Page 49 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

There was nothing funny about her breaking up my happy home. I was going to pull that fake lace wig off her head.

My heart ached. I had so many questions. Why make me marry him if he was going to cheat? My tears blurred my vision as I tried to get my mouth to work.

I wanted to yell, to scream, to beat his ass...

"Why are you here, Creed? Did you follow me?" He looked amused. They were both laughing at me.

All of a sudden, my mouth worked. "You're damn right I did."

I started walking in his direction. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Noah met me halfway, concern all over his face.

"Why are you crying?" He reached for me. I knocked his hands away.

"You sneaky, conniving, cheating mother—"

He interrupted. "Cheating with who?"

"With her." I shot my finger in the direction of the lady who was still on the porch. Then I looked at her, like really looked at her. She reminded me of Debbie Allen and was as old as her, with graying sister-loc’d hair.

Confusion and frustration had me frowning. This lady was not having sex with Noah.

"What are you doing here, Noah?"

He shook his head. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

I tilted my head to stare at him. He was still perfectly put together in a black polo, khaki chinos, and black Gucci sneakers on his feet. He hadn't been fucking.

"What type of surprise?"

"I've been taking lessons to help Mrs. Auta. I want us to switch to a doula. I didn’t like that doctor we went to."

His words hit me square in the chest. My entire body turned red.

Noah took a deep breath and gently cradled my face in his hands, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. "Did you follow me here because you thought I was fucking her? You were bloodthirsty at the idea, huh?" He leaned and rested hisforehead against mine and whispered so only we could hear. "Your jealousy makes me hard as fuck, Chipmunk." I hated his new nickname for me. He said I had chipmunk teeth.

I shoved him off me. "This is the hormones. Ignore me, forget I was ever here." I threw a wave at Mrs. Auta. She had a knowing smile on her face. I wanted to curl up and die for just an hour. I rushed back to my car with both of them laughing at me. I got in the car. I was halfway down the block before I fully processed what Noah said. I pulled over at a corner store. I needed to. I was about to lose it. I had embarrassed myself so badly. I was surprised Noah even let me leave. Then he pulled up beside me. His blue eyes shone bright. He was too amused for my liking. He gestured for me to roll down the window. I did. "I was going to follow you this time."

I resisted the urge to give him the finger. Instead, I said, "You're out of your mind if I'm having a holistic birthing experience. I want to be in the hospital, with three or four Black and/or POC doctors, who get paid a hell of a lot to make sure I make it home. Black women die in childbirth. Won't be me. Now come get in the car and hold me," I said before I busted out crying. I don't know what the fuck Mother Nature put in pregnancy hormones, but I wish I got less of it.

Creed-

"This attack was premeditated. She's been threatening to kick my ass for years. I can't even tell you how many times I recall her telling me, 'I'mma beat your ass on sight, Tiffany,'" Tiffany said, swiveling her neck dramatically while mimicking Momma's voice.

I sighed. Noah shook his head, and Tempest chuckled. She was enjoying the drama. She had left my god baby home with her daddy to come be entertained in person. I couldn't blame her. Her husband had been acting like he couldn't do anything for the baby without her. She needed a break, and I was glad I could help her get one.

Momma clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention away from Tiffany's testimony. "Bitch, and I did... beat your ass until you begged me to let you loose!" Momma jumped up from where she was sitting next to three high-powered attorneys in nearly identical five-digit black suits. They were all trying to get her to calm down, but she kept trying to take a step closer to Tiffany. They didn’t know what to do with her most of the time, and her court case had turned into a debacle. There were paparazzi outside, entertainment reporters, TikTok and Twitter reporters in the courtroom. And they had good reason to be there. It was nearly six weeks after the incident on the day Daddy got out of jail, but Tiffany had shown up in a neck brace, like she'd been in a car accident or something, not a simple fight.

Momma wouldn’t stop interrupting court proceedings, and even though Donovan had dropped charges against Troy, Daddy was on the brink of catching another charge because he couldn't stop fighting with the people who showed up to support Tiffany.They stood outside the courthouse, calling Momma all kinds of names. I had said I wasn't dealing with them until after the baby, but seeing my Momma break down crying on TV after being called so many pejoratives—I had to come. I booked Noah and me on the first flight from Atlanta to Florida.

"Ma'am, sit down," the judge yelled, banging her gavel. The sound of wood hitting wood echoed in the courtroom. The judge was a petite redhead, reminding me of a less stacked version of that chick Elisabeth on the show with the fine Hispanic dude. Her face was redder than her hair. Momma had been wearing this lady's patience thin. You'd think, for once, she’d act right, just so she could go home at the end of the trial instead of doing jail time, but for Scarlett Rose, that would be too much like right.

The bailiff walked toward Momma with a serious look on his face. One of her lawyers jumped up. "Can we have a recess, Judge?" he rushed, trying to save her.

The judge glared at him but dismissed us. "I want you back here in three hours, ready to act appropriately in my courtroom," she directed at Scarlett.

The courtroom erupted into disarray as soon as the judge disappeared into her office. Mommy was ushered out and into the room next to the courtroom. Even Tempest left. Noah and I waited until everybody had left to follow them out.

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