“Say less, OG,” Silas nodded, a grin cutting across his face. That’s what he’d always respected about Ali. He wasn’t just talk.He moved like a goddamn general. “I’m here for whatever you need.”
Ali paused, a heavy breath hanging between them. “You just keep her safe. Protect her. I’m trustin’ you to keep her safe.”
“You got my word. We can strategize when you get here.”
Ali ended the call without another word. Silence settled in Silas’s study, but it wasn’t peace. It was the calm before the chaos. He knew what was coming. And he’d be damned if he let anything happen to Nuri. His eyes drifted to the files Nuri had found of Boyds’ betrayal, and his chest tightened with rage. Next, his mind trailed back to the truth Ali had just dropped on him.How the fuck I’ma tell Nuri this shit, He asked himself.
Real men didn’t run from war. They prepared for it.
Ali was coming for Boyd, and Silas? He was ready to stand by his mentor’s side and watch the world burn. Boyd thought he’d play her like a pawn, but what he didn’t know was that she had kings in her corner. They’d never let her fall.
Sitting in the window pane inside her bedroom, Nuri sipped wine and gazed at the stars. Her mother was on her way over, and Nuri's mind swirled in every direction. ‘Why’was the common denominator in every question she lacked an answer to. Who she was had taken a turn because now she wondered if she still knew. Perri Jones’Freeplayed low from her Bluetooth speaker, each note slipping under her skin and seeping into her chest.
"I'm free... I'm human, but I'm comfortable with me. I'm capable, got everything I need. I'm focused and I'm living out my dreams..."
She let the lyrics wash over her, but they couldn’t drown out the questions echoing in her head. The past few days had shifted something in her, cracked her open in ways she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to fix. Finding out that Boyd wasn’t her real father—it was a revelation that should’ve broken her. But the truth… It felt more like a release. A few days had gone by and after all the soul-searching she'd done, finding out that Boyd wasn't her biological father didn't break her. As she became more and more transparent with herself, she realized that they never really had a strong connection; she'd always felt like an orphan when it came to him. Truth be told, the connection with her mother and Boyd always felt forced and superficial. It'd been that way for so long it became the norm, but in the back of Nuri's mind she always wanted better for her mother. Always knew she'd demand better whenever she got her shot at real love.
"Every Life has a story. Every life has a plan. And some of us chase the glory. Some just do the best we can..."
Nuri sang along as she continued to examine her life until she heard her phone chime with aRINGnotification, letting her know someone was at the door. Perri Jones sang those lyrics from her spirit and Nuri felt every word. Nuri turned the music down, and made her way to the front door to let her mother in.
"Hey, baby girl!" Nuri’s mom, Nova, greeted with an infectious smile.
"What was so much of an emergency that you needed me to come over here after eight o'clock for?"
Nuri secured the door behind her mom, then led the way into her living room. Getting comfortable on the couch, Nuri turned to face her mom, who had sat across from her on the luv seat. She cut straight to the chase.
"Why am I just now finding out your husband isn't my biological father?" The way Nova's eyes widened was as if she'd seen a ghost, but the way Nuri bore deep into her mother's eyes, she witnessed the heartbreak that lay behind her orbs in a way she'd never seen before.
"Nuri, I-"
"Tell me the truth, ma. I promise I can handle it."
"All I wanted was the best for you. When I became a mother, I was young, and still trying to find myself,” her voice low, laced with regret. “Ali was living a life that wasn't conducive to the environment I wanted to raise you in. I ended up crossing paths with Boyd while Ali and I were on a break... but when Ali and I decided that we were going to make our relationship work, Boyd refused to let me go. He was so crooked, and at the time, he had connections. Somehow he pulled some strings, and Ali ended up in prison. Boyd told me that if I chose Ali over him, he'd see to it that Ali never got out."
"And you believed him?"
"Yes, I knew what he was capable of, and I loved Ali too much to gamble with his life on the line."
"Did he know you were pregnant with me?"
"Not until he got out of prison. You were ten years old, and I told him it was best to keep things the way they were because I didn't want to confuse you." Nova confessed. Nuri held her peace, processing the truth her mother was revealing to her.
"He wanted to meet you, and tell you the truth," Nova continued.
"Boyd wouldn't allow it. He threatened to get Ali locked up again, and this time for life if I went against him."
When Nuri looked at her mother this time, it was the first time she saw fear in her eyes. Boyd hadn't only put Nuri through hell, but her mother had been suffering in silence longer than she had.
"Mom, I-"
"I'm so sorry, Nuri. I only wanted what was best for you. I'm not proud of my decisions, but I had to protect you and your father. I didn't know any other way to do it. Please forgive me."
"Do you have contact with him now?"
"No, I haven't spoken to him since he was released from prison, but I send him pictures of you every year. I can give you his number if you want to talk to him, but you have to keep it to yourself because if Boyd heard about this, there's no telling what he'll do."
Nuri wanted so badly to tell her mother how Boyd had been plotting her demise, but she promised Silas she wouldn't reveal their hand until they put a strategy in place. There was a war brewing.
