Page 7 of Love's Free Will

I rubbed the back of my neck, shaking my head. “Look, I get that Logan want me to go bigger, but I ain’t tryin’ to change what works.”

She sighed, placing a plate of food in front of me. “Royal… sometimes, we get too comfortable in what we think is workin’. But that don’t mean it can’t get better.”

I sat there, picking at my plate, not responding.

She watched me for a moment before softening her voice. “Just try it, baby. If it don’t work, then it don’t work. But you’ll never know if you don’t try.”

I looked down at my food, silent. I didn’t wanna try. Didn’t wanna change. Didn’t wanna let some outsider come in and actlike she knew me better than I knew myself. But I also didn’t want my album shelved.

“We’ll see.” That was all I gave her because that’s all I had it in me to give. She just smiled, satisfied.

Dinner was the usual—loud, funny, full of love. Princess was on her phone talking about her acceptance into Spelman, King was stealing food off her plate just to piss her off, and Zay was talking shit like he was a blood relative instead of just my best friend. And through it all, I felt at peace because this was my family, this was what I endured bullshit for; to see them all happy.

By the time we cleaned up, it was just me and Ma, sitting at the table, sipping on drinks. She tilted her head at me. “You talk to your daddy lately?”

I nodded, stretching out my legs. “Yeah. Called me the other day. Asked about you, like always.”

She exhaled, looking away. I studied her, noticing that look she got every time we talked about him. That mix of love, pain, and guilt she never fully admitted to. She divorced him years ago, but I knew—deep down, she still loved him. But she couldn’t be with him. Not because he was serving a life sentence in prison, that wasn’t the issue; but the outside women and child that she found out about once he did go in, that was something she couldn’t deal with and I didn’t even blame her.

She tried to shield us from that shit for so long, but King was old enough to know and he told me. To this day King didn’t really fuck with our Pops like that no more. He accepted some of his calls but not all. And when Pops started talking that bullshit, King was quick to end that shit. I, on the other hand, tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Yeah the shit he did was fucked up, but he was still my Pops and for all my life up until he went to jail he had taken care of us and loved us.

She sipped her drink. “I just… I hate how things ended.”

“I know.”

Silence stretched between us before she sighed and changed the subject. “Go on, boy. Get outta my kitchen.”

I smirked, standing up and pressing one more kiss to her forehead before heading out. As I stepped into the night air, Logan’s words lingered in my head.

You gotta let go of your ego.

I shook my head, pulling out my phone. I wasn’t letting go of shit.

3

AVERI

The house was just as immaculate as I remembered. White brick, massive columns, a circular driveway with a fountain in the center, and a lawn so pristine, it looked like the groundskeepers cut it with scissors. It was the kind of home that screamed old money, the kind of place where appearances mattered more than comfort.

I hated it.

Inside, the air smelled like rosemary chicken, fresh-baked rolls, and bullshit. I sat at the long mahogany dining table, pushing food around on my plate while my mother and father fawned over Candace and Brandon like they had just discovered fire.

“Oh, Candace, you are glowing,” my mother, Allison, gushed, beaming at my baby sister like she had cured cancer instead of just announcing a pregnancy.

Candace, ever the family darling, did that fake ass humble shrug she always did. “I guess I’m just really happy, Mommy. Having a baby with my amazing husband? It’s just so perfect.” Brandon kissed her hand, looking equally smug. I resisted the urge to gag.

My father, Dr. Elijah St. Claire, nodded in approval. “You two are doing everything right,” he said, the emphasis not lost on me. “Brandon, you just graduated medical school, Candace is preparing for motherhood, and soon you’ll both be building your family’s legacy.”

My mother nodded in agreement. “This is exactly what I always wanted for my children.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my past lives. Elias, my younger brother, shot me a smirk from across the table, clearly entertained by my irritation. The only person at this table who wasn’t an active op.

“So, Elias,” my mother turned to him, her tone still sickly sweet, “how are things with Rose?”

My brother perked up at the mention of his long-term girlfriend. “She’s good. We’re talking about moving in together after graduation.”

Cue another round of adoration.

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