"I mean when I think about what it really is, I ain’t never had to force a bitch to do shit,” I said. "And I'm forcing her. That ain't sitting right with me. I think about how I'd feel if somebody was making decisions for me. If I was forced to be with a muthafucka and I wasn’t the one benefiting from the shit. That shit would be hell."
Namier was quiet for a second.
"So what you gonna do?" he asked.
"I know this might sound crazy," I said, "but I want to buy her a ring and ask her to marry me. Give her the option. Let her decide if she really wants to do this or not. Then go from there."
Namier looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"So you gonna let her leave if she says no?" he asked.
"Hell nah, nigga.” I said. "But from then on, I'll know how to treat her. I won't be getting close to her on no personal level once I find out that this shit ain't what she wants."
Namier laughed.
"Man, you really catching feelings," he said. “You might as well do the shit tonight," he continued. "Let's stop and get a ring after we unload all this work."
He was joking. I could tell. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.
"That's actually a good idea, lil brudda.” I said.
"Wait, for real?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "For real."
“Man, I’ve seen and heard it all. I thought it was a lie when I heard you beat a nigga damn near to death behind her, but I see that shit was real. Man, don’t let the parents get wind of that shit either while you falling in love, being reckless and shit.” he spat, making me remember that I still needed to get that shit cleared up andout the media.
---
After we unloaded everything at the safe house, we headed downtown to the jeweler.
The owner knew me. So he allowed me to peep at some exclusive shit that he hadn’t put on the floor yet. Thirty minutes later, I was walking out with a custom, platinum, teardrop diamond ring. Three carats. Simple. Elegant.
While Namier was handling some last-minute business on his phone, I called my chef.
"I need dinner ready by 8pm," I said. "Something nice, lamb chops or some shit."
"Understood," she said.
I told Mars to have one of the guards tell Tattiana to be ready by 8pm for dinner. No details. Just that she needed to be ready and dressed.
When I got back in the truck with Namier, he was already smiling.
"So you really doing this?" he asked.
"Helll Yeah," I said.
"What you gonna say to her?" he asked.
"I don't know yet. Hopefully the shit will just come to me.” I said.
"Just keep it real with her," Namier said. "If it's meant to be, it will be. And it's not like you're gonna let her go anyway, so just do what you're gonna do."
He was right. Her ass wasn’t going nowhere regardless. I’d never put myself out there for a woman to reject me, so I was hoping that everything went right. If not, I did not know how I would react.
---
When we pulled up to the compound, Namier stopped before he got out.
