One year prior

Chapter 1

MAYA

"Listen Jazz, we've been through this already. Gran left that money for us to use to better our lives and both make something of ourselves and not waste it on something as frivolous as a car or clothes or any other material thing that won't help secure our futures."

Maya tucked a stray lock of her dark brown hair behind her ears and rubbed her temples as she felt the beginnings of a headache creeping up. Closing her light brown eyes, she prayed for serenity and calm as she continued to reason with her baby sister Jasmine for the umpteenth time. But it was like talking to a brick wall.

Opening her eyes, Maya watched her sister moving frantically around the antiquated kitchen. Their grandmother Louise Stallworth who recently passed, following a long hard battle with heart and kidney problems left them a $50,000 insurance policy to help with their schooling and to help them get started with their adult lives.

Maya the older, at 25 had been attending school off and on for the past 3 years. Taking time off to care for gran and working to save up enough money to take care of the household needs and school.

But Jasmine's interests at 21, lay well beyond the confines of text books and final projects, college wasn't anywhere near her radar.   She wanted to be a dancer. A real dancer. Or maybe an actress. All she knew was that she wanted to be famous or better yet infamous and live the life that she thought saw fitting.

From the time Jasmine was six, everyone always praised her beauty and she loved it. She craved it. It became a serious issue when she hit her teenage years, when men clamored to be in her company. Some even went as far as offering to pay her to spend time with them. And that's when both Gran and Maya noticed a sudden change in her baby sister's attitude. She became a money hungry, manipulative bitch.

So it was of little surprised when the younger sister at 18 expressed that she had no thoughts of college. She didn't need it. Not when she could make a few hundred dollars each night that she decided to dance at the Lush Lounge or the Red Rooster. Her regulars made sure that she had several hundred reasons to dance every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

"Listen, you can do whatever you want with your share of the money, but I want my $25,000 in cash to spend it on whatever I want." Jazz tossed over her mid-back length, honey blonde highlights.

"It won't be that much." Maya clarified.

Stopping to look at her sister for the first time, since entering the kitchen, Jazz snidely asked, "And why the hell not?"

Jazz's fiery hazel eyes stood in contrast to Maya's soft brown pools; this was what it had come to. Though, Maya had become used to Jazz's verbal assaults, it still angered her that her sister could be so uncaring towards her.  Yes, she was the only one around and Jazz had no else to lash out on, but still that did not give her the right to be so downright cruel and spiteful.

Maya constantly reminded herself that Jazz's anger was probably a result of the frustration over their situation. Abandoned by their mother, no relationship with their supposed father, being raised by their grandmother and not having enough money to enjoy niceties or in some instances necessities, could make anyone a little bitchy. But still Jasmine had the ability to take it to the next level.

The look Jazz fired to her older sister, challenged Maya to find the right words in order to douse the flame that threaten to flare up into a scorching hot fire.

No one to be easily intimidated by Jazz's outbursts, Maya stoned her face and prepared for the shouting match that was sure to come. Jazz still had some growing up to do, she acted every bit the part of the spoiled selfish brat that she was.

"Hello, how do you think we were able to pay for the funeral, the back property taxes and...?" Maya bit out. But her sister cut her off before she could finish.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Jazz yelled smashing the plate she had just taken out of the cupboard, to the ground.

"What is the matter with you?"

"How much..."

"What?"

"How much..." Jazz gritted out in annoyance.

"After the cost of the service, paying all of gran's final medical bills, the taxes we'll each receive about $5,500."

"That's it?" Jasmine screeched.

"Yes..." Maya whispered.

"Shit...Shit, shit! I was going to use my money to finally get the hell out of here and move to DC." She Jazz yelled, kicking the cupboard near the dishwasher, causing it to fall to the floor.

"DC?" Maya was surprised and hurt by that bit of information. This was the first that she'd even heard about it. "When did you decide this?"

Jazz's eyes met her sister's, "What? You think you're the only one smart enough to make plans?" Staring at her sister, Jasmine's eyes became full of malice. "You think I shake my ass at that hole in the wall for kicks three times a week?"

"You do it because you want to." Maya tossed back.

"I do it so that I can get the hell out of this god forsaken wretched town. I hate this place..." Screaming at her sister, Jasmine was quickly getting irritated by the conversation.

"You don't have to dance, Jazz; I told you I could get you a job at the country club."

Jazz's lip curled up into a sneer, "Them good white folks sure got you trained. Why the hell would I want a job cleaning up their shit?"

"It's not like that...besides when did you decide that you wanted to leave home anyway?" Maya asked, feeling tears bubbling up to the surface.

"Home, you call this shit hole a home. Look around you Maya." Jazz ranted, "This house is falling down on our heads. How long has that blue tarp been on the roof? The pipes are so old, we can't even shower if one of us is washing the dishes. This place is a death trap and I am tired of suffocating in this house, in this town, in this life!"

Maya had to admit that Jasmine did have some valid points, the old Victorian had seen better days and she and Jensen planned on renovating it after their wedding. "Listen, I know that we need to..."

"No correction, you need to. You are the only person who still wants to be invested in this dump.  Sell it so that we can both move on to something better. Stop holding on the past..."

"What do you mean? This was our grandmother's house, our mother was raised here, and we were raised here."

"Are you serious? You want to play the nostalgia card? Are you forgetting that our crack whore of a mother dumped us here and never looked back?"

"She was not a whore..." Maya screamed as her tears threaten to spill.

Walking towards her sister, Jasmine took in a calming breath. She didn't want to have another argument with Maya over their mother. That shit was old. "Forgive me, Maya if I've hurt your feelings." Jazz soothed.

Rubbing her back, Jazz whispered, "I'm sorry, you're right, our mother wasn't a whore. Nadine wasn't smart enough to demand any money for services rendered. So that just made her stupid."

At her sister's cruel jest, Maya's tears did fall. She would let Jasmine have her say as usual and ignore her until she left.

"I know how much you like to think that all our mother did was dance in those clubs, but I think that we both know better." Jazz smirked, "Since it makes you feel better about yourself, you keep holding onto your distorted memory of who Nadine Stallworth was. But I on the other hand prefer to live in the real. I know who she was...she was a whore who slept with anyone who could pay for her next fix. And if you want to see her, I know where she is; her stage name is ‘Delight' and she is available for private parties."

Forgoing the breakfast that she made, Jazz grabbed her Chanel handbag and breezed out of the room. But not before tossing one of her glossy business cards at her sister. The card was covered in a semi-nude image of herself with a note that read, ‘What a Delight' and listed her phone number.

Seeing the card was still a shock to Maya and Jazz knew how it made her sister feel to see it. It reminded her of their earlier days, living with their mother in Atlanta. Maya often would have to help her take off one of her skimpy dancer costumes when Nadine was either too high or drunk to do it herself.

 Maya couldn't understand why Jasmine was so determined to use her past as an excuse for her behavior. She didn't need to be a stripper. Jasmine had real creative talent. Besides her dancing, which if she really wanted to she could easily become one of the hottest choreographers around, she was also a whiz with a sewing machine and needle and thread. She could ‘remix' your closet and design just about anything you could imagine. Jasmine just didn't believe that her talent was as good as everyone suggested.

"You're nothing like her, Jazz...." she whispered, but her sister was already out of the front door.

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JASMINE

Jasmine tore down the drive way in her 2009 silver Mazda Miata. A gift, from a loyal fan she had at the Red Rooster. The seedy gentlemen's club where she danced twice a week did have some perks, she thought as she cranked up her music.

She was tired of fighting with Maya. Maya. The smart one, the sensible one. The one who would make something of herself. The good one. Jasmine scoffed at that one. Naïve and gullible were the only two traits that she saw in her sister.

Jasmine's cell phone buzzed, she looked at the number and immediately answered.

"Hello handsome. I've missed you." She cooed into the phone.

It was one of her mature regulars, Eric. His calls took priority over everyone else's. And not because she just would be spending the week with him in Charleston next month. Or that she had spent a few days in playing with him in California last month, while he was there on business.

Typically older guys weren't her thing. But she had made an exception in his case; especially after he offered her a cool thousand to spend the night with him. She had received plenty offers in the past to sell her body, but she usually declined. She was a dancer but not a prostitute. She made that very clear to the club's patrons. But Eric was very insistent and sexy for a man his age. She found it hard to refuse him.

Jasmine didn't know why she accepted Eric's offer, that first time. Yes she did. She wanted the money. He offered her more money than anyone else had for her body and that made it easier for her to say yes to him. And from that day on, she was always paid for services rendered. She would never end up like Nadine. Never.

"So am I going to see you this weekend?" Jasmine asked already knowing the answer to that. Eric was damn near obsessed with her and she used it to her advantage. He would clear his calendar just to spend time with her and she would use him until she got bored or got a better offer. It was their little game and she intended to milk it for all it was worth.

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MAYA

Maya continued to clean up after Jasmine stormed out of the kitchen. Her grandmother always said that she and Maya were complete opposites. She often thought that gran was referring to their looks, because she always said that, Maya was a classic beauty with her small features and quiet demeanor. While Jazz, was more of a dazzling beauty with her stunning eyes and radiant smile. She was easily the center of attention where ever she went and was as charming as she was cunning.

Maya laughed at that, as she recalled her grandmother's words. Maya now fully understood what gran was eluding too. Their personalities were as different as night and day.

Those around them found much pleasure in comparing the sisters to each other, much to Maya's annoyance.  Maya swore that if she wasn't so confident in herself, she could have easily developed self-esteem issues because of it. She knew that she wasn't a great beauty like her sister but everyone always referred to her as a pretty girl who could be gorgeous if she wanted to be. She suspected that those comments referred to her to her quiet personality and conservative dress.

She was the first to admit to being a wallflower and shying away from any sort of attention, while Jasmine on the other hand lived for it. In fact all of the kids in school often called the sisters beauty and the geek. Because Maya's face was always buried in a book, she rarely went to parties and didn't spend time with them hanging out, doing nothing.

Jasmine however was the life of the party. She loved to be seen everywhere and her dress...well. She and gran had many heated arguments over her style of dress. But Jasmine didn't care, she did what she wanted, everyone else's wishes and feelings be damned.

Sometimes she wished that she could be as brash as Jasmine. But Jensen was quick to reminder her that he was first attracted to her elegant manners and self-assurance and then her eyes. Her big beautiful brown eyes, that shone so bright yet they held so much sadness.

He told her after meeting her that he was going to make it his life's quest to remedy the cause and make her eyes twinkle in laughter. Maya let out a heavy sigh as she replayed the night she met him and smiled.

Jensen had brought some happiness into her life, though sadness seemed intent on hanging around. She was still having a hard time dealing with her grandmother's death and she was growing weary of Jasmine's attitude. She hoped that her sister would wake up and realize that, they weren't doomed to repeat their mother's mistakes. They had the power to create whatever life they wanted for themself.

Maya just wished that she could convince Jasmine of it. She looked over to the old fridge and the picture of her mother caught her eye. It had been 10 maybe 12 years since they last saw her. She knew that it bothered gran on her death bed, that they couldn't find her after all those years.

Gran finally told Maya the real reason why Nadine was so messed up. It was a simple yet hard thing. After all these years, Nadine was still suffering from a broken heart. She never got over the man she ran off to Atlanta to marry. She met him at school in her junior year of college. And they dated secretly for over a year, before he asked her to marry him. They were going to move to Atlanta so that he wouldn't have to deal with his family. But he never showed up at the courthouse and she never heard from him again. Gran said that she never knew the man's name, Nadine never said; but gran knew that he was a white man with money. Nadine never got over that hurt and turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort.

Maya ran her fingers over her mother's smiling face. It was a sad thing really, not knowing whether your mother was living or dead, hungry or fed, cold or warm. Maybe that was the reason why Jasmine was so angry all the time. She had a fear of the unknown.

Jasmine. Maya couldn't understand what was happening with her sister, but she also knew that they couldn't go on this way.  Of late, it seemed as if the only thing that she and Jazz did was argue. No matter how hard Maya fought, the tears fell on their own.

She was so tired of fighting Jasmine. The adorable little girl would hang on to her every word had been replaced by a money hungry, self-absorbed, rude bitch. Yes, their absent mother and unknown father or fathers could be to blame. But you could only cling to that for so long, before you decide to take ownership of your life, your destiny. Why couldn't Jazz get that? Why did she have to strip at that stupid club and get caught up with so many trifling men?

Her sobs grew louder in the empty room and she was surprised when she felt Jensen's arms around her shoulders.

"Shh...shh...." Soothing her as best as her could, given the circumstances. He hated to see Maya like this. And the cause was always the same. Jasmine.

"I'm sorry did I wake you."

"No, it's ok....."

"No you just got off a 48 hour shift. You must be exhausted." Kissing her temple, he assured her that he was fine. "Hey, what time is your class today? Let me make you some lunch, before you leave."

Maya tried to wave Jensen away but he wasn't going anywhere. She was lucky to have him in her life. She sat down at the old rickety kitchen table and surveyed the room as Jensen searched for pots and pans.

The tin tiles on the ceiling had seen better days. The old cabinetry was literally hanging on for dear life. The back staircase had more than one loose step, though Jensen had already replaced quite a few. Maya sighed.

If she and Jensen seriously wanted to live here in the old Victorian, then they had a lot of work to put into the house. Jensen had been a breath of fresh air into her stale existence and she was happy to now have someone to share her life with. She knew that her handsome fiancée who was more rocker, than young doctor could have any woman out there and the fact that he wanted to marry a shy quiet girl like her made her smile harder. Maybe Jasmine was right, maybe it was time to start off with something fresh with Jensen, she made a mental note to talk to him about possibly selling the house.

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 "Maya! Maya!" Jasmine yelled from the kitchen door, with shopping bags in hand.

"Well good afternoon to you too, Brat."

Slipping her D&G sunglasses off her head, Jasmine ignored Jensen's sarcastic remark. "Where's Maya?"

"She isn't back from campus yet." Jensen offered, annoyed at Jasmine's self-absorb attitude and ear piercing yells for her sister.

"Oh and you are just being a good little pet, I see.  Taking care of things until she gets back?" Jazz asked pointing to the pots simmering on the stove.  Moving closer to Jensen she petted him on his head and laughed, "Such a good little doggie."

"Fuck you, Jasmine."

"I always knew you wanted to." Smiling wickedly at Jensen, she winked. "Any time lover... But just remember that I get paid first." 

"You know what, you're a real bitch. You know that?"

"So I've been told." Jazz replied, moving to the fridge to grab a Vitamin water. "But I guess that's better than being a cold frigid bitch like my sister."

"I am going to ignore you for Maya's sake. Because if it were up to me, I would wrap my hands around your neck and..."

"And what daddy, fuck me silly. Just the way I like it." Jasmine grinned and then bit her lip suggestively. "My sister is too soft to let you give it to her rough. But I can take it.  I bet she turns off all of the lights and keeps her clothes on doesn't she?" Jazz laughed, which caused Jensen to seethe in anger even more.

"If you weren't her sister, I would tell her to kick your ass out of her house and forget about you."

"Oh, little miss perfect Maya would never ever do that." Jazz laughed at the absurdity of Jensen's threat. "Family is way too important to her to ever consider doing that. Nope, I guess were just going to have to live as one big happy family."

"I think Maya would be happier if you weren't around."

"And I think that I would be happier, if you weren't around." Jasmine tossed back, "Why don't you let mommy and daddy marry you off to some ditz from the county club and leave my sister alone."

Jensen was truly pissed now. Who the hell did Jasmine think she was telling him these things?

"What is your problem Jasmine, I love Maya."

"You love Maya? Ha...you love what's between her dark thighs. I know your type. I meet them all the time at the club.

"Really, my type?" Jensen mocked.

"Yep, hungry white boys who only want to dip their wicks in chocolate, to say that they've done it."

"And that's who I am."

"Yep."

"Your logic is not only stupid, it's flawed.  I have dated many other black women before Maya and I did ask her to be my wife, remember."

"Oh yeah that..." Moving to where he stood, Jasmine considered his argument.

Tapping her finger on her chin, she smiled teasingly and then replied. "You know why you're marrying my sister? Because she's gullible. She is so happy that you that the young, handsome, rich doctor is even remotely interested in her, that she can't see you for the snake that you are."

"You picked Maya, because she'll be the perfect little wife for you. She'll never ever cheat on you. Never question you, never challenge you. She'll do everything you want her to. And you, well you'll be free to do everyone, you want to do."

"You are full of shit and you know nothing about Me, Maya or our relationship."

"Oh cut the bull shit, it's starting to stink up the kitchen." Just for kicks Jasmine got on her tip toes and licked Jensen's earlobe and slid her hands down chest to rest on his thighs,  in an effort to illicit some type of reaction from him, she squeezed them. Jensen tensed up at her touch but was too surprised, by her actions to react accordingly.

"I know who you are Jensen. I can see it in your eyes. You can only fight it for so long."

 Jensen pushed her wicked little hands off him and stormed out of the kitchen without uttering another word, to the sounds of her high pitch laughter.

Heading up the stairs to Maya's bedroom, he kept telling himself that it was wrong to hate anyone, but every day Jasmine made it easier and easier to do so.

Ever since the day Maya introduced them, he knew the day would come where he would hate to be in the same room as her, unfortunately he had hoped that that day would come much later.

From the moment they met he could tell that Jasmine held some animosity towards Maya. She was rude and selfish and he still couldn't understand how she could possibly be related to Maya or gran. They were two of the most loving giving people he'd ever met, but Jasmine was their polar opposite.

Jensen tried to be civil towards Jasmine for Maya's sake, but he was counting the days until they got married. Because, surprisingly Jasmine offered to move out of the house once they were wed.

He wanted to scream in delight, though he knew that Maya would miss having Jasmine around; even though her younger sibling didn't give her the respect or love that she deserved.

Maya didn't need Jasmine in her life, Jensen thought. It was crystal clear to him that, Jasmine only cared about one thing, Jasmine.