Page 59 of A Don & His Doll

Monroe didn't respond, he just picked up his phone, scrolled to his pictures, then passed Truth his phone.

Truth zoomed in on Monae's face, and looked back and forth between Monroe and the pictures like seven times in disbelief. “Bruh! That lil’ girl look just like yo' ass! This shit crazy as fuck.

Monroe couldn't argue with that if he wanted to. "She mine, bruh."

The second Truth heard those words, he instantly felt his brother’s inner turmoil. His mind instantly went back to the mental break Monroe had when he found out that Sienna had died. Truth couldn’t even imagine how he’d respond to this situation, but one thing was for certain, he was going to stand ten toes down with his brother.

“How you know Mama Macie is behind all this?" Truth quizzed.

"Think about it," Monroe told him. "She had them secluded in Morocco for twelve years. Lyin' to my daughter, tellin’ her I was workin' for the government on a secret assignment. And, she killed my grandfather, yo'." Monroe revealed more facts.

"Damn, Roe. This is all fucked up. What 'chu gon' do?" Truth asked. "You know I'ma ride wit'chu on whatever you decide."

"I'ma let you know when me and Unc got it all figured out. We gotta take our time to make sure we cover all our bases with this situation because there’s are way too many moving parts, and you already know a nigga ain't 'bout to hop in nobody's trick bag."

"Already," Truth nodded his agreement.

"Now tell me what went down with Promise?" Truth asked, taking another pull from his blunt.

Monroe's jaw tightened. "She listened. Then told a nigga I owed it to myself to figure out if there was still something between me and Sienna."

Truth blinked.

"Yo’, she said that shit?"

Monroe nodded.

"Said she already made her choice, but she want me to make mine after givin’ myself time to get clarity."

Truth leaned back in the seat, shaking his head slowly. "Damn." He looked over at Monroe.

"Sis really love yo’ ass, bruh," Truth said, understanding where Promise was coming from.

“How you figure?” Monroe shot, feeling like he was being punished for a situation he had no control over.

“She just tryna protect her heart, bruh. She scared that once you fully get into your role as a father, and sort yo’ shit out with Sienna, that you gon’ pick them over her,” Truth interpreted.” She want you to be sure ‘cause she ain’t.”

Monroe hadn’t understood Promise’s perspective from this viewpoint. Now that he had it all made complete sense.

Monroe laid awake at six o'clock in the morning thinking about Monae. Life wasn't always fair, but men like Monroe knew how to make the universe tip in his favor. He'd spent most of his life making things happen, and running an organization he never asked for. Men old enough to be his father came to him for advice, while other men half his age hung on to his every word like scripture. He had the keys to the city, influence that stretched across state lines, more access and resources than he could count, but when it came to his daughter...it meant nothing.

Monae didn’t care how much money he had. She could care less about his street cred. And his power and resources did nothing for him in regards to building a substantial relationship with his daughter. A slow smile tugged at the corner of Monroe's mouth as memories from the museum replayed through his mind. Her features, the sound of her voice, and the way she had embraced him the day they met had touched his heart in the most innocent way. Monroe would never forget that moment. It was priceless. The more he thought about her, the closer he felt to her...and the closer he felt, the more he wanted to spend more time with her.

He wasn't thinking about the time he'd lost anymore. He was living in the present, and needed to take advantage of the time he had moving forward. Monroe had never believed in the concept of buying love. Love is action, not a product. Anybody could throw money at a problem. Anybody could buy expensive gifts, but that wasn’t the way he moved, and he highly doubted that the attempt would impress Monae because she was a part of him.

Things like privacy and quality time meant something to Monroe. He was extremely private because he was taught to never let the left hand know what the right is doing. Him being private when it came to those he cared about was also his way of protecting them, and by any means necessary, Monroe would die before he ever left Monae unprotected. For men like Monroe, money didn't mean shit to him, he had it, and he spent it. But when it came to his heart, that was a different story. Monroe understood and thought about time differently than a lot of men. If all he did was spend money on a person, he didn't give a damn about them. If he spent his time with you, his money, his power, his resources...everything that made him who he was would naturally come with his time.

Very few knew that about him, but those that had earned it... knew they had something special with him. Sitting up on the side of his bed, Monroe reached for his phone, and scrolled to Sienna's contact. His thumb hovered over the message bar for a few seconds, until he decided he didn't want to text, and called her instead. A text ain't enough, he thought.

"Hello," Sienna answered before the second ring. "Good morning."

"Mornin'," he returned. "You sound like you already up."

Sienna giggled softly.

"I've been laying here for the last hour scrolling on Facebook. I need to get out this bed, and get my day started," Sienna stated, sitting up on the side of the bed.

Monroe chuckled. "You makin' money on Facebook?" Monroe quizzed.