Page 57 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon

“Bro, Bronx is dead,” Eazy reminded him. “Not only that, but you also protected her and his son. I damn sure can’t judge you for that.” Patting his friend on the shoulder, he went to grab a fresh drink.

Bull let his words sink in and decided to show his face with his guests. He didn’t want to be rude, and they had all shown up for him. When he found Essence in the living room, staring at a photo of him, Toni, and the kids when Bijou was about six months old, he caught the faint glare in her eyes when she bitterly tossed back the glass of champagne. Coming up beside her, Bull’s presence startled her, and Essence immediately straightened up and cleared her throat.

“If it isn’t the birthday boy.” She threw on a fake smile, but he knew better.

“Thanks for coming, E.”

“I started not to,” she muttered.

“Why is that?” Bull queried.

Scoffing, she shook her head and looked around at all the people having a good time. His wife was nowhere in sight, but Essence was still fully aware that they were in his home that he shared with his family. The notion that she was an outsider hit her harder than she expected.

“Didn’t seem appropriate.” She shrugged.

“Because of us and our history?” Bull pried.

“Silly me. I thought you coming back all those years ago meant that something was finally aligning, and we would get a chance to be together,” she confessed.

His chest constricted before his eyes fell on the ground briefly. She was the last person he wanted to hurt. Essence was the first girl he ever really gave a damn about. He deemed her far too good for a man like him. For years, he struggled with keeping the boundaries set between them, but they always found a way to sneak beyond them.

“You got a part of me nobody can touch, E. I’ll go to war behind you like I would anybody else I care about.”

“I don’t doubt that.” She nodded. “You just have a family now, and a wife.” She laughed to keep herself from falling apart. “I don’t get it, Bull. Why her? How could you do that to your brother? How could she? How can you be with a woman who can do something like that?”

“E, with all due respect, Toni’s my wife. I don’t have to explain this to you or anybody else,” Bull insisted.

“No, you don’t,” she agreed. “But after all these years, all we’ve been to each other, you don’t think I deserve the answers?”

“You really want the answers, E? Or you just want me to give you some hope that all this is some façade, and I make a bunch of promises to you that I can’t fucking keep?” Bull demanded through gritted teeth.

“All I’ve ever done is be honest with you about how I feel and what I wanted, Bull. You’re right, though, you never led me on or had me believing anything. It was all in my stupid ass head.” She pushed past him, but he subtly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Only inches apart, his cologne assaulted her nostrils, and her heart pounded in her chest. Bull would never deny that he harbored real feelings for Essence. Gaze softening, he addressed her in a low tone.

“Do you love her?” Essence questioned, her voice shaky as hell while awaiting a response.

“She’s my wife.”

The fact that he didn’t answer told her more than she wanted to know. She was present to see how he looked at her with her own two eyes. It was delusional of her to deny that his heart was somewhere else. He might have feelings for her; it was possible he cared for her like he said. Knowing both things didn’t make either of them less true. Bull wasn’t hers to claim, and he never was.

“But I don’t want to lose you as my friend.”

“Well, I’m not able to be that for you, Bull. Tell Eazy I’m catching an Uber home.” Yanking away from him, she stomped toward the entryway and let herself onto the front porch.

Swiping his beard, Bull happened to glance across the room and found Toni staring and wondering what she’d just witnessed.

CHAPTER 11

OFFICIALLY MISSING YOU

“Everything okay?” Lotus asked when Toni stomped over to the table where she sat with Breeze and Bijou.

“My mother, stepfather, and hoe ass stepsister are here.” Toni huffed, grabbing Breeze and pulling him onto her lap as she took a seat.

“You must be close.” Lotus’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she popped a cracker loaded with salami and cheese into her mouth.

She was starving, and everything tasted good. So far, she hadn’t missed a tray passing them by.