Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“What? How was that playing you? We all have nicknames. Lex, Ven, Shawn. Our family has called us by those names for years. I never knew you didn’t know we were all girls,” she snaps back.
“Whatever, where’s my son?”
“Your wife is my cousin? Lex, what the fuck? I came here to whip your ass for hurting my friend. You have a baby?” Skittles says in confusion.
“Baby, come here. I think we need to stay out of this one,” Pit says, grabbing Skittles by the arm.
“Daddy,” AJ squeals as he comes running around the corner.
I squat and catch him in my arms, holding him tightly as I bury my nose in his thick curls. Tears sting the backs of my eyes, and all the hurt starts to dig in as the truth is in my face.
“Ant, I can explain.”
“Don’t,” I seethe. “Don’t say a word to me.”
“Oh my God, Ox? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, but your ass ain’t my blood. You, I’mma fuck up,” Skittles growls as she tries to get free of Pit’s hold.
“Ven, Jenny was only helping me get my son to his father.”
“You’re Jenny?” I scoff. “The best friend. Damn, I was dumb for some pussy.”
“Please don’t be angry with her. She’s only ever tried to help. I didn’t want AJ not to know his dad.”
“You do that by coming back home,” Skittles snaps.
“I can’t,” Alexis screams. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Why not?” Pit asks as he narrows his eyes at her.
Alexis wraps her arms around her middle and slides down the wall as if this all just became too heavy. I glare at her. There’s no reason she can give for what she’s done that will make me forgive her.
“She’s being blackmailed to stay away. That’s why she left in the first place,” Kid whispers.
“Blackmailed by who?” I say in a voice so dark I don’t recognize it.
Alexis shakes her head. “I don’t know. I thought it was Thaddeus Pitman. He made the first call, but when I tried to come back once he was indicted, someone else called and threatened me not to step foot in Vander.”
“Why wouldn’t you come to me? You know who my family is. You could have said something when I was here or in Vegas. Alexis, I would have protected you.”
“You were so angry with me when you were here. Then in Vegas, everything happened so fast and then you threw me out.”
“What did you expect?” I bellow.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on with the bullshit. You’re my wife and when I bust my load in you, you stiffened like I was some piece of trash you didn’t want coming inside you.”
AJ bursts into tears in my arms. I look down at his pouting face and feel like shit. Not for what I’ve said, but because I’m doing this in front of him.
“Whoa, let me take my nephew. We’ll wait in the living room and let you two work this out,” Pit says, taking a confused-looking AJ from me. I release my son reluctantly. “Kid, show me where I’m going.”
“Don’t look at me, if Lex says you’re cool, I’ll hold off on that ass whipping for now,” Skittles says as Kid eyes her warily.
“I have only ever loved you. That night, I stiffened because we already had a son you didn’t know about. I wasn’t going to keep doing this. I couldn’t go through having a baby all by myself again.”
I ball my fists at my sides. If she would have told me, she wouldn’t have been by herself. I missed the birth of my son. He was what, five months old before I knew he existed?
“I did the best I could, Ant. I thought of every scenario I could—”
“All but the one where you came to me. Your husband. Cut the fucking act, you asked for a divorce. You were fucking that guy.”
“Fuck you, Anthony,” she yells and jumps to her feet. “I’ve never cheated on you. I never had any intention of asking for a divorce. You just showed up at the wrong time. You’re the only man I’ve ever known.”
“If you know me, you know you should have told me.” I punch my chest. “You could have called, sent me a fucking letter, shit, you could have had Kid tell me.”
“And have everyone we love go to jail?” she snarls.
I feel the blood drain from my face. “What?”
“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention. If I go back to Vander, you all go away. Your brother, your friends, your uncle, you. That’s why I ran. I’ve been protecting our friends and family. I’ve been protecting you.
“God, I love you so much. It has killed me to stay away. Having your baby was the one thing that’s kept me breathing because after seeing you, after sleeping with you again I was so depressed and defeated.