Page 161 of Real's Love
“Just because I do not like you does not mean I will visit that dislike on your children. Though, you do not deserve such a blessing.”
“Enough, Aaqil! You’ve had your fun!”
I looked for the source of the deep voice. Nah. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me. There, emerging from the shadows in the back, was Ismail bin Hussein al-Saleh. Time seemed to freeze. I hadn’t seen him in years, had honestly thought I never would again.
Aaqil looked at his phone suddenly. “And look. Perfect timing—the rest of our guests have arrived.”
I wrenched my eyes from my sperm donor to glare at Aaqil. “We don’t need anymore of your guests. And just so you know, I’m still killing yo’ ass,” I promised.
“You will not kill your brother,”Ismail commanded as if he had any hope of telling me what to do.
I opened my mouth to tell him as much when the elevator opened again. Ghazi and Cairo were no surprise, but I tensed when I saw my sisters.
“What the fuck?” I growled.
Chennai strode toward me and intertwined her fingers with mine, a silent show of solidarity.
“’Atfali,” Ismail whispered, his voice gravelly but warm, as if he were just a dad coming home from a long trip. “My children. It is good to see you all.”
Shock, anger, disbelief… multiple emotions showed on my siblings’ faces. “What are you doing here?” Cairo asked coldly, the only one of us able to contain his feelings in this moment.
“I’m out,” Ismail said simply. “Some sort of deal with the Feds.” He waved dismissively, as if it were no big deal. “Please tell me… how is Rachel?” His eyes softened at the mention of our mother.
“None of your damn business,” Ghazi said, staring defiantly.
Ismail shook his head, his face suddenly sad. “That is not true,abni.”
“Enough with the family reunion,” I interrupted, my patience long gone. “You knew about this dumb shit?”
“Yes, he reached out to Raouf to antagonize you at first. But I convinced him that… neutralizing the problem would be a good peace offering to you. She was always safe, Montréal,” Ismail reassured me. “Do you think we would hurt your lady, especially in her condition? I needed you to come. I allowed Aaqil’s plan because for her, he said, you would come, and you did. I need to talk to all of you about something important. I have a proposition?—”
“Proposition? My guy, you were just in jail with minimal contact with us for years! Fuck you and ya proposition.” Cairo spoke exactly what I was thinking. “And you went along with this shit? I thought you wanted no parts of us?” he snapped at Aaqil.
Aaqil shrugged. “It is what my…ourfather wants—a truce amongst his children. What he has to offer in return has much merit. For the right amount, I can even tolerate all of you.”
“Mothafucka—” I started, then stopped when Love made a little sound and gripped her stomach.
That shit scared a nigga more than anything had in a long time.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“The baby moved. She’s been still. I guess she felt what I was feeling. I was scared for a minute,” she explained, a sheen of tears blurring her honey brown eyes.
Another thing Aaqil had to pay for. I needed to ask a question, though.
“Is this why you wanted to get back together? Because we don’t have to do that. I’ll ‘keep’ you for real, for the next eighteen years.”
She hesitated, her expression shifting. “No, Real. No, it’s not that. I was going to tell you. I just… I didn’t want you to see my belly and offer to take care of me just because of that. That’s why I covered the doorbell camera. I want you. I love you. I missed you so much these last few months.”
“You love me?” I repeated, needing to hear the words again.
“Yeah,” she affirmed, her gaze steady. “Like you love me. And I love how you love me out loud. I want to give us a real chance—no more rules.”
I searched her face for any sign of doubt, and all I saw was sincerity.
“We could do that,” I said nonchalantly.
She kissed her teeth. “Boy! You know you happy.”
