Page 18 of More to Love

“Steak Daddy with sparatus.”

I chuckled at her mispronunciation for asparagus. She was feeling fancy today and I could dig it. Even though I was going out grabbing our food darn near every day, I made sure she got some kind of vegetable in her system. Surprisingly, she ate them with no fuss and asked for seconds if they were seasoned right.

“I think I can make that happen. Give Daddy a minute to unwind and then we can play for a bit.”

She agreed and I headed out to my bedroom at the other end of the hall. A nigga was somewhat tired but had enough energy for her. I walked inside to find Avi sitting on the bed bouncing her leg. Attitude was etched all across her face and I knew the conversation wasn’t over from earlier.

“What is it, Avi? Speak your mind.”

“Out of all the shit you’ve done to me, you mean to tell me twenty racks ain’t the least you could give me. I mean damn. As your woman, I deserve a little bit more respect don’t you think?”

Her words caused me to stop mid stride. All this time the weight of coming clean was sitting on my shoulders when she knew already. She knew and said nothing. She bypassed it and didn’t leave with our daughter. She was right, that was the least I could give her.

“Listen baby, I’m sorry. She was a mistake and it only happened once.”

“She? What the hell are you talking about? And what happened once? Hendrix did you… did you cheat on me?”

Wait, what? Now I was confused.

“You said out of all the things I’ve done to you and that you deserved more respect, right? Were you not speaking on me stepping out?”

“I was talking about you cutting me off as far as money but damn nigga. I’m getting cheated on too? You really ain’t shit bro’.”

I apologized because of her choice of words but she really had no idea how I betrayed her trust. Hell, it was out there now. I planned on owning up to my wrongs anyway. There was no point in trying to shy away from it now.

“Don’t say that cause you know it ain’t true. I made a mistake and I’ll do any and everything to make it up to you.”

“I’m good. Me and my daughter will be out of your hair in less than an hour.”

“No baby, please don’t take Akeera away from me. I know I messed up and you can hold that over my head as long as you need to but don’t take that little girl out my life. Besides this one time, I ain’t never treated you wrong.”

“All it takes is one time Hendrix. Damn I have got to be the biggest fuckin’ fool to think I had a good one!”

Aviana was yelling at the top of her lungs, and I knew Princess could hear how upset her mother was. I never meant to hurt her or cause friction in our relationship. I was genuinely content with where I was.

“You taking it a little too far. I always been a good man to you.”

“So, cheating on me is being a good man? Also, you only told me because you assumed I knew. Yeah, I got a good man alright.”

“Like I said, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix things between us. It was a foolish mistake, and I really am sorry. You know me Avi and you know how much I love my family.”

“I thought I knew my nigga but it’s clear that I don’t. Unlock my fuckin’ card so me and my daughter can have time to think about our next move.”

“You think I’m about to give you the funds to walk away from me? Hell nah.”

“Nigga the least your cheating ass can do is give me time to figure out whether I want to stay with a lying muthafucka or not. Am I not owed that?”

As much as I hated to admit it, I had to realize that this was my fault. I created the mess I was standing in and regardless of what I wanted to happen, she had every right to be done.

“You got that. You can be done if you choose to be but please don’t mess up the stress-free life I’ve provided that little girl. I won’t fuss with you about leaving or even hating a nigga, but she stays.”

“She’s going to do whatever the fuck I say. You ain’t shit to her anyway. She has a daddy, remember that.”

If she was trying to hurt me back, she accomplished it. DNA couldn’t bring us closer than what we already were. Akeera was my baby and not even Aviana could tell me different. Plus, the so-called daddy Avi was speaking of paid his hundred dollars a month in child support and stayed out the way. He had no time for Aviana or Princess.

My hand was around her throat backing her into a wall before she could blink. I was hurt for sure, but I was equally enraged. She knew how I felt about our daughter, and she still decided to test the waters.

“I’m letting you get away with a lot of junk because I genuinely messed up, but I suggest you play with a nigga that don’t give a crap about his child. Watch your words and keep it cute cause you know firsthand how ugly this can get.”