5
Khloe
I wanted Kairo to know I was pissed. So I got my shit and slept in the guest room. Not the cute one with the plush pillows and calming lavender diffuser either. The one with the stiff-ass mattress and barely any blankets. I didn’t care. I just couldn’t be around him.
I couldn’t let him touch me, hug me, or try to kiss it all better when I needed—no, deserved—more than a band-aid apology.
I cried all motherfucking night, balled up in an oversized T-shirt, just letting the heartbreak fall out of me with no effort to stop it. If I’d stayed in the room with him, he would’ve tried to talk me down and hold me whispering,“We’ll figure it out, Khlo.”But I was tired of figuring it out.
Greece was my dream trip. My dream destination.
When we got married, we didn’t get a real honeymoon—we had a baby instead. And school. And bills. And life. We honestly hadn’t taken a real vacation in years, and I’d been planning Greece for so long, keeping it together when everything aroundme felt like it was falling apart. All I wanted… was my man. His undivided attention and presence. For once.
The next morning, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the guest bathroom, trying to zip up the back of my dress. It was a soft, silk champagne color. One of my favorites, but the damn zipper wouldn’t budge past the small of my back. I twisted and reached as best as I could before I just gave up.
I looked good, but I felt heavy. Not from the dress but from everything else.
It was a beautiful day.
Kross had planned a ceremony for Rivah, his way of adopting her into the family after she’d broken down one night and told him she didn’t feel like she belonged to anyone anymore. Her parents were no longer living, and he wanted to make her a part of his family. Forever. That was the kind of love I dreamed of being wrapped in again. The kind that made you feel chosen… every single day.
Kennedi would’ve been my go-to for help with the zipper, but she’d already left with Mamma G to help set up, and there was no way around it, so I had to walk down the hall and face the one person I didn’t want to talk to.
Our bedroom smelled like his cologne and fresh linen. I hated that I missed him even though I was mad as hell. He was standing in front of the mirror, buttoning up his shirt, but as soon as he saw me, he froze like he’d seen a damn ghost.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
I wanted to stay stone-faced, but it chipped away at me. Just a little.
“Thank you,” I said. “We’re gonna be late. Can you zip me up?”
He nodded and walked over slowly. I turned around, letting the dress fall just enough so he could reach the zipper. His fingers were warm.
Before I could step away, he leaned in and kissed the back of my neck.
“We’ll figure it out,” he whispered against my skin.
I didn’t flinch, but I didn’t respond either. I’d already told myself the night before that I was going to enjoy Greece. With or without him.
I’d already started mentally removing him from the trip, the pictures, the plans.
Love wasn’t always enough. So sometimes, you have to love yourself a little more.
The ceremony was perfect.
Kross had everyone in tears—especially Rivah—when he stood in front of all of us and said that from this day forward, she was no longer just his woman… but his family. That she didn’t have to carry the weight of being no one’s daughter anymore.
The way he loved her was loud, proud, and undeniable. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other all night. They were always sneaking kisses, holding hands, whispering and giggling like no one else was in the room.
It made my chest ache because I remembered when that was me and Kairo.
There was a time when just being in the same room felt like a magnet was pulling us closer, no matter who was watching. That used to be us… and after nearly sixteen years of marriage evenbeing in the same house sometimes felt like we were a hundred miles apart.
I looked over at Niv and Kendrix too. Another example. Kairo wasn’t a big fan of Niv. Not because she did anything to him personally, but because of things that happened with his father and the messiness surrounding all of that. But what I respected the most about Kendrix was that he never let anyone dictate how he moved with his woman.
Either you respected her… or you respected the distance he was willing to put between himself and the people who didn’t want her around.
I wanted that. I wanted Kairo to fightfor me like that.
