Page 171 of Rah
The lights felt brighter when I stepped back out for the encore.
The crowd was going wild with their phones in the air.Flashes were everywhere, and they were still chanting my name.
“Aye, y’all mind if I do something real quick?” I asked into the mic.
The crowd roared.
I took a breath, feeling my heartbeat pounding harder than the bass. “There’s somebody in this arena tonight who’s been with me since I didn’t have anything. Before y’all even knew my name. Every word I ever rapped, she saw it before anybody else did.”
The crowd started screaming already because they knew exactly who I was talking about.
“Kahlani, come out here, baby.”
The arena erupted.
When she stepped out from the wings, the lights washed over her. The crowd lost their minds. They knew her just as well as they knew me. We’d becomethatcouple. Blogs loved to post about us when we were out and about.
She walked toward me slowly, nervous but smiling. I grinned so hard my face hurt and reached for her hand when she got close enough.
“C’mere,” I said into the mic, guiding her to the center of the stage.
The spotlight followed us. She looked around, overwhelmed, and I could see her chest rising fast. Then she turned and saw the big screen behind us light up with pictures and videos of our first vacation, me holding Trent on my shoulders, her smiling in my hoodie on the couch in our first crib, clips of me in the studio and her asleep on the couch in the corner.
The crowd went quiet for a second, just watching, soaking it in.
Then the stagehands rushed out, carrying a floral arch ofwhite roses and baby’s breath arranged in a circle. Across the top, in gold letters, it read:Will you marry me?
The noise that came out of that crowd damn near shook the roof.
Kahlani froze. Then her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes went wide, and she started trembling.
I dropped to one knee, and the crowd screamed louder.
I felt myself shaking, even though I’d rehearsed this in my head a hundred times. “You’ve been my day one since before the world even cared who Moses was. You saw me before the lights, money, and before my name meant anything. When I didn’t believe in me,you did. When I didn’t know how to pray for myself, you was already praying for me.”
She covered her mouth as tears spilled down her face, and the sight of her damn near undid me.
“You walked with me through hell and never let go of my hand. You gave me a reason to grow up, to fight for something real. You’re not just my love; you’re my calm, my mirror, my muse. The best parts of me got your fingerprints all over ’em.”
I pulled the ring from my pocket I’d been carrying for weeks. The crowd screamed, but all I could see was her.
“I’ve been through pain, betrayal, and loss,” I continued, trying to keep my emotions controlled. “But God gave me one thing that made it all make sense…you and Trent. You all aren’t just my family; you’re my whole damn purpose. You’re my favorite song, baby. So, right here, in front of everybody, I just need to know…Baby, will you marry me?”
She nodded frantically, while sobbing and hyperventilating.
“Yes!” she finally managed over the screams from the crowd.
I stood, slid the ring on her finger, and she threw herarms around my neck. The lights burst brighter, confetti fell, fireworks went off around the stage, and when our lips met, the arena exploded.
Putting the mic to my mouth, I asked the crowd, “Y’all didn’t think I was gonna end it there, right?”
The crowd roared again. I turned to Kahlani, still holding her hand. “This one’s for you, bae.”
The deejay started playing the slow, soulful melody of something I’d been working on for weeks in secret. It was a song I’d written for Kahlani, “Forever Don’t Scare Me.”
[Verse 1]You don’t compete with me, you complete me, that’s the flex.
Your love the kind that God himself protects.
