“I’ll give you forty-eight hours. Meet me at the lighthouse at 7 p.m. sharp. If you’re not there, I’ll know what it is and accept that. If you come, just know you’re walking away with a totally changed man, and a much softer life.” He kissed my lips, then turned and headed out the door.
I stood there, stuck in place by his demeanor. Emil was always stand-offish when it came to affection. He rarely, if ever, held me or kissed me more than once a day, but now I could see he was really serious.
And now . . . I was conflicted.
Shit!
Chapter
Twenty-Five
YUMI
August
I watched as my husband took the podium, looking every bit the professional boss he’d always been. My lips curved into a smile as I watched him stand there, looking dapper in his all-black Brooks Brothers suit, hair now in soft locs, and facial hair clean-cut and sexy. We were at the grand opening of his school, and after a long road, for him, of course, he was now opening the doors to the Aldana Institute of Creative Arts.
After we said ‘I do’ in Antigua, we flew over to Fiji, where he handed me some papers I thought were for us to sign for our marriage license. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up to find the deed to the Island we were on and had now been renamedYumi’s Island.
My whole life changed within months since Emery came back into my life. I had no idea this would ever be us, but I guess God had different plans for us.
Maybe He allowed my dad to split Emery and me up because we probably wouldn’t have survived with him still being in the streets and me trying to pursue my career. We were toopassionate at such young ages, and things could have possibly ended badly for us.
My mother and father never recovered from our discovery of his secrets. She ended up moving in with Emery and me in his parents’ quarters. I didn’t mind, because I wanted our relationship to work. I knew she was only following his lead because, as a man, it was his job to lead. Too bad his leadership led him to be alone.
As for the relationship between my father, Zeke, and me, I hadn’t talked to either one of them since that crazy ass day, and I didn’t want to either. What they did and the crazy measures they took for their secrets to not be exposed would never earn my forgiveness. Chanel and I were getting back to us, but since she still fucked with Zeke, we rarely hung out together. I understood because Zeke didn’t have any other family, so she decided to continue to be his favorite.
I didn’t care. I still loved her, though.
When we returned from Fiji, I jumped right into my position as senior partner at the law offices of Aldana, Jones & Golden. My new office was huge, and my caseload was even damn bigger, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Emery made sure I had time for myself because he knew I was a machine when working on a case, but since I was now six weeks pregnant, he made sure I wasn’t stressing or overworking myself.
As for Liam, it seemed he’d finally caught the hint that I was never falling for that poly shit and found him someone who was. Their photos came across my Facebook feed, and they looked happy.
Good for that lying piece of shit.
The Aldanas and other families were in attendance, with Mama Marilyn standing next to me on my left and my mother onmy right. We all watched as Emery cleared his throat and began to speak.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out today. It’s truly a blessing to stand before you and welcome you all to a lifelong dream of mine. Some of you may or may not know, but I have been drawing, sketching, and painting since I was a young hopper. I remember my parents taking me to the Charles H. Wright Museum when I was eight, and I was fascinated by all the artifacts and paintings surrounding the building. I said to myself, ‘If I could draw that, I’d be the next Davinci.’”
The crowd laughed.
“So, that’s where my love for painting and creating images came from. I’m here to tell everyone that if you speak it and believe it, you can achieve it. This school isn’t just an art school for painting; it’s a space for all creatives to tap into whatever it is that their hearts desire it to be. A.I.C.A. was made for every creator who wants to start a career in their field of choice.
“I don’t want to take up too much of you all’s time, but to sum it all up, we have the best team of professors, the best resources, and the best equipment to make sure every student comes here knowing very little but leaves here knowing everything. Thank you all again for coming. Enjoy the refreshments, take a tour, get your child enrolled, and take advantage of the resources available to you. Thank you.”
Everyone applauded as Emery stepped down, took the scissors from the mayor, and cut the ribbon. The doors opened, and the community of people began filing inside. Emery and I locked eyes after he spoke with the mayor and the team of builders he’d hired, then, without saying a word more to them, he walked over to me, pulling me in by my waist.
“I love you, Mrs. Aldana.”
I cheesed like a goofball. “You just love saying that, don’t you?”
“You better fucking know it, and you better say it back.”
“I love you more, my Emmy.” He crashed his lips into mine, acting as if our family wasn’t standing mere feet away.
“Okay, can y’all like, stop?” Carmen asked as we laughed.
