30. Mr. & Mrs. King
Three Months Later
Keeping a secret from Chanel Simone Davis, soon-to-be Chanel Simone King, was one of the hardest things I had ever done.
This shit was harder than serving my eighteen-year bid and harder than surviving Crestwood.
Hell, it was even harder than pretending I didn’t know exactly where she hid her emergency snacks, because my Angel could sense a secret from three zip codes away.
The problem was that she had spent the last three months complaining every damn day. About not being married and being okay with us going to the Justice of the Peace, and I had to pretend to be very nonchalant when my ass was very chalant when it came to anything my Angel wanted.
Technically, she was right. Life has interrupted us every time we tried our hand at happiness.
When we were young adults, grief stole our future.
When we got older, trauma stole our timing.
Then, when we finally found our way back to each other, bullets, conspiracies, and generational family drama tried their hardest to ruin everything.
Fortunately for me, I was stubborn and had help with her surprise.
YaYa had helped me plan the destination wedding of Chanel’s dreams, and she had no idea it was about to take place, which was why I was currently sitting on a private jet pretending I had no idea what was happening while Chanel glared at me from across the aisle.
“Where are we going, y’all?” Chanel asked for the tenth time.
Zayden shrugged his shoulders, and YaYa continued to read their book of the month as if she didn’t hear a word Channy said.
Camilla and Jared were in newlywed bliss and were excited to hand off Jared Jr. to Andre to watch in the back of the aircraft.
“Ya’ll are all annoying.”
I smiled.
Zay was agitating my Angel even more. The Nigga had spent the entire morning recording Chanel’s confusion for future blackmail purposes.
“I’m confused. This can’t be a couple’s trip because why are all the kids coming?”
Still, we all remained silent.
Demir accidentally laughed. Everybody turned toward him. The poor kid immediately looked terrified. “Sorry.”
Chanel looked around the cabin suspiciously. “You all know something.”
The accusation landed directly on Kenya. YaYa immediately looked out the window.
“Beautiful clouds.”
“Kenya.”
“Very fluffy.”
“KENYA.”
At this point, half the jet was laughing.
The other half was trying not to. Only Jared looked calm.
Mostly because fatherhood had turned him soft.
The man spent ninety percent of his day staring at baby Jared Jr. I wasn’t judging.
I’d probably be the same way if I ever got a chance to experience fatherhood one more time.
I thank God every day for my Genny. If Genny and Xander were the only children I got in this lifetime, I would be grateful.
I did pray that God would give me an opportunity to experience fatherhood from the moment a baby blessed Channy’s womb.
Eventually, Chanel crossed her arms. Her dramatics brought me back to the moment. Her frustration made me smile, because Chanel looked beautiful. She was glowing and looked happy. The last few months had been good to all of us. For the first time in two decades, nobody was hunting our family.
Nobody was plotting.
Nobody was dying.
We were simply living.
And that felt miraculous.
The pilot eventually announced our descent.
The second the twin islands, Trinidad and Tobago, appeared beneath the clouds, and the entire plane grew quiet.
The island of Tobago looked unreal. The water was so blue, it seemed painted.
White sand beaches stretched for miles, and palm trees danced in the breeze.
You could see the most beautiful mountains rising in the distance.
This place was paradise, exactly the way it looked on the Pinterest board Chanel didn’t realize I had memorized.
I still remember the night I found it once we finally rekindled and moved in together.
She’d fallen asleep on the couch. Her laptop remained open.
She had a Pinterest board named Dream Wedding with hundreds of photographs pinned.
It showed ocean views, flowing white dresses, and a bride and groom reciting their vows on Pigeon Point Beach in Tobago.
That was the reason I couldn’t just take my Angel to the Justice of the Peace.
I was in more of a rush to be her husband than she knew, but I needed my baby to know it was safe to still dream with me.
Our private jet touched down smoothly. The cabin erupted into applause.
Excitement immediately spread through the kids, and everybody began gathering bags.
Only Chanel remained seated. She studied me with suspicion on her face. “You’re smiling too much, X.”
I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Love you too, Angel.”
Her smile promised retaliation later. I accepted my fate.
An hour later, our convoy pulled into the resort. Several luxury villas overlooked the ocean. The water sparkled beneath the afternoon sun. The breeze smelled like salt and flowers. The entire place looked like something out of a movie.
“What is this?” Chanel stepped out of the SUV slowly. “I figured we were on vacation. But this looks extra as hell.” The suspicion in her voice intensified.
Kenya immediately grabbed her hand. “Stop all that yapping and come on.”
“Where?”
“Trust me, Baby Bear.”
Channy, YaYa, and Milla disappeared toward the largest villa, leaving me standing outside with Jared and Zay. The three of us watched them go.
Then Jared smiled.
“Are you ready for marriage?”
I showed all 32 of my bright white teeth with pride. “I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life.”
In less than twenty-four hours, I was finally going to marry the love of my life.
I was relieved that the ladies were out of sight because the hardest part had officially begun.
Keeping the vacation a secret was one thing.
Actually pulling off the surprise wedding without somebody accidentally ruining it was something entirely different, and if there was one thing I knew about our family, it was that we were incapable of acting normal when excited.
Case in point. Twenty minutes later, I found our baby girl, Genesis, sprinting across the resort, yelling, “Mommy and Daddy are getting married!” at the top of her lungs.
Zay nearly spit out his rum punch, laughing. Jared looked disappointed for approximately two seconds before baby Jared Jr. started fussing and immediately reclaimed his attention.
“Damn.” I shook my head. “Y’all had one job.”
“She inherited that from you.” Kenya’s husband pointed at me.
“Don’t put that on my baby.”
“Your baby just announced the wedding to half of Tobago.”
The twins immediately joined the conversation.
“Unc.” Aniyah folded her arms.
“You definitely would’ve done that,” Amara chimed in.
The disrespect children carry nowadays needs to be studied. Thankfully, my suffering was interrupted by Kenya appearing on the balcony.
Her expression alone told me everything.
I stood immediately. “Well?”
A smile slowly spread across her face.
And just like that, my heart stopped.
“She knows. Her nosey ass went through my closet and saw the dress options. ”
Lord, my knees nearly buckled. It’s okay. It was only a matter of time before my Angel figured out this wasn’t some random vacation.
I found myself moving before I consciously decided to. I crossed through the villa, taking the stairs two at a time.
Chanel had moved the dresses from the closet and hung them in front of the large bay windows.
She was mesmerized by the dresses. All three were white and custom-made to her measurements.
There were three versions she got to choose from.
Kenya had personally overseen every detail, every stitch, and the measurements.
One hand covered Angel’s mouth. Tears streamed freely down her face.
YaYa entered the room behind me, carrying a glass of champagne.
“Well, since the secret is out, let’s celebrate the bride-to-be.”
I stood there, enamored by her happiness, and seeing her like that wrecked me.
For so much of our lives, Chanel convinced herself she didn’t deserve beautiful things.
Life had taught her that happiness came with conditions and consequences, and once upon a time, a part of that was my fault.
I loved her purely but also recklessly. Every time she reached for joy, something found a way to snatch it away.
But not this time; this time, happiness got to stay, and I would protect and overwhelm Chanel with a steady love that she could feel from her soul.
Kenya stepped behind her and gently adjusted a hanger. “You like them?”
Chanel looked like she might pass out. “I love them.” Her voice broke.
My Angel started crying, then mean-ass Kenya started crying, too.
I noticed my sister-in-law was turning soft, very different from the queenpin I met at the deli once upon a time, but I loved the evolution I saw in her; it meant my brother allowed YaYa to be soft, and I would forever be proud of that.
I quietly backed out of the room. I decided this was their moment, and I didn’t want to see which dress she chose; I wanted to be surprised as she met me at the end of that aisle.
That evening, the entire family gathered for an engagement dinner overlooking the ocean. The sunset looked unreal. The sky was a mix of orange, pink, and gold, just like Channy’s lock screen on her phone.
The kids occupied one end of the massive table while the adults occupied the other, and somehow, the children still controlled the conversation–especially Genesis.
“Daddy cried when Jared Jr. was born because he was a bit sad he didn’t have a baby, too.”
The accusation came out of nowhere. The entire table exploded in laughter because Genny couldn’t hold water this vacation.
Chanel immediately turned toward me. “Oh?”
Jared laughed into his drink.
“Genny, why are you treating your dad like this?” Zay chimed in.