Page 89 of A Don & His Doll

Sienna had been away from Monroe for a long time, but she had waited for God to bring them back together. Waited for the day her truth would make her free, but now that she had escaped from Macie’s control, somehow she still had control over her life. Sienna had been responsible for pulling the trigger, and she thought it would make her feel better. Yet, somehow even from the grave, Macie was still having her way, and still winning. How can he not love me anymore? She questioned as tears made pathways down her face.

She’d dug deep, gone to war, raised their daughter, lost time with her mother, yet managed to stay sane. Life had stripped her of everything, but the light at the end of the tunnel kept her putting one foot in front of the other. Monroe.

He was her light.

He was her reason.

He was her savior, and she knew that in due time he’d save her. She believed that the day would come when he’d find out she was still alive, and he’d come and get her. Sienna had awakened from one nightmare in Morocco, and went straight into another one when she got back to New York. Sitting outside lost in the train of her own thoughts, made Sienna completely oblivious to Monroe’s arrival. She hadn’t heard him pull up in her driveway, neither was she cognizant of the spare key he’d kept upon purchasing the home she and Monae lived in to disengage her locks or disarm the security system. She was so out of touch, she didn’t hear his footsteps as he walked through her home and neared her in the backyard.

Monroe had kept one of the spare keys when he purchased the home partly because his daughter lived there, and protecting her would always be his responsibility. He had also known before leaving Malibu that this conversation would be had when the time was right. He stood there and watched her quietly for a minute because he knew the weight of his words would change the dynamic between them forever. Monroe knew his words were going to break her heart, and he didn’t want to do it; but he had to.

“How could you give another woman what belonged to me?” Sienna whispered into the night.

“I never thought it was possible,” Monroe stated, standing behind her, looking up at the night sky.

“What the fuck?!” Sienna damn near jumped out of her skin and fell into the pool when she heard his voice. “Monroe.”

Monroe paused for a moment, allowing Sienna to ground herself in the silence created between them before he continued.

“We were young trying to find our way back then, but the way I loved you…” Monroe shook his head. “I slipped into a dark place when I thought you were killed. It took a long time to get right mentally, but my heart was gone,” Monroe told her truthfully. “I know it’s hard for you to see past what I’m tellin’ you, and the woman you feel I’m choosing over you. But I need you to hear me. I need you to understand that all the love we created years ago was real as fuck, and Monae is a livin’, breathin’ testament of our love in human form.” Monroe sighed. “What my mother did was fucked up, Sienna. That shit is on me though ‘cause I should have known–”

“You can’t blame yourself for the things another fucked up human being did. She knew what she was doing, and she was never remorseful,” Sienna said, with resentment dripping from every word.

“I can’t fix what we had, Sienna. I can’t let go of what I have with Promise to rekindle what we lost.” It broke Monroe’s heart to say those words to Sienna, but he didn’t have it in him to lie to her. “That moment in your presence. The kiss we shared. The way you touched me. The shit you made a nigga feel… All that love had a nigga head fucked up, so I had to get away. I had to search deep in my soul and talk to God about it, and…”

“And God told you that where you belonged was apart from me and Monae?” Sienna needed to know because her heart was pulverizing with every word Monroe spoke. “Please tell me that the God I’ve been praying to didn’t tell you to break me down like this,” Sienna's voice cracked as she fought to keep her composure intact.

Sienna’s tears had tugged at Monroe’s heart, but there was no sugarcoating the truth. This was indeed goodbye to the relationship they shared years ago.

“I can’t say I heard his voice, but I’m sure about my decision.”

“How when you haven’t given us a real chance?”

“Look, I ain’t tryna hurt you, and I know the shit I’m sayin’ to you right now at sittin’ well wit’chu, but not wastin’ yo’ time gon’ be somethin’ you appreciate once you get out your feelings,” Monroe reasoned. “You love who I used to be, and I ain’t never gon’ revert to being him again,” Monroe explained, locking eyes with her now as she stood. “You deserve a new start, even if it ain’t with me. I wanna see you happy ‘cause you deserve everything good that God got for you, and our daughter deserves to have a mother who exemplifies the best version of herself. We ain’t seventeen no more, Sienna.”

Sienna sniffled, but remained quiet because Monroe had crushed every ounce of hope she had held out for rekindling their relationship.

“No matter what happens movin’ forward, ain’t nothin’ in this world gon’ stop me from being a father to our daughter,” he stated. “I’ll be back in a few days to pick up Monae. I wanna introduce her to Promise, and I wanna take her on a mini vacation before school starts back up.”

“Ok,” Sienna replied, then watched him walk away because in that moment she realized love can survive anything, but people…people change.

The steady hum of the shower tugged Promise from her slumber, while the cool air brushing across her skin confirmed what her subconscious had already sensed. Monroe had slipped from the bed. She stretched beneath the covers before sitting up on the side of the bed and slowly opening her eyes.

“Good morning, mommy’s sweet baby,” Promise greeted her unborn child, smoothing her hand over the gentle curve of her protruding belly. “It’s time to get up,” she whispered, tapping the top of her stomach, slowly dragging her finger in a zigzag across her skin, smiling as she waited to see if the baby would chase it with a kick.

Rising to her feet, she padded slowly into the ensuite, and slipped into the shower behind Monroe, instantly wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Good morning, my love,” Promise greeted, her hands moving with a mind of their own.

Monroe chuckled, already knowing the time she was on. “There you go, startin’ shit early in the mornin’.

Promise responded with a kiss to his back before stepping in front of him. The sight of Monroe’s low-set eyes fueled the desire stirring inside her as she claimed his soft-cushioned lips, loving the slow tussle their tongues did every time they met.

“Mmm,” he groaned into her mouth, instantly setting every nerve ending beneath her skin on fire.

“Ssss,” Promise moaned, pulling away slowly, and busting a squat in front of him.

Monroe made his dick jump impulsively as soon as he observed the hunger in her gaze. Promise stuck her tongue out, circled it around the tip, then sealed it with a soul-stirring kiss that had Monroe tangling his hands in her thick tresses.