hair in thick waves. She'd always worn it to her lower back, but now it was cut to a shoulder-length bob. She was holding hands with a red-haired man wearing all black. His muscles threatened to make his button down burst at the seams.

Father and daughter approached the table and plopped down into their respective seats. For a moment, everyone stared at each other in silence, then a chirpy waitress popped up to take everyone's orders.

Kahlia ordered a full breakfast, then settled for ordering the drink of psychopaths. "Vodka, neat."

The waitress blinked at her twice, took a look at the tension around the table, then dashed off to fulfil their orders. Charles pat his daughter's hand reassuringly once again, but there wasn't a smile on his face this time.

Her mother spoke first after some more awkward silence. "I'm so happy you could make it. With how busy your restaurant is, Kahlia, I wasn't sure if you'd be able to come."

"Of course." She looked at her father, who was staring back at her intently. Kahlia could feel the silent question in his eyes, and an inkling of realisation struck her in the gut. Had he agreed to meet her mother because of her? She felt bamboozled.

"How have you been?" The former Mrs. Obisani, now Mrs. Marcus, nervously fiddled with a heavily adorned hand, clad in four bracelets and three rings besides her wedding band.

Kahlia took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what she should do, sitting in front of someone who she held an intense resentment for. When she'd cut her mother off, she'd done it out of hurt, and over the years she hadn't addressed the wound that sat under layers and layers of skin, still sore and bleeding internally. Seeing her in the flesh with her husband sliced through those layers and revealed the rot for the world to see.