Chapter 33 Asia
Nyree and I checked out of our hotel, then he followed me home before returning to his own place. That was going to need to change soon because I was not about to be spending nights without my husband.
Smiling at the thought of Nyree being my husband, I flopped back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. He was coming over later tonight to talk about our living arrangements. We were going to go with whatever made the most sense.
I was thinking he could move into my place until we found our own home together. I was sure Nyree would agree.
I grabbed my laptop from my desk and settled back on the bed, opening up the email from Guiseppe at Messy Tees. He needed some promo graphics for their new line and wanted them by tomorrow afternoon for a social media push.
"Oh Lord, how will I focus today?" I muttered, opening my design software.
The new tee designs were cute—sarcastic phrases and bold graphics that were on-brand for Messy Tees' irreverent style. I started playing with layout options for Instagram and Facebook ads, but my concentration kept slipping.
My eyes drifted to the ring on my left hand. It kept catching the light when I moved. Mrs. Johnson. I was Mrs. Johnson now.
Images from the honeymoon suite flashed through my mind—Nyree's hands on my skin, his lips tracing paths down my body, the way he'd looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. The prayer he said over our marriage. How safe I felt falling asleep in his arms.
"Focus, Asia," I scolded myself, forcing my attention back to the screen.
I managed to rough out two design concepts when my phone rang. Bella's face lit up my screen, and a wave of guilt washed over me. I hadn't told her about the wedding. My best friend didn't even know I was married.
I answered quickly. "Hey, Bella!"
"Hey girl," she replied, her voice warm. "How's it going?"
"It's good! good, I was just about to call you because—"
"Listen Asia," she cut in, her tone shifting to something more serious. "I know we talked about this already, but I've been thinking about you nonstop ever since you and Nyree announced your engagement."
I held my breath, my excitement draining away. "And?" I prompted when she paused.
Bella sighed heavily into the phone. "Listen girl, don't take this the wrong way.
I'm over the moon about the fact that you're ready to start dating again, but I think you're moving too fast with him.
Meeting a man and getting engaged to him in less than three months is too much. I think you need to pump your brakes."
My stomach dropped. What the hell would she say if she knew we were already married?
"Bella..." I started, not even sure what I was going to say.
"And I know you're grown and everything and I would never want to come across as a hater," she continued, "but it's just that I care about you, Asia.
" Her voice caught, and I could hear her sniffling.
"You're my best friend and after everything you went through with Quan's dusty ass, I would hate to have to catch a case about Nyree. "
She giggled after that last part, clearly trying to soften her words with humor, but it didn't help. Each word felt like a stone dropping into my stomach. She was saying what that little voice in the back of my head had been whispering all along.
"Bella, I hear you," I said. "And I would never think of you as a hater. I just..."
"Yeah girl, it's never that," she cut in, sounding relieved that I wasn't taking offense.
"It's just that I can't get over the fact that you were just saying you no longer believed in love, and we had that whole conversation the night you met Nyree, but then you pop up engaged to him? Yeah sis, that ain't it."
I flinched as if she'd slapped me. She was right—that's what had happened. The night I met Nyree, I practically bit Bella’s head off when she tried to suggest I give dating another try. And now here I was, not just engaged but married.
I opened my mouth to respond, to try to explain how different Nyree was, how sure I felt about him, but no words came out. How could I explain something I barely understood myself?
And how could I tell her we were already married? That we skipped past any semblance of a normal engagement and jumped straight to husband and wife?
"Oh shit. Asia, I gotta go," Bella suddenly said, her tone changing dramatically.
Something in her voice triggered my concern. "What is it? What happened?"
She sighed heavily. "My fucking mother is at it again."
"What's going on with your mom?" I asked, now worried. Bella's relationship with her mother was complicated at best, toxic at worst. But before I could get more details, the line went dead.
"Bella? Hello?" I pulled the phone away from my ear to see the call had ended.
I tried calling her back, but it went straight to voicemail. I sent a text:
Hey, call me back when you can. I'm worried about you. Whatever's happening with your mom, I'm here.
I set my phone down and leaned back against my headboard, my mind a jumble of conflicting thoughts.
Bella's words kept echoing in my head. Too fast. Pump your brakes. That ain't it.
Was she right? Had I made a terrible mistake? I looked down at my wedding ring again, twisting it nervously around my finger.