I ain’t never thought it would come to this. I wanted to believe shit would sort itself out, that I would wake up one mornin’ and just know who the fuck I was supposed to crown, who was really built to be by my side. But that ain’t how life worked, and it damn sure ain’t how love worked. Instead, here I was, sittin’ on the edge of my bed with my face in my hands, feelin’ like I was about to rip my own chest open.
I told Renza and Blaqson to chill, this wasn’t for them to stand next to me on. I knew they wanted to, and part of me wanted that weight off my shoulders, but this was mine to carry. I had to do this shit myself with no cousins, no guards or distractions. Just me, my heart, and two women I loved in different ways.
Kashmere… she knew how to take care of a nigga’s heart. The way she catered to me at the resort, the way she laid food out like she been knew all my favorites, the way she rubbed me down and made sure I felt whole again when I was crackin’ inside. That shit wasn’t small to me. That shit mattered. Sometimes when you out here fightin’ battles all day, when you losin’ sleep thinkin’ about family, money, and enemies, all a man need is somebody to patch him back up and tell him it’s gon’ be alright. Kash had been that for me lately. She wasn’t perfect, but when I came back t the mansion feelin’ broken over some shit Pluto had me feelin, she found ways to put me back together.
But Pluto… fuck. Pluto used to be my calm. She was the voice of reason when my temper was flarin’ and I was ready to let off. She didn’t come in loud, she didn’t force herself into shit, she just stood there solid, and it made me better without me even realizin’ it. She was the reason I had even been talpin’ into my emotions like this. The way she love her sister, the way she handle responsibility even when her whole world was fallin’ apart, it showed me she was the type of woman who could run a whole empire and not fold. She was the type of woman who didn’t come around easy, and lettin’ her go felt like lettin’ go of my future.
I loved Pluto so much it hurt. It was the type of love that made a nigga wanna slam his fist into a wall just to get the pain out. But I couldn’t ignore the runnin’, the times she dipped on me when shit got hard, or the times she didn’t trust me enough to stay and ride it out. That shit cut deep because if I tell awoman I love her, that mean I’m ready to die behind her, and I need that same energy back. I wasn’t feelin’ it from her all the way, and it broke me to admit it.
My phone buzzed and I grabbed it. Renza’s name lit up the screen.
“Wussup?” I answered.
“Cuzzo, if you need me, I’m there. Say the word.”
I closed my eyes for a second and shook my head. “I got it, Renza. I appreciate you, but this somethin’ I gotta do myself. I’ll hit you later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
I hung up and let the silence sit for a moment, then I stood, grabbed the cream-colored box from the dresser, and slid it in my pocket. That weight felt heavier than gold bars, but I kept walkin’.
The elevator ride down was quiet, too damn quiet, like even the air knew I was about to break somebody’s heart. When the doors opened to the foyer, my chest damn near caved in.
Both their bags was packed and sittin’ by the front door, neat and ready. Outside, I could see the driver through the glass, waitin’ on my word to take one of them to the airport.
Pluto stood there in a long, blue lace dress that hugged every curve, her hair laid and her skin glowin’ like she’d been kissed by the sun. She looked like a goddess, strong and soft at the same time, the type of beauty that made a nigga’s knees weak. Kashmere was right beside her, all white from head to toe, lookin’ pure as hell, angelic even, like she came straight outta a dream. Both of ‘em was beautiful in ways that made it damn near impossible to breathe.
I stopped in front of them, lettin’ my eyes move from one to the other, and my heart was damn near too heavy to hold.
“I can’t believe neither one of y’all was honest about ya friendship,” I started, my voice low but hittin’. “If y’all had kept it real from the jump, a lotta this shit could’ve been avoided. Y’all put me in a fucked-up position, and it’s y’all actions that crossed us all up.”
They both looked at me, noddin’ slow, their faces serious, and eyes shiny with emotion.
“I did what I was supposed to do,” I went on. “I let every woman in this house show me who they was. I been honest the whole time, told y’all I was lookin’ for a wife. That’s what this shit was about. It was up to y’all to do the same, and y’all didn’t.”
Pluto looked down, Kashmere blinked back tears, and for a moment.
“Kash… come here,” I said.
She stepped forward, her eyes wide, breathin’ like she knew she was about to be sent home. I looked her dead in her eyes.
“Sometimes I feel like the passion we share be too much,” I told her. “But it also feel like we been knowin’ each other for years, just ‘cause of everything we done been through in a short time. Shit got crazy, but through it all, you was here.”
Her lip trembled, her whole body shakin’ like she was bracin’ for the worst.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out the cream-colored box.
When I flipped it open, the diamond ring inside caught the light, throwin’ sparks across the foyer. Kashmere gasped and covered her mouth, tears spillin’ out before she could stop them.
“Even though shit been shaky, you been down for me,” I said, my voice rough. “Every time I came back to this mansion feelin’ broken, you found ways to put me back together. You been good to me, Kash, and I need to be the same to you. So I’mma ask you right here…” I paused, holdin’ her eyes with mine. “Will you marry me?”
Her knees damn near buckled. She nodded so fast it looked like she couldn’t even get the word out, but then it came through the tears.
“Yes.”
I slid the ring onto her finger and pulled her close, kissin’ her while her hands shook against my face. When we broke apart, she glanced back at Pluto. Kash stepped to the side, givin’ me space for what had to come next.
