After I made sure she was settled, I removed my shoes and my shirt, then reached up on the top shelf in my closet to retrieve a few things. Once I secured everything I needed, I turned on the baby monitor, closed my door, and headed into the living room.
Lyric was in the kitchen, pulling some things out of the fridge. She cooked dinner often, so it was no shock to me. I took a deep breath before heading toward her. The closer I got to her, the more my anger resurfaced. She stood there watching me with puppy dog eyes, pissing me off even more. Before I knew it, I had yoked her up with my hand gripping her jaw.
Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at me. She was scared, and she had every reason to be.
“I tried to spare you because we were in the car, but let me make something clear to you. Don’t you ever in your fucking life refer to yourself or my child as my pretend family. I bust my assevery fucking day to make sure that you and her never want for anything, so for you to sit in my face and act like I’m some kind of fraud ass nigga who is gonna drop you on your head is crazy. I let you slide with a lot of shit, but you’ve got me fucked up.” I released her, then shoved her back some.
I walked over to the counter to retrieve the folder I had set down. Removing the contents, I turned back to face her. I slapped the first set of papers on the counter in front of her, then pointed to them.
“What the fuck does this say?”
I watched her glance down at the papers. Her hands shook as she picked them up and read over them.
“These are insurance papers,” she whispered.
“And who is listed as my beneficiary on every single one of those policies? Huh?”
“Me,” she murmured.
I set the next set of papers down.
“Whose name do you see next to mine on the deeds to my businesses?”
“M-Mine,” she croaked with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“What about these? Huh? Whose name do you see?”
“Symphonee.” Her lips quivered, but I wasn’t giving in to her emotions.
“What is this?” I slammed another document on the counter.
Lyric looked at it and then back at me. “Her birth certificate.”
“And whose name is listed as her father?”
“Yours.”
“What’s my daughter’s last name?”
“N-Norris.”
I dragged my hand down my beard and stared at her.
“I have bank accounts, trust funds, credit cards, cars, and businesses all tied to you and my little girl, and you have the fucking nerve to try to downplay who the fuck I am. Ain’t shitpretend about me. In the eyes of the law, Symphonee is my mothafuckin’ child and the heir to everything a nigga owns. Do you think this shit is a game? Huh?” I tossed the rest of the documents on the table.
“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t t-trying t-to hurt you. I-I—”
Her sobs pulled at my heartstrings even though I wanted to strangle her ass. I put my feelings to the side and pulled her into my arms. She buried her face into my chest and cried her heart out. In no way would I ever try to invalidate her feelings concerning the shit she went through. Her feelings were valid, but I wasn’t going to allow her to let her past trauma dictate our lives.
I swept Lyric up in my arms and walked over to the couch. I held her in my arms until she finally calmed down. My hands rubbed her back as I kissed the top of her head. She had no idea how strong a hold she had over me. I told Lyric I loved her often, but she thought it was only as a friend. She had no idea how many times I dreamed of a life where I could love her the way she needed to be loved. I just couldn’t get out of my head long enough to make the move.
Once she got her emotions together, she straddled my lap while I took a moment to appreciate her natural beauty. Most people were enamored by her deep blue orbs, but there was so much more to her. She woke up every day looking like a model fresh off the runway with her high cheekbones, deep dimples, and perfectly plump pink lips. Every part of her was handcrafted to perfection by the Most High.
We sat there taking each other in until Lyric leaned forward and cupped my face in her hands. Her fingers raked softly through my beard, and the feeling was calming. When she crashed her lips against mine, I froze for a moment. I hadn’t expected her to make such a bold move, and it caught me offguard. Of course, my body had a mind of its own as I returned the kiss, taking possession of her tongue.
She tasted sweet, but there was no shock there. Our heavy breathing, mixed with her moaning, caused my dick to rock up. Lyric must have felt it because she began to rock her hips in my lap. The friction only made me harder, and for a moment, I found myself losing control. I fisted her long hair in my hand, deepening our kiss even more.
“Mmm,” she moaned. Lyric pulled away briefly to unzip her jacket.
