Chapter 33
Now…
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I should’ve been there with you. I’m sorry, baby.” Orlando’s voice was full of torture.
We hadn’t made it past the living room in his apartment, a space I’d grown to love. We were on the sofa, still naked, my head in his lap as he rubbed my hair. He wouldn’t stop apologizing, and at that point, I felt worse for him than I did for myself.
“It’s okay. I know you must’ve had a good reason for not being there. You’ve never failed at keeping your word to me before.”
“That’s just it. I don’t have a good reason. All I did was get into some bullshit with my supposed aunt and…shit, I don’t think I can say it,” he murmured, his voice now sounding weak, shaky.
I sat up, visually inspecting this man I loved more than I believed possible. Something was wrong, very wrong, and in my shattered condition, I’d missed it. I’d totally missed it.
“What happened?” I asked.
Shaking his head, he shifted his gaze from the floor to my face. His eyes were red. Dried tear tracks streaked the flawless brown skin of his face. My fucking heart broke.
“It’s not important. What’s important is you, and what we’re going to do about Smoke’s bitch ass because I’ve had enough of him! Something has gotta be done, and I’m more than willing to do it! Why the fuck would he do some shit like this?” he raged.
I sighed, shaking my head. “This is on me…totally on me.”
“No the fuck it’s?—”
“I don’t mean that the way you think I do. I’ve let this go on for too long. I’ve led him to believe I’m the same girl I was back when I went along with all the things he told me to do. I broke away from him, fired him, but I’ve let him harass me unchecked for over a year. His mother, too, although she hasn’t been as persistent. He thinks I’m still a weakling he can bully into submission. I’ve got to show him he’s wrong. That’s something that’s way past due.”
“What are you going to do? Sue him?”
“I’m not sure. I’m going to get a lawyer and figure it out, though.”
“What about the other people, the executives that messed with you when you were a kid?”
“I don’t know if it’s been too long for justice, but it’s never too late to expose a motherfucker.”
“I don’t want you hurt, though. Powerful people don’t play fair. If something were to happen to you or the baby, I’d fucking lose it.”
“I’ll be careful. Now, tell me what happened to make you miss my abbreviated show. Please.”
He blew out a breath and acquiesced. “Okay.”