Diamond Revelation (20 page)

The tension in the room was so thick you could have reached out and smacked it. After what seemed like forever, Sean finally replied. “Yes.”

Germain lit into him like a crazy man, and Eric and Kyle pulled them apart.

How did Germain find everything out?
Fear raced through Topaz's body as she watched Sean and Germain fighting over her. Everything seemed so surreal.

“I remember now.” Jade's voice trembled as she spoke. “We were having marital problems. It was after Kobe was born.” Jade spoke to no one in particular, but everyone heard. “I always knew you cheated with someone, but never once did I think it was my girlfriend. One of my so-called best friends. Mama always told me to be careful with my man around women.”

“Mama always knows best, darling,” Germain cut in.

Jade focused on Keisha. “I'm going to ask a real dumb question, but I have to give you the benefit of the doubt. Were you in on this too?”

Germain looked at Keisha, one of his dearest and closest friends, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“Yes and no,” Keisha began as she watched a look of surprise fill Eric's honey-colored eyes.

“Of course you were a part of this. You're Topaz's best friend. What was I thinking?” Jade shook her head. “That night in the club, the night of the
Superstar
party. All of you were sitting in my office talking until I walked in. I even asked if you were keeping secrets from me. You said no, but you were talking about this.” Jade grew more hysterical by the moment. “I am such a fool. I was a fool to think any of you ever were my friends.”

“Everybody plays the fool sometime. There's no exception to the rule,” Germain sang, slurring words and still drinking.

“That's not true, Jade. We are your friends. We were trying to protect you,” Nina explained, ignoring Germain.

“That's right. No one was trying to hurt you, sweetie.” Keisha tried to reach for Jade, who pulled away from her like she was poison.

“Liars,” Jade screamed. “Backstabbing, two-faced liars. All of you.”

“Welcome to the club, darlin'.” Germain lifted his glass to Jade in a toast. “Get yourself a glass, so we can give a toast to the fools…us.”

“Germain…” Topaz sighed. It was killing her, seeing him this way.

“I was engaged to Topaz when she, Nina, and Jamil went to London to work on her CD while she gave birth. And you know what else, man?” Germain looked at Sean. “Topaz was ready to leave your child in another country.”

“Niki
is
my daughter?” Sean couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“No, she's my daughter.” Kyle jumped to his feet, unable to take any more.

“What do you mean your daughter?” Sean looked at Kyle like he was crazy.

“My name's on her birth certificate.” Kyle's fists were clenched. “That's how I mean my daughter.”

“Not for long, if she's my biological daughter,” Sean replied angrily.

“We'll see about that,” Kyle said.

“Yeah, we'll see,” Sean yelled.

“You always get what you want, but not this time, man,” Kyle told his brother. “Not this time.”

Germain looked at Kyle. “You were in on this too? You're supposed to be my boy.” Then he focused on Jade and gave her a lopsided grin. “I told you, we got played. You and me got a lot in common, darlin'. You know, we really need to hook up, Jade.”

“We really need to go home now, Germain,” Topaz declared firmly.

“What? Too hot in the kitchen for you, darlin'?” Germain stared at Topaz out of eyes glazed with alcohol and pain. “Go home by yourself, because I'm not going anywhere with you.” He finished the last of his drink. “Jade, let's you and me go out on the yacht. I'm sure Sean won't mind. He owes me that much.”

“You're disgusting.” Jade sneered at Germain.

“Germain, let's go home now.” Topaz reached for his hand, and he yelled at her.

“I told you to go home or wherever it is you want to go by yourself. You don't need me. I'm hanging out here with my girl, Jade.”

“Come on, doc. Let's get you out of here.” Kyle's emotions were mixed. He hated seeing his best friend in so much pain. “You ride with me and Niki. Nina, you go with Topaz.”

“Are you sure you're able to drive?” Nina asked Kyle. “You were hitting that rum pretty hard.”

“I can drive,” Kyle reassured her.

“Why don't you let Niki ride in the limo with Nina?” Sean suggested.

“I don't believe you, Sean,” Jade screamed.

“What?” Sean looked surprised.

“Who the hell are you, head of transportation?” Jade shouted.

“Is it wrong for me to want my family to get home safely, Jade?” Sean asked.

“You are not Niki's father, so just stay out of this,” Kyle yelled at his brother.

“Can we please go home?” Topaz was falling apart. Her marriage was going down the tubes in front of everyone, and she had never seen Germain that drunk nor had he ever been this angry with her.

“Don't you get any ideas about taking my daughter away from me either, Topaz,” Kyle said. “You didn't want her, remember? You wanted to leave her in London.”

Nina was glad Kyle had spoken up about Niki's being his daughter. She had been afraid to admit, even to herself, that losing Niki had become a huge unspoken fear.

But Niki was the last thing on Topaz's mind as her eyes brimmed with tears. She had fought them back as long as she could. Now they were determined to flow, but she was not going to break down in front of everyone. Not here and not now, so she quickly brushed the tears from her eyes.

Jade walked up to Topaz and slapped her as hard as she could. “You skanky-ass ho.”

Topaz stood there frozen and obviously in shock. Her mind raced in so many directions with so many emotions. “You better get your woman before I hurt her, Sean,” Topaz managed to say. Normally, Topaz would have fought Jade, but right now she was more concerned with Germain than she was with Jade slapping her.
Where the hell did he get all of that information?

Jade slowly turned around and faced her husband. “Happy birthday, Sean. Happy birthday to you,” she sang and broke into tears.

Kendra tiptoed back upstairs to the bedroom where Niki was sound asleep and climbed into bed. Unbeknownst to anyone, she heard and saw everything.

I
t was just about two in the morning when Topaz and Nina were driven away from the ranch. Topaz began crying as soon as her driver closed her door. It was amazing…in less than two hours, the world she knew was ripped apart. Somehow, deep down in her heart, Topaz knew things would never be the same. Nina felt helpless as she watched her cousin sobbing all over the backseat of her limousine.

“Everything's gonna be fine, T. You'll see,” Nina finally said, trying to convince herself as well.

“No, it's not,” Topaz screamed. “Nothing's ever going to be the same.”

“No, things won't ever be the same, but Germain will forgive you. He loves you.”

“No, he doesn't, Nina. Did you see how he treated me? He's never treated me like that before.”

“Germain had a lot to drink. You hurt him, Topaz. You hurt him really bad.”

Topaz cried a fresh batch of tears. “He hates me, Nina. Did you hear him asking Jade to have sex with him right in front of me?” Topaz's amber eyes were huge and wet with tears.

“Oh please. He's not interested in sleeping with Jade. He was just hurt and angry because you slept with Sean.”

“But he said we weren't together then.” Topaz sniffed.

“You weren't together, but you had a baby, and you kept it a secret from him. He feels used. Why didn't you just tell him the truth that night when the reporter dropped that bomb at the release party?”

“I was afraid that he would leave me. I'll die if Germain leaves me.” Topaz broke into tears again. “He's gonna divorce me, Nina. I just know it.”

Nina's BlackBerry rang. She checked the caller ID thinking it might be Kyle and saw that it was Keisha. “Hey, girl.” Nina was tired. It had been a very long day and even a longer night.

“How's T?” Keisha sounded equally tired.

Nina held the phone over Topaz for a moment so Keisha could hear her. She was still sobbing, and Nina put the phone back to her ear.

“Let me try to talk to her,” Keisha said.

“Good luck.” Nina moved closer to her cousin and gently shook her. “Keisha's on the phone, Topaz.”

“I don't want to talk to anybody but Germain,” Topaz wailed.

“Did you hear her?” Nina asked wearily.

“Yeah, I hear her. Poor thing. I told her to tell Germain before this thing blew up in her face.”

“I wish she had listened to you. I haven't had a decent night of sleep since the release party.”

“Me neither.”

“I feel so guilty, especially about keeping everything from Germain. I didn't know him back then. Now he's my brother and a great friend.”

“It's a mess…a huge mess.”

“How's Jade?” Nina inquired, changing the subject before she began to cry too.

“She locked Sean out of their bedroom.”

“Why is Jade tripping?”

“She's hurting and she feels betrayed.”

“Rightfully so.”

“Just like Germain.” Keisha was doing her best to hold back the tears as well.

Nina quickly wiped away a tear while Topaz cried from the depths of her soul. She knew how much her cousin loved Germain, but what seemed like a brilliant idea at the time—concealing Niki's true parentage—had turned into a nightmare. It was amazing how one decision had touched and affected every last one of the friends' lives.

“Nina.” Keisha broke the silence.

“Huh?” Keisha's voice jolted Nina out of her thoughts. Nina had even forgotten she was on the phone.

“Are you guys sure this is Sean's baby?”

“Who else's could she be?” Nina sat up straight in her seat.

“Germain's.”

“Germain's? How?” All of a sudden a conversation Nina had with Topaz resurfaced in her mind. They were sitting by the pool at the house in Bel Air where Topaz first told Nina she was pregnant and unsure of who the baby's father was.

“You are so ghetto, not knowing who your baby's daddy is.” Nina had laughed at the time, until Topaz told her she had been intimate with Sean and Germain. But, after the baby was born with dark skin and hair, they both knew Niki had to be Sean's child.

“Did you guys ever have a paternity test done to find out who is really Niki's father?”

Nina's mind was racing as she pondered Keisha's words. Niki changed so much that first year. Her skin and hair had lightened, and now that she thought about it, Niki looked nothing like Sean. Nina hadn't given it much thought because it never really mattered to her. Because in her heart and mind…Niki was her daughter.

“Nina, did you guys have a paternity test done?”

Nina's throat closed up and she was unable to speak.

“Nina, are you still there?”

“No.” Nina's voice cracked as she whispered her response.

“You never had a paternity test?” Keisha repeated.

Nina shook her head, unable to speak. Tears flowed from her eyes as she tried not to think the unimaginable.
Niki was Germain's daughter?

When Keisha heard Nina's sniffles, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh my God. I can't believe you guys made a decision like that and never bothered to find out the truth. I'll talk to Sean and Germain and get their permission for my dad to do a paternity test. I'll be home on Sunday. Tell T to call me.” Keisha hung up, and Nina looked at Topaz, who had cried during the entire drive from Santa Barbara to Pacific Palisades.

The limousine pulled into the driveway and stopped. Marko opened the door and greeted them cheerfully at four that morning. “We're home, ladies.”

Topaz dragged herself from the backseat and stumbled up the walkway into the house. Nina followed, opting to remain in the kitchen while Topaz mounted the stairs to her bedroom with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Nina speed dialed her husband's cell.

“Hey,” Kyle answered softly.

Nina tried to speak, but she couldn't, so she sat there crying in the dark.

“What's wrong, baby?”

Nina continued crying.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“What is it?”

“Germain is Niki's biological father,” Nina managed to say.

“Germain?”

“Yes.”

“Says who? Topaz?”

“No.”

“Then why would you say something like that?”

“Keisha…”

“What does Keisha have to do with this?”

“She asked if we had ever done a paternity test.”

“Why would you need to do that unless…”

“Topaz thought the baby was Germain's until she was born and turned out so dark.”

“You're telling me that she wasn't a hundred percent sure that the baby was my brother's?”

“We thought she was, Kyle.”

“Damn…I gotta go.” Kyle glanced over at Germain, who appeared to be sleeping.
Niki isn't your biological daughter, is she? She can't be.
He sighed long and hard as he slowly drove onto the Gradneys' property and parked. Things were becoming more complicated by the minute.

“Yo, man. We're at your crib.”

Germain opened his eyes and looked around at familiar surroundings before he opened the car door. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem, man.” Kyle watched Germain as he got out of the Escalade and disappeared inside the house.

Moments later, Nina ran out and jumped inside the SUV. She took one look at Kyle and broke into tears while Germain went downstairs to the family room and collapsed on the sofa.

Topaz's children returned home Sunday evening. She hadn't seen Germain since she left Santa Barbara, and the phone was unusually quiet.

“Where's Daddy?” Baby Doll demanded the minute she entered the house. “His car is missing.”

“He had to run an errand,” Topaz lied.

“Did he go to the Blockbuster?” Chris asked. “Sunday evening is movie night.”

Topaz picked at a salad and broiled sea bass. “Why don't you call your daddy and make sure he's bringing home the right movies.” Topaz managed a smile for her son.

“I'll call him.” Baby Doll ran to the telephone and quickly punched in the numbers.

“Is everything okay, Mom?” Chris sat down beside his mother.

Topaz's dazzling smile lit up her face, but the sparkle was missing from her eyes. “Everything's wonderful, baby. Why?”

“You just seem a little sad.” Chris looked into his mother's eyes.

Topaz pulled her son into her arms and kissed him as he snuggled up next to her. Even though he was almost a teenager, he still enjoyed being held in his mother's arms. “I'm not sad, Chris. I just have a lot of things on my mind.” She rested her chin on his head.

“What kind of things?” His legs were as long as Topaz's. He had also inherited his daddy's six-foot frame.

“Grown folks things. You know you're getting too big to sit in my lap.” Topaz was an expert at changing the subject when questions became uncomfortable for her. “What would your friends think if they saw you sitting here like this?”

“They'd be jealous because my friends are always saying ‘Your mom is so hot.'” Chris laughed.

“Boy, get away from me.” Topaz laughed happily as Baby Doll hung up the telephone and ran over to her mother and brother. Baby Doll tried to sit on Topaz's lap next to her brother.

“Daddy's coming with movies.” Baby Doll tussled with her brother for space on Topaz's lap. “He's bringing pineapple and pepperoni pizza, too.”

“Cool.” Chris jumped up and allowed Baby Doll to sit on their mother all by herself, but once Chris moved away, she quickly lost interest in the game. She watched her brother as he searched the fridge for Cokes. “Baby Doll, call Daddy and tell him we need Cokes.”

“I thought you guys weren't hungry.” Topaz looked at the children.

“We're always hungry for pizza, Mommy,” Baby Doll explained.

Baby Doll had just put popcorn and oil in the antique popper when Germain burst into the room with two large pizzas and a case of Coke.

“Daddy.” Germain could barely put down the pizza and soda before Baby Doll was in his arms. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, baby girl.” Germain gave Baby Doll a bear hug, and Topaz knew he had been drinking again.

“Hey, Dad.” Chris gave his father a hug. “Where are the movies?”

“Ooops. I must have left them in the car, son.” He served Baby Doll a slice of pizza and took a huge bite out of another slice.

“I'll go get them.” Chris raced out of the family room while Germain and Baby Doll ate pizza.

Topaz nervously tapped her foot. Germain hadn't spoken to her or even attempted eye contact. Chris returned with the DVDs and a box of Red Vines and some other candy.

“Here, Mom.” Chris gave her the box of licorice. “Dad bought your favorite candy.”

Topaz felt a lump forming in her throat.
I can't cry now, not here in front of the children
.

“Thanks, honey.” Topaz turned to smile at her husband.

“You're welcome, darlin',” Germain replied with absolutely no eye contact.

Darlin'?
That was so generic. Germain called every woman he met darling. It was part of his southern charm. But he had never called Topaz darlin'. A single tear pressed itself out of Topaz's eye, and she quickly wiped it away. There would be no battle between Topaz and tears tonight…not in front of the children.

“Dad, did you have a good time on Uncle Sean's yacht?” Chris asked.

“I sure did, son. Baby Doll, cut those lights off, baby. It's showtime.” Germain was becoming almost as good at performing as his wife.

Topaz was glad Germain told Baby Doll to turn off the lights. Germain grabbed her and sat on the sofa next to Chris.

When the movie was over Baby Doll was asleep. Chris got up and turned on the lights while Germain carried Baby Doll upstairs and put her in bed. Topaz stood up and stretched.

“I'm going up to my room and do some reading, Mom.” Chris was so much like Germain, it was scary sometimes. Not only did he look like his father, but he also had his ways.

“Did you finish your homework, baby?” Topaz smiled.

“Yes, Mom.”

“Good night, my sweet.” Topaz hugged and kissed her son.

“Are you sure you're okay, Mom?” Chris fixed an identical set of golden eyes on his mother again. “You were awfully quiet during the movie. We didn't have to tell you to be quiet one time because you were talking to the characters.”

“Yes, baby. I'm sure.” Topaz feigned a yawn. “I fell asleep during the movie. Now stop worrying about me. I'm the mother and it's my job to worry about you.”

“Okay, Mom. I'll see you in the morning. Love you.”

“I love you, too, baby.” Topaz blew kisses at Chris as he disappeared up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, she collapsed on the sofa like a rag doll.

Topaz was hoping Germain would come back downstairs so they could talk, but he never did. She finally went up to their suite, where she was surprised to find him in bed, reading.

“Don't get any ideas. I'm only lying here until the kids are asleep and then I'm going back downstairs.”

“Can't we talk about this?”

“There's nothing to talk about as far as I'm concerned.”

“Are you ever going to talk to me again?” Topaz was on the verge of tears.

“I haven't made up my mind yet.”

“Do you want a divorce, Germain?” Topaz had finally voiced her greatest fear.

“I said I haven't made up my mind yet.”

“Does that mean you're considering a divorce?”

“I just told you I don't know what I want. Damn, woman. Would you leave me the hell alone?” Germain jumped out of bed and grabbed his robe and book. “The kids should be asleep by now.” He left the room without another word, and Topaz cried until her pillow was soaked with tears. Exhausted, she finally fell asleep.