SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS LATER

The crash happened seven years ago. The small scar that was on my hand reminded me of everything that took place on that day. Did I ever regret taking that plane? No I didn't. I was gifted with two things far greater than life itself: Venice and Vince. I made an ought to Vincent call my children those names whenever I had fallen pregnant. The pregnancy was unexpected. If I hadn't run out of the hospital for Tina's sake, then I'd probably have known that I was pregnant at that exact time.

What if it was faith to not know, to not let Vincent know I had the heirs to his companies, to be dead to the world and the people closest to me.

"I'm going to tell mother about this. Lorence, get down this instance, you brat." I heard Venice's voice which roared through the whole house, "Your shouting will not stop me from doing this, not because you are older than me by two minutes doesn't give you the right to order me" She screamed at him and I heard footsteps heading towards my room.

"Mother!" She said while knocking, she entered the bedroom and pointed outside. I sighed, closing my book and getting out of bed. Having twins wasn't so hard. It wasn't. Vince gave us all the trouble. While Venice was calm and collected, she got apart some of Vincent's good sides, but Vince got the arrogant side.

I walked down the hallway, passing their bedrooms, and soon reached the front door where Vince was busy putting up a trap for whosoever entered the house. "Morning mother," he simply said and smiled, showing me his teeth when he retired back to his setting up things. "I heard your sister telling you to get down. What if you fall off the ladder, Mr. Johnson" Just by saying that brought a grin to my face. He too hates it when I call him that. "Mom!" he whined, stepping down from the ladder.

"I'm a big boy, I wasn't going to fall" He rolled his eyes and stood close beside me where I stood looking at his work of art, as what he calls everything he does with a wicked grin spread across his face. He was indeed tall for being only seven, while Venice height wasn't close to his. "I told you to not try anything stupid. You set the neighbors cat on fire but luckily he's not dead as well didn't I tell you no to touch those." I pointed at the bucket of slime and ropes that were perfectly set at the door for anybody who walked through those doors.

"Yes, I know, but you didn't say for how long" He folded his arms over his chest and smirked. I pinched his cheeks and he yelled, "Mom! Not now, it's almost time, "He said ushering my hands away. "Mom, are you letting him get away with this again?" I shrugged my shoulders, grinning at him. He sighed, but his face lit up instantly when the doorknob twisted. The bucket of slime immediately went down on no one other than my co-worker Brad.

The giggles immediately filled the room and I could feel the breath out of me being sucked out of me, "You brat!" Brad said pointing at him. He was covered in neon green slime all over and the tulips he had were the same. He clenched his fist and stormed towards us in a swift moment. I pushed the twins behind me. Brad was almost drawing near when I saw him fall on the floor. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Vince with a baseball bat and before I could pull at him, he was hitting him hard.

"I told you and your ugly son to not come near my mom and sister," He said hitting him hard when he tried to get up. Vince would hit him harder, which caused him to fall back flat on the floor. I just stayed still watching Vince hit him. Brad was too touchy for my liking and his son kept annoying my daughter. Vince noticed this and kept doing everything he could to let him stay out of my life, but it was like when he did it more it gave him the chance to get closer to me and Venice didn't like the idea at all.

"Enough!" Venice's voice roared through the room, bringing Vince to a halt. She strolled towards him, grabbing the bat out of his hands, "Your. Son. Hit. Me." She said, hitting him and the tears pricked my eyes. His son had scared my daughter, something I didn't want her to endure. She was kneeling down holding her hands to her face crying. Vince rushed to her side and consoled her.

"Brad get out of my house now!" He attempted to get up but failed and just the sight of him made me sick. While he was getting up and turned his back towards us, limping, I pushed him out without a care. I went beside my baby's side hugging them "Mom" Venice sobbed. I kept my mind at ease to not cry, to not let them see me cry. I went through things far worse than this, but I will not let anyone hurt my kids.

We pulled and apart, I wanted to just stay together like this forever. "Mom, we want to know about Dad," Venice finally said, bringing both Vince and I attention, "Bu-" she didn't let me finish when she grabbed my hands and looked at me, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Mom, I know about him already, but I want to know why he doesn't know about us," Vince said, and I immediately snapped my head towards him.

"You knew all along?" I said, getting up and walking into the living room, when I heard footsteps behind me, "Mom, I didn't mean to, I-I saw how you looked when I mentioned Vincent Johnson's name, then I started my research." I crossed my legs, looking at him in disbelief. "Vince, why didn't you tell me that you did or consulted mother." Venice, who had joined in on the conversation, said to her brother. She had taken her place in the chair while he stood looking between us.

"Mom didn't dare to say who he was and I had the feeling that he was. I snooped into your room and found the picture of you and him. That's why I asked. I'm sorry okay," He said truthfully. I hummed and shook my head in understanding. I knew someway or the other, one of them would find it, but how long would it be? Venice abided by the rules I regulated, but Vince didn't. He broke the rules, he made his own rules.

"Apology accepted" he smiled and embraced me in a warm hug. I immediately pinched his cheek, making him pull away. "Mom!" he whined. I smiled, looking at how cute he was when his cheeks turned red. "So what do you wish to know about Vincent?" I asked my tone now seriously.

"I wish to know if you left or did he leave?" Venice's first question wracked my body, but I didn't let that affect me. I've grown up into a woman. I'm not that scared little girl anymore. "Well baby, I left. Your dad and I divorced," but did you sign papers? A voice in the back of my head says and I cleared my throat correcting myself, "I left. We didn't divorce. I refused to sign the papers, so I left." She nods her head and closes her eyes thinking of questions to ask.

"Did he cheat on you?" I swear my jaw almost dropped to the floor, "Lorence!" Venice drawl and I raised my hands for her to seize on going further. I laughed hysterically, with tears running down my face. I wiped my eyes and looked at my kids who looked at me with the look I'd get every day from Vincent 'stoic', "No your father didn't cheat on me, he despises individuals just like yourself. I'd say you're a mini him but crueler." He rolled his eyes and closed his eyes as well, then reopened them. He opened his mouth to speak, but Venice had beat him to it.

"What is he like in person?" I never imagined that the question would be like this, "Your father was very arrogant, meaning he thinks highly of himself. He's highly respected around the world because he held great power-"

"So he's somewhat a king?" she asked directly.

"No princess, he just has connections, but if he somewhat wants to build a kingdom and title himself as a king, then he can do that because he's a billionaire."

"Multi-billionaire to be precise, his title changed about three weeks ago. He still ranks top of the world from being the richest man, a handsome man, and even the most intelligent, which is wrong. I'm in the sixth grade at age seven, and most children my age can't even pass their four-grade exam." I rolled my eyes at his arrogance, why did I even agree to let him go to a different grade.

"So Mom, if he somewhat becomes a king, then I'll be somehow a princess?" She smiled gracefully and clasped her hands together.

"Yes, that means you'll become a real princess." Her smile became wider. Vince scoffed at her then rolled his eyes.

"Last question mom," I hummed and motioned him to carry on, "Why did Dad let you leave? There must be a solid reason which made you leave. You were mentioned in the media that you died in a plane crash. Dad is very well known and he surprised everyone with a fiance and a wedding, but there was no mention of you being pregnant." He was surely keeping a tabloid on his father from years ago to the present day.

"I have no explanation for why he let me leave him. We didn't start off on the right foot, but we made progress and that led up to me being pregnant with you troublemakers. I came to know after the crash that I was pregnant. I felt no need to mention it to him, so I started a new leaf, which was hard to have to deal with everything alone, but I don't regret it," I said truthfully, but I could sense the tension in the atmosphere and the scowl that made its way onto his face.

I knelt down in front of Vince, taking his hands in mine. He turned his face away from me to hide the tears away, but I used my fingers to let him look at me. His blue eyes mixed with a speckle of brown were glistening with tears. But he kept them in he was fighting his emotions, something his father does. Instead of letting them out, he bottles them. "Whatever your father did, I'm sure he had a reason. I know you hate him for not knowing you exist and I do too, but I let that grief leave me a long time ago." He shut his eyes and shook his head.No. Tears streaming down his face, "Baby listen, it was said I died, then that means I or you guys exist for him, but if he knew then you wouldn't hate him, as you do know he's in fact your father, the man that helped me overcome my fears and if I didn't meet him, you wouldn't be here. And I'm happy to say that he was in fact a great person," I said, genuinely wiping his tears. My heart throbbed with each word that escaped my lips, and these were words of affection, words of love.

"Vince mother is right, so my last question from you mother is, did you love him?" She was now standing beside me, her hand now resting on my shoulder. I sighed and took her hands in mine.

"I never stopped loving the man that helped me bring wonders to this world."