Destiny: A Love Story Gone Terribly Wrong

By Danielle Forbes

Destiny didn't grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth by any means. She was born to a single parent named Maureen - Maureen experienced things, that no young girl ever should. However, she was not going allow history to repeat itself. Maureen was determined to raise Destiny to be a child after Gods own heart, but when Destiny reaches her teenage years, she decides that she wants a different life for herself. That's when Destiny leaves life as she's known and returns to her old neighborhood, to show her "schoolgirl crush" Romeo, that she is no longer the little girl that lived across the hall; That is where life of the sweet choir girl ends, and all her problems begin. Get your tissues ready, as you prepare for an ending you never saw coming! Destiny is a must read! From start to finish, this book will grab you and never let you go! Destiny will have you on the edge of your seat! Danielle Forbes is brilliant as she tells a story that any parent, teenager and adolescent can relate to. Your heart will pound as you read the story of a single mother, solely depending on her faith in God to free her only child from the hands of a dangerous man, but Romeo isn't giving up that easily. He is determined to show Destiny how to survive and live life on the streets by any means necessary. Train up a child.... Proverbs 22:6

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644715499

Book preview

Acknowledgments

First and Foremost, I have to thank God. Thank you for giving me the strength, as well as the encouragement and dedication to see this project through and not give up. There were many times where I felt like my writing was in vain, but The Lord spoke directly to my heart and said Keep Going.

I must also thank my family for being the tough crowd that family can sometimes be. You all played a major part in the completion of this project.

To my daughters, Markisha and Myari, as well as my babies; William, Lailah and Braelyn. I love you very much and I feel that God has chosen me to be the role model in your lives to encourage you to follow your dreams, no matter how far-fetched or crazy it may sound to others. Keep going and never give up!

I would also like to thank two of my closest friends; Jay Sims, and Rebecca Freeman for always encouraging me to stay the course, no matter the cost.

Last but certainly not least; my parents Ursula Riggins and Danny Adamson. I would like to thank both of you for the wonderful genes and character traits that went into the making of me. I’m blessed to call you both my parents.

I pray that all who read this book will be blessed and will see God for who he really is, and will allow him into your lives and into your hearts. There is no sin that our Lord and Savior can’t wash away to make you whole and transform your mind to live your God-given purpose on earth.

Ms. Danielle Forbes

Prologue

You ready to do this? Romeo said to Destiny as he pulled down his black ski mask, revealing only his big brown hazel eyes while loading the semiautomatic and parked outside the Fifth National Bank and Trust.

Destiny looked over at Romeo with her beautiful dark deep-set almond-shaped eyes after putting on the blond wig and baseball cap and tucking in her naturally long black wavy hair. I’m ready, Destiny said as they jumped out of the silver minivan that they used when they went out on these bank-robbing sprees. But this one wasn’t going to go as smooth as the other robberies—something was about to go terribly wrong.

*****

You are going to be late for Sunday school, Destiny! Hurry up and brush your teeth so that I can brush your hair before we go.

Yes, Momma, answered the sweet and beautiful mild-mannered little girl that loved to go to church with her mom, Maureen, each and every Sunday.

Destiny was Maureen’s only child, and the fact that Maureen was a victim of rape five years earlier, she raised Destiny on her own.

Destiny would sometimes ask, Why doesn’t daddy ever come see me? Maureen told her that her dad died when she was born because she didn’t think that Destiny could understand that she was a child born to a victim of rape.

Maureen promised herself when Destiny became a teenager and could understand what it meant to be raped, she would explain to Destiny that she had been raped by her late mother’s, Shirley’s, boyfriend, Steve, when she was just sixteen years of age and that Destiny was a child born under those unfortunate circumstances.

Five years earlier

Although it was very hard at times for Maureen to bear the circumstances of her pregnancy, she refused to even think about aborting her unborn child or giving the child up for adoption.

Maureen was determined to have her baby and give her the life that she had always wanted and dreamed of. She was determined to hold true to the Bible scripture, Train up a child in the way they should go. And when they are older, they won’t part from it. She would always hear the pastor say to all of the parents when she would attend church with her mother.

Maureen would often fight with her mom, Shirley (God rest her soul), when Shirley would say, It was all your fault that Steve got you pregnant. If you weren’t parading around the house half-dressed like a little slut, none of this would have ever happened.

Chapter 1

Steve was Shirley’s live-in boyfriend of one year. Steve would often come in late at night, drunk, start fights, and complain that Shirley never wanted to have sex with him. When the truth of the matter was, he would always call her fat and ugly. And as a result of that, she suffered low self-esteem and didn’t feel attractive enough to engage in any sexual relations with him.

One late night when Steve had come home from one of his drunken nights at the bar, he walked right pass the bedroom where he and Shirley slept and quietly opened Maureen’s door and crept in. He tiptoed over to her bed where she was sleeping soundly, placed his hand over her mouth and whispered, shhh don’t try to scream or I will cut you with this knife."

Maureen was completely startled that the 6'5 310 lb. Steve was laying over her petite 5'5 110 lb. frame.

Why are you doing this? Maureen said to Steve in a frightened and tearful voice after he removed his hand from her mouth to lift up her pink ruffle nightgown that she slept in every night.

I said shut up! Steve said as he began to unzip his pants. Maureen could smell the whiskey on his breath as she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out what was really happening. She was afraid to scream as Steve told her that if she did, he would cut her.

Chapter 2

One year later

I know we had our share of ups and downs, and despite everything, Momma, I’m really gonna miss you, the now seventeen-year-old Maureen thought out loud as she placed flowers on her mother’s, Shirley’s, grave.

Shirley died just six months after her daughter, Maureen, moved out of their little house that sat somewhat secluded in the woods after Shirley had slapped Maureen and blamed her for everything that had gone wrong between her and her rapist boyfriend, Steve.

Shirley just couldn’t come to grips that her daughter and only child had been raped and was not only carrying a child but was also going to birth a child to the man that she once cared so deeply for, in spite of his alcohol abuse (and every form of abuse for that matter).

She found it too much to bear, so one day, she decided to take a bottle of pain pills that had been prescribed weeks earlier to her for a broken ankle that she suffered when Steve pushed her down a flight of stairs during a fight that they had after one of his drunken rages.

Maureen had been staying in a women’s shelter for broken homes with her newborn daughter, Destiny, that she adored with every ounce of her being.

Destiny was perfect in her young mom’s eyes. Destiny was a good baby as well. She hardly ever cried. And it would melt Maureen’s heart every time her baby stared at her with those dark-brown, almond-shaped eyes, beautiful round face, and thick black wavy/curly hair that she would brush all day, as if Destiny were a baby doll.

She couldn’t believe that it was possible to give birth to something so beautiful and perfect in spite of the ugly circumstances that she had to endure, which is why she named her baby girl Destiny. In spite of her rough childhood and adolescence years, Maureen felt it was her destiny to be the best mom she could be, and she vowed to never put a man before her child.

Maureen wished that she had the support of her mom, Shirley. After all, like it or not, Shirley was a grandmother, and she wanted her to see her beautiful granddaughter that she would probably fall in love with at first glance. Destiny was so beautiful, and she even resembled her mom’s, Shirley’s, baby pictures. Maureen wanted so bad to bury the bad blood between her and her mother. It was driving her crazy that she hadn’t seen her mom since she had given birth to Destiny six months ago, not even a phone call or anything.

It was at that moment that Maureen decided to be the bigger person and reach out to her mom. So she