“Please, there will be so many people around here?—”
“Yeah, looks like you can get lost around here,” Harmonie acknowledged, eyes scanning the room appreciatively.
The ceilings were high, crafted with moldings like a castle. Every detail stood out.
“Harmonie, let’s go grab a seat outside.” I nudged her along, and we made our way onto the terrace.
There were several tables with umbrellas set up. The airbrushed glass tops had a bunch of disposable cameras for pictures to be taken. Each centerpiece was a large glass candleholder filled with black, gold, and white confetti, and in the center was a picture of a beautiful little girl. I assumed thiswas Ivy, the birthday girl. Her smile was like a ray of light, and her smooth milk-chocolate skin glowed.
“All this for a kid that isn’t hers?” Harmonie bounced a wriggly Junior on her lap. Seeing all the colors and different things he could mess with, he was got excited. “I see why she didn’t want to come back home. Look at this.” She waved her hand at the display of a carnival in the grand back yard.
“Harmonie—”
“What, Daddy? All this time and everything she’s done, and you still protecting her. Make it make sense.”
“You don’t understand.”
“What is it I don’t understand, hmm?” Anger had absolved her.
I always thought that Harmonie needed a little more attention than Harbor. So I gave her everything I could because my time was limited. It was the reason their mother would always leave. She got tired of being lonely. After getting tangled up with Arrow and Kutlass through the years, the lifestyle slowly sucked me in, even when they weren’t around applying pressure. The deep crease in her forehead and the dipping of her brows alerted me to her irrational state. She had short fuses, so it never took much to take her there.
“Do you know something? Have you been keeping it from me all this time?” she demanded.
It was official; Junior was out of her arms and on the ground. He was active as hell. Having a child in my old age was a challenging experience, but I loved that boy, and I had wanted a son all my adult life. He got down on all fours at his sister’s feet and then sat right down on his bottom to play with a balloon. There was a sea of them floating around the yard.
“This ain’t the time or place for this, Harmonie.”
“Oh, I think it’s the perfect damn time to air everything out,” she sneered, eyes scanning the crowd as people poured in for the party.
My daughter abruptly brought herself to her feet, and before she could even straighten her fucking back, I seized her wrist and kept her in front of me. With one hard glare, it shook her, and she didn’t budge.
“Sit your ass down,” I told her, my teeth gritted together tightly.
“I’m going to get a drink. Calm down,” she insisted, yanking from my grip and turning toward the house.
While she was gone, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I went to retrieve it. Junior peered up at me with big, curious eyes, but he didn’t budge from where he was sitting as he starting swinging his arms happily. Staring at the screen, I saw a text message had been delivered. A slight grimace of confusion filled my face, and I went to check the message. What came across the screen brought my blood pressure up, and my adrenaline overwhelmed me as murderous thoughts filled my head. I had Ohan tailing Chaya just for shits and giggles and to appease my own suspicious mind. When I followed her, everything seemed legit, but the images I scrolled through now were proof that she was on some pure fuck shit. Nostrils flaring, blood warmed my veins coursing through me.
Chaya was entering a hotel with another man escorting her as if he were very familiar with her. Head low with a baseball cap concealing her, she didn’t look scared. My phone rang next, and Ohan was on my line.
“The fuck is this?” I didn’t have any patience.
“Just doing what you asked. How you want me to move on this?” Ohan queried.
Staring down into my son’s innocent face, I was conflicted. With Halo, I snapped, and now, she was no longer here. I didn’twant to make the same mistake twice. Betrayal was not some shit I took lightly, and you got only one chance to have me looking like a fool. Chaya’s time was up. Seeing the truth only assured me that I’d been right all this time, and she was on some sneaky link shit.
“Stay on her. I’m doing something else right now. If she leaves, let me know. I’ll call you when I’m done. And find out who this mothafucka is,” I instructed before hanging up.
“Dada.” Junior began crawling toward me, and I scooped him into my lap.
“What’s up, man? Daddy’s here, and I’m not going anywhere,” I insisted while he peered up into my face.
Not too much later, the party was in full swing. The guests were here, and we all gathered on the patio for the birthday girl to emerge. Harbor stood with Frequency at his side as Ivy slowly paraded through the back sliding doors and onto the terrace.
“Happy birthday!” the crowd cheered for her, and she beamed happily. Doing a curtsy in her black ruffled skirt, yellow bodysuit, and black customized jacket she posed then waved to her audience.
Two feed in braids crowned her head and draped down her back. I noticed Harmonie in the background gripping a red plastic cup, but the envious stares she had on her own sister were alarming. I didn’t know how I’d never caught it in the past. I was so busy making sure that Harmonie didn’t get into trouble that I was a lot more relaxed on Harbor, but my expectations were high.
It was the opposite for Harmonie, and I allowed her to get away with a lot. She was, after all, twenty-five years old and still living at home with no real goals. There was another woman in the background, and I was curious about her because she, too, seemed rather caught up in Frequency and Harbor. Jealousy was heavy in the surrounding air. Harbor stepped up to Ivy,placing her arms over her shoulders and drawing her closer while facing the crowd. Frequency hung back, tilting his own plastic cup to his lips while his friend, Ledge, remained at his side doing the same.
