happy // shareef o'neal. [on hold]

right my wrongs.

saiyr had a brother. saiyr had a half-brother. saiyr had a half-brother that was twenty-one. saiyr's father had a son outside his marriage. it was safe to say that shit hit the fan the day her and her siblings came back from the maldives to find a young brown-skinned male sitting in their living room with her mom sitting next to saiyr's older brothers, omar and kyian. her dad sat in a chair while the young male, looking uncomfortable at the situation at hand, stood behind his chair. after saiyr, amari, monique and darius sat down, their father deron explained the situation. 

"this is my son, khalil." 

"come again?" darius must've not heard him correctly. their father just said the dude standing behind him was their brother. which made no sense because he looked about saiyr's age or older yet still younger than him and monique. "you heard him darius. dad stepped out on mom twenty years ago and had a kid." kyian was irritated with the whole situation. he couldn't believe the man he looked up to all these years in terms of raising a good family and taking care and loving his wife had stepped out on her and had another child. never would he blame his brother for being here but damn. that shit hurt. "yo, what the fuck?" now amari was a hothead, much like monique was. it was the reason they got along so well. to hear that your dad cheated on your mom, some twenty years ago, he was pissed. at his dad. his so-called brother. and finally, whoever was his dad's baby mama. london was so over it at this point that she didn't bother to reprimand amari for his language. her mind was running and she was heartbroken that the man she loved had cheated on her and had a whole kid. a son. 

when khalil had showed up on their doorstep, her world had crumbled. she gave her husband six kids. six beautiful kids. and they have been together for thirty years. thirty years and half of that was built on lies. she could feel tears welling up again and she shuddered which alerted omar, who pulled her into him. her son held her tight and she held back a sob at the fact that her baby boy was the one who was keeping her together. when london had called omar and kyian, they both dropped whatever they were doing and came back to l.a. omar had left kendra with her parents while ky had asked for a short leave from his coach who had agreed while also telling milan that he was going back home. when they had gotten home, they were shocked at the news their parents had told them. and then they met khalil. they didn't believe the news at first until they set their eyes on khalil who looked like their father's twin. london wished it was a lie but khalil was the spitting image of his father, right down to his kindness and humbleness. she cried the most those two days. she couldn't even be happy that her daughter had been blessed with nineteen years so far. she had to worry about what her kids would say when they got back. she didn't want them to hate deron, far from it. he was their dad and she never wanted that perfect image of him to change but well, you can't always get what you wish for. in the privacy of her home office, ky and omar had asked her what she would consider doing.

was divorce an option.

and she thought about it. a lot those two days but then the pain lessened on the third day, and her tears dried, and she could finally think rationally. she loved deron and she still does. that wouldn't change even when a secret lovechild popped up. she couldn't even hate khalil because he was such a sweet young man who was dealt a rough hand in life. living in foster care at fourteen after the loss of his mom was hard. everyone knew how foster kids were treated. so for him to know that his father was alive and well, and in california, well he couldn't not find him. he had been living with his friend carmelo since he aged out of the system while working at an office in the city as a janitor. after months and months of searching for his mom's side of the family, he found his aunt janet who lived in pasadena with her husband and children. although janet loved his nephew, she couldn't allow him to stay with her and her family but she did help khalil by pointing him in deron's direction and here they were three days after saiyr's birthday, sitting in tense silence in their living room. 

a divided family. 

deron regretted his actions from all those years back. maybe if he had told his wife how he felt, how he was lonely that year the twins were born, the loneliness sending him into the arms of zenande jackson and eventually the birth of khalil. he had regretted his actions but he definitely did not regret khalil. getting to know his son these past few days, deron had wanted to cry at the way khalil had lived out the remainder of his childhood. despite the upheaval that had occurred, he and london could agree on one thing and that was offering khalil a home. they both sat down with khalil and offered him to stay with them. in exchange, khalil would quit his job and get enrolled into a university with london and khalil paying for his tuition and anything he needed. deron and london might've been on odd terms but they knew how to parent and that was what they were doing with khalil. deron didn't expect his children to forgive him for what he had done or london but he did want them to at least be welcoming to khalil. 

"how could you do this to ma? to us?" monique's voice cracked as she fought back tears but a few betraying her. 

deron hated to see any of his girls cry especially over him. 

"i'm sorry. and i know that won't excuse what i did but the past is the past and i won't change it. yes khalil is your half brother but i love him just as equally as i love you all." monique stood up and left. she had had enough of the bullshit. 

"i'm hurt but i won't fault khalil for being born. he isn't to blame." london looked at deron as she spoke and they all listened. "i love you deron, i always will. it's going to take a while to forgive this but i'm willing to accept khalil as my own should he want that," she looked at khalil at the last part and he sobbed quietly at the sureness of those words. he might not have his mother around anymore but having another maternal figure in his life was needed. "i want you all to welcome khalil in this household and treat him how you treat each other." she stood and walked up to khalil and stared at him. she smiled a small smile before hugging him, her warm embrace sending khalil into tears. the rest of the daniels' family except monique all stood up and enveloped london and khalil in a group hug.

it would take a while but they would push through.

they always did.