“Gia, before I came here today, I gave my mama my word that I wouldn’t show my ass in front of all these kids. Most importantly, in front of my daughter.” Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on the table, squinted his eyes, and dropped his voice eerily low. “Make no mistake about it; I will take you into that ball pit and suffocate you. You’re only sitting across from me right now because of that little girl you despise so much. Perk the fuck up when you’re speaking on my daughter. Now…” He leaned back and folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Tell me what we’re going to do about shared custody. If we’re being honest, that’s the only thing we have to talk about.”
I hated to admit how affected I was by the way he was talking to me, so I blinked back the tears that were trying to escape. The man in front of me wasn’t the one who told me he’d always love me. The man before me looked at me as if I were his greatest adversary. Sadly, that may be true because he had finally awoken the bitch in me.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said, shoulders back. If he wanted to treat me like a bitch, I was going to act like one. “She’s my daughter, and I have sole custody of her.” Smirking, I added, “Play nice, and I may allow you to have visitation. What we need to figure out is the child support. Raising a Mills won’t be cheap. There are certain standards sheandI both need to make sure we’re living good.”
A part of me coming back to Milly Grove was so Skip could get to know his daughter, but the most important thing to me was money. I loved my child, but I could do without her. At this juncture in my life, I knew she would be more beneficial to me than anything else, which was why I waited five years to reveal her existence. I knew he nor his family would allow their precious addition to go without anything. I also knew his mother would not allow him to kill me, so while I was scared of Skip, I felt secure in knowing his actions toward me would always be second-guessed now that Gianna was in the picture.
“Crack? Fentanyl? Opiates?” he spewed, breaking me from my thoughts. He placed his head on his closed fist and stared at me. “Shit… maybe even CTE.”
“What?” I asked, confused. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You’re either on some good drugs or have some type of mental disorder if you thought for one second I was going to give you anything but a bullet to the dome. What the fuck I look like letting you keep my child—a child that was dirtier than her rotten-ass mammy when I first met her—and pay you a monthly amount of money? Act like you know who the fuck I am, Gia. I’m sitting here trying to have a cordial conversation with you, and you want to play on my fuckin’ intelligence.”
Tapping the table, he brought my attention to a folder I hadn’t noticed he had with him until that moment. As the noise of the hollering voices around us faded, all that could be heard was the pounding of my own heart. I watched as he slid the folder over to me. Staring at it for a few moments, I opened it with shaky fingers. The more I scanned the document, the more enraged I became. Slamming it shut, I leaped to my feet.
“Are you fucking kidding me!” I screeched, causing those around us to stare. “You’re filing for full custody of my daughter? What gives you the fucking right?”
Peeping around, he wiped the tip of his nose before he placed his Glock on the table. “Sit the fuck down before I shoot you,” he said calmly. The hairs on my arms stood instantly as I realized that maybe his mama didn’t give a fuck about me being Gianna’s mother. This niggas was really okay with killing me. With that reality, I did what I was told without a second thought. “You don’t have a job, Gia. You have no income or a stable place to stay outside of my penthouse. Why the fuck would I let my daughter stay with you when it’s obvious to see you can’t provide for her? The better option for her is to stay with me.”
With tears streaming down my face, I reopened the folder and resumed looking over the documents. He’d even gone as far as having his name added to her birth certificate without my consent. What angered me the most were statements from my own mother saying Gianna was better off with him than “a mother who puts her own selfish needs before her child.” I was selfish, but I had kept Gianna alive all this time, even if it was for my future personal gain. I slammed the documents shut and eyed him.
“How much will you pay me if I let you keep her?” All thoughts of us ever being a family were long gone. I knew that angle was a long shot, but once I saw how fine he still was in his club, I had to give it a try. The truth was, I didn’t want the family dynamic either. If Skip wanted the brat, he could have her. It was going to cost him, though.
“Gia… I’m going to say this one time and one time only.” He closed his eyes, sighing heavily as he rubbed his temple. “You must have a praying grandmother and a million guardian angels because there’s no way you should be breathing right now after the shit you just said.” Opening his eyes, I could have sworn they’d darkened. “You will not receive a dime from me. You’re a conniving, low-down bitch, and you don’t deserve to be in the same room as my daughter. But I know Gianna now, and she’lleventually ask about you, so I’ll let you spend time with her when you want to see her. That’s too much if you ask me, though, because you clearly don’t give a fuck about your child. I couldn’t find any records of dental work, shots… nothing, when it came to the health of my baby girl, and you think I’m going to let her ever live with you again? If you want to fight me on this, do it. Just know… your body will be on a slab before we ever get a court date. The ball is in your court, baby mama. How do you want to play?”
After his words, we both gawked at each other with nothing but hate. If he thought for one second he was going to strong-arm me and not pay up, he had another thing coming. Instead of going back and forth with him, I decided it was best I leave.
“Fine.” I stood from my seat, snatching my keys. “If this is how you want to play with me, game on. Just know, you’ll never be able to forget me Skip. Gianna will always be partGia.”
Nothing else needed to be said as I made my way through the sea of kids and out of the building. I didn’t even go over to speak to my daughter as I locked eyes with Wild. If they wanted the brat, fuck them and her. However, they’d better be ready for my wrath. If it was a war they wanted, it was a war they’d get.
“Skip had the nerve to present me with custody papers today.” I seethed as I plopped down on the dusty sofa. I begged my man to find us a nicer hotel after I had a glimpse of comfort staying in Skip’s penthouse downtown, but he told me our money was low. He assured me we’d be able to get something else once we got some money. “I told him I wanted child support for Gianna, and you know what he did?”
“How much did he give you?” Elliot’s eyes lit up. “Shit… between that and the dope, we should be set for a minute. I’m going to get the boys to hit his spots and?—”
“He didn’t give me shit!” I shouted as I jumped from the couch. Walking over to the counter in the outdated kitchen, I grabbed the bottle of Hennessy and took it to the head. “He pulled a gun on me and told me I’d better be glad he hasn’t killed me.” I took another sip. “Fuck him!”
The more I thought about Skip, the angrier I became. I didn’t know if I was mad at him or the situation I’d gotten myself into. I could have had a good life, but I chose the love of money and loyalty over being patient and letting my scheming lead me to some stability. I knew Skip could have given me the life I deserved, but it wasn’t happening fast enough for me back then. I needed instant gratification, and for some reason, I thought my best chance was with the man I was currently staring at.
Elliot, or Big Lew as he likes to be called, has been my man for years. While Milly Grove wasn’t our home, the Mills name has always rang bells in my city. There were always rumors about them and how they were getting money, but it was never proven that they were involved in anything illegal. Lew has always wanted to be the man, but he never had the money or opportunity to make it happen. One weekend, we decided to come to the city and scope things out for ourselves. When our eyes landed on the Mills clan, we knew that they were exactly who people thought they were.
I’ve always been a pretty girl, and I’ve used it to my advantage. No man could resist a pretty smile and a nice body, and I knew the Mills weren’t an exception. Adrian was never my type. He was always wild and too reckless, so I knew I would never make him fall for me. Ken was never an option for me because of the position he held on the city council, and I knew Iwas too urban to be anyone’s First Lady. I wanted to date a boss, but one of the streets, so Jordan was my only hope.
Locking in with him was tough because he wouldn’t give me the time of day at first. I was persistent, though, and showed him he could trust me. Along the way, I can genuinely say we really did fall in love with each other. I just knew once it happened, he would tell me all of his secrets. Unfortunately, I was wrong because he didn’t tell me shit. I was showered with gifts and cash, but it wasn’t big money like I knew he had. I was positive they were into illegal shit, and I wanted to give Lew his chance to be king by taking whatever it was that gave them power, money, and status. The issue was that I had no proof, just like the muthafuckas back home that could only gossip about the Mills. Had I not gotten caught on the phone with Lew’s friend Stewart that day, we probably wouldn’t be here now. Shit, I knew I wouldn’t be here right now. Skip had said it himself.
Gianna was another layer that was never a part of my scheming. Having her was never my plan, and I wanted to abort her more than once. Lew convinced me to keep her because, one day, she could be used as leverage or either my way back in. To know I raised that little brat just for her father to take her and discard me pissed me the fuck off.
“You should have gone after Uno like I told you.” He peered at me as he snorted another line of coke. “Had you listened, we could have been on by now. No worries—I have a plan.” He sniffled and grunted as he stood from his chair. My eyes stayed on him as he walked my way. “His little empire will soon crumble, and it will be ours.” He licked his lips as he eyed me. “Don’t worry about Gianna either. Fuck her and her father, baby. We can make another one.”
Giving him a small smile, I leaned in and kissed him on the lips. One peck turned hot and heavy, and I was in the process of removing my jeans when there was a knock on the door.
“Who is that?” I frowned as he pulled away from me to answer the door. Not too many people knew where we were staying, and I wanted to keep it that way. If word got back to Skip, he would kill us before I had a chance to get what was mine.
“Why does it always smell like ass and burnt bacon grease in here?” Irene frowned as she walked in. Glancing over at me, her frown deepened. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to meet with that fine-ass baby daddy of yours.”
Irene was Lew’s sister, and I couldn’t stand her. For years, she turned her nose up at me and the choices I’ve made when she was no better than me. On the outside, she may have appeared to have it all together, but at the end of the day, she was a shady bitch, just like me.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere serving beer and chicken?” I rolled my eyes as she took a seat on the raggedy sofa. “I don’t see how you’re helping us if you’re over here.”
