Page 5 of Trading Up
You better get pregnant off that one, my love.
I was feeling my chest rise and fall, the pain and heartache were spreading out, coursing through my veins. The next thing I knew, I was in Row’s long-sleeved black Henley while he stalked off, his tattooed, muscular back to me. He always gave me his shirts whenever I would start to go into a panic attack, knowing I needed the familiar comforting smells and warmth to bring me back down from my fears, my panic surging through me.
He came back with a brown paper sack, his phone to his ear.
“Use this, Mama,” he kissed the top of my head like he always did, steady and familiar in his actions, then walked back out of the room. I breathed in and out of the paper bag, curling myself into his shirt, laying down on the mountain of pillows he kept on his couch for me. I was trying to focus on my breathing, trying to calm myself. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I could feel myself calming, my eyelids heavy from the emotional toll the day had taken on me. The last thing I heard was his voice.
“I’m going to pick up the boys. I already called thatmotherfuckerand let him know y'all gonna be with me today. Sleep well, Baby.”
My heavy eyes closed; the emotional exhaustion of learning my husband was actively trying to have a baby with his PA and calling her his love, won out.
F O U R: Every King needs a Queen
Deveraux’s POV
I pulled my phone back to my ear after checking on her. She was sleeping peacefully on my couch, and that was about as good as it was going to get at the moment. I walked back to my closet, grabbed another shirt, and pulled it on. I had to get to the school in twenty minutes to pick up the boys. It took everything I had inside of me not to throttle that absolute waste of space she called a husband when I told him she and the boys were going to be staying with me tonight. He sounded preoccupied, which I could only imagine with what.
As a chef and owner of two of the most popular restaurants in town that were usually booked out months in advance, I had connections with high-profile people, people who owed me favors for squeezing them in at the ‘last minute’ or with a cancellation. I had been accumulating these favors for years, and it was finally time to cash them all in.
He had fucked up.
His bitch ass didn’t fuckin’ listen when I warned him what would happen if he should ever hurt a hair on her headorthe heart in her chest. We were standing at the altar, somehow, I was the co-Best Man, but I was right next to him when I leaned in and promised him what would happen if he fucked up. He’d known since our first meeting that I harbored feelings for her. He’d known I was in love with her. He also knew that if he fucked up and hurt her, I’d be coming for him and finally claiming her.
Going off to pursue becoming a chef and my stubbornness to wait until I could provide for her proved to be abad move. I thought all was lost when they got married and had Carter.
I still remembered the first time I saw her. It was when she was moving into the dorms, and she hadn’t seen me yet, but it was impossible to miss her. She was all woman, curves and ass for days. Even as a man with a broken heart, I could appreciate what the good Lord had placed before me. Then, when she hugged me in the kitchen at work after my ex wouldn’t leave me alone, guilting me to come back to her because she’d made a mistake and didn’t mean to cheat on me.
My ex was my high school sweetheart. We’d been together for four years. She broke my heart, and it took a long time to put it back together. I didn’t drown myself in pussy, though lord knows I could have. Girls threw themselves at me, so there was never a shortage, but I preferred the company of Sarah. I don’t think I truly knew how broken a heart could feel until I heard how excited Sarah was when she told me things were getting serious with some asshole named Will. I told her things weren’t allowed to go there until I had met and approved of him.
She invited me out that weekend. To meet him. And as soon as I saw how happy she was, I knew I couldn’t say no and hurt her, even if I didn’t approve of him. She had a party at her place, and all our mutual friends were there. She looked stunning, like the little baddie she had always been. He was always wary of me until she got pregnant. It seemed he thought he had her on lock once he got her pregnant.
But Memaw always said, “Just because she is barefoot and pregnant, doesn't mean you stop cherishing her.” And she was right. It seemed he turned off the love as soon as she had one baby, getting her pregnant quickly after Carter turned two. Theringing of my phone in my ear pulled me from my thoughts, the drive to the school going by in a flurry of memories and phone calls.
“Jenson.”
“Yo, it’s Dev. Ima cash in on that favor from you and your PI.”
“Fuck,” he groaned the word out like he was remembering all the little favors I’d done for him, knowing he was about to be worked to the bone. He sounded nervous when he asked, tentatively.
“What do you need? And you better not tell me it'sthatfavor. I don’t have time in my schedule forthat.” I smirked, knowing it was forthatfavor, but also knowing we had to get information first.
“It is.” The smirk on my face was getting bigger, feeling giddy as I rubbed my hands together, turning into the pick-up line at the boys’ school.
“Fuck,” He groaned the word, stretching it out so long I thought he might pass out cause he ain’t breathin’. “Alright. Alright, I knew this day would come. What happened?”
“She caught that mothafucker balls deep in his side bitch. I need all of the information I can get on him and her. Everything. She needs to see how long he’s been shady behind her back. If there’s more than just this bitch, she needs to know,” I heard him sigh heavily on the other end of the phone, knowing he was about to question my decision to have his PI search for everything.
“Jenson. She needs to know, or she’ll never leave him. He’s destroying her light. He’s been dimming her shine for fartoo fuckin long as is. This? This shit broke her in a way I hadn’t seen since her sperm donor disappeared from her life. She has had limited contact with her mother, and none at all with the father of two families. He doesn't appreciate her, not like…” I couldn’t finish that sentence. Not yet. Because while I appreciated her, I knew she wasn’t ready for me.
Not yet.
“Not like you? That what you were about to say?” Jenson asked, and I could hear the implications in his voice. We’d become friends over the years I’d been running my restaurants, getting to know each other. He knew I never got with women, not when the one who had my heart was my best friend.
“Alright, Dev. Give me today. Possibly tomorrow. I’ll meet you both, and if she wants out after everything we find, I’ll represent her.”
“Appreciate you.” I hung up the phone as I double-checked that the booster and car seats were in place. Ready as always for my honorary nephews. My chosen family. My family had always loved Sarah since that first holiday break, our first year of college together. She called her mom, said she’d be home, but she’d be bringing a friend, and then we’d be spending time with my family. Her mom was nice, the house was something I could only dream of affording, and I was thankful to have her come back to my house after a week with her mom. I knew if I ever wanted to be with her, I had to be able to provide her with the life she was worthy of.
Meeting my folks was a completely different experience for her, but she just seemed to fit in with us perfectly. She asked if my family is always this loving to people, because she’d never had that, not even with her family. Loud, having fun, getting in on game nights, and helping Mama and Memaw in the kitchen.She fit. She jumped in feet first, helping with cleaning up after meals, and she talked to everyone, played with my younger siblings. She was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed.
