Chapter One
JAZZLYN
The inkthat signed my name on the dotted line dried as a wide-stretched smile canvassed my face. I slid the certificate across the oak table to Ahkeem, who was standing right beside me with his hand in mine.
“Jazzlyn, you meant that shit when you said forever?” he asked with a smirk plastered on his handsome face.
Confidently, I nodded. “Forever, Ahk.”
He took the pen and inked his name right next to mine.
“By the authority vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The judge slammed his gavel with a proud smile, prompting a wave of cheers to overtake the court room.
Typically, a courtroom wedding would have only called for two witnesses, but with families like mine and Ahk’s, we rolled through the courthouse deep as hell. We had family arguing about who would be the witnesses that signed the certificate alongside us. We settled on it being Priest and Ahk’s best friend, Jersey.
Ahk ain’t waste no time snatching me up and crashing his lips into mine. I was his wife now; he had free reign to do shit like that. Who would have fucking thought, me, Jazzlyn, theyoung, spoiled, boujie bitch who was running wild in New York just a few years ago would be a wife?
With time came maturity, and I soon realized I needed to buckle down and think about my forever. It dawned on me that there was no forever without Ahkeem. That man was everything to me. He loved me, catered to my every need, and damn near worshipped the ground I walked on.
Over the past five years we had been together, shit wasn’t all rainbow and sparkles, but there was no one else on this planet I would do life with other than him. Ahk was my somebody, and the minute he slid that big-ass rock on my finger, I said to hell with planning a wedding. We rode in a black truck to the courthouse and did everything we needed to do for me to go from Jazzlyn Kinza Barette toJazzlyn Kinza Hendrix.
“Congratulations! You finally out my fucking hair,” Priest jested with a laugh as he pulled me into a hug.
It was safe to say my brother was ecstatic about me marrying Ahkeem. He loved him like a brother. Unbeknownst to me, Ahk asked him for his blessing, and Priest gave him the green light so fucking fast, Ahk could barely finish his sentence.
“Shut up! Just because I’m married now, that doesn’t mean I can’t be your annoying baby sister.”
He let out a heavy sigh as he took a step back to just look at me. He was proud, and that was all I ever wanted. He had done so much for me, and I just wanted him to know his sacrifices weren’t in vain. He was the standard to me. The way he loved me, took care of me and protected me was what I used to discern if Ahk was the one. Ahkwasthe one, and I was just so happy my brother approved of it.
“I’m proud of you, Jazzy. For real. You did good marrying this scrub.” He lightly punched Ahk’s arm.
Ahkeem laughed before putting his arm around my shoulder. “Aye, chill with all the hazing. I’m in the family now.”
“You damn right. Welcome to the family, kid.” He pulled Ahk into an embrace.
Seeing the two most important men in my life share a moment pulled at my heart strings. They meant everything to me.
“PJ, you know I told you and Genesis there was no more screen time for the day.” Britain approached us, dragging my sneaky-ass nephew with one hand while she had Priest’s phone in the other.
Priest looked up at the ceiling, sending a short prayer to God since his son had gotten caught and now, he had to deal with his wife’s wrath. “Gioia, he was getting antsy during the ceremony. If I ain’t give it to him, he would have been running up and down this joint.”
She smacked her lips, a clear indication that she would deal with him later. “Go to your father.” She released Genesis’ hand so he could go to Priest. Once she was relieved from the job of playing bad cop with her son, her eyes lit up. “Congratulations, you guys!” She scurried over to Ahk and me as fast as her rounded belly would let her.
You heard right. Priest gave her four years before knocking her up again. He was so in love with his son that he made a game plan for his daughter. It took a lot of convincing, but Britain gave in, and now she was six months pregnant with their baby girl, Eden.
“Thank you, sis.” I hugged her tightly while swaying side to side. She then went ahead and shared a hug with Ahk.
“You guys, let’s talk honeymoon! P and I went to the Maldives last summer, and it was gorgeous! We bought a villa out there, right on the water. Let us treat you guys with a trip, all expenses paid,” she rattled out, excitement gushing out of her. My sister-in-law was always full of joy and happiness. How sheended up with a grouch like my brother was beyond me, but they were a match made in heaven.
“Woah! She married! She ain’t in my pockets no more. Y’all can use the house, but expenses paid for? That’s wild,” Priest stepped in.
Britain side eyed him, making us laugh. “P, shut up. Like I said, all expenses paid. Consider it a wedding gift.”
“Thanks, sis, but I already got some shit set up for my baby.” Ahk smirked confidently.
This was news to me. He knew I loved a good surprise, so he had my eyes wide as I gasped. “For real?! Where we going?!”
He chuckled before dropping a kiss on my cheek. “You’ll see. Bags already packed. We leave tomorrow morning.”
