Song: Bad Blood - Taylor Swift

"And Hansel said to Gretel, 'Let us drop these breadcrumbs... so that together we find our way home. Because losing our way would be the most cruel of things.' This year.. I lost my way." - Lucas Scott One Tree Hill
***

  "Mummy" Hera hears her daughter's voice call out to her and quickly wipes away her tears.

She gets up and quickly leaves the room closing the door behind her. She walks towards the living room.

"Mummy" Shakespeare calls out once more.

"I'm right here" Hera says walking up to her daughter who looks sleepy with a phone held against her ear.

"Mummy why are your eyes wed?" Shakespeare asks.

"Something got into my eye" Hera lies.

"Let me blow it" Shakespeare says.

Hera bends down for her daughter to blow air into her eyes.

"Mummy is it gone?" Shakespeare asks after blowing air into her mum's eyes.

Hera nods.

"Shakespeare's breath is magical, mummy is all healed up now,"Hera says and places her head against her daughter's.

"Charge?" Hera asks.

"Charge" Shakespeare replies rubbing her forehead with her mums.

"Shakespeare..." A voice calls out.

"Oh..." Shakespeare says separating from her mum.

"Uncle Jamie," She says handing her mum the phone.

Hera collects the phone and sits down on a couch. Shakespeare climbs up on the chair and lays her head against her mothers lap.

Running her right hand through her daughter's hair, Hera uses her left hand to hold the phone to her ear.

"Hello" She says.

"You were crying?" Jamie asks.

She doesn't answer. They both stay silent for a few seconds.

"You shouldn't have come back" Jamie says.

"I needed to," She replies.

"Then come back home," He says.

"Home..." She chuckles bitterly, "Where's home?" She asks rhetorically.

"Kansas, I haven't told mum you're back yet, but you can't be back to the country and not see her, Hera it's been 5 years..." He says sadly.

"How's she?" She asks cutting him off.

"Wanting to see her daughter and grandchild...you both need to stop punishing yourselves over what you had no control over, you were lied to and manipulated, that's not your fault..." He starts.

"Can we not talk about this now, Shakespeare is here," Hera says causing her daughter to raise her head and peak at her.

Jamie sighs,

"What are your plans? Are you moving back for good?" He asks.

"I don't know...I didn't really think it through..." She says.

"Do you have enough funds?" He asks.

She stays silent. She didn't want to tell him she didn't. When she left America with Keith to Nigeria when he suggested it'd be a good change of environment for her when he was posted there 5 years back, it was Jamie who had paid for her trip. For the whole period of her pregnancy and a large amount of time after she gave birth before getting a job, Jamie had been the one paying for most of what she and her daughter needed. She already felt like she could never pay him back for all he'd done for her, for all they'd done for her... she couldn't bring herself to take even more from him.

"I'll be okay" She says biting her lip.

"Let me know what you decide to do okay? I'll call again tomorrow," He says.

"Okay," She says cutting the call. She sits on her spot thinking for a bit. She hadn't really thought out her trip back here. She had planned to return back to Nigeria in a few weeks but now that she was back she didn't want to return so soon, yet she didn't have the funds to stay longer than two weeks unless she got a job.
Sighing, she carries her daughter up and heads to the room to sleep, shutting the door behind her.

    "I want the wed one" Shakespeare says pointing to a red velvet cake on the counter at the bakery section of Whole foods.

        After waking up the next day with nothing to eat but pizza from the previous night, Hera had decided to go grocery shopping, as while Shakespeare had no problem living on pizza for the next few weeks while they were here, Hera's funds couldn't afford it.  So they both showered and headed out to Whole foods where she purchased an unlocked smart phone to use as the cost for roaming using her Nigerian network provider was too expensive, bought groceries and where currently at the bakery aisle to get a cake to celebrate her return and Shakespeare's first time in the states since she was born, as she had given birth to Shakespeare in Nigeria.

"I'll have the Red Velvet" Hera says to the associate.

"Yes, the wed velvet" Shakespeare says earning chuckles from an old couple by the side.

Hera smiles politely at them and collects the Red Velvet cake, she heads to the counter, pays and heads to the bank located in the mart opening up an account with them.

As they step out of the bank, Shakespeare asks her mum the question she had been dreading.

"Mummy when do we see daddy?"

Hera didn't know, She truly hadn't thought things out. How was she to find where he was buried?

Should she go to the Black Empire?

If she did and Peter found out about Shakespeare and took her away from her...She shakes her head.

No she can't go to the Black headquarters. Then how was she to find news on where he was buried? She had cut off contact with all his friends.

What if he wasn't even buried in California? How was she to explain that her dad is dead to her daughter especially if she finds his grave? She had so many questions and no answers.

Her phone rings.

       "Hello?" Lexis says picking up his phone. His day had been filled with meetings and signing of documents. Most of the senior staff members were the staff he worked with at the England branch. Hence his transition was not as tumultuous, especially thanks to his more than able, Lawyer, Bodyguard, Secretary and Assistant, Maeve.

They were currently on their way to a meeting with the executives of the California branch of the chamber of commerce.

"I told you she'd find out," Nathan's voice replies through the phone.

"Is she mad?" Lexis asks.

"Yes she's mad very mad" A feminine voice replies.

"My son refuses to stay in his home and chooses to sleep in the company did you expect me to be ecstatic with joy on this?" Lea, his stepmother says through the phone.

He lifts his eyes and meets Maeve's gaze through the mirror.

"I didn't tell her" Maeve says quickly.

"Mum, you know..."He starts.

"You can't sleep in houses, yes I know but I also know that was a problem here, maybe it's different with the house back in America? After all you grew up there," She says weakening her plans to go hard on him till he moves into the house.

   Each time he called her mum it weakened her defenses,. If five years back, anyone had told her a day would come that Lexis would call her mum and treat her like his mum she'd have laughed at the impossibility. But yet, here they were five years later, with him doing just that.

     She may dislike the girl that hurt him horribly but she'd be the first to admit her gratefulness at her actions towards Lexis, as it had helped their relationship.

"I'll be unconscious either way, it makes no difference" Lexis says.

"I said the same thing" Nathan says from the background.

"Hold up your dad would like to speak to you" She says.

He places the phone on speaker and picks up a document to finalize signing it.

"Hello?" Peter Black, his dad's voice resounds through the car.

"I heard what you decided on John Smith, great job...Have you gotten word on the acquisition of Livni?" He asks.

Lexis glances at Maeve.

"The board are all on our side to sell but Tim Jordan is against the acquisition" She says.

"Tim Jordan?" Peter asks.

Maeve types on her iPad and passes it to Lexis.

"We currently own 30percent of the shares for Sidham" She says.

"What's Sidham?" Peter asks.

"Tim's company," Lexis answers tracing his lips with his index finger.

"Handle it," Peter orders.

Lexis shuts his eyes and taps his forehead with his index finger. He opens his eyes.

"Turn around," Lexis says to the driver hanging up.

      As Hera also hangs up her phone call from Nigeria and walks over to pick an application for employment from the associate handing it out at the entrance.

    "Excuse me" Someone calls out tapping Hera's back.

"Oh sorry..." Hera says turning around to apologize and get out of the way, but stopping at the sight of the person in front of her.

"Jess?" She says.

Jess looks momentarily taken aback.

"Oh my goodness, Jess!" Hera says reaching out to hug Jess who takes a step back and glare's at her.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Jess says voice filled with anger and malice causing Shakespeare to cower behind her mother in fear.

***

Since the last update was five days back I gave a super long update...that I'd usually make into two chapters.

Why do you think Jess is mad?