I’m not mad or hurt. I was wrong for fighting. I’ll stand on it. But you know we are bigger than us dating. So if you need to talk, I’m still here.
I did not want to sound selfish, but it felt good that somebody gave a fuck about a nigga. Not the Le Roi. Not the billionaire. Just me.
The others had reacted exactly how I expected.
But Naomi had given me grace.
Something I did not deserve.
ME:I need a cut. Meet me at my penthouse in an hour if you can.
I stared at the message for a second before hitting send. It looked stupid as hell considering the speech I gave at dinner, but I sent it anyway.
She replied fast.
NAOMI:A cut at your penthouse? I don’t do out calls.
I could hear her attitude through the screen.
ME:For me, you will.
I paused, then added another text, switching languages the way I always did when I wanted people confused.
ME:Viens ou tu le regretteras.
ME: Google it.
I dropped my phone in my lap and finally headed to my kingdom.
The city stretched out around me, neon and concrete and bad decisions. Somewhere out there, Marcel was waiting to choose a wife for me, Laurent was waiting for me to fail, and five women were waiting on their payouts.
But right now, I was only thinking about one of them walking into my penthouse with her clippers and her guard up.
Naomi Carter.
The only woman I ever trusted with a blade near my neck.
CHAPTER 13
Naomi
“I Knew Better… And Still Went”
Iwas at my shop, living my best life. I was cutting hair, chopping it up with my staff, laughing, music blasting… when that text came through.
I had not thought about Ares, with the strength of God, and my man. I swear I willed myself not to. But the second I saw his name pop up, my damn heart started throbbing like it forgot the breakup ever happened.
I hated that.
I hated the way this young ass nigga had a hold on me.
But something in me knew this wasn’t about a haircut.
This man needed to get something off his chest.
Something real.
So there I was, finishing my client, trying to keep my hands from shaking, then packing my bag with everything I needed for his “haircut.”
