He kissed her forehead, and Morgan closed her eyes, sending tears cascading down her face. Everything was so fucked up. She didn’t know how it had gotten so far out of control, but somehow she was on the outside of her family looking in. Messiah was home, but not for her, for them, their kids, and Morgan was now the bad guy. The tables had turned, and she was sick. She clung to the banister at the bottom of the staircase, watching Messiah place kisses on Yara’s face as he pressed his forehead to hers. He was sick. Crying as their daughter’s small hands wiped the tears. It was heartbreaking, and Morgan just wanted to run to him, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t take this moment away from Yara or Messiah, so she allowed her weak legs to carry her up the stairs. Before she was completely out of sight, she heard his voice.

“Morgan.”

Her heart fell into her stomach. Morgan. Not Mo. Not shorty. Not Shorty Doo Wop but Morgan. He may as well have called her ma’am. It was a formality coming off his tongue because he never called her that. He said it like he would rather be saying any other word, calling any other name besides hers.

She looked down at him.

“Bring me my fucking son,” he said.

She shot desperate eyes to Ethic, who only nodded, urging her to do so.

Morgan rushed up the rest of the stairs and into the master bedroom, flicking on the light.

“Alani, please, please, you have to wake up!” she cried, blubbering, rushing to the bedside and stirring Ethic’s sleeping wife.

“Mo?” Alani called out, confused, stuck between her dreams and her frantic stepdaughter. When the urgency in Mo’s voice resonated with Alani, she swept the covers off her instantly, sitting up. “What’s wrong? My God, Mo, what’s going on?” Alani asked.

“Help me, please, Alani!” Mo cried. “He knows. Messiah knows about the twins, and he wants nothing to do with me. He’s going to leave me again. Alani, please, you have to help me.”

Alani’s eyes misted, her hormones from pregnancy not allowing anything other than for her to share this heartbreak with Mo. She stood and wrapped her arms around Mo. “Oh, baby girl,” she said, consoling her. “Shhh. Shhh.”

Ethic appeared in the doorway carrying Messari.

Alani placed concerned eyes on him.

“Keep her here. I’ll be downstairs with Messiah and the twins,” Ethic said before closing the door.

Morgan collapsed into Alani, so hurt, so broken. “He left me. He left. How can he hate me when he left me?! He told me he loved me, and he walked away.”