“Agh!” she whimpered, wincing from the formidable grip Alba had on her scalp.
“Nah, bitch! Don’t cry now!” Alba harshly interjected, egging her on.
Stepping in, it was like being in the middle of the ring between two lionesses. It took most of my strength to pry Alba from Harmonie, but she kept coming for her as I shoved her back as far as I could before she made me a fucking target.
“Pssh, no wonder he can’t stop banging my back out. You are fucking crazy.” Harmonie ran her fingers through her hair and caught her breath. “Must hurt to know he don’t really want you. The only thing keeping him around is that baby. So I guess your trap worked. But trust, he wouldn’t be sneaking around with me if he was satisfied at home.” Harmonie anchored a hand on her hip, and Alba attempted to lunge past me.
Harmonie backtracked to the door, seeing the rage building behind Alba’s scorned glare.
“Bitch, don’t forget I know where you live. Right in daddy’s house because you ain’t shit but a sack-chasing whore!” Alba shrieked.
Trembling, and with her skin on fire, she shoved me off of her as Harmonie opened to the door.
“I guess it does take one to know one, huh?” The singsong tone only infuriated Alba more.
She was practically foaming like an overdosed addict trying to get to this bitch, but it was to no avail. Harmonie winked at me on her way to the door, and as soon as I faced Alba, she smacked fire from a nigga. The loud sound filled the room, and my cheek stung like a brick had been slapped across my flesh. A nigga was stuck with his eyes to the ground before I could even attempt to look at her. My temper wasn’t set up for this shit, so she was bound to catch these palms back. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I slammed her into a nearby wall and got in her face.
“Don’t you ever put your fucking hands on me again,” I forewarned, jaw tightening.
“Get the fuck off of me. Matter of fact, get out! Go chase after your hoe! You couldn’t have Harbor, so you decided to go after whatever you could, huh? I hope that bitch was worth it to you. Get ready to see the judge and get this paperwork. I’m about to put you on child support for the next eighteen-plus years, and I want full custody!”
“You threatening to take my daughter from me?” My brows dipped, forehead creased and eyes narrowed at her with crazy calmness.
“You did this, Lock! You betrayed our relationship! So fuck you! You don’t scare me, nigga! Our mamas were best friends, and I know about all of your skeletons!” Her nose wrinkled in contempt, and she snarled at me with a cloud of darkness resting in her irises that I’d never seen.
She was like my walking diary, if a nigga ever kept one. I would sit up late nights with her after coming off the block and spill all my shit. Most of the time, she would fall asleep; at least I always thought that until this very moment.Pillow talking could get you fucked off.That’s what all the OGs used to tell us. Alba knew parts of me that not even my mama or Harbor had ever touched on.
“I’ll leave. I fucked up. But this isn’t the end, and if you try to keep me from my fucking daughter, you’ll end up somewhere with the rest of the fucking skeletons. We clear?” She withdrew from me, her eyes lighting up while I watched goose bumps appear on her skin.
She knew how I gave it up. I wasn’t done with Harmonie’s ass though. She had plenty of atonements to make with me, and I wasn’t feeling the least bit merciful.
“Alot of ways to love you… teach me through your eyes…”
A few weeks later…
Harbor
I was accustomedto a certain lifestyle after being with Frequency going on almost two years now. And I refused to go back to anything under that. Since I was in the real estate business, it wasn’t difficult to find a place to stay. After news broke of everything with Frequency, his estate was always surrounded with reporters trying to out scoop the next. It wasdraining trying to live everyday life, taking the twins to doctor’s appointments and dodging the paparazzi. Suddenly, I knew exactly what celebrities felt like, and it was suffocating. The apartment I ended up leasing for myself took the entire seventh floor, and it was just enough room for me and the twins. At first, I was hesitant about moving out. but Frequency and his confusion were enough to push me right out the door. I no longer felt like a priority. I was questioning my position in his life, and it was unsettling.
Everything happened so abruptly that it disrupted everything. The twins were finally on a schedule at home, and now that I had them by myself, they were tag teaming me, and none of us were getting any sleep. I still had maternity time for work, and Chevy was keeping busy along with a new girl that she hired, but my days were running together, and I felt like I was losing my mind. I wanted to get back to work, but I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to go back into that office setting. Selling houses was great, but the market was demanding, and I was focused on other things. Dance for one. I wanted to get back to me. It was the only thing that gave me complete peace without asking for anything in return. Celine had been checking on me every day, five times or more. I was lying to her about keeping it together because I didn’t want to feel like a failure. Ivy was upset about the separation, and now she wasn’t even excited about the party being planned for her.
I couldn’t let her down. Everything was set for her event, and the house was about to be flooded with all kinds of people. Frequency wasn’t even emotionally equipped to deal with people like that. He hated even being around anyone too long; that much I was sure of. The last thing I wanted to do was be one of those people that let Ivy down. There was a light tap at the door, pulling me from my focus on wrapping Ivy’s gifts inside the vast living room. I stuffed the last one inside a big party bag.Dragging myself to my feet, I took a few steps toward the foyer and checked the peephole before opening the door. D stood on the other side. He had been kind enough to stick with me since leaving the estate, and I was grateful for it. At this point, I don’t think I could get rid of him if I tried.
“They just called from the front desk. Boss is on his way up,” he informed me, and my heart betrayed me by thudding in my chest excitedly.
I didn’t want to react to hearing that Frequency was in the building, but not long ago, I got this surge of energy that told me something was amiss somewhere. I nodded and closed the door behind him. Pausing in the mirror in the hallway, I ran my fingers through my wild hair. I looked like I had been caught up in a storm. My face was bare and hair was wild, although pulled back into a messy bun on top. I even wore a pair of reading glasses on top of my head.
The pajama pants and ruffled T-shirt were a clear sign that I had been lazy all damn day today, along with the spit-up that stained me. I even smelled like baby puke. Shit was real around here. I bolted up the steps to my bedroom and stripped out of my clothes. I didn’t even have a damn bra on. It was easier to nurse throughout the day without one. Ripping through the clothes in my drawers, I came across a pair of Nike stretch pants and a matching black tank top. Standing in the full-length mirror, I did a once-over of my reflection. Taking the ponytail out, I ran my fingers through my hair and redid the bun to make it more presentable.
“Harbor!” Ivy’s voice called out to me from below.
“Coming!” I retorted, rushing to the door.
I caught my breath before starting down the steps. When I appeared at the top, I could look over the railing into the lavish living room setup. Ivy traipsed around the living room in her dance uniform, checking out the knickknacks and artwork thataccented the apartment. Her hand swiped an item here and there, but she wasn’t smiling. I could tell from where I stood that she was in one of her melancholy moods, despite her birthday being so close.
Frequency stood at the bottom of the steps, inhaling deeply as his expression softened. He held our son in his arms, and I could see Maze’s little hands reaching up for his daddy, warming my heart and frazzling my spirit at the same time. I took the steps slowly, holding the railing. I felt possession the minute that I saw them together. This world had become all that I knew. I was so deeply rooted in this that I was bearing my own fruit and everything; my children were proof of that. His darkened eyes either couldn’t or wouldn’t pull away from me. Analyzing me, he trying to check my temp. This wasn’t the first time that he had stopped by, and we were cordial, but I was indifferent.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have a shopping spree to be on?” I greeted Ivy with open arms, stepping right past Frequency.
