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“You can donate it to charities... victims of sex trafficking. Or we can start a new foundation. Think of what good all that money can do, Jazz. Plus, it’d be one helluva fuck you to Charles.”
“I don’t know...”
Kingston grabs my hand. “Just think about it, okay? If you take the money, you can ensure it goes directly to victims at the hands of people like our fathers. Hell, maybe even our fathers directly. Those women—and some men—can get therapy, have help transitioning back into society. It could even fund private organizations that hunt and dismantle trafficking rings. There’s a lot that money can do. Will you at least consider it?”
I think about it for a moment. “Okay.”
“Okay, you’ll consider it?”
I shake my head. “No. Okay, I’ll do it. But you have to help me find reputable places for it to go. I want to make sure every dime is given directly to victims in some way.”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way, Jazz.”
“Well, I guess I should call him back and set an appointment to sign those papers, huh?”
Kingston picks up my phone and hands it to me. “And as soon as you’re done, we’ll start researching charities.”
I nod. “Deal.”
***
“What do you think, kiddo?” Kingston sets Belle down inside her new room and watches as she jumps onto her new bed.
“I love it!” she squeals. “It’s all mine?”
I smile. “All yours, sweetheart. Anytime your daddy says you can have a sleepover, this is where you’ll stay.”
Belle runs around her room, checking everything out. “I wish I could live here forever!”
I tilt my head to the side. “But wouldn’t you miss your daddy?”
Belle looks away and shrugs. “I dunno. Daddy isn’t very nice, and now Monica’s gone.”
“What do you mean, Monica’s gone? When did that happen?” I take a seat on the oversized pink chair in the corner of her room. “Come sit with me, sweetheart, and tell me what happened.”
Belle climbs onto my lap. “I heard Monica yellin’ at him about kissin’ the neighbor lady. She never came home from work the other day, and Daddy says she’s not comin’ back ever.”
I sigh. I knew it was only a matter of time before Jerome screwed up that relationship. “I’m sorry, honey. If you ever need to talk about it, we can FaceTime any time you want,
day or night, okay?”
She frowns. “Do I hafta go back? Can’t I just live with you and Kingston here at the beach?”
I give her a sad smile. “Oh, honey, I wish it were that easy.”
“Hey, princess.” Kingston kneels in front of us and takes Belle’s hand. “If we could make it happen so you could live with us all the time, would you want that? You’d have to switch schools and everything.”
I widen my eyes, giving Kingston a what the hell are you doing? look. The attorney told us only a week ago that it’ll be a long, drawn-out process.
“Yes!” Belle nods. “My teacher is a meanie-butt anyway, so I don’t care if I hafta get a new one.”
Kingston laughs as he kisses Belle on the forehead and does the same to mine. “I’ll be back in a little while, okay? I have to run an errand.”
I eye him with suspicion. “What kind of errand?”
He winks. “It’s a surprise.”
When Kingston returns several hours later, Belle is sleeping on the couch, with Ainsley snoring lightly beside her. We built sandcastles and played on the beach with Ainsley for a while before the three of us came inside and had a princess movie marathon. Neither one of them made it halfway through the first movie before they crashed.
