A lot can happen in a year and for Nadia, she had witnessed the end of her torment as she watched two people that she had come to trust be the reason for her brother's murder. But with any tragedy, there is a silver lining and her silver lining was this beautiful almond baby by the name of Kia Asante-Bailey.

She hated that she went through the pregnancy without Kane but she was grateful for the little miracle she received. Kia was every bit the perfect child that she had always wanted, she was curious, smart and super loving. The days of being lonely in her family home were now gone as the wonderful baby girl restored so much happiness in Nadia's life.

" Morning my love, did you sleep well?" Nadia cooed at her baby. Kia was way too busy, babbling away to acknowledge anything she said.

" I bet you did, let's get you ready for the day, pretty girl" Nadia picked up her 6-month-old, taking her to the bath where she tested the water for optimal temperature before stripping down Kia and placing her in a baby bathtub.

The sound of pouring water echoed in Nadia's ensuite bathroom as she bathed her baby, watching in fascination how Kia was so curious about her surroundings. Having her made her far more patient and less hard-headed than before, things were different now since she had someone more important than herself to live for.

Bathtime was over as she lotioned Kia and put her in a matching dress that Nadia had in an adult size. Leaving Kia to watch some baby videos on the bed, she quickly got ready with a shower and a change into her dress that held her thicker frame. She fluffed out the coils that she put into a puff and finished getting ready with a touch of lipgloss.

There were knocks at the front door which Nadia knew who they belonged to. Carrying Kia down, she caught a glimpse of the annual family photos from over the years and saw the striking resemblance between Kia and Jordan as a baby. She was his twin to a t.

Opening the door, Shante burst in, more excited to hold Kia than to greet Nadia and Nate followed close behind, hugging Nadia.

" Really, Shante? Whatever happened to 'Hello, how are you?'? " Nadia quizzed her.

" Ok, hi. Erm, as you can see, I wanted to see my beautiful goddaughter, isn't that right, Kia?" Shante cooed, smothering Kia's face with sweet kisses to which Kia giggled.

" Yeah, whatever. Good to see you, Nate, what brings you guys by anyway?" she asked.

" Shan insisted on seeing Kia one last time before we went on a weekend getaway. I told her that you'll see her after but she never listens to me" Nate shook his head at his fiancee.

" You make me sound so dramatic! Who wouldn't want to see this face, huh?" Shante pouted as she pushed her face against Kia's.

" Of course, everybody would but you have somewhere to go so it's not that big of a deal, now hand me my baby" Nadia put her arms out, Kia was already ready to go back into her mother's hold as she was handed back.

" So, you're really going to see him today, then?" Shante questioned concernedly.

"Yeah...I know what you think but I feel like Kia deserves to know who her dad is at least, you know" Nadia responded, bouncing Kia on her hip.

Shante and Nate shared a look before Shante answered.

" Honestly, I agree. I know that circumstances aren't great but Kia at least deserves that, I would hate for her to resent you if you did prevent her from seeing him. At the end of the day, when she's old enough, she will understand what happened and make her decisions from there" Shante stated.

"You're right. But before I do that, I'm finally ready to take her to see my family. I think it's time, you know" Nadia expressed.

" I agree. We'll leave you to it and don't forget to let me know how it went. Love you and you too, Kia" Shante hugged Nadia tightly before kissing Kia multiple times on the cheek.

" We'll see you when we get back" Nate added, hugging Nadia and giving Kia a sweet kiss on the cheek.

As they left the house and drove away, Nadia thought about how it great was that she still had a strong support system in Shante and Nate. They had quickly become her family in a matter of years and she was grateful for their support.

Putting Kia in her car seat and turning the ignition on, she took the scenic route to get to the cemetery. She parked up, getting Kia as she made her way to a familiar place. She placed a blanket down, letting Kia sit as she kneeled beside her facing the tombstones. She did what she could to maintain the appearance of them, regularly cleaning them when she could.

Today was a good day as she happily reflected on all the memories of her parents and brother before telling them how she was doing.

" Hey, Mum, Dad and Jordan. I'm a mum! The irony is this wasn't actually supposed to be the first time. For the longest, I've held onto the secret of me being aborting my baby at 23. You remember Leo, right? Well, he didn't want to have a baby and told me to abort it so I did but there are no days that I don't think about it or at least regret it. When I got pregnant with Kia, it was the second chance I wanted and even though Kane and I aren't together, I'm at least happy that he wanted her too. I know it might seem a little wrong that he's the father but this is a consequence of my silly actions. Let me formally introduce you, Kia, this is your grandma and granddad" Nadia held Kia up, pointing at her mum and dad's pictures." And this is your uncle" She pointed to Jordan's picture which Kia reached out to touch.

"I wanted you to know that I'm doing fine and I love you all so much, I can't till we meet again but for now, Kia and I will be back as much as possible to see you. Kia, wave goodbye" Nadia got up, holding her Kia as she gestured the waving motion to her which Kia mimicked.

Folding the blanket, she went back to the car to put Kia back in her seat. Driving off, she felt a little lighter, having spoken to them. It didn't take long for her to reach the HMP Belmarsh, parking in the parent & child spot.

She grabbed Kia's nappy bag and her crossbody bag as she went into the prison. After all the checks, she joined other families who awaited their loved ones at a table near the window. The doors opened as inmates came in, greeting the families with a lot of affection. Kane was one of the last to come in, walking anxiously towards Nadia, it had been a whole year since he had seen her physically and he was still so in love with her.

He took in how much thicker she had gotten since she gave birth to their daughter and wanted more than anything to enjoy it but alas that would only be possible if she agreed to marry him which he knew was out of the question.

Nadia slowly got up with Kia on her hip, seeing how much he had changed. His beard was even more rugged than before and he had cut off his locs, opting for an afro similar to his brother's. He had bulked up even more, looking almost twice the size he was when she last saw him. Noticing his intense glare, she could feel butterflies in her stomach as well as some purring down there.

Ignoring those sensations, she fell into his embrace, the touch was electric as it had always been They looked at each other before he gave her a soft peck, lingering on her taste. He knew that was all he was allowed to do before kissing Kia on her cheek and taking her from Nadia.

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he looked down at his daughter like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He finally had his dream and he couldn't even live it because of a stupid decision.

He bounced her on his leg, wiping his tears as he watched her happy face. He couldn't have been happier that she and Nadia were here, he wasn't sure at first if he had been able to convince Nadia enough to do this. But now here he was, with his daughter in his hold and he couldn't be more grateful for Nadia allowing this given the circumstances.

" Thank you for doing this, I know you and I are not on the best terms but you don't know how much this means to me that she's here. Is it...er true that you gave her my last name?" Kane asked, hoping for the confirmation.

" Yes, I did. I was torn about it initially but she is part of you and me so she deserves your name just as much as mine" Nadia smiled a bit.

" Thank you, Nads. I just know I'm really grateful for this, I wish I didn't fuck up so badly or otherwise, I would be out there with you and her. The most important girls in my life" Kane expressed, holding Kia close as she tried to grab his beard.

" Well, everything has happened so let's just move on for her sake. Erm...how've you been doing?" Nadia genuinely asked. While she would always feel a type of way about what he did, she still cared about his well-being.

"Being on my best behaviour, I've been going to a computing workshop, sharpening my IT skills and that as well as getting in some gains in the gym. It ain't been too bad since Kevari is here too, makes life less hard when you know people inside, I guess" Kane voiced.

" Not just that, I mean, how are you mentally?" Nadia wondered. Kane looked at her, stunned by her question, he tried not to get into his head so much but that was hard when he's confined all the time.

"There are days when I don't even want to do anything and there are other days when I think about you guys that I need to do my best to make it out of here if I can" Kane confessed, feeling a little vulnerable. Nadia slipped her hand across the table, reaching out for his and when he saw this, he slipped his hand to his, feeling that that spark between them again.

"As you long you keep your head above water and do the right thing, maybe the powers that be might recognise that and something can be done" Nadia didn't know why she was comforting him but the past year had taught her to reflect on how she had perceived him and at times, she had been too biased.

" I forgive you, you know. I know that you played a part but you've shown me that you are committed to doing and being better and I can't fault you for that. Just don't expect us to be together again" Nadia said jokingly.

Kane could only laugh, he was somewhat happy that she no longer had the look of disgust in her eyes when she looked at him. He hoped she would come around to the last part of what he said but only time will tell.

"I did put in an appeal around 28 days after my conviction, just to have the sentence reduced at least. I knew that an appeal for my conviction would be silly. I have accepted what I did but I just feel like I don't need to be in here for as much time as Maya. I heard she appealed twice and lost both times so imagine my surprise when the Court of Appeal Criminal Division granted my appeal for sentence reduction" Kane expressed, he had waited to tell her in person just so he could see her reaction. 

She looked somewhat happy for him and that made him feel good.

" So how many years?"

" 20 years for all the charges so there will be a possibility that I get to spend time with Kia outside but for now, these family day visits will keep me going" Kane beamed at her, swaying a sleepy Kia in his arms.

"I'm glad things are looking up for you. I hope these visits are for her benefit just as much as yours" Nadia smiled back.

" Thank you, Nadia. You mean a lot and so does she" Kane squeezed her hand before kissing Kia.

"You're welcome," Nadia squeezed back, feeling content that they were able to reach a good place for all the sakes, especially Kia's.

..............................................................................................................................................................

Ok, this is a real end!

Let me know your thoughts and vote as always. 

Until the next book!

Love, Tam xx