He stopped walking and hovered over me. “His chick is a lil’ weird.”
“A lil,” I retorted.
“Something is off about her. But for now, ignore them. Remember I said I ain’t tryna ruin this special day. But if all they are doing is staring, it gotta be because they see how beautiful you are.”
I blushed.
My husband and I were going to be straight. It had been a while, but I had that little butterfly feeling I used to always get when I was around him before this nightmare started. I decided to listen to my man and follow his lead.
Reason was right; I was a bad bitch. Them hoes had to be hating.
CHAPTER 31
REASON
Saje was a muthafuckin’ trip. After being with her for all these years, this was a side of her I never experienced, and I didn’t like it. If this person I was looking at was who she really was beneath the surface, she had done a mighty fine job masking this shit. She hadn’t been here long, and I had witnessed her emotions go up and down more times than I could count. She thought she was playing it off, but I saw right through the faux smile.
All this time, I thought her nerves were bad because we were becoming first-time parents, along with the thought of her not being able to carry my seed. Now I wasn’t so sure. Something was nagging at me, but I didn’t know what it was, and I hated that it was happening now at the gender reveal.
To distract myself, I pulled Saje away from the intense back and forth stares between her, Basheer’s girlfriend, and the woman who I now knew was someone who worked at her job. I tried to ease the tension and thought it would erase whatever I was feeling, but it did nothing to clear my mind. But for the sake of this event, I would deal with it later. Now was not the time.
Because I wanted Saje to feel special despite our situation, I had her in mind when I told Basheer to tell the event plannerwhat my inspiration was. I knew how much Saje loved flowers and how deeply she loved everything luxurious, so I kept the colors neutral since we didn’t know what we were having yet. With Khésha’s help, the event planner transformed the yacht into a floating luxury garden. They had executed what I had envisioned.
My mama and Doc walked up to us, and Saje walked away. She couldn’t even hide her disgust for my mother if she wanted to.
“Son, there’s no point in that ungrateful woman being here. She can’t even appreciate the lengths you go to for her conniving ass.”
For the first time, I decided to ask my mama what she saw that I hadn’t. “Ma, what is it about Saje that makes you dislike her so much?” I knew I said I wanted to focus on the event and worry about everything else when this was over, but I needed clarity.
“Baby, I don’t have proof per se. I’m only going off my womanly instincts. When you first brought her home to meet me, her aura felt dark. Something felt off about her, and she reminded me of the sneaky girls I used to know back in high school. They gave off the appearance of innocence, but behind closed doors, they were doing everything that wasn’t innocent. And Saje has that same look in her eyes like they did.”
My thoughts felt heavier than before. Was my mama right? Did I not know the woman I married? Was Saje like the women she described?
In the middle of my internal confusion about who the fuck I married, a young woman appeared on the yacht. Something about her looked familiar, but she wasn’t someone I knew, and she definitely wasn’t someone I invited.
She looked around first, and when she spotted her target, she trekked across the yacht. Her bone-straight hair bouncedagainst her back as she marched toward Basheer. She looked like she was on a mission. Being a man who observed everything, I noticed right away how Basheer’s woman perked up, nudged her cousin’s side, and they both smirked while taking a sip of their mimosas.
Basheer didn’t notice the young lady at first, but when he finally turned around, his eyes widened. He stood frozen, looking around like he was trying to see if anyone else noticed her. His drink almost slipped out of his hand, but he caught it in time.
I moved toward them, wanting to stay close and find out who the stranger was and why she was here.
“Daddy, what is going on?”
Daddy? Basheer ain’t have no kids.
Basheer looked scared, which made me even more curious about what the fuck was happening. He hurriedly set his glass on the table and grabbed the young woman by the elbow, trying to guide her off the boat. But the young girl was determined to get an answer right then and there.
“Why are you acting so weird, Dad? Someone bought me a plane ticket to Miami and an invitation. Whose gender reveal is this?”
She had many questions, and Basheer had no answers. He was more concerned with trying to push her toward the exit. I saw his lips moving like he was whispering something to her. Her brows connected as she looked more confused than ever. I had observed long enough; it was time to intervene. As I moved in on them, Saje emerged from the restroom and stepped back onto the deck. The young woman and Basheer immediately caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks, her hand flying to her chest like she wanted to turn around and run.
What the fuck?
I was now standing next to Basheer and the woman.
“Yo, Basheer. Who this?”
I went on alert when Basheer couldn’t even look me in the eyes.
