Page 28 of The Devoted Husband

Sighing, Imani looked toward the window with a shake of her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You finally won, got the man, and got me out of your life.”

This wasn’t how Sade saw their visit ending, but she figured it was a good time to leave. “I’ll, um...check on you through Reggie later. If you need anything, tell him, and he’ll let me know.”

As Sade walked away, Imani gritted, “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what, Imani?”

“Being nice to me. I don’t deserve it. The worse I treat you, the better you are to me. Just stop.”

Chuckling, Sade turned to face her sister. “I’ll never stop. The quicker you realize that and let me be a good big sister to you, the better off we’ll both be.”

She took a few steps more before Imani asked, “Can you...bring me a seafood bag?”

Sade’s smile widened as she nodded. “Yeah, I got you.”

Sade’s head was killing her. Outside of feeling nauseated and tired, the headaches were the worst symptom of her pregnancy. She was curled up in a ball with the lights and TV off, waiting for the headache to pass. About two hours had passed since she left the hospital after visiting Imani. Reggie refused to uncuff her, so Sade had to feed her, and to her surprise, the gesture made Imani cry.

“I’m sorry, Sade, for everything,” Imani sobbed. “I know that might not mean much, but—”

“It means everything, seeing as though you never apologize,” Sade replied, shedding a few tears of her own.

“I love you. I’m really sorry.”

Gasping, Sade wobbled in her seat. She couldn’t remember the last time her sister told her she loved her...if ever. “I-I love you too.”

A smile lifted the corners of Sade’s mouth at the memory. Someone knocked on the door before it opened. Sitting up, she asked who it was. Relief filled her when Atlas announced himself...then she grew confused.

“How’d you get in? You left your key here when we called things off.”

“I told them at the front desk that you weren’t feeling good and asked for a new key so you wouldn’t have to get up to let me in.”

“Thanks, but I don’t like how easy it was for you to get a key.”

“They know I was staying here with you. I’m sure they wouldn’t have given it to me if that wasn’t the case.” Satisfied with his answer, Sade lay back down. “How you feeling? Head still hurting?”

“Yes.”

“And you sure you don’t want to take anything?”

“I’m sure. My doctor told me I could take a low dose of Tylenol, but I don’t want to. I’d rather let it go away on its own.”

After Atlas undressed, he climbed behind her in bed. The moment his arms wrapped around her, Sade relaxed farther in bed. His presence and embrace may not have made her headache disappear, but it made her feel better.

“I’m sorry about Dante yesterday. I can’t believe he showed up where we were. We were supposed to meet today, but he hasn’t answered my calls. I actually think he has me blocked.”

“You don’t have to apologize for his actions.”

“I still feel bad about it. He could have killed you.”

“Him sneaking me from behind was some bitch-ass shit. If he wants to square up or shoot it out, we can always do that.”

“Whoa.” Turning in his embrace, Sade tossed her leg over his frame. “Now, that’s what we’renotgoing to do or even discuss. I told you how important it was to keep the peace. That’s why I didn’t want him to know about us. If I can’t trust you to behave—”

“He choked me out. Ain’t that much behaving in the world, Sade.”

“Can you please just let it go...for me? You did run him off the road and give him a concussion. He temporarily had amnesia.”

Sucking his teeth, Atlas didn’t respond right away. This was what Sade was worried about. There was no way these two men could coexist in the same space. What Atlas had to understand was that if she had to choose between the two of them, he’d lose. She prayed he’d calm down and it wouldn’t come to that.

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