Elise was right; many were reluctant to accept foreigners into their family circle. Even if social made interracial couples the latest trend by displaying mixed celebrity couples by dozens, the reality was something other. Of course, Sierra and Vincent lived in European metropoles where their couple was not a rarity, but it did not mean that all saw such unions in a good eye.

Their couple was still a sensitive subject in most Asian and African communities. As for European countries, racism still walked like a lone ranger in some areas; people just kept their opinions to themselves, only loathing with their eyes on most occasions.

Sierra knew where she placed her foot when she accepted Vincent's proposal. It didn't scare her, just as she wasn't afraid to raise Leone. Prejudice was everywhere, and Sierra was willing to fight, but Vincent's way wasn't right.

"Sierra, wait here. I'll go and see what is going on," Elise said before hurrying back inside, and Sierra continued to pace.

"What is going on here?" Elise asked as she entered the living room, where she found Vincent held back from leaving by Jai and Ishaan telling him to sit back down.

"Guys, we have a guest, and you're acting like idiots."

"It's him; he's the one who is unreasonable and trying to make everyone bend to his will," Ishaan said, almost mocking his brother. "Listen, Vincent, if you don't want to talk, you can forget about her."

"Ishaan, I think I still run this house," their father intervened, "come and sit Vincent. Let's talk; you know we're only saying this for your good."

"What's the point? You've all already made your decision. Let go of me, Jai."

Their father nodded, and Jai let Vincent pass. He went straight to the garden, "Sierra."

"I want to go home," she blurted.

"Please, Sierra, listen to me," the man said while he tried to place his hands on her shoulders, only to see the woman shrug them off.

"No, you listen, your family doesn't want me here. Why didn't you tell them I had a son?"

"Sierra, things were already difficult. Convincing them that I didn't want to be set up was complicated. I wished for them to meet you."

"And so you decided to lie."

"I wanted you to have a chance; I wanted them to see what a marvelous person you were first."

"Vincent, I already told you. When defining who I am, you can't take Leone out of the equation. I thought you understood, but I was wrong. You've been pretending, haven't you? You lied, Vincent. You made me believe you accepted Leone. Why? I never asked for this. I don't need this drama."

"Yes, Sierra, I lied. I did it because I love you, and you're right am still adapting. Things would be different if you were a mother when I met you. This situation fell upon us, and it's unfair because I never asked for this either. All I ever wanted is you, and you have Leone now. So yeah, I'm willing to support the situation as long as we're together."

"Support, it's more like you're tolerating for my sake."

"Sierra, please, don't make me say things I didn't. I love you; I don't care what they think in there."

"Vincent, there's no one in your family that wants me to marry you. Tell me why I should? When you don't have an ounce of love for my son, and neither will they."

"Sierra, you have no idea. Do you think in-laws welcome all the fiancées who enter their house with open arms?"

"Please, Vincent, stop it. I know, but I came here thinking they knew everything about me, at least. I thought time could do its duty with them, but you blew that chance. What do you think their opinion is about me now? For them, I probably put you up to it."

Vincent shook his head, "they're not like that."

"You don't know, Vincent. I didn't come here to have you shunned by your family. Do you believe I'd be happy to have your parents missing at the wedding? It's supposed to be a moment where people come together andㅡ."

Suddenly Sierra stopped as a scene that occurred not so long ago flooded into her mind.

Jonas.

The woman recalled the man's anger when he discovered the truth about Cecile. How he kept going on about being betrayed and how his trust baffled. Was this how the man felt?

"Vincent, let's call it off."

"Sierra, no."

"There's no point if your family doesn't accept me because you can't be happy without them, just as I can't be without Leone. I'm sorry, vincent. I told you I would never choose you over Leone. Don't choose me over your family."

Sierra passed vincent, and the man followed, "Sierra, don't go."

She turned to face him in the hall, "Vincent, I can't stay," Sierra headed to the living room, "Mrs, Mister, Grandmother Patel, and everyone else, thank you for your hospitality. Sorry about all this. I neither wished to intrude or bother you. I'll be leaving now."

"Sierra."

The woman hurried to the hall, put on her shoes, and grabbed her belongings. Vincent grasped her arm when she touched the house door doorknob, "Sierra, please, I'm sorry. Don't leave like this."

"Vincent, all I wanted was you, but things changed, I changed. I can't think about me-myself-and- I anymore, and right now, I'm doing what I think is best for Leone. I can't put my son through this."

Sierra stepped out and began your walk up the street. Vincent returned to the living room, "are you all happy now? You got what you wanted."

"Look at what we saved you from, Vincent. If you can't hold your fiancée, now think of when you'll be married," Ishaan said with a smirk.

"Hold you say? You know what you'reㅡ."

"Vincent, run after her," Elise said before her brother spat the unrepairable.

"Elise," Mrs. Patel exclaimed, shocked by her daughter's intervention.

"What he loves her, don't any of you see," the woman said while she let her gaze sweep the room.

"Oh, stop watching Bridgteron, Elise, and reading all those books about how love prevails. We did Vincent a favor," Ishaan said, leaning back on his chair in satisfaction.

"Ishaan," whispered his wife.

"I can't believe you, Ishaan. When did you become such a jerk," Vincent asked. The more the years passed, the more man had a hard time seizing that his older brother's personality."

"Ishaan," his wife said and tugged on his shirt's sleeve.

"What? Stop interrupting me," he yelled.

"Ishaan, I think my water has broken."

Everyone's eyes shifted to the small puddle on the floor.

"Oh my, Aisha, you're going to have your baby," Mrs. Patel exclaimed in panic.

"Please, stop Ishaan, help me," Aisha said, clinging to his arm.

Aisha's plea got everyone moving.

Elise called Deepika, who was still outside with the kids, to tell them to come back.

Ms. Patel helped Aisha keep her contractions counts while everyone else got ready and dressed. Once the ambulance arrived, Ishaan climbed in with his wife.

"Vincent, what are you doing?" Elise asked when she saw him get ready to drive Ishaan's car, which had Aisha's maternity suitcase. "We can take care of this. The kids will stay with Deepika and gran. You don't need to be here; go after her."

"I doubt Sierra wants to see me right now."

"No, vincent. If you let her go now, you'll lose her."

"Elise."

"Listen to me, Vincent, some things are worth it. It's not over until you give up. Now go, I'll take Isshan's car.

Vincent left and hurried to Heathrow, where he thought he would find Sierra, but no, Sierra Lennox boarded a flight for Paris.

Where was she?

The woman checked into a hotel next to the airport. She didn't see herself going back to Paris on that day and facing her brother's flood of questions.

Why did things turn out this way?

It was one of those moments where Sierra wished she heard God's voice.

Couldn't God tell her which direction to follow for once?

Jacob always told her God weighed the trials and inflicted no one with something they could not bear. Yet there, Sierra couldn't stand it. The woman broke down and cried all she could.

Everything was complicated for Sierra. There wasn't a moment when she was delighted or was there?

It didn't take long for the woman's mind to fill with snapshots of Leone and of the person she thought she banished.

"Gosh, it just keeps getting worse," she muttered.

Back at the hospital, the Patels made themselves at home as they filled the whole waiting room.

"How did it go? Where is she? Elise asked when she saw her brother arrive at the maternity.

Vincent shook his head," I don't know, Elise. I don't know what to do. My fiancée is lost somewhere in London, and I'm here hopeless."

No one looked in his direction. All awaited the announcement of the birth.

The child was a miracle; the family had given up hope. All presumed Aisha was barren. Even her husband turned away from the woman. During that time, only Elise, Vincent, and their father treated Aisha with consideration. Without their support, the woman would have probably asked for a divorce.

With only her faith, Aisha prayed to have a child and a son who would restore his mother's honor. Aisha waited; she watched Elise give birth. Humble, she neither envied nor loathed her sister-in-law, who she helped all the way. It was she who kept Aaron when Elise returned to work.

When she discovered she was pregnant, Aisha asked the doctor to keep the baby's gender a secret. The woman did not want to add extra stress to her plate.

She sometimes giggled ironically while doing chores as she thought of how happy she was to enter a family all knew as liberal. Women queued up to marry into the Patel family, where the men were handsome and hard working. Aisha Bhatt lived a princess dream when she saw it was with the oldest and the most charismatic of the brothers she was would wed. What a fool she was. Ishaan was far from being an easy man to live with, yet Aisha held and learned to love and accept him.

Finally, after five years of marriage, Aisha gave birth.

Ishaan came out, eyes filled with tears; he announced, "it's a boy."

The night was a short one, where while some rejoiced, others wallowed.