𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐁 [COMPLETED]

28: Finish Last

2 years later...

Friday
May 12, 2017

1:03 p.m.

Omniscient

"It's okay baby. Stop crying." Romello said trying to comfort his one year old daughter Stephanie who was still traumatized from someone trying to run Romello off of the road last night.

For the last several months he'd been raising her alone after her mother had brought her to him like always to spend the day with him. Only that time she never returned. She'd left him with the responsibility to raise Stephanie alone. Around the time he was messing around with Erin one of the many women he'd slept with had ended up pregnant. It wasn't until Stephanie was three months old that Romello learned of her. He'd stepped up because his children were the only family he had that still loved him. His mother had cut him off for not going through with killing his brother. Ace had fired him, disowned him, and stopped speaking to him just like his cousins and Zay had. He was lucky to have walked away with his life the night he was beaten because he thought for sure that Ace was going to let Bianca kill him.

He had to find other ways to make money after he'd spent what he'd had saved. It wasn't easy trying to find a cheap place and find ways to make as much money as he'd made working with Ace but he was adjusting. He just found himself looking over his shoulder everyday because he'd gotten involved with some loan sharks who he hadn't paid back. He couldn't tell them that he didn't have a way to pay them back so he avoided their calls and hoped that they didn't catch up to him. Last night someone had tried to kill him by running him off the road with his daughter and he now knew what it felt like for Ace back in Paris when he tried protecting Bianca and Skye.

He deeply regretted ever trying to have his brother killed along with his niece and Bianca. Not because he was scared out of his mind for him and his daughter's safety but because he had realized that his brother was the only one who really had his back and who genuinely loved him. He'd let his jealousy of always coming second to him get in the way. While Ace felt like Romello was always their mother's favorite, Romello felt like Ace was their father's favorite. He'd left the business to Ace, didn't include Romello in certain things, etc. If Romello ever had an idea or opinion it always seemed to be dismissed. He felt like he was just Ace's shadow. He always came second and although his brother never treated him like he didn't matter he couldn't help but be envious.

Both brothers were jealous of each other for different reasons and neither of them knew.

"Steph please stop baby." He begged her bouncing her as he stared out of the den room door seeing his mother's new boyfriend Lawrence walk towards him.