Bree #6
“Bree, have you forgotten about Marius?”
He didn’t have to explain anything else.
The name alone carried every reason he had to be hesitant.
Aretha. The bombing at the Peabody. Mama Sina almost dying.
Elias. The constant threats hanging over everybody connected to the Myles family.
If anyone had earned the right to be overprotective, it was Kade.
But the more I thought about Ysis sitting in that nursery, smiling for everybody else while carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, the more convinced I became that this wasn’t the time to back down.
“Trust me, I know better than anybody why you’re saying no. But I’m asking you to hear me out before you shut this down.” When he didn’t interrupt, that alone told me he was listening.
“Ice lost Aretha. She watched your mother almost die. She’s carrying twins while trying to hold everybody else together, and I think somewhere in the middle of all this she forgot she’s allowed to enjoy being pregnant.”
I paused, choosing my next words carefully because I knew emotion alone wouldn’t change Kade’s mind.
“You’ve done everything in your power to protect her physically, and you’ve done an incredible job.
Every decision you’ve made has been about getting her and those babies through this war safely.
But who’s protecting her spirit, Kade? Who’s making sure she still gets to experience the joy of becoming somebody’s mama instead of spending every day looking over her shoulder? ” The line fell completely silent.
I looked down at my phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“I watched her that day at your house. She smiled because Kayla was there. She smiled because the nursery came together. But beneath all that she’s exhausted Kade.
Not physically. Emotionally. She deserves one day where nobody’s talking about Marius.
One day where she isn’t comforting somebody else.
One day where she’s just Ysis...a wife, a best friend, and an excited first-time mama celebrating her babies with the people who love her. ”
“You know... I hate when y'all start making sense.” Kade sighed. A slick grin spread across my face. We had got him.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You’ll take it as now I got another project on my plate.”
“I knew you’d come around.”
“You knew I’d get guilt-tripped.”
“I prefer persuaded.” He laughed again, and hearing that small bit of lightness after the week we’d all survived felt like a victory in itself.
“If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.” he said, and just like that I heard the businessman in him clock back in, I reached for the notebook still sitting on the coffee table.
“I’m listening.”
“The location stays private until the morning of the event. Nobody outside this family gets the address beforehand. Every guest gets approved through me, Marcus, and Cassian before they receive an invitation. I’m bringing in private security, Memphis PD, and my own detail.
Every vehicle gets screened before it comes through the gate, and there’ll be eyes on that property before the first decoration goes up.
” I scribbled as fast as I could while he continued.
“Cassian’s handling surveillance. Marcus is coordinating logistics.
I’ll have transportation arranged so nobody has to travel alone.
Catering, florals, photography, valet, everything gets handled professionally.
If we’re giving my wife the baby shower she deserves, then I’m making damn sure all she remembers is how loved she felt. ”
“You already planning this, ain’t you?”
“I started planning it the second I said yes.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“I know the perfect venue too,” he continued. “It’s a private estate with a single point of entry. Plenty of room, easy to secure, no neighboring properties close enough to create problems. By the time Ysis walks through those doors, everything’ll already be in place.”
Closing my notebook, I leaned back against the couch and smiled to myself at a job well done.
Discussing guest lists, security details, floral arrangements, and dessert tables, I’d almost forgotten the conversation had started with Kade telling me no.
Now, listening to him describe every precaution he’d put in place, I realized something that made my heart incredibly full.
“Thank you, Bree.”
“For what?”
“For reminding me my wife deserves more than protection.”
“I just want her to remember this pregnancy for something beautiful.”
“She will. We’ll make sure of it.”
When the call ended, I sat there staring at the notebook now covered in names, ideas, and plans.
For the first time in weeks we weren’t planning how to protect Ysis from tragedy.
We were planning how to give her joy. That felt like the biggest victory any of us had had in a very long time.
I couldn’t help believing that maybe, just maybe, joy was finally beginning to find its way back to the people who needed it most.