We pulled through the gates and Kaseem was already on the porch.
Not inside. Not waiting in the house. Actually standing on the porch like he'd been there the whole time, waiting for me.
The second the car came to a stop, he rushed down the steps. Opened my door before Sam could even get out.
"Come here," he said, and his voice was different. Not cold. Not controlled. Worried.
I got out and he pulled me straight into his chest. Wrapped his arms around me like he was trying to hold me together.
"You good? You good?" he asked, kissing the top of my head over and over. "Talk to me. What happened? Who hurt you?"
"I'm okay," I lied. My voice was shaking. "I just... I can't... I can't process what I just saw."
He didn't ask more questions. Just held me tighter and brought me inside.
---
Inside, he sat me down on the couch. Got me some water. Made me drink it even though my hands were shaking so bad the glass was rattling.
He didn't hover. Didn't push. He just stood there giving me space but not leaving me alone.
After a few minutes, when my breathing was a little more under control, he sat across from me. His elbows on his knees. His whole body leaning forward like he was trying to catch every word I was about to say.
"What happened?" he asked. "Who hurt you? Tell me who did this and I'll handle it."
I opened my mouth. I was about to tell him everything. About my aunt. About the extortion. About how I'd been paying her off for years. About how she was threatening to expose everything if I didn't keep paying.
But fear stopped me cold.
What if he thought I was a liability? What if he used it against me? What if this made him regret the proposal? What if he tried to take everything away from me?
I couldn't risk it.
So I backed out.
"I needed to talk to my father about something important," I said carefully. My voice was still shaky. "Something personal. So I went to his office without calling first."
Kaseem watched me. His jaw tight but his eyes soft.
"And when I got there..." I paused, trying to find the words. "He was with another woman. Not my mother. A woman named Lashara. And there was a little girl in the corner coloring. She looked just like him. Kaseem, I think... I think my father has been having an affair. For years probably."
I felt the tears starting again.
"And nobody knew. My mother doesn't know. My family doesn't know. And I don't even know how long this has been going on. That little girl looked like she was four or five years old. That means my father has been living a double life the whole time."
Kaseem rubbed his face with both hands. Let out a long breath like he was processing something heavy.
He was quiet for a long time. Just sitting there with his hands folded, his eyes closed.
When he opened his eyes and looked at me, something was different. He looked like he was about to tell me something that was going to change everything.
"I'm only telling you this because I want what we have to be built on truth," he said slowly. "You know who I am. You know what I do. You know everything that comes with me. I've never been able to lie. Lying is a trait of a scary nigga and that's not who I am. That's what I've always been taught. I keep it real with people I care about. Always."
My stomach was already dropping but I stayed quiet.
"So I'm about to keep it real with you right now," he continued. "This arrangement between us. The reason why this happened. The reason why your father had to give you up to me. It wasn't random. Yeah, it was about connections and business deals, but you were the price he agreed to pay.”
"What do you mean?" I asked, but I already knew I wasn't going to like the answer.
