“Yes, I will marry you, Noble. You really mean it when you say tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I have everything all planned. It’s an area on the island where people go to get married. I figured we can get it done while we’re here.”
“Wait, what about your family? Like your siblings and your mom?”
Noble shook his head. “I don't need them here for that. Wilde and Zayd don't care about shit like that and my mama… it’s too complicated right now.”
He made a mental note to have a conversation with Lyra. It was time for him to express himself without his resentment being present.
“As long as Kenji is here and you got Cali and Ivory, I think we should be good.”
Irish wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. St. Anthony. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Rio walked inside the salon, trying to quell his temper. The night before, when he saw Cali’s name on his phone, his heart palpitated at the thought of her texting him. He’d prayed on the way back from Diamond Falls for Cali to find a route back to him. He needed her. The taste he’d had was just a tease. Whenever he had free time, Rio reminisced on their time spent together and determined he needed more.
Imagine receiving a text, hoping it would be a road to more communication only to see a sonogram picture from the same woman he had fucked just to get back at Cali. Rio did his best to play it cool while he spoke to her but he was slightly shaken. That’s why Rozalin was the first person he wanted to see this morning.
“Can I help you?” the pretty woman at the front desk asked.
“Yeah, I need to holla at Rozalin. Is she here?”
“I’ll check. Who should I tell her it is?”
“Rio.”
The woman got up while he looked out the window. He fiddled his keys, hoping this conversation would be productive. So far, the last few chats Rio had with Rozalin had been filled with revelations, strife, and emotions.
“Hey.”
He spun around at the sound of Rozalin’s voice. She looked beautiful in her black attire and light makeup. Her hair was in her signature pixie with waves framing her hairline,
“Can we go somewhere and talk?”
Glancing at her watch, she nodded. “Yes, we can go to my office.”
Rio trailed her down a hallway and entered a room. The color scheme was black and gray just like the rest of the salon. Taking a seat on the couch, she sat on top of her desk.
“What’s up?” she questioned with an expression he couldn’t read.
“Are you pregnant?”
Smacking her lips, Rozalin looked away from him. Rio waited in agony, hoping she wouldn’t confirm what would be his biggest regret.
“Why are you asking me that, DuRio? Do you even care?”
“Why wouldn’t I care!” he snapped. “You think I would be here asking you if I didn’t care?”
“You haven’t been showing any concern as of lately,” she countered. “How did we go from conversing every day to you not even responding to my texts?”
“Roz, you only wanna argue now, and I’m not on that type of time.”
She jumped off her desk and rested her hands on her hips. “You really played me, and I’m so mad at myself for falling for your shit.”
Rio was exhausted with Rozalin’s victim origin story that she tried so hard to paint. She was a willing participant in this affair. It began with ill intentions on his behalf but she also didn’t have an innocent objective either. The only topic he wanted to discuss was her being pregnant. After their first-time slip up, Rio had managed to use a condom every time they had intercourse but he had to be certain.
“Are you pregnant?” he interrogated, not bothering to respond to her last statement.
