“I know you’ve been hoping I’ll get pregnant soon, but I’m on birth control.”
His expression changed from one of worry to one of confusion.
“What do you mean?” he asked, although I was sure he understood.
“I never stopped taking my birth control pills.”
“Even though you signed the contract and agreed to?—”
“I did sign the contract, but I never really agreed to get pregnant, at least not right away.”
He walked away, rubbing his hand over his face before looking at me again.
“Why are you telling me this today?”
“I feel bad for hiding it, and I don’t want to keep lying to you.”
“Okay. Thank you for being honest. I, umm, I need to run a few errands before I get dressed. Your glam squad should be here in thirty.”
“Kenzo, wait.”
“I can’t right now, baby. We’ll talk about it later.”
“Are you mad?”
“Nah, but I’m hurt.”
He kissed my forehead and left me in our bedroom processing the conversation. I didn’t move for a minute, but I couldn’t stand there forever looking off into space. I quickly showered, and the glam squad arrived shortly after.
Kenzo’s birthday celebration went off without a hitch. The live band kept us entertained during dinner, and DJ Fly Ty, a young DJ from Kenosha, WI, had the dance floor packed once everyone finished eating.
His father announced his retirement and named Kenzo as the CEO ofSweet, Savory, and Goode. He would officially assume his role on the first of August. Gramps talked about howproud he was of his one and only grandson and somehow segued the conversation to me, which caused Kenzo to take the mic.
During the aftermath of Kenzo’s arrest, there was continued speculation around the details of our marriage. Neither of us ever addressed it with the public, so nothing was confirmed or denied.
I thought there would be tension between us after our conversation, but it was quite the opposite, and I was grateful my confession didn’t ruin his night. When he took the mic from his grandfather, he made sure I was on his arm, as he had done for most of the night.
“You all know by now that this is my wife, Malyah. Over the past few months, a lot has been said about how we happened. I didn’t feel it was necessary to confirm or deny the rumors, and I still don’t. All y’all need to know is that I love this woman. I fell in love with her the first time I truly saw her. Marrying her was the best decision I’ve ever made, and if I have anything to do with it, we will live a long and prosperous life together.”
He turned to face me while holding the mic up to his mouth.
“Baby, how we started doesn’t matter. What matters is that I couldn’t love you any more right now than if I’d known you my entire life. You are my person, and I move to the beat of your drum. What makes you happy makes me happy, and I will spend the rest of my days finding new ways to keep you smiling and showing you how much I love you.”
“I love you, Kenzo.”
We kissed like no one was watching, and the guests went wild. The night was perfect, and we didn’t leave the dance floor until it was time for us to head to the airport.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked as we sat in the back of the car he’d hired to take us to Midway International Airport.
The party was held at a country club, so we were able to shower and change into comfortable clothes for traveling. Icouldn’t wait to wash the makeup off and take my hair out of the tight bun. I was excited to be going on my first international trip.
“I had a great time, baby. Thank you for jumping in to help my mother plan everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Once she got some act right, it wasn’t so bad.”
We laughed because we both knew his mother wasn’t easy to work with.
“She’s my mother, and I love her dearly, but I know she can be a challenge. Therapy is helping, though.”
