Chapter 39
Melody stood in the kitchen fixing drinks while music filled the house.
Between the laughter, conversations, and people moving in and out of the room, the place was loud and full of energy.
So when her phone started ringing, she glanced down at the screen and smiled before slipping away from the crowd in search of somewhere quieter to answer it.
"Hello."
"Hey best friend, what you doing?" Ma Ma asked.
"Girl, making my mama and sisters some drinks."
"Damn, I'm so jealous. I'm bout to move to L.A. like everybody else."
"Come on, BFF. You know you love it here already. But anyway, what you doing? I called you earlier."
"Aw girl, I was on the phone with Major and forgot to call you back."
"Aw, okay." Melody shrugged.
"Damn, don't you want to know how he doing?"
"Not really."
"Well, I'm gon’ tell you anyway." Ma Ma smacked her lips before going on.
"He's still fighting that case, but you know that bitch-ass judge won't give him no break."
"Yeah, I heard Judge Wallace was a motherfucker,” Melody replied with a small giggle.
"We still trying to figure out how he got pinned to that murder case in the first place and…."
"Aye, friend, let me call you back."
Before Ma Ma could say anything else, Melody ended the call and lowered the phone.
For a few seconds, she simply stood there staring at the screen.
The mention of Major usually didn't bother her anymore.
It had been over a year since she cut ties with him, and her life looked completely different now.
Between nursing school, Cameron, and everything they were building together, she rarely thought about the person she used to be.
Slipping her phone into her pocket, Melody walked over to the window and looked outside. The California sun was beginning to set, painting the sky orange and pink. A year ago, she never would've imagined she'd be standing in a beautiful house in Los Angeles, engaged to the creator of Smart Flow.
After taking one last look outside, she left the guest room and made her way back toward the family. The men had taken over the living room, watching a game and arguing over something. Meanwhile, the women had claimed the kitchen.
Melody grabbed her drink and took a seat at the island beside her sisters and mother.
"What y'all in here talking about?" she asked before taking a sip.
"Girl, that time we jumped on Aaron bitch ass," Harmony replied.
"Oh wow. I remember that."
"Yeah, me too. Y'all don't know how hard it was to sit there and watch that nigga talk to y'all crazy."
"Yeah, Ma, we thought we lost you for a minute," Melody joked.
"Y'all crazy as hell. I just had to play my part."
"I mean, you could've told us," Lyric said.
"I couldn't chance it. Y'all would've ran him off for real, and then I would've been somewhere in Chicago still broke."
Unbeknownst to the sisters, Aaron had a lawsuit against the city worth millions.
Cady knew it, which was why she played stupid.
By the time the settlement finally came through, she had somehow convinced Aaron to make her his beneficiary.
On top of that, she had a substantial life insurance policy on him.
So, when he unexpectedly died from heart complications, the money landed right in her lap and changed her life overnight.
"Ma, I still can't believe it!”
"I mean, where y'all think y'all got that hustling shit from?" Cady shrugged and lifted her glass.
"Facts," Harmony said.
"Big facts," Lyric added.
"To hustling," Cady smiled.
"To hustling……," The Young sisters sang in unison.