Kay’Lo nodded once, standin’ up ‘cause he’d had enough. “Move how you gotta move,” he said. “Just tell me what you need from me.”
“We’ll schedule prep sessions,” Barron replied. “And Kay’Lo… keep your head straight. They want you rattled.”
Kay’Lo smirked without humor. “Ain’t nobody rattlin’ me.”
I stood up with him, and we left the office together. The walk to the car felt long, and I could feel the tension rollin’ off him with every step. When we got to the passenger side, he opened the door and turned to me.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that bullshit, baby. I really fuckin’ am,” he said low. “You know me. You know I ain’t ever gotta take no bitch’s pussy.”
I nodded slow. “I know, Kay’Lo.”
He held my face with both hands, lookin’ into my eyes like he needed me to feel him. “You know me,” he repeated. “Ain’t nobody takin’ nothin’ from nobody around here. I don’t move like that.”
“I know you,” I whispered again. And I did. I knew his flaws, his temper, his mistakes and his heart. I knew the difference between a man who slipped and a man who was dangerous in the wrong way. Kay’Lo wasn’t no damn predator. He was a husband who sometimes fell apart, a man who went through shit, but not a monster.
We stared at each other, breathin’ the same air, feelin’ the same pain and the same fight. Then he leaned down and kissed me slow, pullin’ my bottom lip between his like he needed to feel me before he lost his mind. When he pulled back, he brushed my cheek with his thumb and walked to the driver’s side.
I got in the car, feelin’ my heart poundin’ in my chest. Echo wasn’t just lyin’ or just bein’ messy. She was tryna ruin our future. She was tryna take my husband away from me, and my baby.
And the worst part was…I knew this dumb ass lil’ girl wasn’t done.
Meridian Estates in Nzuri Hall
Two weeks later…
I’d just come home from a long night, and the only thing on my mind was my wife. My body felt heavy as I stepped out of the shower, with water sliding down my skin, and heat still clinging to me because my thoughts had done nothing but circle around Treasure from the moment I left the house. Kay’Lo’s case was tearing our world apart, and every part of me was stretched thin between the need to protect my son and the fear of losing the woman I built my life with. Treasure had always stood beside me, but this time I had pushed her too far, and I could feel the distance between us every time she looked at me.
I dried myself with slow strokes, trying to calm the storm in my mind, though nothing settled. I knew she was hurting, and knowing I was the cause made my heart feel heavier than anything I carried in the boardroom or out in the world. I wrapped the towel around my waist, but I let it fall before I walked out of the bathroom because I didn’t want anything between us tonight. The bedroom was dark except for the soft light by her side of the bed, and my eyes fell on her shape buried beneath the sheets.
Treasure laid on her side with her back toward me, her white lace gown draping over her curves in a way that made my pulse rise. Her hair flowed across the pillow, and even from behind, I could see tension in her shoulders. She wasn’t asleep. I knew my wife. She was awake and quiet, lost in a world of thoughts she had stopped sharing with me.
I climbed into the bed behind her and felt the coolness of her skin before I felt anything else. I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her back into me with one firm motion, bringing her body against my chest. I pressed my dick between her thighs, letting her feel exactly how much I needed her. She didn’t speak or move. Yet I could feel the rise of her breath, and I knew part of her still belonged to me, no matter how angry she was.
I kissed the back of her neck, soft at first, then deeper as I pushed her hair to the side. My lips traced her skin slowly, tasting her sweetness and her pain all at once. When she let out a light gasp, something inside me loosened because I needed to know she still felt me, even if only for a moment. I slid my hand down her gown, lifting the lace so I could touch her thigh, and her skin was warm and soft the way it always had been. I spread her open gently, letting my fingers glide along the inside of her leg as I angled myself closer.
To me, Treasure had never changed. She was the same woman who made me feel like a king when I was nothing but aman trying to build a life. She was the same woman who held my hand through every triumph and every failure, and knowing I had driven a wedge between us made me want to hold her tighter than I ever had.
I eased my dick inside her from behind, and the moment our bodies connected, both of us released a breath we had been holding. Her warmth pulled me in, and I rested my hand over her stomach as I moved deeper, letting my other hand rise to cup and massage her breast. I kissed her shoulder. I kissed her neck. I kissed every place I could reach because I needed her to know I wasn’t letting her go.
Treasure didn’t speak, but her body responded to me with every slow thrust. Her hips pushed back, her breath grew heavier, and her fingers curled into the sheets. I slid my hand up her chest and held her close, moving inside her with a rhythm that came from years of knowing her body and loving her beyond anything I could explain. Every stroke was a plea. Every kiss was an apology, and every sound she made felt like forgiveness I didn’t deserve.
I felt my orgasm build until I couldn’t hold it anymore. I pressed my face into her neck and pushed deeper, cumming with a low groan as I held her tight, wishing I could pour every ounce of my devotion into her body and make her understand that I would destroy the world before I let anything take her from me.
As the pulse of release faded, my dick stayed inside her with my arm wrapped around her waist. I waited for her to turn toward me, or to breathe my name the way she always had. I waited for something soft that told me we were finding our way back.
Instead, she spoke with a voice so calm it cut straight through me.
“Kwame, I’m leaving.”
My eyes snapped open, and confusion rippled through my body so fast I felt my arousal fade completely. I lifted my head from her shoulder, my brows drawing in as I pulled back slightly. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”
Treasure stared forward without blinking, her voice steady but empty. “I’m tired.”
I pulled out of her slowly and shifted her onto her back so I could look at her. The moment I saw the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, something inside me cracked. Treasure didn’t cry easily, and she didn’t break down. She was strength wrapped in grace and seeing that strength crumble because of me made my chest feel tight.
She looked up at me with a mix of exhaustion and hurt. “I can’t keep living like this. I can’t keep watching you make decisions for everyone like we’re pieces on a board. You want to control everything, even when it hurts our son. You changed his diagnosis without even telling me. You want everything done your way, even when your way costs us peace.”
I didn’t speak because I couldn’t because her words were sinking deeper into my skin. Treasure had never talked about leaving me. We had disagreements, and we had arguments. We had moments when our tempers collided, but this was different. This felt final.
