Page 48 of Kobalt

“But you did hurt me, friend, and you can’t take it back. You didn’t trust me, and you should’ve told me everything. I would’ve had your back.”

“I get where you’re coming from. I do. But Kobe and I had decisions to make about our future, and we made the ones that we thought were in our best interest—his best interest. I don’t regret that, Niagara.”

“That was selfish as hell, though, Kai. What were you going to do about the baby? Blame it on Kevin? Who were you going to tell my nephew his father was?” Niagara asked with teary eyes.

Kaimera’s breaths grew deep and labored. I grabbed her and pulled her against my side.

I glared at my sister. “Chill out, Nia. This has gone too far.”

“It didn’t go far enough. What would’ve happened if you two didn’t get back together? What then? Was it the strain of you being gone that caused the miscarriage? I mean, what?” Niagara asked. Her anger and hurt filled the atmosphere with tension. She would say something that she’d later regret because she always did.

“You need to go now, Nia, before you go too far.”

“She’s supposed to be my best friend, and she couldn’t tell me the truth? That was my nephew. My blood. That shit hurts.”

“Listen. You know I love you, Nia, but again, this ain’t about you. She apologized already, but this is something we had to work out. It really ain’t about you, li’l sis.”

“Oh, it’s her over me now?”

“It’s not about a choice, Niagara. It’s about making adult decisions and living up to them. Grow the fuck up,” I thundered.

“Oh, you’d better believe it’s about a choice.”

“Let’s head inside and talk about it.”

“No. I need some time apart to breathe. Y’all got this. Fuck outta here!” she replied, swatting my arm away when I reached for her.

She stormed toward her car despite me calling after her. I refused to leave Kaimera’s side. My sister had to come to learn and respect Kaimera’s position in my life now, and she had to learn to mind her own damn business. I appreciated her concern, but she had a bad habit of making things all about her. Not this time.

ONE WEEK LATER – 4TH WEEK OF OCTOBER

“Kennedi, I was thinking about the silk walls that we agreed on, and my suggestion is that we create a velvet headboard for that luxurious Polyform bed you bought. I know that you didn’t favor their headboard, but we can create one in an earth tone. The velvet will be the perfect accent to your silk backdrop. Take a look at these.” I pushed the swatches of fabric over to my client in the colors that I had chosen for her bedroom redesign.

I watched as her slightly interested gaze lit up with glee, and her mouth spread into the largest smile I had seen since meeting her.

“Kaimera, you are a genius, beautiful. I have been racking my brain, and I’ve given Bryse a headache trying to have him look at all these suggestions I’ve come up with. I know that he’s tired of hearing me whine, and in one swoop, you solved all of our problems.”

“I’ll take that to mean that you like my suggestion.”

“I love your suggestion. Thank you so much.”

“Okay then. Here are three options for the curtains that will hang up at your sliding doors. I know that you didn’t want to hide those stunning views of the ocean behind curtains, but this soft fabric will be the perfect complement to your overall look. They aren’t so heavy that it blocks out all the light, but they’ll give you the privacy that you need when you want it. Just like your doors hide into the wall, these curtains will fit into those same pockets,” I explained, passing another swatch to her.

“I love it, but do you think we could get it in cream instead of this tan color.”

I cringed when people made colors sound so bland and boring. It wasn’t tan but blanched almond. Instead of correcting her, I smiled and replied, “Sure. If you’re not interested in that, we have two options for you—Bavarian cream or Alhambra cream.”

I placed the two color cards in front of her for her to choose.

“Do you have the swatches of fabric in these colors?”

“I don’t, but I can assure you that the color is an exact match. There won’t be any shading variations because they are made from the finest silk.”

She sighed, and a little frown puckered the space between her eyebrows as she thought over her selection. My phone buzzed again, and I fought the urge to pick it up and look at it. I knew that it was probably Kobalt texting to see how my day was going.

I could not wait to leave the office and get to his place. We hadn’t made plans for me to go over there, but I’d planned to surprise him, and I had packed my bags before leaving for the office this morning. He had backed off on the suggestion of us moving in together, and while he had not changed his mind, he decided not to apply pressure and give me time and space to make up my mind. Gratitude filled me with how patient that man could be when it came to me.

I knew he wanted to protect me, but I also wanted to maintain my freedom and independence for a while longer. Kevin and Norrell had stolen that from me, and before I became completely dependent on Kobalt, I needed to find my strength to live, to breathe, and to flourish again. I didn’t want to be a burden on my man, and I knew running to stay at his place out of necessity rather than desire wasn’t good for either of us.