A WEEK LATER
Seven days.
Seven whole days had passed, as Candy pulled into the visitor parking lot at Metro State Prison behind the wheel of a brand-new white on white G-Wagon.
The Mercedes still smelled like leather, money, and fresh decisions. Less than an hour ago, she had been standing on a car lot with a salesman smiling too hard and Coco hyping her up like she was making the best choice of her life.
Her Tesla was still sitting on the lot, the same Tesla Monty had bought her as a push gift after MJ was born, waiting for her to decide whether she was really ready to trade it in, or if she was only trying to trade away the memories attached to it.
She hadn't signed anything final yet.
Not completely.
But she had driven off the lot in the G-Wagon anyway because for the first time in a week, she wanted to feel like she was choosing something for herself.
Something he hadn't touched. Something he hadn't bought.
Something that didn't feel like Monty Banks was sitting in the passenger seat even when she was riding alone.
Candy parked in one of the empty visitor spaces and sat there with both hands resting on the steering wheel. She was running a little late, but she couldn't make herself move just yet.
The building ahead of her sat cold and heavy beneath the gray afternoon sky, surrounded by fences, cameras, and rules that didn't care about anybody's feelings. Usually, visiting her mama gave her something to look forward to. Today, even that felt harder than it should have.
Her heart was still heavy.
Monty had been reaching out nonstop.
At first, she ignored him completely. Then the messages started changing. He told her Zuri had never been pregnant. Told her the hospital confirmed it. Told her he knew that didn't fix what he had done, but he thought she deserved to know the truth.
Candy had read the message twice, not because it changed anything, but because some small, bitter part of her wanted to see if she felt relief.
She didn't.
Not the kind that mattered.
Whether Zuri had been pregnant or not, it had only been another knife in a wound he had already opened.
So no, Candy didn't give a fuck that Zuri wasn't pregnant.
Not really.
She had already made peace with the part that mattered.
She was moving the fuck on.
At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
She had been crushing on Monty Banks for as long as she could remember. Long before they had ever been anything real, long before he had looked at her like she was his, long before MJ…
Then somehow, it happened.
Somehow, she got the man she wanted.
Somehow, she got the love story she had dreamed about.
And then somehow, in the end, it still wasn't enough to keep him from breaking her heart.
Candy opened her eyes and stared through the windshield. The thought of another woman making Monty happy wasn't something she had ever truly worried about before.
Deep down, she had always believed nobody would ever love him the way she did. Her love had been real from the beginning. Patient when it probably should've been prideful. Loyal when it would've been easier to walk away.
She had accepted every version of him, even the ones that got on her last damn nerve.
"Who's gon' love him like me?" she whispered. The question slipped out before she could stop it.
A second later, she shook her head.
It didn't matter anymore.
If Monty wanted somebody else, then he had already made his choice. Maybe he hadn't made it cleanly. Maybe he hadn't made it honestly. But he had made it. And Candy was tired of standing in the middle of a decision that should've never been complicated in the first place.
She lifted her gaze to the rearview mirror and studied her reflection.
Her eyes were still a little swollen, but Coco had worked a miracle before she left the house.
The dark shade of Sheer Cover foundation blended perfectly with her skin, and the concealer under her eyes had hidden most of the evidence of how much crying she had done.
The soft green shadow on her lids matched her Ann Taylor cowl-neck sweater, and from the outside looking in, she looked put together and the fuck good.
That was the blessing and curse of makeup.
It made her look fine on the outside while she was falling apart inside.
"Mama shouldn't be able to tell something wrong with me," she murmured.
Even saying it out loud felt stupid because Nancy could always tell. That woman could look at Candy through a prison visitation glass and still know if her spirit was off. But Candy was going to try anyway. She had missed last week because she didn’t want to dump all her pain at her mama's feet.
Nancy had enough to deal with behind those walls.
Candy reached into her black Gucci purse and searched around until she found her berry bomb flavored Lalicious lip gloss. She applied it carefully, pressing her lips together while continuing to watch herself in the mirror.
That was when she felt it.
The sting.
That familiar pressure behind her eyes.
Candy immediately looked away. "Now where the hell is this coming from?"
The question was ridiculous.
She knew exactly where it was coming from.
Monty.
Everything was Monty.
Every thought she tried to outrun. Every tear she kept wiping away. Every ache that settled into her heart when the room got too quiet. That man was still sitting in places inside her core that she hadn't figured out how to clear out yet.
She swallowed hard and forced herself to take a breath.
"Get it together, bitch. Fuck that nigga."
Her voice sounded stronger than she felt, so she said it again.
"Get it together, bitch. Fuck that nigga.”
The words sounded good.
A lil’ bit mature.
Reasonably accurate.
But actually, believing them was something else entirely.
Whether she liked it or not, MJ connected her to this man forever. There would be no clean break. No disappearing act. No cutting him off and pretending he had never existed.
They would always have their son. They would always have birthdays, school meetings, emergencies, holidays, and all the little moments that came with raising a child.
Somehow, Candy was going to have to learn how to hear his voice without wanting to either cry or cuss him the fuck out.
She just wasn't there yet.
After one final look in the mirror, she grabbed her phone and powered it off, stepping out of the G-Wagon. Immediately she felt the cool air brush across her face. The weather looked colder than it actually was.
She brushed her black skinny jeans with her hands and took a quick look at herself.
The soft green cowl-neck sweater hugged her curves without being too tight, draping perfectly across her breast before falling comfortably at her waist. The color brought out the warm undertones in her skin and made her honey-brown eyes stand out even more.
Her black skinny jeans fit like they had been tailored specifically for her body, accentuating every curve she had worked so hard to embrace over the years. The light green UGG boots added a casual softness to the outfit while still matching the sweater perfectly.
Coco had insisted she wear her hair down, and for once Candy had listened.
The loose curls framed her face beautifully, brushing against her shoulders whenever the breeze moved through the parking lot.
A pair of gold hoop earrings peeked through the strands while a delicate gold chain rested against her collarbone.
She looked good.
The kind of good that should've made her feel confident.
Unfortunately, heartbreak didn't care how pretty a woman looked.
After closing the trunk, she checked her pockets for her ID and the little bit of cash she was allowed to carry in.
Everything was there.
Candy took one final breath and looked toward the visitor entrance.
She wanted to be excited about seeing her mother.
She truly did. Nancy had a way of grounding her, even from behind prison walls.
Maybe today her mama would say something that helped.
Maybe she would see something Candy couldn't see yet.
Maybe she would give her the kind of wisdom only a woman who had survived her own storms could give.
Because right now, Candy needed something.
Answers.
Direction.
Peace.
Anything that made the ache in her chest feel a little less permanent.
With her shoulders squared and her heart still heavier than she wanted it to be, Candy started walking toward the entrance.
Behind her, the G-Wagon sat gleaming in the visitor parking lot like proof that she was trying to move forward.
Even if every step still hurt.
Candy stepped through the doorway of the visitation room and immediately spotted her mother sitting near the back.
Nancy saw her at the exact same time.
A huge smile spread across her face as she quickly stood from her chair.
"My baby!"
Before Candy could even make it halfway across the room, Nancy was already walking toward her.
The two women collided in a tight embrace.
The visitation room wasn't very large. It was clean, well-lit, and carried the faint scent of disinfectant and floor cleaner.
Several other families occupied tables throughout the room.
Some were laughing, some were crying, and others were simply enjoying the opportunity to sit across from loved ones they missed dearly.
None of that mattered to Candy.
At that moment, all she needed was her mama.
Nancy wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter and immediately sensed something wasn't right.
The embrace lasted longer than it was supposed to.
Long enough for Nancy to feel the hurt pouring out of her daughter. Long enough for them to briefly forget where they were.
"Alright, ladies," one of the guards finally called out. "That's enough."
Neither woman moved immediately.
Then Nancy squeezed Candy one last time before finally letting her go. "Come on, baby."
They walked over and took their seats.
Candy couldn't help smiling as she looked at her mother.