“Her choice was to stay married to a nigga who was fucking her best friend,” Quest shot back. “We did her a favor.”
In a matter of moments, Serenity walked in.
She looked different. Thinner than the last time I’d seen her, like she hadn’t been eating right. Dark circles under her eyes that her makeup couldn’t quite hide. But she was dressed sharp—designer pantsuit, heels, hair laid—like she was going into battle and wanted to look good doing it.
“Hey, sis,” Justice said, standing to greet her.
She held up a hand, stopping him. “Sit down. This isn’t a social visit.”
Justice froze, then slowly lowered himself back into his chair.
Quest’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Serenity?”
She walked to the opposite end of the table from Quest and stood there, hands clasped in front of her like she was about to deliver a presentation. Which, I realized, she probably was.
“Thank you for coming. I know I’ve been distant. I know you’ve all been worried. And I appreciate that. I do. I called this meeting because I have some things to say, and I need you all to listen without interrupting. Can you do that?”
We exchanged glances—me, Quest, Justice—then nodded.
“Good.” She took a breath. “First, I want to apologize. For shutting you out. For not returning your calls. For missing Sunday dinners. I know Grandma Rita’s been upset, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Second,” she continued, “I need you to understand something. What you did to Julius—what you did without telling me, without asking me—it broke something. Not just in my marriage. In me. In how I see this family.”
“Serenity, we were trying to protect you,” Quest said.
“I said NO INTERRUPTING.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and I saw it—the pain underneath the armor she was wearing. “You were trying to protect me? From what? Frommy own decisions? From my own marriage? I’m not a child anymore. I’m a grown-ass woman who’s been sheltered and controlled my entire life. First by Vivica, who shipped me off to boarding school to keep me ‘safe’ from all the family drama. Then by you three, who still treat me like I’m twelve years old and can’t handle the truth.”
She was pacing now, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
“You want to know what Julius being unfaithful cost me? Besides my marriage? Besides my dignity?” She stopped, and when she looked at us, her eyes were wet. “I was pregnant.”
The words hit like a punch to the chest.
“I found out a few weeks before everything happened,” she continued, her voice trembling now. “I was going to tell Julius. Was going to surprise him with the news. And then y’all took him to that warehouse and everything fell apart.”
We all shook our heads. We never meant to cause that shit.
“The stress caused me to miscarry.” A single tear slid down her cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away. “I lost my baby. While my husband was recovering from having his finger cut off by my own brothers. While my best friend was being banished from my life. While everyone was making decisions about MY life without asking ME.”
I felt sick. Actually physically sick.
“And you know what the real kicker is?” She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I just found out that Ivy is pregnant. With Julius’s baby. So she gets to have the child that should have been mine.”
Nobody spoke. What could we say? We’d thought we were protecting her. Thought we were doing the right thing. But we’d broken her instead.
“That’s why I’ve been drinking,” she said, answering a question none of us had the courage to ask. “That’s why I’ve beendistant. That’s why I couldn’t look any of you in the face. Because every time I do, I see the men who took my choices away. Just like Vivica always did.”
“Serenity, I’m so sorry.” Quest’s voice was rough. Broken. I’d never heard him sound like that. “We didn’t know. If we’d known?—”
“You would’ve what? Asked my permission before you tortured my husband?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done. But I refuse to let it define me. I refuse to keep being the sheltered little sister who needs protecting.”
She straightened her spine, and I watched the vulnerability disappear behind that hard mask again.
“Which brings me to why I called this meeting. I’m resigning as Banks Reserve’s accountant.”
Quest shot to his feet. “What?”
“Effective immediately. I’ve already drafted my letter of resignation and handed over all the files to the backup team.”
