Chapter 4 #2
Macie was proving once again that there was no ending to the depths of her selfishness.
The only feelings she’d ever consider were her own.
The real reason for her trip to Morocco wasn’t because she wanted to stay out of Monroe’s love life, it was because she still wanted to be in control of it.
She feared that she wouldn’t be able to get rid of Promise the way she had with Sienna.
The love was different this time. Macie had experienced it when in their presence, and it made her tremble with respect until she could no longer take it.
The way Monroe had moved this time around had been different, and Macie didn’t like it.
The family business was about to expand once again, which meant Monroe needed to be more focused than ever before with no distractions.
Promise vs. Sienna.
The Present vs. The Past.
New Love vs. Old Love.
Could both exist together? Would one cancel the other out?
These were the questions at hand, and Macie was banking on Monroe walking away from both Promise and Sienna.
She prayed it would be too hard for him to choose, so he wouldn’t.
Macie had taken the time to examine the whole situation before making her move, even calculated being found out for her own treachery.
It was a sacrifice she was willing to make for the greater good.
At the end of the day, she was his mother, and nothing or no one could change that.
Promise and Sienna were disposable and would be treated as such.
The Black Family Empire had to go on, and Macie wasn’t sharing the throne with another woman.
Turning worlds upside down was Macie’s strong suit. She was a dangerous woman in her own right. She knew how to make circumstances bend to accommodate her, she’d been in this same position before. I’m sorry, son, but mama knows best, she thought as she got in the car.
The mind-fuck that Macie had effortlessly delivered was unmatched.
Sienna was stuck somewhere between Wow and What The Fuck!
She’d prayed for the day she’d be free from the bondage Macie had enslaved her in, yet now that the possibility sat in front of her, reality didn’t feel as simple as she once imagined.
The very woman who had kept her hidden from the world was now offering her a way back into it.
Back to Monroe, and the life that had been taken from her without warning.
She had prayed for release from the invisible chains Macie had locked around her life, but the thought of standing in front of Monroe again made her chest tighten in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
Too much time had passed. Too much silence had lived between them.
Will he accept the woman I’ve become? Will he remember the love we once shared?
Will he choose me, or will he view me as a scene in his life that he learned to live without?
Questions flowed through her mind like the Draa river.
Sienna was a beautiful woman inside and out, but Macie’s imprisonment had brought out the best and worst of her.
She sat motionless on the couch as Xscape’s Do You Want To streamed softly from the house speakers.
She hoped Monroe had missed her the way she’d missed him.
Hoped his heart had yearned for her the way her heart had yearned for him.
One thing was sure about true love, it never faded. It was like water… it never ran dry.
“Choose me again, baby,” Sienna whispered into the atmosphere, hoping everything would shift in her favor once she made it back to New York.
Sienna’s head spun as she rose to check on the Tajin Stew she had prepared for dinner before Macie came in disrupting their world.
It was a rich Moroccan dish that would be referred to as chicken and vegetable stew in America.
It was one of the many dishes that Monae loved to indulge in just like Monroe.
“Monae!” Sienna called from the kitchen.
“Coming!” Monae yelled, already halfway down the steps. “Moma Macie left?” She asked, looking around.
“Yeah, she had something to do, but she’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Okay. Is the stew done yet?” Monae asked, peeping at the pot.
“It’s ready,” Sienna answered. “Go ahead and have a seat at the table, and I’ll bring you some.”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll get the juice,” Monae said, always willing to lend a helping hand to her mother. “Thanks for making my favorite stew today.”
“You’re welcome, baby. You know I don’t mind,” Sienna said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. Moments like this grounded her. Sienna sat Monae’s bowl of stew in front of her first, then sat across from her with her own. “Do you wanna say grace, or you want me to do it?”
“I’ll say grace since you cooked the food,” Monae said with a smirk.
Sienna bowed her head and cracked up laughing at her daughter's sense of humor. There was never a dull moment in their household.
“Thank you Lord for the food you allowed my mom to prepare. Bless it and let it be uplifting and nourishment for our bodies. Amen,” Monae concluded.
“Amen,” Sienna beamed. “Thanks, Monae.”
“No worries,” she replied, blowing the stew before putting it in her mouth.
“Hey, do you remember when I talked to you about where I was from?” Sienna asked, filling their glasses with juice.
“Yes,” Monae nodded while chewing. Brooklyn, New York.”
“How do you feel about moving there?” Sienna asked, hoping she’d agree.