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“I didn’t want to mess up your relationship with my sister.”
“That’s not true,” Royalty replied. “You want to be with him. Don’t you?”
Regal’s head shook as she struggled to find her words, and before Royalty could stop herself, she was punching Regal in the eye. The only thing that stopped her from hitting Regal again was Steven grabbing her, but that only angered Royalty more. She elbowed him in the eye before spitting on him.
“All right, that’s enough!” Marcus yelled, picking her up and quickly carrying her down the aisle.
“You both better stay the hell away from me!” Royalty yelled as tears poured. But these weren’t sad tears; they were angry tears, and her sister knew her well enough to know she meant business.
“So this is what you were angry about?” Jennifer asked, running behind them. “Why didn’t you justsaysomething, Royalty?”
“Why! So you could protect Regal and make excuses for her like you always do? She deserved that embarrassment and a hell of a lot more!”
“You didn’t just embarrass her, Royalty,” Marcus reasoned, placing her on her feet outside of the event venue. “You embarrassed yourself and us too.”
“I don’t give a fuck about either one of you right now. This doesn’t have anything to do with you. This is about the man I love cheating on me with my sister. This is about my sister being pregnant with my fiancé’s child. I can’t believe you have the audacity to stand here and make this about you!”
Destiny and Simone made their way out, acting as her saving grace as always. Before her parents could say another word, Destiny was grabbing her hand and quickly pulling her away.
“We need to talk about this!” Jennifer yelled, causing Royalty to chuckle.
“At this point, I don’t want to talk to any of you.”
“Look, we’re sorry, okay?” Marcus said, grabbing her hand and stopping her movement. “You’re right, this isn’t about us. You have every right to feel how you feel. While I might not like the way you handled this, it’s your right.”
His admission softened Royalty slightly, but the sight of Steven and Regal filled her with anger all over again.
“Can we please talk, Royalty?” Steven asked, heading in her direction.
“Daddy, I need you to handle him. And, Mama, unless you want me to beat your daughter’s ass, you need to keep her the hell away from me.”
“Let’s go, Royalty,” Simone said. “Now.”
With her best friends on both sides of her, Royalty quickly made her way to Destiny’s car. She slipped inside of the back seat… shaking. Her breath trembled as her head shook. Even though she’d had all night and all morning to process this, Royalty couldn’t. In fact, her mind wouldn’t allow her to understand how they could betray her. Sure, she could say Regal was spoiled and used to getting everything she wanted, but never in a million years did Royalty think that would include her man.
It seemed the more Royalty acted out for her parents’ attention, the more they spoiled Regal for being thegood daughter. It shouldn’t have surprised her that they would care more about her actions than Regal’s. Royalty didn’t even have it in her to be upset about that. Her heart was broken enough over Steven and Regal sleeping together.
“A baby,” she muttered before chuckling as tears slipped down her cheeks.
She hadn’t been the emotional type, but this was taking her to a depth of pain Royalty wasn’t used to.
“Where do you want to go?” Destiny asked. “What can we do?”
A part of Royalty wanted to numb herself with alcohol or drugs so she wouldn’t have to feel or think about anything. The other part of her wanted to feel everything so she could get those emotions out.
“I don’t know,” Royalty admitted. “I don’t have my phone or purse. Any clothes.”
“I’ll call Danny and tell him to bring your things in my car,” Simone offered. “We can just go to my place for now. Give you some time to figure out your next move. Whatever you want to do, we’re here for you every step of the way.”
“No doubt,” Destiny added.
Nodding, Royalty closed her eyes as more tears fell. So much of her life was about to change, and Royalty had a feeling she’d feel less and less in control as the days went by.
three
It tookthree days before Royalty was ready to go home to her apartment. Three days of smoking, drinking, and staring at the ceiling of Simone’s guest room. Though she ate and kept herself up, Royalty didn’t speak to anyone about the situation. That was the only way she felt like she’d be able to maintain control.
All cried out, Royalty felt numb more than anything else. It didn’t matter how much she tried to reason and process, the betrayal was too profound to make sense. Royalty figured it would be one of those things she would have to simply accept without understanding.
