𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 | 𝐒. 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲

Chapter 8

STEPHEN CURRY
Los Angeles, CA.

It's been quite the crazy week. Kiana and I went to Draymond's wedding, officially making our first public appearance as a couple and social media was buzzing about it. They obviously made it a point to highlight the age difference, as expected, but I didn't care much for the public's opinion.

Kiana and I flew to LA a week ago where I prepped to host the ESPYs. Still getting goosebumps thinking about it. Alani, Ayesha and the kids flew in later in the week and I took the kids to the ESPYs with me, everyone except Raelyn of course. Alani didn't want her in the spotlight, she didn't want anyone to start asking questions we weren't ready to answer. Speaking off Alani, she was still at it with doing background checks on both Alyssa and Kiana. I probably should've stopped her but I wanted her to put her mind at ease and stop accusing my girlfriend of such foolishness. I can't tell if she being genuinely concerned or if it's the jealousy talking. Either way, this shit needs to stop. And soon too.

"Stephen! You kinda zoned out? Is everything okay?" Kiana knocked me out of my thoughts. We were having lunch at Nobu. We were in the paparazzi capital of the world so I had to shut the restaurant down a while.  We've been getting hounded by paps since we touched down.

"I have a lot on my mind, actually." I admitted. Not that I was feeding into Alani's delusions but I had some concerns of my own. If Kiana was somehow involved in the lawsuit, I wanted to at least give her a chance to explain herself.

"Care to share?" Kiana placed her hand on mine.

"It's actually about Alyssa." I said nervously. This conversation could go from 0 to 100 real quick.

"Is this about the lawsuit?" She asked.

I nodded.

Kiana sighes. "Please don't tell you think I'm involved somehow."

"Well, are you?" I asked. Kiana immediately pulled her hand away from me.

"Is this you talking or has Alani been getting into your head?" Kiana angrily folded her arms across her chest.

"Nobody's getting in my head. I'm just concerned for our safety, my daughter's safety. You know, with Alyssa bei-"

"Is this how it's going to be for the entirety of our relationship? Alani tells you something and you immediately doubt me? If so, I don't think I can handle this." Kiana stares off into the distance.

"It's not like that." I reassured her. "A really long time ago, Alani told me that Ayesha was the one who broke into her house, who had her followed and had her store destroyed. I chose not to believe it because I thought Ayesha wouldn't be capable of something like that. What I've learned is that people would do impossible things when their backs are against the wall. In this case, your cousin needs money and I'm sure you know how money makes people act. It's not just Alani who's worried about what Alyssa is planning. This is bigger than us. Kiana, look at me!" I said sternly. Her glaze reluctantly turned towards me again.

"This is about Raelyn. It's all to protect her. If Alyssa leaks the story, our lives will never be the same. You saw how we got hounded by the paps today. I don't want that for any of my kids lives."

Kiana remained silent and simply nodded along as I spoke.

"You're trying to protect your family. I can accept that. Don't let it be more than that." She gave me a knowing look.

"You should probably meet Alani and Ayesha." I suggested. The time was right. Kiana has already met my siblings, my parents and most of my friends. It was time she met two of the most important women in my life.