Nuri turned her head just enough to meet his eyes, a small smile breaking through the tears. “I’m so ready.”
Ali rose from his seat, his eyes glistening with a mix of pride and pain. He’d missed so much, but he was here now. “Justice was served today for all of us,” he said, his voice steady. “Your name has been cleared.”
Nuri stood tall as the bailiff led Boyd and Tree out of the courtroom, their heads bowed, chains clinking like the final note in a song of defeat. The air felt lighter, and Nuri was experiencing a freedom she’d waited her whole life to feel. More than physical, it was emotional and spiritual.
Silas slid his hand around her waist and pulled her close, everything in her world stood still. “You good?” he murmured, his lips brushing her temple.
“Never been better,” Nuri replied with a smile so infectious it reached her eyes, and Silas’ heart.
Meanwhile, when Ali and Nova's eyes locked, the spark of unfinished business flickered behind their gaze. Though years had passed between them, the love they shared was still very much alive and blazing. So much about their story was untold. So much had been swept into the crevices of their soul. Whoever came up with the quote that said,when one door closes another one opens, they told the unadulterated truth.
Nova didn't feel like she lost a husband, to her, it was moreso like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She'd never been to prison, but emotionally, mentally, and sexually that's how it felt being with Boyd. Nova had poured herself fully into Nuri because she was the only glimpse of hope she had to keep her sane. The only piece of connection she had left to the love of her life, Ali Marciano. He stood in the middle of the courthouse parking lot, his eyes scanning the horizon while he quietly searched his soul for the right words. His chest rose and fell slow, like a man who’d finally found the peace he’d been searching for.
Nova stood a few feet away, still the show-stopper she was when Ali first laid eyes on her. She’d always known deep down he’d find his way back to her, but never thought it’d be at a time in her life when everything was falling apart. The sun had started its slow descent, casting everything in that burnt orange glow that made even the ugliest corners of Atlanta look beautiful. When Ali snatched his eyes from the sky, his focus locked on the only real love he’d ever known like she was the only thing that mattered.
“Nova Marciano,” he called out, his voice low but thick with that old fire that had always pulled her in. He’d always addressed her with his last name because there was never a doubt that one day she’d be his wife.
She looked up slowly, like she was afraid of what she’d see, and damn if he didn’t hit her with that same crooked smile that used to melt her heart back when life was simpler.
Ali couldn’t help but smirk, eyes drinking her in like he hadn’t done time, like they hadn’t been robbed of decades. “Damn, Nova. You always did know how to steal the show,” Ali said, his tone that smooth, street-bred melody that always seemed to know the right note to hit.
Nova rolled her eyes playfully, a small smile breaking through despite the mess her heart felt like. “Boy, hush,” she shot back. “You still the same, huh?”
Ali stepped closer, closing the space between them. “Everything’s changed, Nova. Everything except the way I feel ‘bout cha.”
“Well, there’s nothing stopping us from having the life we’ve always wanted now,” Nova said, embracing Ali for the first time in over a decade.
Ali pressed his lips against her so fast, her breath hitched and her girl dripped. There was only one man in the world that could do the shit Ali did to her body so effortlessly. He reached out, grabbing her hand like he’d been waiting a lifetime to feel her again. “First we need to go draw these papers up. I don’t want nothin’ connected to me to be connected to him any longer.” Truth was that even after all this time, Ali still loved Nova. He never stopped.
Nova’s eyes filled with tears, and she tried to look away, but Ali’s grip was strong. “Ali…” she whispered, her voice breakin’.
Ali took a step closer, that lazy grin on his lips but the storm in his eyes. “You know I ain’t never been one to run from the truth, baby. I loved you then, I love you now. Ain’t no amount of time or distance ever changed that.”
Nova exhaled, her shoulders slumping like the weight of the world was finally too much to carry. “Ali… we too old for games. We got grown problems now, and I?—”
He didn’t let her finish. He was in front of her before she could blink, his hand wrapping around her waist, pulling her so close she could feel the beat of his heart. “Listen to me,” he whispered, his forehead resting on hers. “I ain’t here to play no games, Nova. I’m here ‘cause I got tired of watchin’ from the sidelines. You deserve better.”
Her eyes shimmered with tears, but her lips trembled like she couldn’t decide whether to scream or fall apart. “You think I ain’t been fightin’ all these years? For Nuri. For me. I did that shit alone, Ali. And now you showin’ up actin’ like everything’s easy.”
“Look at me,” he demanded, his tone low but steady. “You think it was easy for me? Bein’ locked up knowin’ you was out here fightin’ for our daughter, fightin’ for yourself? I thought about you every damn day. Just ain’t wanna cause you no more stress.”
She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I had to be strong, Ali. I had to raise Nuri, and keep her safe. I couldn’t afford to break. But, I never stopped loving you.”
Ali’s thumb brushed her tears away, his hand cupping her cheek like he was tryna memorize every inch of her. “I know, baby. You held it down.”
Nova shook her head, laughin’ through her tears. “Don’t start, Ali. You always did know how to talk that sweet shit.”
Ali chuckled, but it was a sad smile, a smile that carried too many regrets and too many what-ifs. “That’s ‘cause I meant every word then, and I mean ‘em now. I ain’t lettin’ you walk away from me this time, Nova. I done spent too many nights dreamin’ ‘bout this moment, ‘bout you. Ain’t no judge, no jail cell, no bitter-ass ex-husband gon’ come between us no more.”
Nova’s lips trembled, her eyes searching his like she was tryna find the truth in every word, and damn if she didn’t find it, written all over his face.
“You promise me, Ali,” she whispered. “Promise me you ain’t gonna leave me hangin’ again.”
Ali pulled her close, his arms wrapped around her like a fortress. “I promise you, Nova. Ain’t no man alive strong enough to take me from you or Nuri again.”
In the middle of that courthouse parking lot, surrounded by the echoes of all their mistakes, Ali and Nova finally found the love they’d been fightin’ for all these years. A love that was stronger than any lie, any betrayal, any prison sentence. This time, they both knew—they weren’t letting go.
Now that all the secrets had spilled and life settled into its rightful rhythm, Nuri finally exhaled. No more guessing. Nuri joyfully embraced the new life God had bestowed upon her. No more walking on emotional eggshells. Peace didn’t just knockon her door—it moved in, unpacked its bags, and made itself comfortable. She had a new man, new father, and was preparing to graduate with honors from Blake University. Life was turning out to be better than good to her. In fact it'd been abundantly gracious.
