Looking over at Xy, I didn’t miss the blush on his brown cheeks. He acted humble a lot, but he really was that nigga in every sense of the word.
“The youngest and the first black male to be the headlining sponsor. That speaks volumes about his business, his work ethic, and his willingness to go after whatever he puts his mind to,” the host continued bragging on my man. “Xyleek, we thank you and can’t wait to see your piece later on.”
Xyleek nodded in appreciation while the board members sitting closest to him tapped him on the back with a good ole atta boy. It made me giggle inside because if we were around a bunch of niggas, the congratulations would’ve looked and sounded much different.
The host got the night started with the bidding, and I can’t lie, the pieces they brought out were stunning. Prior to our arrival, Xyleek told me to bid on anything that I wanted, but in my opinion, nobody’s jewels or designs were more perfect thanhis. For that reason alone, I wasn’t about to waste his money on some shit that I didn’t really believe in.
“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for - the final piece of the night. Xyleek, would you like to come up and tell us about it before the bidding gets started?”
Winking, he stood up and adjusted his suit before smoothly strolling onstage. Damn that nigga looked good as hell.
“When I created this custom piece…I was in a dark place. That’s usually when I do my best work,” he chuckled and so did everyone else before his gaze landed on me. “Whenever I’m not with my lady, that’s when I’m in a dark place. As a man, I can admit that I’ve done a lot of wrong in my life, but loving this woman has been the only thing right I’ve done. The piece was inspired by her…more so it was inspired by her absence in my life. When she left…when I pushed her away, it was like she took all of the color with her. And with that, I created this piece as a reminder of the light that she brings in my life.”
I started blinking rapidly because I wasn’t aware that Xy had created something based on me. I mean sure, he made different designs all the timeforme, but he never sold them. He made them and gifted them to me, so I was shocked as hell that he had created something that he was willing to let someone else have.
When the case holding the piece was rolled out, my eyes bugged out of my head. The yellow diamonds were to die for, and I actually might’ve been a lil’ jealous that the nigga was auctioning that shit off.
“This is The Angel’s Heart, because this is what my baby’s heart looks like to me,” he winked at me again and motioned towards the case. “Twenty-two carats of pure pressure. We saved the best for last because the bidding for this piece will start at ten million.”
My ears turned hot as fire hearing that number. Ten million? He created a necklace that was worthtendamn million dollars?When I saw a paddle shoot up in the air immediately, I don’t know if I was more shocked, impressed, or flattered that someone was willing to kick out that kinda money. Then again, we were sitting in a ballroom full of people who wouldn’t even blink if ten million went missing from their back accounts.
Paddles continued going up left and right until the final number that settled was thirteen million. Disbelief was the only thing I felt as Xy swagged back over to me, cool as cucumber.
“Baby,” I squeezed his arm a little. “What the hell! That necklace was so beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, my angel,” he kissed me then thumbed my face. “I’ll let you get a good look at it before it goes to its new owner,” he saluted with two fingers at the heavy-set Indian guy who’d won my heart in diamond form.
Glancing back at him, I smiled and returned my attention to Xy. “Thirteen million is insane.”
“He needed to wash ten,” he leaned forward and whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek.
Shaking my head with a chuckle, I should’ve known there was more to the story. “So, the necklace is worth…”
“Three million but you, my baby, are priceless,” he squeezed my thigh, igniting the butterflies in my stomach.
The thing that kept me intoxicated on Xyleek was the way he made me feel and the words that came out of his mouth. Could he have been selling me some bullshit dream? Yeah, but I was willing to buy it in the moment. He was charming and charismatic and alluring, and I think that’s why people were truly attracted to him. He was this larger-than-life kind of person that just pulled people, including myself, in like a magnet.
For the next three hours, people approached our table to speak with Xyleek regarding official and unofficial diamond business. The way he handled them while still making sure hewas present with me and that I was okay had me turned on and ready to go. After Xy went onstage to close out the gala and share some knowledge and give some thank you’s, we were finally able to leave. I was happy as hell because my dress was unforgiving, so I was ready to get out of it.
“Shit, I forgot to talk to Paul,” Xy cursed after we’d gotten in the truck, and he’d taken his suit jacket off to get comfortable. “Angel, can you spare me ten more minutes?”
“Of course, baby. Ten minutes though. I want to get out of this tight ass dress.”
Chuckling, he nodded and kissed my lips before hopping out of the back of his truck with one of his securities. Xy booked a room in the city for us for the night so that we didn’t have to make that three-hour drive back to the Hamptons until tomorrow, thankfully. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in that dress for another three hours. The ride there was already rough.
Taking my phone out of my clutch, I responded to Ken’s text and then started my TikTok scrolling. While scrolling and laughing, Xy’s phone started ringing in his jacket pocket. I thought about checking to see who it was but then decided against it. I didn’t want to ruin my night like that. It stopped ringing but seconds later, it was ringing again.
I looked out of the heavily tinted windows but didn’t see him coming, so I dug in the pocket and took his phone out. Since we’d rekindled our flame, he had been letting me go through his phone regularly, which put my mind at ease slightly. Seeing the unknown number calling, I battled in my mind with if I really wanted to answer. Something told me I wasn’t going to like what was on the other end, and then the call stopped, so I put his phone down.
His screen lit up again with the same number, and that time I answered.“Hello?”
“Oh, hi. This is Nurse Knowles calling from Riverside Regional Medical Center. May I speak with Mr. Xyleek Chambers?”
My heart stopped as I started thinking the worst. “He’s not with me at the moment, but this is his wife,”I lied because I knew otherwise, she probably wouldn’t tell me shit.“Is everything okay?”
“Um…”she hesitated for a few beats. “Well, he’s listed as the next of kin for someone that we have here in the hospital, and we need to speak with him regarding her condition.”
“Her? Her who? Is it his sister?”I panicked even more. I loved Vani like she was my own sister.
