If I Was Your Best Friend

Chapter 45 Asia

My mind was consumed with thoughts of Nyree.

I couldn't stop staring at the messages Isis sent.

Though he said he was getting a DNA test, just from looking at the little boy, you could tell Nyree was the father.

The child had his eyes, his smile. Even the shape of his face was similar.

Why did all this have to happen now? Why did it seem like I always got played, no matter what I did?

First Quan, and now Nyree. Quan popped up with one baby mother and I believed his lies, then he popped up with another one.

And now I jumped the gun and married Nyree, only to find that he had a baby mother too.

Maybe love just wasn't meant for me. Maybe I should give it up for good this time.

Consumed with negative thoughts, I went to my laptop and opened the screen, pulling up a browser so I could search out how to get a marriage annulled.

It hadn't been that long since we tied the knot.

Maybe the Justice of the Peace didn't send off the paperwork yet.

Once I had that thought, I grabbed my phone to call her, but before I could, a knock sounded at my front door.

Sucking my teeth, I put the phone back down on my desk. Who was that? Nyree's flight wasn't scheduled to arrive til this afternoon, so it couldn't be him. Did he switch it to a red eye instead?

Shuffling toward the front door, I opened it to find Bella on the other side. She looked giddy at first, but then her expression shifted the moment she saw my face.

"Unh uh," she said. "What the hell happened to you?"

I just stared at her. Might as well get it over with. "Come on in," I said, and as she entered, I caught the glint from the ring on her finger in the sunlight. My jaw dropped in shock. "Wait, what?"

My problems temporarily went on hold as my heart leapt for my best friend. Her smile returned, but it was cautious. I grabbed her hand. "For real?"

She giggled, and I could tell she was struggling to contain her excitement. Then her expression changed. "Yeah, it happened, but we'll talk about that later. You tell me what happened with you first."

"Hell no," I was saying, before the words could finish coming out of her mouth. "I'm not taking this moment from you. How did it happen? What did he say? Tell me everything!"

"Are you sure?" Bella asked, studying my face. "You look like you've been through it."

"I'm positive," I assured her, beckoning for her to sit on the couch. "We'll get to my mess later. Right now, I need some good news in my life."

Bella sat down, practically vibrating with excitement. "Girl, he took me by complete surprise. I thought it was just a regular date, til a damn horse and carriage pulled up outside the restaurant."

My jaw dropped at this revelation. "A horse and carriage? Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Bella squealed. "I almost didn't believe it when he said it was for us. Blake took me on a ride to this beautiful park, where he had a violinist waiting."

"A violinist?" I echoed, feeling a mix of happiness for my friend and a tiny pang of envy. Nyree and I had rushed to the courthouse, and while that had felt right at the time, it was nothing like this fairy tale Bella was describing.

"Playing 'Ribbon in the Sky, girl,'" Bella confirmed, her eyes shining with tears. "After the song completed, he got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage. Asia, I couldn't believe it. It was like a dream."

By the time Bella finished her story, both of us were in tears.

"Oh my God, Bella," I said, wiping at my cheeks. "That was so beautiful."

Bella fanned her face. "I know." Then she choked up. "It was like he showed up in my life right at the time I needed him, Asia."

Something in her expression shifted, and I sensed she was about to drop a bomb. Bella looked off into the distance as she said, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but that night of the blind date, I had a bag of pills waiting on me for when I got home."

My heart cracked. "No," I gasped, but Bella continued, her face reddening with more tears.

"I was gonna do it, Asia. I felt like wasn't shit out there for me in this world.

All those failed relationships. The bullshit with my mom.

The rejection from my father. I felt like I poured my whole heart and soul into all these niggas, but nobody ever loved me.

" Her voice cracked at those last words.

"Nobody loved me, Asia, and I couldn't take it anymore. "

My tears were freely streaming now. I could not believe how close I had been to losing my best friend and I would have never known it was happening til it was too late.

"Bella, I loved you," I said, my voice thick with emotion.

Bella nodded. "I know that, but my mind was all fucked up, Asia."

We sat in silence for a few moments. Then Bella continued.

"But then I met Blake out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting shit between us to click like it did that night. But it did. He's different from every man I’ve ever been with. He loves me and I love him too. And now..." Her voice trailed off as she welled up again.

"I am so happy for you," I said, and we shared a deep sisterly hug. "You deserve it, Bella."

Bella faced me, her eyes serious. "You deserve it too."

My breath caught, and Bella continued.

"I know I said you were jumping the gun but this whole situation with Blake made me realize something, Asia.

You never know when love is gonna find you.

And now that I found it for myself, ain't no way in hell I'm letting that shit go.

Do you, girl. Go ahead and marry Nyree. I'm right here with you. "

I didn't know what to say. Bella had just poured out her whole soul and now I had to share another secret. But I was tired of lying. I faced my best friend.

"Bella, I fucked up," I said, and choked up.

Bella's face scrunched with alarm. "Huh? What happened."

I stared at my friend, hoping she wouldn't feel betrayed by me holding yet another secret. I wordlessly showed her my wedding band.

Bella stared for a few seconds, then she got it. "When did this happen?" she asked.

"Last week," I admitted, my face and voice tinged with shame. "And now I'm finding out about his baby momma and four-year-old son."

Bella blinked in confusion. "What?"

I nodded. "He says he didn't know about the baby and I want to believe him but..." I welled up again. "Bella, you know what the fuck I went through with Quan. I can't go through that shit again."

"How did you find out about the baby?" Bella asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

I sighed and told her how Isis emailed me on my work email, then she inboxed me telling me about the baby.

A strange look crossed Bella's features. "Show me the messages," she said.

I was wondering why she wanted to see them, but I picked up my phone from the coffee table and pulled up the messages from Isis. I handed the phone to Bella.

Bella scrolled in silence for a second, then another look crossed her face. She tapped the screen, then her eyes widened. "It was her!" she exclaimed.

"What do you mean, it was her? Who was her? What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

Bella sat forward, suddenly energized. "When I went to get my hair done for the date with Blake, I overheard some girl yapping about how she just told her baby daddy about his four-year-old son."

My heart started pounding. "What?"

"Yeah, girl! She was asking for advice about whether she was a bitch for doing that since she probably fucked up his engagement. I didn't pay much attention at the time because I was focused on my date, but this is the same girl!"

"How do you know?" I asked, not daring to hope.

Bella turned my phone to show me Isis's profile picture. "This is her. This is the girl from the salon. She had the same purple braids, same face. I remember because she was loud as hell, had the whole shop in her business."

"Are you sure?" I asked, barely breathing.

"Positive," Bella nodded firmly. "She was telling everyone how she never told the father about the baby until now, when she found out he was engaged. Said she'd been raising the boy on her own all this time."

I couldn’t believe my ears. Nyree didn’t lie to me?

"He told you the truth, Asia," Bella said, as if hearing my thoughts. She squeezed my hand. "From Isis's own mouth, she never told him about that baby."

I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me. Nyree had been telling the truth. He didn't know about the child. Isis had hidden it from him for four years and only decided to tell him after our wedding. After he updated his status to Engaged.

"Oh my God," I whispered, tears filling my eyes again. But these were different tears. Tears of relief, of regret for doubting him. "He was telling the truth."

Bella nodded. "Sounds like it. And girl, the way that woman was talking in the salon, she was proud of herself for causing drama. Like she thought it was funny to drop this bomb on him."

I covered my face with my hands, feeling a mix of emotions washing over me. Relief that Nyree hadn't lied to me. Anger at Isis for her games. Shame that I'd been so quick to assume the worst.

"I pushed him away," I admitted, dropping my hands. "I wouldn't even talk to him before he left for his trip. He tried to get me to go with him, and I refused. He sent me money yesterday to help with my bills since I lost my job, and I sent it back without even a thank you."

"You lost your job too?" Bella asked, her eyes widening. "Girl, what else happened that you haven't told me?"

I gave her a quick rundown of Giuseppe replacing me with his daughter, the failed attempt to get more work from another client, and how Nyree had tried to comfort me.

"Damn," Bella said when I finished. "That's a lot all at once."

"Yeah," I agreed, feeling the weight of everything that had happened. "And I took it all out on Nyree, even though he was just trying to help. I've been so afraid of being played again that I pushed away the one person who was being honest with me."

"So what are you going to do now?" Bella asked.

I looked down at my wedding ring. "I don't know. I mean, even if Nyree didn't know about the child, it doesn't change the fact that he might be a father. That's a huge deal. We just got married, and now there's a kid in the picture."

"True," Bella nodded. "But at least you know he didn't lie to you. That's something, right?"

"Yeah, it's something," I agreed. "But it still changes everything."

"How?" Bella challenged.

"What do you mean, how? He might have a child, Bella!"

"And? People have kids. People date and marry people with kids all the time."

"But this is different," I insisted. "We just got married. We're supposed to be starting our life together, and now there's this whole other situation with a child and a baby mama who clearly wants to cause problems."

Bella looked at me for a long moment. "Asia, do you love him?"

"Of course I do," I said without hesitation.

"Then what's the real problem here? Is it the kid, or is it that you're scared?"

I stared at her, caught off guard by the directness of her question. "I don't know."

"Because from where I'm sitting, it sounds like you're looking for reasons to run because you're afraid of getting hurt again. But Asia, you just heard me tell you how close I came to ending it all because I thought love wasn't for me. And then Blake walked into my life and changed everything."

I nodded, hearing her words but still feeling conflicted.

"I'm not saying it's the same situation," Bella continued.

"You and Nyree have a real complication to deal with.

But if you love him, if you believe he loves you, then maybe you should give him a chance to prove it.

To show you that he can handle this situation like a man and still be the husband you need. "

I took a deep breath, considering her words. "You're right," I said. "I need to talk to him, not just shut him out because I'm scared."

"That's my girl," Bella said with a smile. "When does he get back?"

"This afternoon," I said, checking the time. "His flight lands at 3."

"Are you going to meet him at the airport?"

I thought about it. "I think I should."

Bella nodded in agreement. "Yes, you should. I pray this situation works out for you, Asia. I want you to be happy.”

Bella and I shared a heartfelt hug. “Love you, bestie.”

“Love you too,” she said when we pulled back. “And your ass needs to stop keeping secrets. You know you can tell me anything.”

My heart panged. I had fucked up real bad by not being open and honest, but I thanked God Bella wasn’t the type to hold it against me. “I know. I’m so sorry for being childish.”

***

After Bella left, I sat on the couch for a long time, thinking about everything. About Nyree, about the child who might be his, about the choices in front of me. I'd been ready to call the courthouse and ask about annulling our marriage, but now... now I wasn't so sure.

I picked up my phone and scrolled to Nyree's number. My finger hovered over it for a moment before I tapped out a text:

We need to talk when you get back. I'll pick you up from the airport.

I hesitated before adding:

I love you.

Then I hit send before I could change my mind.

It wasn't going to be easy. We had a lot to figure out, a lot to talk about. But maybe Bella was right. Maybe if we loved each other, we could face this together. Maybe love was worth fighting for, even when it came with complications.