Chanel made sure she taught me how to fight after I got beaten up in the sixth grade. So, if little Miss Normani wanted smoke, I wouldn’t back down from it.
“Wow. What did you say your last name was again?” she asked.
“I didn’t say,” I countered. Normani chuckled, finished off her champagne, then stood.
“Excuse me, ladies. I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.” She walked off while I sipped my drink again. While I was nervous prior to coming here, I was now angry because I knew for a fact her mean-girl energy was stemming from somewhere else. I had an idea why, but I was praying it wasn’t true.
“Yumi, please don’t mind her. She’s just salty because Emery didn’t take her as a wife,” Kelsey explained.
I frowned. “They used to date?”
Mina rolled her eyes at Kelsey, and she shrugged as if to ask what she said that was wrong.
Mina looked at me. “No, they didn’t date. We are a part of the five families, so it’s typically tradition to marry within the families. Emery turned down the proposal, so she’s a bit salty about it. But do not let that get to you, Yumi. Emery has already chosen his bride, and I’m proud of him for not getting into an arranged marriage with her. She’s too arrogant and entitled.”
I couldn’t front and say that I understood any of this. I didn’t like it, and I had no doubt that Emery fucked her, whether they dated or not.
“Excuse me.” I stood, pulled my phone from my clutch, and dialed Emery. He picked up on the first ring.
He chuckled. “It must not be working out with the ladies. You ready for me to come get you?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the cigar lounge. What’s wrong, baby? I don’t feel like getting active tonight, but I’ll fuck?—”
I cut him off. “Come to the bar, Emery.”
“Which one, babe? There are three.”
“The one closest to the entrance.”
“On my way.”
I hung up, finished off my glass, then signaled to the barmaid to get me something more substantial. I was irritated when I shouldn’t have been. Normani didn’t have what I did to secure a man like Emery. Her name may have put her on a larger scale, but she didn’t have what I had—his heart, his mind, and his dick.
Still, I could tell he must have left a lasting impression because she was giving off those jealous vibes, disguising it as just curiosity. I understood that part. Emery’s sex skills weretop-tier, and that dick had some magic dust on it or something, so I got why she was fuming just like I was in the moment.
I felt Emery’s presence before he even made it to me. That was how much of a huge aura he carried when he walked into a room. His palms went to my hips just as the barmaid handed me my tequila sunrise.
“Everything okay?” he asked in my ear since the Moneybagg Yo record was now blaring through the surround sound speakers.
“Can we go somewhere quiet and talk?” I asked. He nodded, took my hand, then led me away. We found an empty hall, and he led me toward the quieter end.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”
I let out a small breath before looking up into his eyes. “I know we’re just getting back together, but maybe I didn’t ask enough questions upon our return. With everything that’s going on, it never crossed my mind to ask you the deeper questions.”
“Talk to me, Yum. I’m not hiding shit, and I will never lie to you.”
“Good . . . Did you fuck Normani?”
He paused momentarily before nodding. “I did.” My eyes closed, and I cringed slightly. “That was before you, Yummy. I haven’t touched her since two weeks before you walked into our home.”
“Two weeks? That was literally only six or seven weeks ago, Emery.”
“It was, but that shit meant nothing.Shemeans nothing.”
“Were you going to marry her?”
