Bliss' POV

While Shane was driving to what I thought was his house, he said, "We are going back to your house."

"Why?"

"Because Mason confronted the driver of the Mercedes. And you are not going to believe who it is. Mason called Jessica and Andrea as well for the news. They are on their way."

"You're scaring me, Shane. What is it?"

When we pulled up to my house, parked in my driveway was the Mercedes SUV. I saw Andrea's truck parked also. Jessica wasn't here yet. I was scared to go inside.

Shane came over to the passenger side. "Come, Darling." He held out his hand for me to take. I did, and we walked into the house together.

Andrea and Mason were sitting on the couch.

"Jessica should be here soon."

Twenty minutes later, we heard a knock on the door. Shane got up and answered the door. Jessica sat next to me on the couch.

"Jessica and Andrea, to catch you up, the blue Mercedes parked on the driveway appeared this morning, following Bliss to Braelyn's school and Bliss's house. Mason was able to talk to the driver to ask them why they parked across the street, watching Bliss' house. And, also, why they were following Bliss around today."

Shane paused for a few minutes. Then, he said, "Well, we will let them explain." Suddenly, from the kitchen came a guy that looked like my father.

"First, I want to apologize for following you earlier today. I got a little too excited about my search to find you. Were your parents' names Julian and Lesia Sanders?"

"Yes, they were our parents. They passed away almost four years ago." No way!! It can't be, but he looks exactly like dad.

He suddenly had tears in his eyes. "My name is Julian Nicholas Sanders Jr. I am your older brother."

"Say what?!"

"Excuse me." Andrea got up to leave my living room. Jessica passed out on the couch. I was on the verge of passing out.

"B-b-brother? B-but, if you are our brother, where have you been? What happened to you?"

"I'll go get Andrea." Mason got up to search for Andrea.

"I'll explain everything once everyone is together."

I had so many thoughts suddenly pop into my mind, as well as tears falling down my cheeks.

"Why would mom and dad keep him away from us? Was he truly our brother? Was he looking to gain something from this?"

Ten minutes later, Mason came back with a crying Andrea. They sat on the other couch. Andrea was able to wake up Jessica.

Julian's POV

"I want to assure you that I am not here to take advantage of you ladies. I always wondered if I had any family members alive. To know that I have three sisters was special to me. And I had to come to New York to find you. I went the wrong way of doing it."

"No kidding. You scared me."

"Can I ask how old you are, ladies?"

"I am Bliss, the oldest of the three girls, and I am 26. Andrea is 22, and Jessica is 24."

"I am 30 years old. I will be 31 on July 5th this year. You look exactly like the woman in the pictures that I have. The only difference is the skin color. Here are the pictures that were inside the diary."

I passed them to Bliss. When she looked at them, she was in shock. "That is our mother and father. People always tell me I look like mom. It took me a while to finally see it. And you look exactly like dad."

"I have more pictures, but those are the ones I brought today. I was raised in Dallas, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. William Armstrong, who were great friends with Julian's parents, raised me."

"That name sounds familiar. When we were younger, they came to our house several times, but we never saw kids with them."

"Whenever they returned to New York, I stayed behind in Texas with my friends. From the diary I was given, our parents had me when they were 16 and 17. Education was important in the family, so their parents forced them to give me up for adoption, saying they were both too young to be parents. The Armstrongs volunteered to adopt me because they couldn't have children."

"After high school, Julian and Lesia both went to college. On their winter break junior year, both families went on a trip to Hawaii. During that trip, Julian and Lesia spent a few days to themselves. In the diary, it said they had a very blissful evening on their last day of vacation. Nine months later, they had a baby girl and named her Bliss. Their parents told them they had to get married. This time, they were not giving up their baby girl. So, they got married. They were able to raise a baby and get their college degrees."

"I'm sorry for just now finding you all. The diary was mailed to me last year after I turned 30 in July. I would love to get to know you ladies and your likes and dislikes. And I will tell you all about me."

"I have plenty of room for everyone to stay the night. We can talk more tomorrow. I'm unsure about Andrea and Jessica, but I am off work for the next week and a half due to my ankle injury. Julian, this is Shane. He is my boyfriend, and we work together at his company."

"Landes Industries, correct? You have one of the best investment companies in the country. I remember seeing the press conference you had with Bliss. That press conference actually helped me with my search."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Julian."

"And, next to Andrea is Mason. He is her boyfriend and my bodyguard."

Bliss' POV

"Shane, can you take Julian to one of the guest rooms?"

"Of course."

"Ladies, you all know where your rooms are. I am going to feed the kittens, then go to bed. Today was a long day."

"I'll feed the kittens, Bliss. Go ahead upstairs and rest your ankle."

"Thanks, Mase. Good night everyone."

Once I reached my room, I changed into my night clothes and rested on the bed. Then, I cried for a little bit. Then, seeing Julian made me think of dad. It is hard to believe that we have a brother.

I heard footsteps entering my room, and I already knew who it was. "Would you like some company?"

I wiped the tears away that had fallen and said, "Yes. And, can you bring over those photo albums that are on my tv stand?"

After finding out we had an older brother, I could not bring myself to sleep. Shane brought the albums over and placed them on the bed. Then, he sat down. I scooted over so we could cuddle and put the photo album in my lap.

"There are some pretty, embarrassing pictures of me in here. So, promise me you won't laugh."

Shane started smirking before he replied, "I can't promise that, Darling."

"Fine, but if you laugh, then I want to see your pictures."

"I'll bring them over tomorrow after work."

"And, don't be slick, taking some of them out. I have mom's number on speed dial if you do."

"I promise."

"The first one is pictures of me, from childhood through college. Our parents made photo books for each of us."

I can't believe I am showing Shane my pictures. Uh-oh, the naked baby pictures are coming up.

Suddenly, Shane looked at me with a devious grin, and I covered my face. "Well, what do we have here? Is that what I think it is? Look at that cute little tushie."

I gave him a playful jab to his ribs. "I can't help it that my parents did that."

"You had that beautiful smile throughout your life."

"As you can see, I was a chubby baby. I was always chubby until high school. That's when I became obsessed with exercising. I lost a lot of weight in my high school years. There are pictures of the only college party I ever attended. Here's one with Ryan. That was the first time I had met Austin. Ryan knew me so well that he told Austin that I was not interested in dating because Austin was going to ask me out."

As we looked through the pictures, I started feeling sadder when seeing my parents. Then I saw my favorite one, where my dad was holding me as a baby. My eyes were focused on his eyes while he fed me a bottle. Then, I lost it. I just cried so much that it seemed like forever.

"I miss my parents, Shane. It feels like they just died yesterday. And, now we find out we have a brother?"

"Come." Shane patted his chest. So, I rolled over on top of him and laid my head on his chest. He started massaging my back while I cried.

"When I saw Julian, I instantly thought of my dad. I was a daddy's girl. I loved my parents but was very attached to my dad."

Shane's POV

My baby is heartbroken. I just continued to massage her back until she calmed down from crying. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and told my family that I would work from home. I'll call them later today about what happened.

I looked down to see that Bliss had finally fallen asleep. I did the same.

************

Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

I woke up to the smell of breakfast, but I couldn't move because Bliss was on top of me, asleep.

"Good morning Shane. I told my boss I wouldn't be in today."

"It is okay. Don't worry about it. Enjoy your time with your brother."

"Uh, Shane, you may be on that bed for a while. Bliss is a heavy sleeper without an alarm clock. Do you want me to bring you something for breakfast? Mason and Julian went to Java Nice Day Cafe and got breakfast for everyone."

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Suddenly, I hear Bliss snore. It wasn't loud. It was actually cute. Then, she started tossing and turning. Every time I even tried to move, Bliss tossed that way. I believe Bliss had that nightmare again.

"Please don't die!! Mom and dad, please don't leave us!" Then Bliss said, "Don't you die too, Shane!! Don't leave me alone!!"

"Wake up, Darling!" I tried shaking Bliss, but it didn't work. Andrea came into the room with food.

"She had the nightmare again, didn't she?"

Andrea put the tray down on the desk Bliss had in her room.

"Bliss, wake up!!!" She finally woke up, but she was in tears.

Andrea and I looked at each other. "Shane, we will introduce Mason and Julian to Monopoly with Bliss."

"Darling, I need you to get up for a little bit. I'm going to take a shower and change my clothes. I will come right back. I promise, okay?"

"Okay."

Bliss rolled off the top of me. I got up, grabbed my clothes, and went to do my daily morning routine. Andrea sat with Bliss, hugging her.

After my shower and fresh clothes, I returned to Bliss.

"Uh, sorry, but I ate your breakfast. Andrea went to get you some more."

"That is okay, Darling. How are you feeling?"

"Sad and happy. Sad because Julian looks so much like our dad. And every time I look at him, I am reminded of it. I just hope I don't push him away. I am happy because we now have a brother, and he has us."

"Go ahead and get a nice, long shower and change of clothes. I'll be ready and waiting for you when you come out."

"Okay."

Bliss' POV

I took Shane's advice and took a nice, long shower. Then, I put on my underwear and clothes, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put my hair in an afro puff. And, boy, did I feel so much better.

Just as promised, Shane was on the bed. He patted his chest again. So, I resumed my position and laid my head on his chest.

"You are my big, comfy pillow. Thank you for staying with me because I had that nightmare again. But this time, they took your life too. I can't lose you, Mase, or Julian."

"As long as the three of us are alive, we are not going anywhere, love."

"You better not."

I could not resist touching Shane's abs. He started squirming. "I never thought that guys were ticklish, but you definitely are."

The next thing I knew, we swapped positions. Shane was tickling me, and I couldn't stop giggling.

"Listen up. We are going to play Monopoly later. Go easy on your brother and Mason."

He said the magic word. "Ha!! I won't take it easy on anyone. Not even you, Shane."

"Darling, that is not the right answer I was looking for." Shane continued tickling me. I could not control my laughter.

"Ouch! Shane, my ankle hurts. Can you get me some water and pills?"

"Of course."

"Sucker." Shane got off of me and went to the bathroom.

I got up off the bed and hobbled downstairs to talk with Julian. They were all in the living room.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Meow!"

"Meow!"

I picked up Precious and Raven and put them in my lap. A few minutes later, Shane graced us with his presence. I instantly started snickering.

"Good morning, everybody." He then whispered in my ear, "Well played, Darling."

Julian's POV

"I'll go first, ladies. Like Shane, I am a business owner - Glacier Software. We develop software for companies and personal interests. My home office is in Dallas. But I want to get office space in New York. That way, we can always be together in the same state. I am also looking to buy a permanent place - a big house or an apartment. I am not dating anyone at the moment. I guess I am picky. I don't want someone clingy and anyone who wants to date me because I own a business. "

Shane added, "Julian, I am the same way. The woman I dated before Bliss were clingy."

"My major dislike is definitely seafood because I am allergic to it. Some of my likes are traveling, cooking, bowling, and dancing."

Bliss' POV

"We have the same dislike because I became allergic to seafood within the last three years. We have the same likes. And my favorite football team is the Ravens."

They all scrunched up their faces, but I did not care. I stuck my tongue out at all of them.

"Weren't you born here in New York?"

"Yes, I was. But dad always took us to Raven's games. I have a major crush on Superman and Thor. They are totally hot babes."

I knew Shane would like that. He side-eyed me, but so what. "Stop looking at me like that. It's not like I am going to meet them any time soon. Before dating Shane, I was very independent. I turned down every guy that wanted to date me. Most of them only wanted me for sex anyway. I am a Black Panther fanatic. I went almost every day to see it, and I bought 2 Blu-ray copies because I watch them so much. Oh, and my favorite game to play is Monopoly."

Julian chuckled and said, "That is what Jessica and Andrea have told me."

Jessica's POV

"I am the opposite - I dislike cooking and am allergic to nuts. Likes - going to the movies, baking, roller coasters, traveling, and dancing. I am single and plan to stay that way until I find someone who meets my high standards. And, now, I have a brother, Mason, and Shane to ensure that."

"I work at Dynamico Life Insurance Co. as an Actuary. I have a 3-bedroom apartment in Manhattan and love living in the city. It is expensive, but I love it. You are welcome to stay at my place until you find a place for yourself."

Andrea's POV

"Dislikes for me are liver and having my sleep disturbed. I like amusement parks, swimming, parties, cooking, and baking. Mason and I just got back together. His grandmother broke us up while I was in college because she disapproved of interracial dating. I work at Primedia Inc., which is now a division under Landes Industries. I am an executive secretary. My new favorite thing is knowing that I have a big brother."

Jessica and Bliss agreed.

"We agree as well."

We all got up and had a group hug. Each one of us was in tears.

"And I am happy to have three smart, beautiful sisters."

Shane's POV

"How about we all go out to lunch to celebrate? It will be my treat. What would you all like to eat?"

"I'm a meat guy, Shane. Let's try that new Brazilian steakhouse near Times Square. I'll go ahead and make a reservation."

"Sounds good to me." Everyone started getting ready to leave, except Bliss, because I grabbed her hands.

"Uh, Shane, can you let go of my hands?"

"Real slick move saying you were in pain."

"Not my fault you fell for it. But you still love me."

"Darn right, I do."

"I am so ready to marry this woman."

************

Julian got us a reservation for 2:00 pm. That will be plenty of time to drive to Manhattan. I called Charles to meet us at my penthouse near Central Park while in the house. Julian rode with Bliss and me. Mason, Jessica, and Andrea rode together.

"Send Andrea a text to follow me to my penthouse. We are parking there so Charles can take us to the restaurant."

"Okay." A few minutes later, Bliss got a reply back. "Andrea said okay."

It took us an hour to reach Central Park. We parked in the below-ground garage and took an elevator up to the lobby to meet Charles out front.

Once we pulled up to the restaurant, there we saw the paparazzi. We didn't say anything. We just smiled and waved, then went inside the restaurant.

"Hi, my name is Shannon. Reservation name, please?"

"The reservation is under Julian Sanders."

"Follow me, Mr. Sanders, and party."

Once we sat at our table, our waiter came by and explained how the service would go. Servers with meat skewers will come to the table and ask if anyone would like some of the meat on their skewer. Then, the servers will carve the meat onto our plates. Just say yes or no if we wanted what they were carrying. When we had enough, we just needed to flip over the coasters.

We ate many different varieties of meat - grilled chicken, garlic steak, lamb, and the best garlic pork I have ever tasted. Between the six of us, we had two bottles of wine. So, we each made a toast.

Bliss' POV

"Julian, you scared the mess out of me yesterday. But, to know that you are our brother was special. We love you and can't wait to spend family nights with you. And thank you, Shane, for the past three months. I treasure every moment we spend together. And I look forward to spending more time with you. You brought out a part of me I didn't think I had in me. Thank you."

Julian's POV

"I truly am sorry for that. But, to know I have three beautiful, smart sisters was the best news ever to hear. I look forward to spending time with you all."

Andrea's POV

"I would like to say that not only do I have Mason back in my life, but now I can say that I have a big brother. Bliss found the perfect guy for her. I'm proud of you, sis. Our family nights will be much better now that we have you in our lives."

Jessica's POV

"I am happy that Bliss overcame her independence and found Shane for her first relationship. Andrea has Mason back, and we have a brother. Great things are happening for the Sanders' crew."

Mason's POV

"I am happy I can protect you ladies because you are my family. And I have the only woman I will ever love back in my life."

Shane's POV

"Happy three-month anniversary, Darling. Without Mr. Anderson selling Primedia, we would have never met. And, thank you for welcoming me into the Sanders' crew."

We all clinked glasses and drank our wine. Bliss whispered, "Remember what we discussed about the next anniversary? I am paying for this, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I stole a quick kiss. Bliss gave the waiter her card to pay for the meal. I'm still not used to that. Once he came back with her card, we exited the restaurant. Unfortunately, the paparazzi were still outside. And, then we saw.............

Bliss' POV

Shane's ex is coming our way down the sidewalk. We had to be cool and not say anything the media would write in their papers.

"Can we help you?" I was not in the mood for what this chick had to say. But I was totally surprised by what she said.

"Listen, I know I am the last person you both want to see. It was hard for me to move on from dating Shane. When I saw his arm resting on the back of your chair, I lost it and dumped the water on you. I have no one to blame but myself for our breakup. I really am sorry for my actions and will not interfere in your relationship. It is clear to see that Shane loves you. I could tell it in the press conference he held. I hope one day you both can forgive me."

"Amy, correct? I agree that was not the best way to go about things. But, I will accept your apology." I squeezed Shane's hand to say something. I wanted to smack him for what he said out of his mouth.

"Bliss may have accepted your apology, but I don't. You humiliated Bliss in that restaurant. And you probably sent the paparazzi to see this sham of an apology. Then, you wait almost a year to apologize?! Goodbye, Amy!!"

I snatched my hand from Shane's, and boy, was I pissed. If looks could kill, Shane would have been dead.

"Are you kidding me?!! You tell us not to give the media anything. So why did you pull this stunt?!!!"

"Get in the limo so we can leave." He tried rushing me into the limo.

I don't care what the media thinks now. I am about to give them a show. "Shane, don't touch me!! I am not getting in that limo with you!! You say Amy humiliated me, but you just did the same thing in front of the media!!! You basically called me stupid for accepting her apology!!"

Through gritted teeth, Shane barked, "Get in this limo, or I will drag you in here!!"

"Shane, you are my boyfriend, not my father!! He is dead, remember?!!"

"Bliss, honey, you can sit upfront with me. It's cold out here, and I will not leave you."

"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Charles."

I turned around to Amy, who was still standing there. She said, "I didn't send the paparazzi, Shane. I was around the corner at the Michael Kors store, buying a gift for my father. It was nice to meet you. And I am really sorry." Then, she walked off.

I sat up front with Mr. Charles on our way back to the penthouse.

Once we got back, I was not riding with Shane. "Andrea and Mason, do you mind two more riders? I am not getting in that truck with someone who thinks I am stupid!"

Shane grabbed me and sat me on the hood of his truck. "Julian, you should ride back with the others. Bliss will be fine, I promise."

"Thanks a lot!!" They got in Andrea's truck and left, leaving me alone with him.

"Get me off this truck now!! I want to go home!!"

"I'll take you home when you calm down."

Now, I gritted my teeth. "Take me home now! Do you have any idea what the news headlines are going to say tomorrow? It will say, "The stupid girlfriend of Shane Landes!!"

"We will sit here all night if you don't calm down!! You're not stupid!"

"Why can't you understand I don't want to be near you?!! That hurt more than Amy spilling that water on me. If I am not stupid, then why couldn't you just accept her apology and move on? Take me home now, please? My ankle is really starting to hurt."

"Fine." He lifted me off the truck, and we drove back to Long Island. I didn't say one word the whole ride. When we reached my house, Jessica and Julian left to go home. Andrea and Mason were still here.

"We stayed to watch the kittens."

"Thanks."

Shane's POV

I heard Bliss slam her bedroom door.

"That was not cool at all, Shane."

"I know, Andrea. I know. I'm sorry, but I have known Amy for years, and she never once apologized to anybody. That was an Academy Award, winning performance right there. I found it so convenient that the media just happened to be there when she apologized. I know I have to find a way to fix this. Thanks for sitting with the kittens."

Andrea and Mason left. The best thing for me to do is leave Bliss alone. I just plopped on the couch and fell asleep.

Two hours later, my phone started ringing. I wish I didn't answer it.

"SHANE, DID YOU REALLY DO THAT TO BLISS?! It is all on the news about you in front of that steakhouse!"

Uh-oh, I am in trouble.

**************

Thank you for reading chapter 24.

A

nd, thank you all for the votes and comments. 😘😘