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I shook my head. “You can still have strong adverse feelings about me, but can’t recall the kid with Harlem Pride’s name.”Unbelievable!I snorted, “That’s golden.”
“I don’t need to remember your name to know who you are and that my daughter has no business with a punk like you!”
“Well, let’s slow down.” Ashira’s palms raised. “I think we’re past the point of Jas and I beingtogeth—”
“What?” Witherspoon shouted. “How? You just broke up with Austin!”
“No. Austin and I broke up in February. It’s now August. Remember, I said I met Jas in February.”
“Did you do this on purpose?” Witherspoon’s tight attention was on me. “You get out of prison on a few murder charges and you came to seek some type of revenge on me and chose to do it through my daughter? Look, my man, you got another thing coming. Nothing comes between Shi-Shi and me. Nothing!”
“Trust me, in my most cynical thoughts, I wondered the same thing,” Ashira scoffed. “But then I recalled how long it took him to even enjoy my company. The many times he rejected me. And let me tell you, I might as well be with another actor, an Oscar-worthy one, to believe Jas sought me out. This thing was a slow burn for him.”
She’s fucking overexaggerating with that. The girl had me open in no time!
“Again, what the hell is this?” Witherspoon was impatient.
“This is the bond Jas and I created. We’ve been seeing each othera lotinto the spring and summer. We’ve vacationed together and I even took him toDella.”
Witherspoon’s chin dropped. “That’s who you took to see your mother?”
Ashira nodded. “That’s when he told me about the murders and the charges. That’s also when things got a little muddy for us, but not enough to break the bond. We continued to see each other…continued to bond.A lot,” her voice was so sad, it was painful to hear. “Enough to create a baby.”
“A baby!” Kimberly shot to her feet, examining Ashira’s tiny waist. “How far along are you?”
“Oh,daaaaaaaamn!” Noelle collapsed on the sofa behind me. Then she, too, came over to take a look at her sister. “Yo, I knew you were wildin’ on him!”
I wanted to reach for my girl. To hug her protectively. In a way, I could sense her bravery in this. Her shame, too.
“Hang on,” Ashira whispered, wiping an escaped tear. She tried to laugh. “I’ve got to finish. The day I found out about the pregnancy, Jas learned about the future ofJust Homesin the wake of Danny Lewinski’s death. Daddy, you know they found the kids who sold him the fentanyl-laced heroin. Well, he and Jas were in agreement to partner. The family’s contesting the contract and court proceedings have been scheduled.”
I guessed Ashira had a plug in our circle because I hadn’t shared any of that with her. She’d shut me out, still taking days to return texts and calls when I checked in on her. That’s why I came here today, prepared to share everything. I had nothing to lose at this point. Ashira had been deciding every day she ignored me that we were over.
Except for a week ago when she used her key and the security code this time to slip into my bed one night after I’d dozed off. She fucked me for over an hour, only allowing a few minutes for me to recover in between. When she was done, Ashira showered and disappeared from my grasp as smoothly as she rolled into my bed. I tried calling to be sure she’d gotten in safely only to get a text back saying she had. That was a half an hourafterJuggy had returned home from following her. Ashira had made a decision. She didn’t want what we’d once had.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying,” Kimberly cried.
Ashira nodded. “Yes. It’s possible that Jas could be the owner ofWitherspoon Homesif his contract holds up in court. Daddy, I’m sorry. I had no idea. And that is the sole reason I’ve decided to end my relationship with Jas.” Ashira didn’t breathe through those words, delivering them with pain.
I felt the same way, but had no control over her. I’d respect her decision. I had to.
Kimberly’s hand laid over her chest. “That is awful! The family’s legacy!”
At the same time, Witherspoon’s meaty ass shot to his feet. “So, what do you want to do, Shi-Shi? We can be very discreet about this.”
The fuck?
“Discreet?” Ashira chirped.
“Yes,” Witherspoon confirmed and this all felt too sitcom-y. “Baby, I understand you made a bad call. I’m still here. I can help you out of this. It’s your body, your decision.”
She eyed him with disbelief, nodding her head. “Yes,” she breathed. “This is my body. And I chose. I chose the moment I learned my baby existed.” Her eyes dropped, followed by her head. “The timing is god-awful. The last thing I want is a child; I’ve got so much on the line. I’ve been working on the club to hopefully open this fall. I auditioned and got a gig doing anAsè Garbcommercial. And just yesterday, I got a call for my troupe to audition for Alana and her team. A baby fits nowhere into the equation of the next phase of my life. It just doesn’t make sense.”
She shook her head, eyes pleading with her father. “But I can’t abort a baby. I’m not a poor high schooler or a struggling college kid. I’m over thirty years old and have amassed enough resources to take on a child. I have my family—I have you, my aunts, my best friends. And I have Jas who, despite the pain and betrayal I feel for him, I know will go over and beyond to be sure this baby has the best that life can offer, just as you did with me.”
“Are you sure, honey? This seems so sudden!” Kimberly squealed.
“Have you told your mother?” Witherspoon asked, hope resounding in his tone for a co-conspirator to kill my baby.
