Epilogue
Era
A year later
“What kind of ice cream do you want, Mizz Lady?” Muse asked as he pulled on a pair of his brand name sneakers. I admired his white tee and slim fitting gray joggers from the couch. As bad as I craved my favorite ice cream, I wasn’t too fond of him wearing those sweats. Muse shook his head.
“I see the look on your face, and I’m not even getting out of the car. I’m going through the drive-thru.” Together, we laughed because my facial expressions gave me away every time. “You keep looking at me like that though, and the only cream I’ll have tonight is yours.”
This man of mine. I snickered at him and shook my head this time. “As tempting as that sounds, your big head child that I’m carrying, wants one scoop of rainbow sherbet and one scoop of butter pecan with pralines.”
“Aight. I guess, I’ll have my cream when I return.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, then planted a kiss on my lips and forehead before he headed to the store.
Thank God our local Dunkin Donuts had a Baskin Robbins, and it was twenty- four hours. This child was causing me to eat everything in sight. It was to be expected because Muse had a hearty appetite. Snuggling further onto our comfy couch, I thought about him and my sisters.
Can I just say how blessed I was? To have a man risk his life for me and my sisters, who put their lives on the line as well, just made my heart swell.
I was beyond grateful for each of them. It hadn’t been easy coping without them and Syris because I was so accustomed to that lifestyle, but with the help of my therapist and my love, Muse, things were transitioning smoothly.
I chose to go back to Illinois because I missed my parents so much.
In the past five years, they had aged a lot, and I knew most of that stress was worrying about me.
Syris never permitted me to see them, but I had Tyson purchase me a burner phone years ago so I could keep in contact with them as much as possible.
Yasmeen, Temi’s daughter, loved the idea of grandparents so much that she opted to continue to live with them even when we arrived in the states.
I didn’t blame her because I had really great parents.
They loved on MJ just as much as they loved on Poppy.
Tonight, however, the kids were having a sleepover with them, and I was grateful because I’d forgotten how tiresome it was carrying a baby.
Speaking of kids, I wasn’t the only one carrying a baby.
Muse’s partner, Hill, had knocked up both my sisters, Sasha and Monet.
They were three months, and I was six months.
Hill was living his best life with both sisters.
They took their portion of their divorce and inheritance and moved into their own mansion with Hill.
It was nice to see they were all in love.
Temi was still cracking the whip and running shit like a boss.
She took over Syris’s import and export businesses and dismantled his harem of hos.
Only the women he had kids with received monthly allowances and were placed in a lavish home on the island.
With Eric by her side, she was able to acquire more business while falling harder for him.
As long as she was happy, so was I. Starry’s ho ass was kicked out the mansion, but it wasn’t long after until she found an old man to marry her and live in his mansion with his other wives on the island.
As for Syris, he laid in his king size bed all alone every night and there was nothing he could do about it because he was paralyzed from the legs down.
Temi told me he attacked her right before Muse walked in.
His presence distracted Syris, and she quickly grabbed the gun and shot him.
I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but I think there were some details missing.
With Muse corroborating her story, I had no choice but to go along with it.
I was beyond grateful my Syris nightmare was over, and I could sleep peacefully.
The floor creaked behind me, and I turned around, but nobody was there.
That was strange because neither Muse nor the kids were here.
Facing the TV, something didn’t feel right to me.
The floor creaked again, and I lowered the volume on the TV then turned around. Again, no one was there.
“Hello? Muse? Are you back, baby?”
Only sound that greeted me in return was the low volume on the TV.
I looked down the dark hallway, but nothing was in sight.
The kitchen light was on, but there were no shadows.
Although I didn’t see anything, that didn’t mean anything to me.
I didn’t want to take any chances, so I picked up my phone and texted Muse 911.
My heart beat sped up as my palms grew sweaty.
Something didn’t feel right. The floor creaked again, and this time when I turned, I was face-to-face with another devil.
“What we watching?” he questioned, in a deep tone as he slowly moved around our couch.
Swiftly, I dialed Muse, then locked my phone so he wouldn’t know. “Wha—what are you doing here?” I stammered out.
He took a seat on the couch, wearing a black turtleneck with black jeans and boots.
Leaning back he produced a gun, and I jumped back.
“Shh.” He placed his finger to his mouth and eyed me with intensity.
“Now, what made y’all think y’all was going to leave the island and be all happy ever after without me coming after y’all?
I told my brother the day I met you that I was going to have you and make you my wife.
See, he didn’t take me seriously, but he did make it easier to acquire you. ”
Desmond moved towards me, and I placed my hands over my stomach as tears fell down my face.
Just when I thought my days of being a sister wife were over, in walked Muse’s bitch ass brother about to drag me back into that lifestyle.
“Please, I’m begging you not to hurt my baby.
I’ll do as you say,” I cried and sniffled.
“Shushh. It’s okay, baby. I wouldn’t dare hurt a hair on your pretty head or the baby’s. You’ll be number one, and I’ll raise this baby as my own. Okay?”
I nodded. Standing from the couch, he helped me up, then draped the blanket around my body.
Everything in me wanted to scream for Muse, but I couldn’t risk it.
“Come on, let’s go before Muse makes it back home.
” Desmond nudged me toward the back door, and after taking a few jumbled steps because of the long blanket, I opened the door and stepped out into the cool spring night air.
A loud roar sounded behind me, and I turned abruptly.
Rage covered Muse’s striking face as his large hand clamped tightly around Desmond’s throat, as he lifted that grown man off the floor.
Whew, those island boys had strength like no other.
Desmond eyes widened as hand with the gun flailed in the air with fear.
Using both hands, Muse slammed Desmond through our glass kitchen table.
Glass shards flew everywhere as Desmond sank through the table like a ghost, but not before his gun went off.
“Ahh!” I screamed loudly as Muse’s body slid down our back door. “No! No! No! This can’t be happening. No, baby, stay with me!” I yelled and cried hysterically as I raced over to him. The small red dot began to form faster on the front of his white tee shirt.
Desmond’s bullet pierced Muse’s upper chest, and I pressed down on his wound. “Baby, you can’t leave me. You just can’t! This was supposed to be our happy ending. There’s no happy ending if you’re not here!” I sobbed harder.
“Mizz Lady, all that matters is that you and the baby are safe. I protected you this ti—time.” His words slurred as his head slumped to his shoulder.
“No! Nooo!” I screamed and laid on his bloody chest.
Months Later
As I stood a few feet away from our modest three-story home, my feet dug into the sand as the waves from the lake washed ashore, and I admired the midnight sky and moon.
I held the urn to my chest and thought about the good times we shared together.
When we first met, he was sweet, charming, and so very handsome to me.
He was thoughtful at times and a hopeless romantic, but due to the background of his upbringing, he couldn’t truly be the man I wanted him to be.
Somewhere down the line, his love for me turned controlling and downright obsessive.
I hated how he controlled me, but I would never forget the intimate moments we shared together.
In an odd way, I thanked Syris because had I not endured all of his bullshit, I never would have met the love of my life.
Muse survived his gunshot wound three months ago, and I couldn't have been more blessed. However, Desmond survived as well, but he was now paralyzed from the waist down and being taken care of by his first wife Brie and his mother. His other two wives, Bell and Bev, took their portion of his money and jumped ship. I didn’t blame them one bit though.
Temi respectfully mailed me my portion of Syris’s ashes with a letter he had written me before he killed himself.
His apology felt sincere and the love he had for me was real, but Syris was a fucked-up individual, and he would have continued with his wrath had we not all made the decision to live and instead of just surviving.
I removed the lid from his urn, and it dropped into the sand, before I released Syris’s ashes to spread into the cool night air.
When I was done, I dropped the urn and wiped my fallen tears. That bastard had put me through so damn much, but in a weird way, I still loved him. It was the captor bond I was forced to love because Muse was definitely my one true love.
In a way, I died with him. Syris held his Butterfly captive for years, and with him gone, that Butterfly persona I once carried had died and will never see the light of day again. I was now Muse’s lady and loved on in the healthiest ways imaginable.
Speaking of my Muse, the feel of his strong arms around my waist, instinctively motivated me to melt against his toned chest. “I’m sorry to interrupt your moment, but I thought you might need a little support,” Muse stated in his deep timbre.
“No need to apologize, baby. You are always welcomed to see about me and honestly, you came at the right time. I really did need your strength,” I replied, turning to face his shirtless yet solid frame.
Gently, my fingers caressed his old bullet wound while I looked into his warm, chocolate brown eyes. A tranquil feeling washed over me and like usual, I was at peace in his arms. A cool breeze blew past and stirred in my curls in their pineapple style bun. He was so elated my curls had returned.
Muse was now forty, and I was thirty-three, and I loved the sprinkles of salt in his fade and beard.
He was my dream, my fantasy, and reality.
I stepped on my tiptoes and kissed him passionately until he took over and lowered us to the sand.
Swiftly, he removed my sheer tank dress over my head, then pulled off his pajama bottoms. With one smooth thrust, he had impaled me, and his hungry mouth suppressed my desperate and passionate cries.
The more I fucked him back, the deeper his strokes went. This man’s pipe game was so lethal, that every day I contemplated imprisoning his ass. “Every time I enter you, it’s like the first time all over again. You got me hooked, Mizz Lady,” he sang in his thick island accent.
“I’m so gone off you, Muse. I love you so much, baby.”
“Fuck! I love you more. I’m blessed we’re back in the Era of Muse,” he gritted in my ear. I squeezed my pussy muscles around his dick. The night air sailed around us as sand coated our heated bodies, and this was exactly how I envisioned every morning and every night with the love of my life.
The End