EIGHT #3
“You should’ve thought about that before trying to financially discipline your grown daughter.”
“Nobody is disciplining you,” her daddy disagreed.
“That’s exactly what this is.”
Charles stepped forward. “Make better decisions so you can have your life back.”
Nina looked at her family. Her entire life sat inside this house. The house filled with expectations that no one had to meet other than her.
Every version of herself they loved more than the real one and it saddened her.
“I gotta go.”
“Nina.”
She stopped near the doorway but she didn’t bother turning around.
Her mother’s voice cracked behind her.
“He’s going to destroy you. First, he will start with your career, then he’ll take your confidence, and before you know it, he’ll break your heart. You’ll be back…. trust me, little girl, you will be back.”
Nina closed her eyes briefly and said a quick prayer for mercy on their souls. She truly believed her family didn’t know how thrown off they really were.
“He might, but that’s for me to worry about.”
η
“Oh yeah, Nina’s mother put a hit out on me,” Jio shared with Kadeer. They were on the wrap-around balcony of his penthouse, smoking a blunt.
Jio found it hilarious, but Kadeer didn’t.
“Fuck wrong with her?”
He shrugged. “They don’t want me with her, but I don’t understand what the big deal is. Like damn, I’m not a bad guy.” Minus the drugs and shit, what was really wrong with him?
“Was she close to them before you came in the picture?”
“Nah, not at all.”
“Oh, well I wouldn’t care. You were the push she needed to get the hell from around them.”
“I never thought about it like that.”
“She been looking for a reason to say fuck them. You gave her the confidence to do it.”
Roberto told Jio that she’d been summoned to her parents’ house but they were on the way back and Nina hadn’t said much since she got back in the car.
It was okay though. Once she made it home, her big daddy was going to make her feel better. Jio promised himself that when he became a father, he would love and accept his children and whatever life they chose.
Nina’s parents were fucked up individuals. They were blind to the light that she carried, but it was all good because he was going to protect the innocence in her.
“She’s such a sweet girl. I hate the way they treat her,” he shared with his best friend.
“That’s that rich and entitled shit. Nina not doing what they say to do, so now they wanna kill a nigga. Fuck outta here.”
She wasn’t dramatically sobbing but she shed tears the entire drive back to Manhattan. Because although they treated her like shit, she loved her family and all she wanted in return was for them to love her without limitation.
Marcus called but she didn’t answer. He was only reaching out to make sure she was okay and then he would’ve made an excuse to get off the phone. He purposely kept his distance from everyone, and she didn’t blame him anymore for how he moved.
When they made it back to Jio’s penthouse, she almost told Roberto to keep going, but she didn’t need to be alone. Not with the way her thoughts haunted her at night. A hug and kiss from her boyfriend would probably make her feel better, and Lord knows, she needed to see the sun shine again.
When she stepped off the elevator, Jio was coming in from the balcony, followed by Kadeer. She dropped her purse onto the floor and ran into his arms and cried. She clenched his shirt as she finally let it all out. Kadeer left without saying goodbye.
“Talk to me, what happened baby?”
“They cut me off,” she cried.
Jio’s jaw tightened instantly. “For what?”
“Because I chose you.”
Guilt flashed across his face. Any other nigga would be filled with pride and satisfaction, but he didn’t want that for his shorty.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He rubbed her back as she expressed her emotions through a series of screams.
“They revoked my access to everything,” she blubbered out. She expected him to explode and be full of rage, but he didn’t say anything.
Instead, Jio pulled her tighter into his chest, which made her break down even more. His arms tightened around her like he was trying to physically hold her together.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her hair. He wasn’t apologizing for existing, but because loving him had cost his baby her peace of mind, he was going to make sure she didn’t want for nothing.
The weeks afterward the separation from The Marcelles’ felt strangely…
serene. Nina settled into her new life and so far everything was cool.
She went to work and did her job. Nina found time for new passion projects and attended church on a consistent weekly basis.
On the weekends, she linked with her new friend, Danyelle, all the while keeping shit tight for her man and making new precious memories with his family.
Nina expected to feel empty without her family orbiting every part of her life, but instead, she felt unchained.
It was as if someone had cut the strings that she didn’t realize had been choking her for dear life.
Jio’s family welcomed her in. He would call to see what she was up to while he ran around doing boss nigga shit, and to his surprise, she would either tell him that she and Cairo were shopping or she would be at the bakery with his auntie.
He wasn’t tripping though. Nina needed real love in her life and it couldn’t only come from him all the time.
When he would make it home on the late night, she would have samples of baked goods she had made that she wanted him to try.
In less than a month, the bakery had seen a crazy spike in sales and that was because Nina was putting all those degrees to good use.
She’d gotten his aunt two big catering gigs and a contract with a hotel for desserts at the restaurant on the premises.
Nina looked into everything except the books.
Jio told his aunt to keep her out of that area.
She was highly educated and would quickly put two and two together and he didn’t need his baby incriminating herself.
One thing that she’d held onto was when Jio’s aunt told her, “You can’t frost a cake angry. ”
“Why not?”
“Because energy transfers, baby.”
After that, she was careful with how she approached anything that she planned on attaching her name to.
If she wasn’t in the best of spirits, she set it down for another time.
Nina enjoyed spending her weekends with Jio’s family.
She was becoming privy to all the family secrets while laughing with his Auntie Vee and his cousins as they shared family gossip.
Nina would listen with her ears perked up while licking buttercream from her fingers.
From the bakery to the barbecues, she was rolling with the Gottis’. His uncle taught her how to BBQ ribs and smoke turkey legs. Nina even learned how to shoot dice.
“All I need you to do is blow on em’ for me, pretty girl. Daddy gon’ bring the money right to you,” he sealed his words with a kiss right in front of his folks.
They’d never seen him so smitten before and they loved it. Jio deserved all the love and happiness that his big heart could hold.
What Nina respected most about his family and friends was that no one pretended in Jio’s world. Everybody was themselves and unapologetically. She didn’t have to perform when she was around them. She could breathe easier and anxiety was nonexistent.
Danyelle entered her life more permanently too.
They indulged in more wine than she’d ever had and trotted all over the city to private art shows followed by late nights at the club in VIP, where Jio rolled out the red carpet for her and her new friend.
Nina enjoyed the long conversations that they got lost in about womanhood and ambition.
It was safe to say that slowly but surely, she was adjusting to a life that didn’t revolve around her last name.
Her dad had removed her from the board meetings. She could only imagine what stupid lie he came up with to tell them why the PRESIDENT WAS NOT PRESENT.
But the simplicity of her life became addictive, so fuck it.
If he wanted to push her out, he better not do it too hard because Jio would be honored to take care of her.
He loved having her around more and more whenever he had time.
He kept trying to downplay it, but she peeped the change in his attitude.
He was more relaxed, and maybe that’s because she wasn’t too tired to fuck more throughout the week.
Jio was way more attentive and clingier. His hands constantly found her waist, it happened absentmindedly, he wanted her in his skin. They fell deeper into each other quietly and the term ‘dangerously in love’ took on a whole ‘nother meaning.
The streets had his full attention along with the businesses that he was trying to get off the ground with his brothers. His family depended on him to make all the decisions. Nina didn’t realize how many people’s bills he paid until she started riding with him whenever she left the office early.
He was a powerful man, and his life was fuckin’ chaotic.
Nina had to remain his breath of fresh air when the streets became dark and cloudy.
There had been plenty of nights where she had to fuck the frustration out of her baby followed by a prayer for his protection on his way out the door hours later.
She realized something awful one night lying in his arms…
Jio was becoming her everything but she was not his. She’d slowly started building her life to revolve around him, and how did it happen so fast? A tiny part of her was terrified at the reality of the damage already being done.