Hello Readers. This story is the continuation of the Shadows of Resentment series. You may want to read that series before reading this story however, this story can stand on its own.
This is the beginning of Darius Granger's story. Darius is a unique character in this series. He has gone through so many facets and hopefully you, the reader will understand him a little better after reading more about him. Maybe even like the guy a little.
Now his story will be divided into chapters, not sure how many, but this is only the first one. I am placing this under the "Romance Category" because it is a romantic tale, but the first chapter has no sex or anything sexual in it. However, it will come, so please keep reading. It is strictly written to give you, the reader, an idea of who the major players are.
So please read the story and I hope you enjoy it. Please vote and remember, all comments and feedback is welcomed. I really appreciate it when you share your thoughts with me. Now on to the tale:
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Darius Granger was a lucky man. He had wonderful parents, supportive siblings, and the best friend a guy could ever want; plus two beautiful daughters.
Many people marveled at how he managed to walk through his problems so easily. However, they only saw the surface, not the deep, dark, dank secrets underneath.
A little over two years ago Darius fucked up and almost killed his best friend. It didn't matter that they weren't speaking at the time. In a fit of rage, he put a man in a wheelchair almost costing him his life.
Darius did everything he could to try and make amends for his actions. After the initial attack, he was in jail for several months. He even confessed to the crime, declared a guilty verdict when he went to court.
The judge who presided was upset that the person who really caused the horrible events that night got a light sentence and felt that wasn't fair, so he was lenient when he sentenced Darius.
People saw him walking around and thought he got off scot free, but when you screwed up the way he'd done, you always paid a price.
Darius was in love with one woman, Deidre. She was the mother of his children and the love of his life. Getting her to trust him was hard, but he persisted and she gave him a chance to prove himself.
Deidre was four months pregnant and living with her mother when he learned she was pregnant. Although he was terrified at first, he was determined to stand by her and raise their children. He'd had a chance to talk with her and try and work out their relationship, but Deidre still didn't trust him. She was not sure if she wanted to date a man with such a volatile temper.
Her mother, Jasmine, supported her daughter completely. She wanted her to be safe, but she also wanted Deidre to understand how important Darius was to their unborn children.
Darius and Deidre were in a relationship for a couple of years, with Deidre constantly refusing his proposals for marriage. Darius was not giving up. He planned to marry her and make their family complete.
After the twins were born, Darius was very protective of Deidre and his daughters to the point that Deidre felt smothered. Darius and Deidre seemed to have a stable relationship on the surface, but underneath he knew she didn't really love him, not only because she constantly refusing his proposals for marriage but, she didn't really want to spend time with his as the years progressed.
His conviction would end in a couple of years and he wanted to move in with her to help support their daughters. Deidre wouldn't agree. At first, he thought it was because of her need to be independent, but he eventually realized that she honestly didn't want him around. He could visit as often as he wanted; however, he just could not move in with her.
Over time, their sex life dwindled, they were too far apart, too tired, too busy being parents, or just plain not interested. Darius knew they were in trouble when Deidre started ignoring him.
Deidre was a full time nurse at a local clinic and she loved her job. Darius, who had lost his scholarships because of the trouble he gotten into, he secured a position as a mechanic in his father's garage. He worked for his father consistently for three years, diligently and faithfully since the restriction he was on required that he stay near his parent's home.
They both worked days and Darius' mother, Marge, would often watch the twins when they worked. If they worked weekends, Deirdre's mom, Jasmine, would watch them. The girls loved being spoiled by all of their grandparents.
Marge noticed the strain in Darius and Deidre's relationship and often tried to help. But they were adults and she knew they'd have to work things out on their own.
"Son, is everything alright between you and Deidre?" Marge asked one morning when Deidre dropped the girls off.
"Mom, we're fine. Just busy, you know how it is." Darius said trying to alleviate Marge's concern.
But truthfully, he was worried. Overtime, Deidre seemed to lose interest in him. She didn't seem to want to really be around him and only spent time with him at functions involving the family.
Although their schedule worked out so that they could spend time with each other, they often spent their time apart.
The breakup was finalized when Darius realized Deidre was spending all of her time with an old friend of his, Jason Adams. He confronted her about the time she spent with the other man and she denied being involved with him.
"Dee, let's do something with the girls this weekend." Darius suggested one Thursday night.
Deidre wanted to relax, and not deal with his possessiveness for once. She knew Darius was a great guy, and she liked him. When she was younger she found herself loving him. But now she'd met someone new, an old friend who reminded her that it was alright to laugh.
She never thought she'd see a day where her heart didn't belong to this amazing man that was standing before her. They'd been through so much and came out better for it.
But now she had feelings for someone else and she knew when she told Darius, it would rip his world apart. She had already had words with her best friend, Sierra, Darius sister about this. She was having lunch with Jason when Sierra walked up.
Sierra asked about the situation and Deidre tried to downplay it.
"Deidre, hey girl I'm treating you to lunch." Sierra greeted her best friend. She's just gotten some exciting news.
Deidre seemed distracted, "Oh, Sierra. Hey girl. I already have..."
"Hey Deidre, want to go to Jo Jo's Café today. You owe me." Jason said out as he entered.
Deidre froze and Sierra knew.
"Oh, I see you've got plans for lunch. I'm out." Sierra said as she stood to leave.
"Sierra, girl look at you, you don't get to bail. I've got two fine women going to lunch with me." Jason chuckled, "This adds points to my player card. You coming or what?" he queried.
"Um, no. You two already had plans, and I don't want to interfere." Sierra replied as she turned to leave.
"Girl, I thought you said you were buying lunch. Come on, we can catch up." Deidre added, wanting a chance to at least explain to her best friend.
So the three of them had lunch and Sierra didn't share her exciting news. She'd found out something worse. Her brother's world was about to be ripped apart.
As lunch ended, Sierra pulled Deidre over. "I know it's not really my business, but he is my brother. I don't want him hurt."
"Sierra, I don't want to hurt him, but..." Deidre stopped. "I'll call you and we can talk when my shift ends alright."
"OK." Sierra agreed then she left hoping that when Deidre does tell Darius, he's strong enough to handle it. But right now she had to find her husband Cameron, and give him a big hug.
Darius confronted his former friend, Jason at Deidre's apartment one day. His mother was watching the twins and he felt they needed to talk. He knew Deidre didn't have to work, so he left decided to drop by the apartment and see if she would talk to him. He was surprised to find that Dee was not home alone.
"What the hell! Jason, what the hell is going on between you and Dee? She's taken and you have no business here." Darius said furiously shaking barely restraining his anger.
Jason stood lifting his hands in a posture to show surrender, "Look, man. I don't see any rings on her finger. She is free to spend time with who she chooses. You need to chill."
Deidre had enough and she was ticked off. "Jason, please sit back down. Darius I want you to leave. Jason is my guest and I invited him over. You have no say in who I invite into my home as well as no right to barge in and demand anything."
"What! Me leave? Hell no, I'm not going anywhere. Tell him to leave." Darius stated angrily.
His declaration made Deidre so angry that she shook furiously as she struggled to keep her temper in check. She was grateful that at this moment Camirra and Camorra were both at her Mom's house and didn't have to witness the confrontation between their parents.
"No, you go. I don't want you here." Deidre declared angrily poking Darius in the chest with her finger. "I've had enough Darius. You don't own me. I can't breathe without you being right there. Yes, we have children together, but like I told you before that doesn't give you the right to run my life."
Realizing that Deidre was really upset, Darius tried to diffuse the situation. "Dee, baby, wait-, "Darius pleaded, but Dee cut him off.
