Chapter 43 Zainab #2
“A year ago, I was working double shifts at a restaurant, getting harassed by my boss, wondering if I’d ever be able to give my nephew the life he deserved. I had a dream—this dream—but I didn’t know if it would ever be more than that.”
My voice cracked. I pushed through.
“But I had people who believed in me. People who saw what I could be before I saw it myself. And I had love.” I found Prime in the crowd. “The kind of love that makes you brave. The kind that makes you believe you can do anything.”
He was watching me with those blue eyes, and even from here, I could see the softness in them.
“So thank you. To everyone who supported me. Everyone who believed in me. Everyone who’s here today to celebrate this moment.” I raised my glass of sparkling cider. “To Sweet Zin’s. And to new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings!” the crowd echoed.
I started to step down from the platform—
And Prime stepped up.
He took the microphone from my hand. Turned to face the crowd. Then turned back to face me.
“I got something to say too.”
My heart started beating faster. “Prime, what are you—”
“Eight months ago, this woman walked into my life and turned everything upside down.” His voice was steady, but there was emotion underneath it.
Raw and real. “She challenged me. Frustrated me. Made me want to be better than I’d ever been.
She showed me what love looks like. What family means.
What it feels like to have someone who sees all your broken pieces and loves you anyway. ”
He reached into his pocket.
My hand flew to my mouth.
“Zainab Ali.” He dropped to one knee. The crowd gasped. Cameras flashed. “I don’t deserve you. I know that. But I’m gonna spend the rest of my life trying to. Will you marry me?”
He opened the box.
The ring was stunning. A massive cushion-cut diamond surrounded by smaller stones, set in rose gold. It caught the light and sparkled like fire.
“Yes.” The word came out choked, barely audible. I tried again. “YES! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He slid the ring onto my finger and stood, pulling me into his arms. The crowd erupted —cheering, clapping, cameras clicking.
I was crying. Laughing. Holding onto him like he was the only solid thing in a spinning world.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.
“I love you too, Goddess. Forever.”
He kissed me, and for one perfect moment, everything was exactly as it should be.
Then I looked up.
And my blood turned to ice.
He was standing near the back of the crowd. Tall. Broad. A face I’d seen in my nightmares for years.
“Aye yo Thad,” Justice called out to the man and dapped him up.
Thad
I’d never known his name before that moment.
He was the man from the alley. The one who’d seen me hiding behind that dumpster, who’d looked right at me and saw me run after I watched him kill someone. The man who found my sister and murdered her before we could run.
He was HERE. At MY grand opening. Standing in MY bakery like he belonged there.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything but stare as Prime noticed him and raised a hand in greeting.
Thad walked over. Prime released me to dap him up, pulling him into a one-armed hug.
“Glad you could make it, man.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Thad’s eyes found mine. Held them for just a second too long. “Congratulations. Both of you.”
I tried to speak. Tried to say something—anything—but my throat had closed up. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
Does he recognize me? It’s been years. Was this a coincidence.
I can’t believe this is Prime’s family. He knows this man. This man took everything from me!
I opened my mouth—
“DCPD! Everyone stay where you are!”
The shout came from the entrance. Heads turned. The crowd parted.
Six police officers were pushing through, hands on their weapons. Leading them was a detective in a rumpled suit, his badge hanging from a chain around his neck.
“What the hell is going on?” Prime stepped forward, putting himself between me and the officers. “This is a private event.”
“Sir, step aside.” The detective’s voice was flat. Bored, almost. Like he did this every day. “We’re not here for you.”
He looked past Prime.
Directly at me.
“Zainab Ali?”
My whole body went cold. “I… what?”
“You need to come with us.” He pulled handcuffs from his belt. “You’re under arrest.”
“WHAT?” Prime’s voice was a roar. “On what fucking charges?”
The detective ignored him. Stepped around him. Reached for my arm.
“Zainab Ali, you’re under arrest for identity theft and the first-degree murder of Zahara Ali. You have the right to remain silent—”
“NO!” I jerked away, stumbling backward. “No, I didn’t—I didn’t kill her! I didn’t—”
“Ma’am, you need to come with us. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“She’s PREGNANT!” Prime was in the detective’s face now, his whole body vibrating with rage. “You can’t just—”
“Sir, if you interfere with this arrest, you will be charged with obstruction.” The detective’s hand moved to his weapon. “Step. Back.”
Other officers were closing in. Surrounding me. I looked around wildly—at Serenity, frozen in shock. At Mehar, tears streaming down her face. At the Kings, already moving forward like they were ready to fight.
At Yusef.
He was standing near the back, his security guard’s hand on his shoulder. His face was pale. His eyes were wide. And for the first time in five months, I saw something other than emptiness in them.
Fear.
I couldn’t do this to him. Couldn’t let him watch me get dragged out of here kicking and screaming. Couldn’t traumatize him all over again.
I stopped struggling.
“Okay.” My voice came out broken. Barely a whisper. “Okay. I’ll go.”
“Zainab…” Prime reached for me.
“Prime.” I looked at him. Let him see everything in my eyes—the fear, the desperation, the love. “Take care of Yusef. Take care of our baby. Please.”
“I’m gonna get you out.” His voice was fierce. Absolute. “You hear me? I’m gonna get you out. Tonight. I swear to God, Zainab. I’m gonna fix this.”
The handcuffs closed around my wrists.
They turned me toward the door. Started walking me through the crowd. Past the cameras that were still rolling. Past the guests who were still frozen in shock. Past everything I’d built, everything I’d dreamed of, everything I’d finally let myself believe I could have.
As they pushed me through the entrance, I caught one last glimpse of the crowd.
Vivica Banks was standing near the back.
And she was smirking.Then the door closed behind me, and my dream turned to ash.
To be continued…