Chapter 12
—ALONZO STONE “G”
Idecided to stay in the States a while longer after seeing Vivi. Dropping in on Asad was my priority. I didn’t like the way he’d been handling Azani. If his anger needed somewhere to land, it should’ve been on me.
We didn’t have a great relationship. That was my fault. There was a woman he loved. He wanted the right to choose her, but in our world, that wasn’t a liberty we were afforded. I took that from him. Tried to fix it after, but some things don’t come back once you break them.
Asad was on his way to my suite so we could talk.
He was running late, but Atlanta traffic would do that, so I gave him grace.
I swirled my scotch around in my glass, thinking about Vivi.
To love someone for over fifty years and never truly have them…
that kind of thing didn’t fade. It sits with you every day.
It was the same for Azani with Mariah, Asad and his first love, Portia, and me with my Vivi. Three generations of men forced into lives we didn’t choose. In Azani’s case, he loved Devyn. Got the chance to know her first. To love her before the truth put its hands on it.
After everything that happened, it was only right that I helped him keep it.
I watched the brown liquor swirl around in my glass, going back to a time when my heart felt like it was free.
A time when Vivi was the only thing I could see.
I touched the chain on my neck and let myself sit with her, frozen in time.
There was a time when I didn’t care about consequences, bloodlines, and arrangements, or what loving someone would cost me.
Miami, FL, May 12th, 1975
Vivi sat between my legs on the beach as we watched the sun set. The sky still had enough glow to make her pretty brown skin shine like gold. The blue dress she wore today blew against her legs with the breeze. Big bushy hair moving to the same rhythm.
She sat up and turned around to face me. “Happy Birthday, Lonni,” she whispered. “Did you like your gifts?” she asked, smiling at me.
I couldn’t even respond right away. Too busy looking at the freckles that danced across her cheeks and nose. How her lips curved when she smiled. The way her eyes sparkled every time she looked at me. Vivian was always beautiful, but tonight, she was the most beautiful I’d ever seen her.
“Yes,” I said, touching the necklace she gifted me. “You being with me made it the best.”
The wind blew her hair around her face, and she pushed it away, leaning into me.
When her lips touched mine, I pulled her into my lap, holding her tight against my chest. She always kissed me like she was afraid I’d disappear one day.
I would always slow her down, so we could sit in every moment we had.
When we finally pulled away from each other, she smiled shyly, hiding her face like she hadn’t kissed me a million times before. I gently grabbed her hands, kissing the tops of both.
“Don’t play shy now. You weren’t shy earlier before we left the hotel… or last night,” I said, laughing.
“Stop it!” She giggled, throwing her head back and looking even more beautiful.
I pulled her closer and whispered in her ear. “You told me don’t stop this morning. Make up your mind, Vivi.”
Her breath hitched as I kissed her neck gently. “We have another three days to be alone. I want to take full advantage of it.”
When I pulled back, she laid her palm on my face, rubbing gently. “Three days, then back to pretending I don’t love you. I don’t want to go back.”
“Let’s get away then. We can leave everything and start over somewhere,” I said, holding her tighter. “Somewhere we can love each other freely… forever.”
Her eyes dropped, shoulders slumped. “They’ll find us, Lonni. We’ll never be able to be together in peace. We’d be running forever.”
She raised her head, and tears sat right in her eyes. “I hate that we can’t just be together. I don’t want Reagan. I don’t want that arrangement. I just want you… nothing else.”
Her body fell into mine, and she cried. I could feel the frustration as her body shook against mine.
“And all I want is you. It’s all I ever wanted,” I whispered, hugging her tighter. “I’ll figure it out, Vivi… I promise.”
The sun finally set in the sky, as if it were telling us that our time was running out.
The promise I made to her, I couldn’t keep. We had no control over our lives, and we never got the chance to love each other freely.
Everything we wanted was taken from us—our daughter, our love, and the dream that we had a choice. Even though we couldn’t act on our love, we kept it buried in our hearts. The only regret I have is never taking the risk to run that day.
The glass was still in my hand when I opened my eyes. Vivi was gone, but the memory was still so vivid, I could almost feel the warmth of her skin.
Two taps hit my door, and I knew it was Asad.
Ibrahim looked at me, and I nodded, letting him know it was okay to answer.
I gulped down the rest of my drink, preparing myself.
Asad stepped around the corner, looking almost identical to my father—same personality as his, too.
Sly, conniving, but underneath all that ugliness, hurt.
“Pop,” he said, dropping onto the couch in front of me. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” He smirked, lacing his fingers together in his lap.
This was what pissed me off about Asad. He allowed life to harden him to the point that every interaction with him felt like I had to hide parts of myself to survive him. But I was his father, and I knew him. He couldn’t manipulate and shake me like he did everyone else.
I tapped my finger against the arm of the chair, calming myself before I said anything to him. The smug look on his face almost made me rise from where I was sitting. My jaw clenched from his body language alone.
“Why are you trying to make Azani and Devyn’s lives more difficult than they already are?”
“Azani is my son, Pop. I should be able to parent my son any way I see fit. He’s so wrapped up in love when he has a duty to fulfill. He has nine months to make it down the aisle with her. I’m just making sure it goes through. I’d hate to have to do what he wouldn’t be able to.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head once. “You won’t do anything. You will sit back and watch just like everyone else. Stop interfering in his life. If you don’t want to heal that relationship with him, leave him alone. This is my last time telling you to back off, Asad.”
He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. His lips curled in anger that he wanted to unleash, but he knew better.
“You’re just trying to live through him.
Watch him get what you never had with Vivian, and she’s doing the same thing with Devyn.
You talk about healing that relationship, even though ours is forever tarnished.
” He shook his head, chuckling. “That’s the only reason you spared that family.
It’s always been Vivian. My mother could never compete with her or your love child. Did my mom know?”
I sat up straight, clasping my hands together to keep from putting them on my son. This mindset came from pain he couldn’t put anywhere, so he caused chaos and confusion in everyone else’s lives.
“Asad,” I said, closing my eyes for a moment. “Your mother knew everything. What I had with your mother was different from what I had with Vivian: two different lifetimes and two different decisions.
“I can’t apologize for what happened with Portia’s family.
I can only apologize for how her life turned out.
But they knew you were promised to Antionette and hid you away with Portia.
When I asked them, they lied, so they died.
What you did to Azani was much worse, and you know it.
Who I spared for whatever reason has nothing to do with you.
Stay in your lane, son. I’d hate to have to have you sanctioned—but I will. ”
He threw his head back, laughing loudly and obnoxiously.
“So, you finally admit it? You spared them because of Vivian. I lost my mother and my brother because of Reagan and Black Crow, and you let them live because of this undying love you have for her. Mama and AJ are rolling in their graves right now…” He sneered, standing up.
I looked up at him and knew, no matter what I did or said, healing would never come. Asad would die an angry man. Bitter and broken by life and its circumstances.
“Let it out, Asad,” I said quietly. “The longer you hold in that hurt, the worse it gets. Say you’re still angry about not being able to be with Portia.
Say that you’ll never forgive me for what I’ve done.
I’m not perfect, but I’ve tried. You have a beautiful, intelligent, loving wife, and you never even tried to really get to know her.
You are your own worst enemy, and you’re too far gone for me to help you. ”
He straightened his suit jacket, rubbing his hands down his chest slowly. Then, he looked down at me, eyes as black as his heart.
“I don’t need your apology… and you’re right, I’ll never forgive you. As for my wife, Antionette knows where we stand. She is cared for, no matter what you think.”
“But you do not love her, and you never have. You’ve tolerated her. Don’t forget what I said, Asad. Stay out of it and stay away from them. I still have more power and pull than you’ve ever had in Sector II or the High Table. Make sure you move accordingly.”
He glared at me once, then turned around, brushing past Ibrahim as he left, slamming the door behind him. I silently poured myself another Scotch as Ibrahim sat across from me.
“He’s going to keep poking until Azani snaps. He’s getting close,” Ibrahim said quietly.
Before I said anything, I sipped my drink, letting the liquor warm my chest.
“He will. The devil he thinks he is, is what Azani truly is and tries to contain. I know Asad, and I know Azani. This won’t play out the way Asad thinks it will. He’s pushing his son to no return. I think we’ll stay in the States a while longer.”
Ibrahim nodded and sat back against the seat. There was another tap on the door, and I knew exactly who it was. Ibrahim looked at me with his brow raised and pulled out his gun.
“It’s just Vivi,” I said, chuckling.
He smirked, then got up to answer the door. When she walked in, it felt like the sun was shining again. The navy pantsuit she wore complemented her skin. Her makeup was minimal, showing off her freckles. Vivian was a beauty at every age. A classic beauty that would never go out of style.
“How are you, Vivi?” I asked, placing my drink on the table.
She smiled softly, sitting across from me. “Why have you summoned me all the way to Atlanta, Lonni? We just saw each other.”
I poured a glass of Scotch and passed it to her. Our fingers lingered like they always did, but not long enough for me.
“Other than wanting to lay eyes on you again, it’s Asad. He’s poking at Azani, and we both know how that will go.”
“So, pre-damage control,” she said, crossing her legs. “That is my specialty.”
“I know. That’s why I called.”