Chapter 24
A Couple Days Later
Today, I had an appointment with my ob-gyn for my annual Pap smear. I almost missed the appointment because I’d completely forgotten all about it. They called me a couple days ago with a reminder.
I hated coming to this office. Sometimes, I was out faster than I could blink, and then there were days when they took so long to get me to the back that I contemplated leaving. This was one of those days. I was so tired of sitting in this hard-ass chair, waiting for them to call my name.
“This ridiculous,” I said underneath my breath.
I think the woman sitting alongside me heard me because she looked in my direction.
They were calling everyone’s name who had come in behind me and hadn’t called mine yet.
“Fuck this.” Getting up from my chair, I approached the counter.
“Hey, my appointment was over an hour ago. Can you tell me how much longer I’m going to have to wait? ”
“What’s your name?”
“Solei Saint-Mercier . . . I mean Corvo. Solei Corvo.” I kept forgetting that I carried Savion’s name now. He made damn sure to change my name on all my legal documents. That man wasn’t playing when it came to me repping being his wife.
“They should be calling you next.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I went back over to my seat and sat down. She was lucky that she’d said that, or else I would’ve been asking her to reschedule this damn appointment. I already didn’t want to go in there and lie on that table while she opened me up like I was a got damn turkey.
“Corvo!” the nurse called out, grasping my attention.
I got up from my seat and met her at the door. “Hey, how you doing?”
“Good,” I responded.
“Step on the scale for me.” She pointed at the scale to the right, and I stepped on it.
After she jotted down my weight, she took me into one of the rooms. My vitals were taken, and everything looked fine.
“Dr. Beck will be in with you shortly.” The nurse left out of the room and shut the door behind her.
I lay there on the table in nothing but my shirt, with a damn paper sheet lying over my lower half. My mind drifted off to Savion. How sweet he’d been being to me lately. Maybe he wouldn’t even care if I didn’t fall in love with him. From the way he was acting, it was like he’d fallen for me.
There was a knock at the door before it pushed in. Dr. Beck strolled into the room. “How are you doing today, Mrs. Corvo?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good. I see that you’re here for your annual.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Let me get someone in the room with us.” Opening the door, she poked her head out and said, “Ready in three!”
The nurse came into the room, and I lay back on the table. My eyes zeroed in on the light fixture above my head as they did what they needed to between my legs. I flinched a bit when she inserted the speculum in me and opened me up.
“Everything looks good.” She lifted from between my legs. “They’ll set up your next appointment at the checkout.” Dr. Beck exited the room, and the nurse handed me some wipes to get cleaned up.
* * *
I left the doctor’s office and stopped by Guthrie’s to get me something to eat for lunch. They had some of the best chicken tenders in the city.
After grabbing my food, I pulled off. A guy jogged in front of my car and waved as I sat there, waiting for traffic to slow so that I could pull out.
It didn’t take me long to make it to the house.
When I got there, I headed straight to the kitchen to warm my food up.
I should’ve pulled over in the parking lot and ate it while it was fresh.
Savion sat at the island in the kitchen with a glass of water in his hands. His eyes cut to me when he noticed I entered. He wasn’t wearing those ugly-ass glasses, which led me to believe they were fake in the first place. “I knew those glasses were fake.”
This was my first time seeing him without them. He probably didn’t know that I was coming home this early and forgot to put them back on.
Savion quietly set the cup on the counter. That was when I noticed the red rose tattoo on the back of his hand that hadn’t been there before. “Didn’t that use to be a skull?” My brows snapped together.
“Now, I see why he’s risking everything.”
“Excuse me?”
Savion’s eyes lustfully roamed my frame.
“I see that you’ve met my other son,” Geneva said.
“Excuse me, say what?”
“This is Saint, Savion’s brother. Let me guess: He had you thinking that he was Savion?” Geneva smacked him on the back of the head, and he rubbed where her hand impacted.
“And when were y’all gon’ tell me that he had a twin?”
“They’re actually triplets.”
“Oh nah. Three of him? I’on see how you did it.”
I stuck my food in the microwave and turned it on. I knew I was gon’ regret warming up those fucking fries. Warmed up fries were so disgusting.
“Where’s Savion?” I asked them.
“Probably out working,” Geneva answered and Saint mugged her.
“If I knew all of y’all were here, I would’ve bought y’all some food,” I told them as I grabbed my food from the microwave before it even went off.
“It’s okay,” Geneva said.
“No, it ain’t. It’s rude. What you got?” Saint lifted from his seat to take a look at my plate, but Geneva pushed him back down on the stool by the shoulder. I saw the difference between them now.
“It’s fine, Solei. We were actually about to go,” Geneva said.
“Okay. Nice meeting you, Saint.”
He hit me with a head nod as I exited the kitchen. All I heard behind me was, “You say anything to that girl and Savion gon’ kill you.”
* * *
Later that night
My phone vibrated on the pillow next to my head. Grabbing it, I saw that it was a text from Luxe.
Big Luxe: I have a date tonight. You mind tagging along? I don’t know much about him.
Luxe asked me something like that was normal. I was just shocked that she was asking me right now after I dropped that bomb on them. Nobody had anything to say about the Savion situation. They were all continuing about their lives as if I hadn’t said I was married to the man.
Me: Yeah. I don’t have nothing else to do. What’s the lo?
Big Luxe: Crab Station. Eight. Don’t be obvious.
Me: Gotcha.
It was only five thirty, so I had plenty of time to burn before I had to go to Crab Station.
Luxe’s ass was always going on dates, but she wasn’t taking anyone serious.
My sister was the biggest lover girl at heart.
Right now, I think that she was just terrified to give her heart to the wrong person again.
Every nigga that she ever ended up with always broke her heart.
There were a few that I had to shove my red bottoms up their ass.
I prayed one day she’d find her a good man, or a good man found her, rather. Either way, Luxe deserved happiness.
Getting up from bed, I went and grabbed me a pair of tights and a sports bra to toss on.
I wasn’t trying to look cute or nothing.
I just needed to blend in good enough where nobody would recognize me.
It wasn’t like I was that recognizable in the first place.
Unlike the rest of the Saint-Merciers, I didn’t grow up in their household.
A lot of people didn’t even realize that I was a Saint-Mercier.
They were so used to seeing all the others together that they didn’t pay me any mind.
Honestly, it didn’t even bother me. It only meant that my life wasn’t in the spotlight.
After I got dressed, I removed my bonnet, grabbed my phone and purse, and left out the room.
“Where you going?” Savion asked me when I passed him in the hallway.
“You Saint or Savion?” I stopped and asked. He was wearing his glasses, but I couldn’t be too sure.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “You met Saint?”
“Yeah.” Folding my arms over my chest, I asked, “And when were you gon’ tell me that there was three of you?”
“I ain’t think it was important at the moment.”
“You didn’t think?” I tapped my temple. “I could’ve easily mistaken him for you had I not paid attention to the tattoos. What if I would’ve fucked him?”
Savion’s jaw muscle clenched.
“You gon’ learn to stop fucking with me.” I flashed him a grin. I just loved getting under his skin.
“See you later, hubby.” I turned and tossed my hand up in the air.
* * *
I pulled into the parking lot thirty minutes earlier than the date Luxe said she had and got out of the car.
I wanted to be inside already by the time they got here so that I wouldn’t be seen.
When I entered the building, I stopped at the hostess booth.
“Hey. I need two tables, but thing is, the second table is for a couple that’s about to come in here soon.
” Taking out my phone, I showed her a picture of Luxe.
“This is what the woman looks like. I need both tables near each other. They can be a couple tables apart, but I need to be able to see my sister from where I’m sitting.
Here’s two hundred dollars for you to make that shit happen.
” I pulled out my wallet and handed her the money.
She nodded and stepped from behind the booth. I watched her as she skimmed the restaurant to see exactly where she was about to put us.
“Right this way,” she said and led me through the restaurant. I sat at the farthest table. “Do you need a menu?”
“I guess so.” I might as well grab something while I was here.
“Your waitress will be right with you.”
“Thanks.”
I scrolled my social media while I waited for the waitress and for Luxe and her date to arrive.
“Are you ready to place your drink order?” I heard and looked up from my phone.
“Let me get the strawberry margarita.”
“Are you ready to order your food, or do you need more time?”
“More time, please.” I flashed her a smile, and she left the table.
Not long after, I saw Luxe enter the building alone. The woman brought her over to the other table that I paid for, and she sat down. Her eyes instantly drifted to me, and she waved with a huge smile plastered on her face. This damn fool.
The waitress brought over my drink. Soon as she put it on the table, I saw Luxe standing behind her. “What you got to drink?” Before I could even answer her, she’d already grabbed my cup and placed it to her lips.
“I’m supposed to be discreet, but you’re not making me discreet, Luxe,” I made known.
“He ain’t even here yet.”
“You might want to go sit down before he comes in and see you over here.”
She playfully rolled her eyes and said, “Whatever,” and then went back over to her table.
The waitress stopped over there, and I watched her order something to drink.
A guy came in, and he was pretty decent looking.
The only thing I didn’t like about him was he was bald headed.
He stopped at Luxe’s table, and she lifted to her feet to greet him.
He pulled her in for a hug and pecked her on the cheek.
From her facial expression and body language, I could tell that she wasn’t feeling him.
It was best that she got on out of here.
Luxe sat back down in her chair while the guy occupied the one in front of her. They both stared at the menu in search of what they wanted.
My phone rang, and when I looked down, I saw it was Savion calling me.
I flipped the phone over, not even wanting to be bothered with him.
He didn’t want shit. What I was doing now was more important.
Savion was probably trying to see where I was since I didn’t tell him where I was going when I left the house.
When I looked up, I saw Luxe reach up to her ear and turn her hearing aid off. Grabbing my phone, I sent her a text.
Me: I know you didn’t just turn your hearing aid off on that man.
I looked over, and Luxe was staring at her phone while the guy was talking and grinning.
He probably thought Luxe was the best thing he’d grabbed in a while, and she wasn’t even giving this man the time of day.
Luxe could’ve gotten up from that table and left the restaurant.
She was wasting his time and hers. Hell, mine too.
I saw the waitress coming back with their drinks, so I got up from the table and darted over to her. Grabbing the tray, I said, “I’ll take it to them.” She frowned, but I wasn’t studdin’ her ass.
“Is you playing a game on your phone?” I whispered to Luxe as I placed her drink down on the table in front of her.
I knew it was hers because it was the exact one I was drinking myself.
“What are you doing?” Her date gazed over at me, and I grinned before placing his drink down for him and then left their table.
For the next twenty minutes, I sat there, watching Luxe ignore the hell out of that man.
It was pissing me off because I could’ve easily been at home in my bed instead of here.
Not being able to take any more, I gathered my things and went over to her table.
Grabbing Luxe by the arm, I pulled her ass up.
She stumbled over her feet as she tried to grab her purse and phone off the table.
“Don’t ask me to come out with you no more if you gon’ do bullshit like this,” I told her as I headed for the door.
Luxe took her hearing aid out her purse and slipped it back into her ear. “He was so boring.” She sighed.
“You know you could’ve been left?”
“I was trying to be nice,” she shot back.
“By playing a game while you’re on a date?” I released her once we were outside. “You’re being too soft. That’s why these men be walking all over you like that. You gotta start treating them like you’re a Saint-Mercier.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am, and stop accepting dates from just anybody. Feel these people out first. Some of these people don’t even deserve to be in your presence.”
“Okay, mama Solei.”
Luxe hit the fob on her car and opened the door.
“I’m finna go home to my husband.” I rolled my eyes, but honestly, sometimes I was eager to see Savion now. He might get on my nerves a lil bit, but he was starting to warm up to me. “Let me know when you make it to the house,” I told her.
I started my Tesla and pulled off the parking lot. I was on the road for about ten minutes when my car powered off in the middle of the road. It wasn’t dead, because I checked the charge before I left the house. Grabbing my phone, I dialed Savion’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Yeah?”
“My car just stopped in the middle of the street.” Horns blared at me. “I can’t move!” I yelled at the window, not even knowing if they heard me or not.
“I know.”
“What you mean you know?” I frowned.
“I shut that shit down. Yo’ ass on punishment. Sit there for a bit.”
The phone beeped, and I removed it from my ear and stared at it.