“Well, congratulations. They are beautiful, and I have no doubt they’ll be strong in no time. We must get them to NICU, but once Mama is up and alert, you’ll be able to come see them.”
Leaning over, Mahari looked at both girls and said, “No matter what, Daddy loves y’all. I’ll always be here. No one will ever change that.”
When Mahari cleaned up and went back out to the front, Savannah, Denver, and Justin had joined Lavender, waiting for Aspen to wake up. Now that Mahari had time to think things through, nothing was making sense to him. He needed answers, and he had a feeling who had them. To him, it was ironic that Justin was the one to tell him about Aspen being at the hospital.
Lance was nowhere to be found. They waited and waited, but he never showed. His absence was expected after the news he’d received. Still, Mahari thought it was odd. It was confirmed that the girls were his, so he assumed Lance would’ve shown face. Then again, he hadn’t Aspen’s entire pregnancy.
“How can you not show up for the birth of your children?” Savannah fussed with a shake of her head. “If Greg were here, he’d be livid.”
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” Denver stated. “He’s barely shown up for Aspen her entire pregnancy, so of course, he’s not here for the birth.”
“I know but goodness. For Aspen to need an emergency C-section means it was serious. If he was any type of man, he’d be right by her side regardless of them being broken up.” Savannah rocked back and forth in her chair while fanning herself. “I can feel my blood pressure going up.”
Mahari’s eyes landed on Justin, who remained silent. “So, Justin. Tell us what happened.”
Everyone’s gaze landed on Justin who sat up in his seat. He rubbed his hands together and said, “Lance knows what happened.”
“And so do you. Lance isn’t here, so speak on it,” Mahari demanded. His leg bounced as he tried keeping his cool. Justin was his cousin and best friend, but if he had to go toe-to-toe with him for trying to protect Lance, he would.
Before Justin could speak, a doctor came and let them know they could go back to see Aspen. When they got to her room, Mahari stood back and allowed her family and Lavender to get their love in. Tipping his head to the side, Mahari squinted to get a better look at Aspen. He thought his eyes were deceiving him, but the harder he looked, he knew they weren’t. It wasn’t something he noticed in surgery because he was too focused on the girls arrival. His locs roughly hit his face from how hard he turned his neck to glare at Justin.
Justin expelled a heavy sigh, and Mahari turned to leave the room.
“Mahari! Wait, mane,” Justin called out to him, but Mahari kept it pushing. Justin ran and stood in front of Mahari with his hands on his shoulders.
“Justin. Move before I move you.”
“No. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“How do you expect me to think clearly when Aspen has bruise marks around her fuckin’ neck, Justin! Lance did that shit, didn’t he?”
“Aspen needs you. Going out and doing whatever you’re thinking about doing isn’t the way to go. Does Lance need to be reprimanded for being dumb? Absolutely. Aspen told him about y’all. The shit hit him where it hurt, but it didn’t give Lance the right to put his hands on her.”
All the rational shit Justin was talking was going in one ear and out the other for Mahari. To know Lance had put his hands on Aspenandcaused her to deliver the twins early sent a rage through Mahari he’d never experienced. He wanted to inflict the same pain on Lance that he did Aspen.
If it wasn’t for Lavender coming out the room, informing Mahari that Aspen was asking for him, he would have.
With Justin on his heels, Mahari went to see about Aspen. She was his priority, but whenever he crossed paths with Lance again, it wouldn’t be pleasant.
The pain Aspenfelt didn’t compare to the joy of knowing her girls were good. They were the first thing on her mind when she woke up. While she was grateful to have her family and friend surrounding her, she wanted nothing more than to go check on them, but she didn’t want to do so without Mahari.
“Where’s Mahari?” Aspen asked after everyone had settled down.
Lavender looked behind her and frowned. “He was just right here with Justin. Do you want me to go find him?”
“Please, but first, I need to tell y’all something.”
Once again, all eyes were on Aspen, waiting for her to speak. She swallowed hard. The three people standing amongst her were the ones she trusted the most. Deep down, she didn’t thinkthey would judge her for what she was about to say, but there was a slight part of her that worried how they would react. Lance may not have been their favorite person, but it didn’t justify her affair.
Denver stood next to her bed and grabbed her hand. “We’re listening.”
“Mahari might be the father of the twins instead of Lance. We had an affair. It was only one night, and it never happened again, but still . . . it’s possible. And if I’m being honest, I believe they are his because around that time, Lance and I weren’t intimate like that. He was too focused on his life. I was lonely, and Mahari was there as he’s always been. We were both drunk, and things just happened.”
Aspen breathed a sigh of relief, happy and proud of herself for finally speaking on it. She could only imagine how bad it must’ve made her and Mahari look, but she didn’t care. Secretly, she prayed the girls were his. There was no doubt in her mind that Mahari would be the better father and man for them. Even though Aspen believed Mahari would show up for them regardless, something about them being biologically his would make a world of a difference.
“Oh, girl!” Lavender exclaimed, clapping her hands. “You got your lick back in the biggest way, and Lance’s punk ass couldn’t take it. It’s about time you and Mahari made some type of moves on one another. We’ve all sat back and watched y’all for years, waiting for something to shake. I’m glad it finally happened!”
Lavender’s reaction didn’t surprise Aspen. If anyone was going to condone her affair, it was Lavender. She’d been rooting for Aspen and Mahari for years. Skipping over to Aspen, Lavender kissed her cheek, winked, and left out the room to go find Mahari.
