Chapter 12 #3
I stared at Zonnique for a second before another thought hit me.
“Hold the fuck up. We’re skipping over one of the most important parts. How much money did you promise her? Because this level of cooperation gotta come with commas attached. Ain’t no way somebody volunteering to carry a stranger’s baby strictly off morals and good citizenship.”
Zonnique folded her arms lightly. “For your child? More women than you think would consider it. But…”
Zonnique immediately started twisting a strand of hair around her finger nervously.
That alone pissed me off more.
“Five hundred thousand dollars,” she revealed in a low tone.
I blinked repeatedly. “Five… Five hundred thousand dollars?!”
I stared at her Zonnique like she had completely lost her damn mind.
“The fuck is wrong with you?!” I roared.
On some real shit, it wasn’t even the amount that had me ready to go upside Zonnique’s head; it was the fuckin’ audacity.
“And you negotiated all this without me?! No paperwork?! No contract?! No approval?!”
“It was only a verbal agreement. I haven’t done a contract or anything yet. I was waiting to talk to you first before finalizing that part.”
I scoffed. “And you really thought I’d bankroll a half-million-dollar hush arrangement because you came up with a plan in the middle of an anxiety attack? Do I look like a nonprofit organization for poor decision-making?”
Zonnique’s mouth twitched nervously. “Merge, you’re a billionaire. Five hundred thousand dollars isn’t exactly going to hurt you financially.”
“Stop counting my fuckin’ pockets, Zonnique,” I warned. “I don’t give a damn if I was richer than Bezos and God combined, or if I could buy the moon and lease out stars on the side. Who gave you the authority to start budgeting my life like you’re my accountant and my wife?”
“I just thought you’d understand eventually, so the amount wouldn’t matter.”
“No, you thought I’d be desperate enough to agree to anything because a baby was involved. So, tell me… how much of that five hundred thousand were you planning to emotionally finesse out of her once the baby got here?”
“It’s not about the money for me, Merge. I don’t want any of it. I just want… you.”
I laughed. “Me? And the luxury attached to me, right? Let’s not romanticize this shit, Zonnique.
You like the lifestyle, the status, love the dick, and the idea of standing beside somebody powerful.
But if you thought all this was somehow gonna circle back into you still becoming Mrs. Belvior…
” I shook my head slowly. “You played yourself, shawty.”
Zonnique shoulders sagged slightly.
My patience finally snapped.
I reached into my waistband, pulled out my gun again, and directed it at her.
Zonnique immediately stumbled backward with both hands raised, her eyes widening in panic.
“You know… I could kill you right now strictly off the principle of betrayal, and nobody around me would question the decision, right?”
Her breathing hitched sharply. “Merge, no! Please no!”
“I’m dead serious. See, that’s the difference between normal people and families like mine. Out there”—I gestured vaguely toward the city beyond the windows— “in the regular world, betrayal gets you blocked, unfollowed, and maybe cheated back on if somebody’s feeling extra toxic.”
I pointed toward the floor beneath us.
“But in my world? Betrayal gets treated like a disease, and diseases get cut out before they spread.”
I kept the gun trained on her while slowly stepping closer.
“Understand this, Zonnique… I’ve tortured muthafuckas for less disrespect than this.”
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
A cold, almost devilish laugh left me, as my finger rested calmly against the trigger.
“And the fact you’re still breathing after admitting all this is proof you benefited heavily from history and familiarity. Because had this been anybody else?” I tilted my head slightly. “They wouldn’t even be standing here long enough to explain themselves.”
Zonnique’s lower lip trembled violently.
I stared directly into her terrified face. “So, believe me when I say I’ve shown you way more mercy than most men in my position would’ve.”
A broken sound escaped Zonnique before she suddenly dropped to her knees.
“Please don’t kill me, Merge!” she cried hysterically, wiping helplessly at the tears running down her face. “I’m sorry! I know I crossed a line, but I was only looking out for your best interest! I swear that’s all this was! I care about you, Merge! I would never intentionally hurt you!”
I stood there quietly, taking in the sight of her crying on the floor before exhaling heavily.
“Zonnique, if I truly wanted you dead, we wouldn’t still be having this conversation. You would’ve been gone before your knees even touched my floor.”
Her breathing stayed shaky.
I lowered the gun slightly but didn’t put it away.
“Get up,” I instructed.
She hesitated.
“I said get up!” my voice rose.
Zonnique practically jumped to her feet.
“My floors were just waxed yesterday morning, and now you’re down there crying all over imported marble like a damn grieving widow.”
I turned away from her and walked toward the window, my thoughts spiraling harder the more I replayed everything that happened downstairs.
“Something still feels off about this… her too. Ol’ girl was smiling too damn hard. Ain’t nobody that excited to be around me unless they’re either trying to get something or they’re mentally unstable.”
I faced Zonnique again and she was frowning slightly.
“She wasn’t nervous or intimidated. Hell, if anything, she looked at me like I was her celebrity crush and her financial breakthrough at the same damn time.” I scoffed lightly. “Or worse… like she’d been dreaming about me since middle school and finally manifested me into existence.”
“Maybe both,” Zonnique muttered quietly. “Some women fantasize day in and out of having a baby for or with a man like you. It’s power to them.”
“You would say that. Are you telling on yourself?”
She rolled her eyes.
“But nah, this seems like a different kind of dream… more like a nightmare dressed in a pretty face.”
A humorless laugh escaped me as I ran my tongue across my teeth.
“I mean… yeah, I prayed the other day,” I admitted. “But not for this. I told God if I’m supposed to have a legacy, then show me.” I smirked bitterly. “But with all the dirt I’ve done in life, I was for sure he had me on Do Not Disturb, so I figured my prayer got forwarded straight to voicemail.”
“So maybe he answered.” Zonnique shrugged.
“Or maybe the devil checked the voicemail first and said, ‘Bet. Watch this.’”
“So what you gon’ do?” Zonnique challenged me softly. “Turn down the blessing? This benefits you more than anybody.”
“If it’s really a blessing, it wouldn’t come wrapped in red flags, gut feelings, and smiles that don’t match the eyes attached to ’em. So nah, I ain’t turning it down; I’m just not stupid enough to unwrap it before I know exactly what’s inside.”
Zonnique stayed quiet.
“And yeah, it does benefit me. Hell, that’s the part that’s making me nervous.
Everything about this feels too damn good to be true.
And every time life hands me something easy, it comes back later wanting double in return.
So, I’m keeping one eye on her… and the other on whatever fine print I ain’t discovered yet.
” I whipped my head at Zonnique. “And you need to do the same.”
“I am, and I will,” she insisted quickly. “But she’s really our only option right now.”
“Our? Don’t you mean mine?” I corrected. “Watch your wording. This is my bloodline, my last name, and my sperm that supposedly made the child she’s carrying. You’re just the person who decided to play God with all three.”
I exhaled once through my nose, hard and controlled.
“If it turns out she’s really pregnant with my child, I’ll compensate you in cash… not love, dick, or my time.” My eyes narrowed. “But until I can prove that baby belongs to me, you ain’t getting a damn dime.”
“Merge, it is your baby,” Zonnique assured quickly. “That clinic would never—”
“I said what I said.”
Silence.
Then Zonnique hesitated before quietly asking, “So… what are you gonna do about the marriage part? You know how your mother is. I seriously doubt she’d want to see you with another woman besides—”
“Besides who?” I cut in immediately. “You?”
A laugh ripped out of me so suddenly and harshly it made her visibly shrink where she stood.
It wasn’t amused laughter either; it was the kind that embarrassed people and made them instantly regret speaking.
Zonnique looked away quickly, mortified.
I took a second to compose myself.
“Zonnique,” I said finally, still sounding amused, “My mama can barely tolerate yo’ ass now.
You think she’s secretly sitting around praying I marry you?
” I shook my head. “That woman speaks to you out of politeness and blood pressure management. Trust me, if she had it her way, you would’ve been nonexistent after day one of meeting you. ”
Her face fell instantly.
“Glad to finally know that,” she muttered bitterly.
I scoffed loudly. “Gon’ with that shit, Zonnique. You knew; you just kept mistaking access for affection.”
Zonnique visibly swallowed down her embarrassment. Then suddenly her expression shifted with another desperate thought.
“If it comes down to it, I’ll just say I’m pregnant, and you can still keep the surrogate to carry the baby.”
I stared at Zonnique like she’d lost the last functioning piece of common sense she had left.
“And exactly how the fuck do you expect that to work, huh?”
“I can help work around suspicion,” she rushed on nervously. “Nobody has to know the truth except us. We could stage things carefully. Build a believable timeline. Keep everything private. We could simulate the pregnancy publicly. I can get prosthetics… fake bellies. There are women who—”