Page 22 of Meraux Mafia: No Ordinary Love

Gianni’s expression remained grim as he sat on the couch, watching me. My lashes dropped to hide the anxiety I felt. I had many questions, but he posed one of his own.

“What made you keep her?”

“My mother gave me a chance. I felt like I owed my baby one too.” My breath quickened, and my cheeks grew warm. “Which in hindsight may or may not have been selfish, but I couldn’t do it. I made a mistake and have to own it, even if that means raising her alone.”

“You’re not raising my daughter alone,” his tone interrupted me for even insinuating he wouldn’t handle his responsibility, “It's not the baby Lo. It's what the baby means for you and me."

"It means we co-parent like adults," I explained quickly, but my dumbfounded tone made him chuckle.

"You have no idea who you're fuckin’ with." My eyebrows hiked, displaying my naivety on the subject. "I'm not a regular nigga, so I don't follow regular rules. You can't either, carrying my daughter."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm exhausted. Being chased around sucked all the energy out of me."

"It means getting married,” he informed me.

My lips quivered before I chuckled at his response. "Really funny."

"No funny shit, but I need to holla at my people. I'll be back later." He wasn't laughing, and neither was I anymore.

What the hell did he mean?

"Go see Kyerra. You don't have to come back tonight," I replied, regretting the first part of my comment the second it left my lips.

"You sound jealous, co-parent," Gianni didn't hesitate to point out. I was unsure of my emotions, but I wasn't jealous. I just wished like hell the situation was different. I promised myself I would never bring a child into the confusion I was born into, but I failed.

"Get out, Gianni."

"Careful, saying my name like that. That's more trouble we don't need. Are y'all good before I go?"

"Yes."

"If you think of anything," he paused, picking my phone up off the table and handing it to me. After unlocking it, Gi plugged his number into my phone and dialed himself before handing it back. "Let me know."

"Baby daddy?" I scoffed at his joke, "Real cute."

"Take it easy and call me if you need anything."

I nodded as Gianni hauled himself to his feet. His eyes hung on me for a moment, pausing at the door. His gaze was riveted on my face, then moved to my stomach. I was by no means blind to Gianni’s attraction, but there was also some regret there too.

I went home and decided to work out to clear my head before speaking with my father. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. Hailo was already six months pregnant, and several things needed to happen soon. The first on the list was informing my family. I’d need all my strength to find an alternative to us getting married.

Ross Meraux had the power to change my situation, but I wasn’t confident he would. His marriage had been orchestrated for him, and he worshiped the ground Xora walked on. Ross bought into the system because his parent's marriage had also been arranged. The only difference was that they knew their spouse much more than I knew Hailo.

The other side of the coin was my uncle, Lucas, and aunt, Sophia. They tolerated each other because tradition said so. They weren’t in love, and Sophia didn’t pretend to be. Most days, she was miserable and damn sure tried to make the rest of us join her.

“Wassup Sol,” I huffed, answering her call as I wiped the stress-induced sweat from my face.

“What the hell is going on? Kyerra called me, balling her eyes out, claiming you got some girl pregnant, but I know that’s not possible.”

“Anything is possible, Sol.”

“Gianni. You have a baby on the way and didn't tell me? I thought we were better than that!" Solana fussed.

"I can't share some shit I don't know."

"What?"

“I just found out today that Hailo is pregnant.”

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