Epilogue
REASON
One Year Later
Icouldn’t believe what a difference a year made.
Once Ember came back into my life, she and my kids instantly became a priority.
L.A. was home, and it was where my family was, which meant that’s where I would be.
I knew Miami wouldn’t be seeing me again unless it was for business or meetings.
I had somebody running the Miami station while I built my second television station from scratch on the West Coast.
When Stephanie, my secretary in Miami, got wind of me relocating, she asked if she could work at my new station.
I had no problem with that. She had been proving herself at UTN, and I thought she would do well in L.A.
, since it was where she was originally from.
So, I offered her the same position and increased her salary.
She, her husband, Chris, and their baby girl were on the next flight out of Miami.
Briefly, my mind went to my former secretary, Ann, and Tianna, who had once worked in finance.
Both of them had been labeled the “Thieving Bitches.” Recently, when I went to a meeting in Miami, their names came up, and I heard Ann had moved to Seattle and Tianna had moved to Colorado with their families.
The women were no longer in contact with each other.
If they had stayed loyal, I would’ve brought them to Cali with me and bumped their pay, too, but it wasn’t meant to happen.
It was like the saying goes. Not everybody can go where God is taking you.
My new television station, based in L.A.
, E.R.R. Entertainment, came about when Ember and I spent a night watching old Black movies.
The nostalgic feeling we both felt was something I wanted to make others feel in the modern day.
I teamed up with a few of my peers in the film industry who I knew would be up for the challenge of creating movies and TV shows that evoked that old-time feeling.
I laid the groundwork, and the rest was history.
E.R.R. Entertainment, which stood for Ember, Rhema, and Ramiro, was born.
I promised myself that moving forward, all my business moves would always include my family, because at the end of the day, I was doing this for them.
That promise came about after everything I had been through, including my divorce from Saje and the life I thought I was supposed to build with her.
If anybody had told me I’d be officially divorced from Saje and would marry my high school sweetheart in an intimate wedding, I would’ve told them they were a damn lie.
I had no desire to ever see or speak to Saje, and I was glad that after we finalized everything, I never heard from her again.
I didn’t care what she had going on in her life.
That shit was over. Everybody I wanted and needed was here with me.
Before I got to that place, there was a time when losing Ember almost broke me.
The day she left and cut all contact, that shit felt like what I assumed death would feel like.
In the beginning, I didn’t know how to navigate life without her, but when I finally found the strength to function again, I went hard in school to distract myself.
Yet, somehow, I still never forgot about her.
I just learned how to cope with her absence.
Now, look at us; our one-year anniversary had arrived, and we were finally celebrating by going on our honeymoon.
We decided to wait until Ramiro was at least a year old before celebrating, and now the time had come.
I wanted to go all out for Ember. My baby deserved every good thing the world had to offer, and I would be the one to give it to her.
In the middle of booking an entire private island for us, I came up with the brilliant idea of purchasing our own island.
A tropical place we could escape to whenever we wanted to get away, and a destination we could enjoy with our family.
The trip was planned, our island, Ember’s Retreat, was secured, our bags were packed, and we were now in the sky on my jet, on our way to paradise.
Central America was the location I chose because it was a place I had visited many times and fallen in love with. I knew Ember would feel the same.
I had a choice between purchasing an island that already had a mansion or an island where I could build and make it our own.
Since I knew the type of homes Ember loved, I used that knowledge to get us a three-story mansion built from the ground up.
One year later, a six-bedroom home graced our island.
I flew an interior designer out to the island and gave her all the details of what I wanted, and she executed that shit perfectly.
It was modern, but with the added colorful tropical details, it all came together.
The infinity pool with ocean views was the perfect addition to our place.
The blending of the water and the background scenery made it look like an expensive, picturesque painting.
I wanted it to feel like we were on vacation while we were here, but I still wanted it to feel like a home away from home.
Thankfully, I started planning shortly after we got married, so everything was ready, and only our presence was needed.
I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when I presented Ember’s Retreat to her.
“Baby, you’ve been so quiet. What’s on your mind?”
The sound of Ember’s voice shook me out of my haze. Not wanting to lie, I said, “I’m thinkin’ about you, beautiful, and how honored I am to celebrate our love.”
She blushed, fidgeting with the blanket she had spread across her lap. Then, she looked back at me, smiling. “You sure know what to say, Reason. I feel so lucky.”
“It ain’t luck, Em Baby. This shit was bound to happen. I realized we had to go through what we went through because it was all preparation for when we reunited again. If we didn’t go through the bad times, who knows? We probably wouldn’t have appreciated the life we’re building now.”
“Shoot, speak for yourself, babe. In any lifetime, I’d appreciate life with you by my side.”
Now I was the one blushing and feeling like a bitch, no disrespect to my lady.
I chuckled. “You got me.”
Ember removed the blanket from her lap and unbuckled her seatbelt. She sauntered over to me and sat on my lap. Instantly, she began to drown me with her sweet kisses, and I welcomed each one. If this was what my life would consist of for the rest of my life, I had to admit I was a blessed man.
“You know something, Reason?”
“What, baby?”
She gave me a sloppy, wet kiss. “I just love you so much. I don’t think you understand.”
“Nah, I understand, Em, because I feel it in here.” I pointed to my heart. “I love you just as much, probably even more.”
Ember smiled harder and moved her curly hair behind her ear.
We continued kissing until I found my finger embedded deep in her pussy.
“Reasonnn,” she moaned lowly so the two-person flight crew wouldn’t hear her.
“Yes, beautiful?”
“We can’t do this up here. They’ll hear usss.” A moan escaped her as I continued to work my finger back and forth inside of her.
“Yes, the hell we can. This my shit.” We both laughed. “If anything, I’ll give them some earplugs, and if that don’t work, they’ll survive. It won’t be the first time they heard sex noises.”
She gave me a side eye. “You better be talkin’ about them hearing sex noises from another couple and not you and somebody else.”
Ember’s little attitude turned me on. “Of course, I ain’t talkin’ ’bout me, baby.”
“Okay, now, you better not be, or else—” she threatened lightly.
“Or else what?” I cut her off.
“Or else I’ma have to punish you,” she whispered while her hand traveled down my chest to my stiff wood. “But then again,” she paused, softly grabbed my bulge through my sweatpants, then continued talking, “I bet you’ll love how I intend to punish you.”
“Punish me, baby.” I slipped my finger out of her wet pussy and brought it to my nose. After deeply inhaling her essence, I licked the creamy residue off my finger. Then, my tongue slithered into her mouth, letting her taste her own sweetness.
We did all types of shit to each other during our ride. I held off on penetrating her until we landed. We would have plenty of time for that. I hoped my wife was ready. She was getting fucked in every room in our mansion and all over our island.
“Happy anniversary, Em Baby. I love you. I’ll thank you every single day for the rest of my life if I have to. A second chance at love with my first love—it can’t get no better than this. You’re a phenomenal woman, mother, and wife. God must really love me.” I kissed her forehead.
“Happy one year anniversary, My Reason. I love you too, handsome. Besides our children, you’re one of the best things that’s ever happened in my life. I wish I had all the words to tell you I love you, but I promise to show you, baby.” She flashed that pretty smile of hers. “But, um…”
“Um, what?” I stared at her.
“I hope you have a lot more love left to give.”
“Em Baby, you lost me.”
“I figured that would happen. Hold on.” Ember stood and rushed back to her seat to grab her purse. She rummaged through it until she pulled out a small bag.
I watched her closely, wondering what she was doing. She came back to me and positioned herself on my lap again.
“This is for you. Once again, happy anniversary, babe!” she said happily.
Quietly, I looked into the bag and pulled out a square-shaped jewelry box. I took my time untying the bow, then opened it. My mouth dropped open. Inside was a stack of ultrasound photos. My focus shifted from the box to Ember, who was lighting up my jet with her pretty, bright smile.
“Does this mean we—”
“Yes! Yes! That’s exactly what it means. We’re having another baby!” she interrupted before I could get all the words out. Ember bounced up and down on my lap excitedly.