“You ready?” he asked with the bags in his hands. He looked so handsome as he waited for me to answer. I mentally told my pussy that this was our friend and nothing more. “What’s wrong?”
Looking into his eyes, I wanted so badly to speak my mind, but I wouldn’t. Not only did I value him as a friend, but I was engaged to someone else. Even if I wanted him just once, I knew he wouldn’t be cool with that. He spoke so ill of his ex, and I never wanted him to think that way of me.
“Nothing.” I gave him a soft smile and looped my arm back in his as we left the store. “Just thinking about how I’m about to drain your pockets dry.”
He stared at me for a moment, just taking me in. I knew he didn’t believe me, but instead, he said nothing. Blowing a sigh of relief, I tried to push what had transpired to the back of my mind so we could enjoy our day. My time in the Grove was supposed to be spent with me clearing my mind, not getting my back broken.
What happened back there couldn’t happen again—no matter how badly I wanted it to.
“Chandler,I don’t know why you agreed to marry that bitch in the first place. You can have any woman you want, but you agree to marry the whore whose brother killed my husband. Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”
Sitting in my mother’s den, I swirled my glass of Courvoisier as I stared at the photo of my father on the wall. Charles Gourneau wasn’t the best man, but he was a hell of a leader whenit came to this family. While I had no proof Rosier killed him, I know he was responsible for his death.
“She’s going to be my wife, Mother,” I responded without looking at her. She was sitting in the recliner beside me, and I could feel her scowl. “It’s about time we all came to terms with that.”
It had been two days since I’d spoken with my wife-to-be, and I could feel my sanity slipping with each passing day. I’ve tried my hardest to locate where she went on vacation. Hell, I even went so far as to reach out to her brothers. I could have killed them with my bare hands as they laughed in my face without telling me what I needed to know. I was sick and tired of them treating me as if I was some bitch-ass nigga, and I think it was time they see I’m extremely serious about making this union happen. For Mimi to agree to it, I have to make her believe me when I say I want this. Not only that, but I have to show her that I am not a man she can run over with her alpha female ways.
“To terms with it?” My mother hopped from her seat. Taking a deep breath, I tugged my eyes over to her, pacing the floor. The frown she sent my way as she beat her feet into the plush rug meant nothing to me. Mother or not, she knew not to play with me, but that didn’t stop her from ranting. “Chandler, you will not bring that bitch into this family. If you do, I will?—”
“You’ll what?” It was my turn to hop up from my seat. Stalking over to her, I shouted, “What the fuck are you going to do, Ida, besides piss me off? Respect me as head of this family?—”
“Respect you?” She laughed as she threw her head back. “You’re pathetic.” She placed her hand on her hip and looked at me with disgust. The scowl on her face and the anger in her eyes did nothing but enrage me even more. “You’re weak… I told your father you wouldneverbe able to lead this family. Rosier treated my daughter like a slut, and he took away my husband. Not once have you done anything to avenge his death.” She looked me upand down in repulsion as she continued, “If you put more effort into leading this family than sticking your dick?—”
Whap!
Without a second thought, I backhanded my mother and watched as she dramatically slid across the floor. Walking over to her, I hovered as she cried and scrambled to her feet.
“I am sick and tired of you not respecting me and the position I hold.” Snatching her from the floor, I bent over until we were at eye level. “Out of respect for Father, I allowed you to stay here in the States to live the life you’re accustomed to. Make no mistake, I will send your ass back to Haiti with nothing but the clothes on your back.” Pushing her off of me, she whimpered silently as blood trickled down her lip. “Go clean yourself up so we can eat dinner.”
Rushing from the room, she kept her head down as she passed my baby sister, Star. To keep a sense of normalcy since the passing of our family’s patriarch, we ate dinner together every Wednesday night. Most dinners were calmer compared to tonight, but since I’d revealed my plans to marry Noemi, my mother and sister had been difficult. Tonight, I was in no mood to deal with their shit. I refused to have my mother and sister treat me even close to the way Noemi had been since she learned of our engagement months ago.
Looking from where our mother ran off and back to me, Star scrunched her face in confusion. “What the fuck is wrong with her?” she asked as she waltzed into the living room. “I thought we were having a peaceful dinner tonight. Should have known that shit wasn’t possible with you two.”
Glaring at my sister as she took a seat on the sofa, I was appalled and disappointed in her at every turn. At the age of thirty, you would think that by now, she would have it together. A career, a husband, hell, even kids, but all she wanted to do was whore herself out and spend money she hadn’t earned. I blamemy father for spoiling her to no end. At the age of thirty-five and the new head of our Family, I wasn’t going for any of that shit. The way she carried herself was now a reflection of me.
“I need to talk to you while you’re here.” I placed my hand in my slacks and watched her. She paid me no attention as she continued to scroll through her phone, pissing me off further. The more I stared at her, the more irritated I became. “Star!”
“Why are you yelling at me, Chandler?” She huffed as she finally looked up at me. “I’m not your child!”
Chuckling lowly, I wiped the tip of my nose as I walked over toward her. The closer I got to the couch, the more her resolve began to crumble. Between her and my mother, I was unsure of who the fuck they thought they were playing with, but it wasn’t me.
“Star, you’ve been trying my patience a lot, and it seems to me you need a reminder of who the fuck I am.”
“Chandler—”
Whap!
“Shut the fuck up and listen to me when I speak.” I hissed as I shook my hand from feeling the sting of two impacts in such a short time frame. I hovered over her after recovering and grabbing her cheeks as she cried silently. That shit didn’t move me one way or the other. “You and your mother may have spoken to Father any type of way, but that shit will not fly with me.” I gripped her chin as the tears slid down her face. “I sit back and watch you whore yourself out to man after man, and yet, you wonder why any won’t take you seriously. You’d think you’d learn your lesson with Rosier, but I see you haven’t. Would you like to get paid to fuck, little sister? I mean… if you’re going to slut yourself out to every man you see, you might as well get paid for it, right?”
Her silent sobs did nothing but make me angrier, and it took everything in me not to beat her ass. In the corner of my eye, Icould see my mother slink her way back into the sitting room, but she knew better than to interfere. With Star’s pleading eyes on me, I glared at her and waited for her to answer my question.
“I-I’m sorry, Chandler,” she stated as she dropped her eyes. “I don’t want to embarrass you or this family. It’s just that I’m lonely, and I know sex is the only thing I have going for myself. Rosier told me that’s the only way men would be near me.”
Grinding my teeth, I pushed her face away from me before standing to my full height. Taking deep breaths, I walked over to the bar and poured myself another shot. I down it quickly before pouring another one. The nerve of him to tell my sister she was nothing more than what was between her legs.
“Go get cleaned up so we can eat” I spoke without looking at either of them. “Mother, you set the table. I don’t have all night.”
With my mother sprinting to the kitchen and my sister trekking the hall to fix her face, I stood near the mantle and thought of what I could do to get back at Rosier. I didn’t want my hands on his business or their money. That wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted him to suffer, cry, and bleed. I wanted him to feel the same hurt I had when he took my father. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I took a chance and called Noemi again.
