I watched as the kids took turns sliding down the mini slide in the park and I watched as one kid hung off the monkey bars. My memory flashed to the day when I fell off a monkey bar when I tried going across. I fell flat on my face and my nose was so badly hurt that I almost fainted at the amount of blood pouring out of the wound. Little Cassandra thought that she chipped off her small button nose that day and freaked out. I remembered running to Bryant who freaked out even more than I did when he saw the blood on my nose.

He scolded me while he rushed me to the hospital with his bike. Even when he was only 12 he knew his way around the area. I was crying and told him to close his piehole because my nose hurt.

I smiled at the ridiculousness of it all when I finally realize there's no connection from my ear listening to his nagging and my hurting nose.

I pulled my jacket's hood up when a breeze passed by and sent a chill down my spine. The joyful squeals of the kids sliding down the slide and chasing each other continued to fill the air but it all seemed to buzz when my eyes caught a familiar face walking by with three kids by his side.

They were the same kids I saw that day in the small cafe on my way back after Adam's small psycho episode in kicking me out after seeing me for the first time since his crash. I felt relief flood through my system that at least the chances of the man whose brother I injured and had sworn to hurt my family and I weren't connected to any child trafficking. It's not that I care about the piece of crap but I'm glad that the children is somewhat in safe hands.

One was still perched on the man's shoulders, his small hands circling the man's head. The other two were holding his hands and once again, it was the little girl who pointed to the park. I could faintly hear her plead with him to let them play. "Please Cole, we'll just be a few minutes. I promise I'll come straight back to you when you say our time is up." I could hear 'Cole' laugh breathily and gave his approval.

My heartbeat started to pick up its pace and soon enough it was doing a mini race in my chest. I pretended to scratch my head and subtly pulled my hoodie lower over my face while still trying to keep an eye on the four.

The children were adorable although it was obvious that they weren't related by blood due to the difference in race. The boy whose hand was in the man's looked to be an asian mix with his dark hair and dark colored eyes. While the little girl was an African American with striking blue eyes and her unruly dark curls were tied into a ponytail while the youngest looking chubby boy looked caucasian with what looked to be amber eyes and wavy brown hair that was almost covering his eyes.

I could feel my features softening and a small smile tugging at the ends of my lips when I watched how the two kids ran off to join the yelling kids in the playground in front of me and the youngest of them all was lowered to the ground. As soon as his foot made contact with the Earth, he was off running after the other two.

I found myself thinking again, losing myself in my thoughts. They called him Cole and not dad. I assume Cole is his name. They didn't call him uncle as well although it is possible that he asked them not to call him uncle. So now I know that they're not his, they aren't biologically related to him although the youngest one could be but I can't be sure of that.

They could be his nephews and nieces but that would make the two adopted.

My heart broke at that thought. Once again, I thought about the possibility that I may have caused those kids a loss by injuring their father and causing him to lose his mind over his injury.

I have experienced loss and to imagine that these kids might have lost their father figure at such a young age is unbearable.

Tears pricked my eyes at the thought of that and a lump formed in my throat. Guilt entered my system in a nanosecond and it made me feel like I was suffocating. Guilt over what I might have done to this poor kids and guilt that I don't think about that possibility much over the past days.

I might have ruined 3 poor kids' lives and I barely skip a beat in my daily routine. Have I really lost the humanity in me? I thought with utter horror as I realized I was staring at the green blades of grass in front of my shoes now.

Suddenly I felt the bench lower a bit from an extra weight and I immediately tensed up. I glanced at the shoes a distance away from mine and cursed myself for not paying attention to what shoes Cole was wearing. The shoes beside mine were soccer shoes 

I felt like an idiot for not looking over the complete details. I decided not to risk it by tilting my head to look at his face so I kept my head down and was about to walk away when the man beside me started up a conversation out of the blue.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" The heavy baritone of his voice made me tense up even more. The memory of Cole's voice when he last talked to me wasn't exactly as clear as I'd like it to be at that particular moment.

I simply nodded, not being able to find my voice. We sat there in awkward silence as I tried to subtly make my exit. I finally got too anxious to continue my so called subtle attempt at escaping the area. I stood up, trying to not to alert anyone by doing it so abruptly. I turned around and started walking away but the breeze was back and it blew my hoodie off the top of my head.

I wasn't stupid enough to turn around and check if Cole saw the sudden revelation of my brunette hair and simply kept walking like nothing happened as I tugged at my hoodie to cover up my head once again.

My heart was thudding against my chest and I tried to control my footsteps to make them seem normal, as if I wasn't hurrying to get out of there like I was being hounded by some creep. I prayed that Cole was too caught up in watching those 3 kids play rather than noticing my brunette hair.

I mean technically if he saw my hair then it's just the back of my head so it shouldn't matter as much. He can't possibly memorized the back of my head so it really shouldn't worry me.

Despite this thought, it still did little to help my thundering heart. That was a much closer call than I'd like to have in my entire life. However, that encounter made a heavy feeling set on my heart when I remember those 3 kids who clung onto Cole like a lifebuoy in the middle of a storm in the sea. I can't possibly hurt those 3 kids more than I have by injuring Cole's brother so fatally.

How was I supposed to fight Cole when all I can think about when I see his face is how the youngest boy's hands wrap around his head and across his forehead like a vine. How was I supposed to fight the man when all I can imagine is the way he smiled softly at something the little girl in his arms was pointing at. How could I possibly hurt the man who seemed to hold the world of the little boy who held his hand in a vice grip earlier.

But the same man threatened to kill my family if I didn't continue on with the competition. The same man blackmailed me using my loved one's safety and that will never sit well with me. But hurting children wasn't something I have always fancied anyways even though I'm not delivering a direct blow so which decision am I making.

Right then, I pictured little Cali's and Pio's face. Their features flashed through my mind but no matter how brief or quick the flashes were, my mind remembered every detail. I shook the thought from my head.

What was I doing? I thought to myself. I can't put Cali and Pio in harm's way. They were innocent souls being set on the gambling table and I can't lose them. As much as I don't like hurting children, those 3 kids weren't in direct harm's way but Cali and Pio are. I didn't want to sound insensitive but I had my priorities and Cali and Pio were on the very top of that list.

I can't let them get hurt, this is my fight because I started it and they shouldn't ever get hurt because of this single cause. I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to them. Jerry won't forgive me, Preston won't forgive me, and Adam; my Adam; he won't ever see me the same way ever again. Whatever chances I had before with Adam would be gone the second a scratch had landed on either children's head.

When I was a few steps away from the playground, a child's voice shouted after me. "Hey, miss! You dropped something!" My steps faltered until they eventually came to a stop and I reluctantly  looked back. I kept my head down and it didn't appear suspicious because the little boy only reached my chest.

I gave him a smile and took the small wallet from his hands. It must've fallen out from my pocket when I was sitting down. Just my luck, it was the boy who held Cole's hand earlier. I thanked the little boy, not expecting more than a nod or a you're welcome from him.

"Don't thank me miss, it was my brother who realized your wallet was left behind and sent me to give it to you. He's the man that was sitting beside you earlier." The boy said with a wide grin and I tried to mask my shock with a small smile.

I realized that I should get going before his 'brother' finds out who I really am and made a scene in front of all these people and kids. I imagine it could be extremely traumatic  to the children.

I gave the boy another smile before asking to pass my thanks to his brother and walking away.

I checked the inside of my wallet and fortunately, everything was in place. I had no recent pictures of me so I didn't really feel the need to panic in case he opened my wallet.

There was only a picture of Bryant and I when I was 8. His arm was locked in front of me as he tried to make me give him a piggyback ride.

I wonder who took that picture to begin with. I remembered that day clearly. I almost fell over because of his weight.

I tried to think about what the kid said. Cole is his brother. That would make the guy that I injured his brother too. Are they all adopted then? But Cole wouldn't be the one to adopt them or they would be calling him dad instead of his real name and referring to him as their brother.

Could the kids be possibly why Cole and his brother was joining the tournament despite his brother's leg? Was it for the money? The thought hurt. The thought that I might've turned the Cole that I saw when he was with his siblings into the Cole that was thirsty for vengeance over his brother's wounded mentality.

I continued to walk away with tears brimming in my eyes. It wasn't fair that a family had to go through that.

If I beat Cole in the tournament, I would be saving my loved ones from a psycho who's hell bent on hurting them but I would make his brother injury be in vain. I would be destroying that family's hopes if I beat Cole before he got the money prize. But if I don't beat Cole, I might be subjecting my loved ones to their possible death.

I started questioning Cole's ability in hurting the people that I love since watching him be so kind to the three children with him but a single memory from the time in the funeral when he threatened to hurt my family and knocked Preston out erased all doubts. He was probably more than capable and I shouldn't be underestimating his cold heart if I wanted to save my family.

Although I tried to keep all this in my mind to keep me going and to keep me from keeling over to my soft side, there was a voice in the back of my head telling me that this wasn't right; that being so heartless and lacking leniency to Cole was wrong.