I sighed and downed my drink because deep down, I couldn’t do that. Maybe in another lifetime that type of living would be for me. If I were honest, the only way I’d marry was with someone for business purposes only. I couldn’t marry for love because I was too far gone. I had done so many unspeakable and unforgivable things and I knew for a fact I didn’t deserve happiness. I wasn’t sad about it, though. Hell, I ultimately decided to stay in this type of lifestyle, even when my dad offered me an out when he allowed Ayzo to leave all those years ago. It was my decision to stay, mainly because I wanted to keep our family traditions andrun the Jaguars just like my dad. I strived to make him proud of me, even if it meant sacrificing my own happiness. Plus, if I gave up, I would be destroying everything that he worked so hard for — getting us out of poverty and having generational wealth set up. I didn’t want that burden or shame.
Ashlynn and Denice came towards my table laughing, breaking me out of my train of thoughts.
“What y’all two giggling about?” Nicholas asked, leaning over the pool table to line up his shot.
“None yah, nosey.” Ashlynn chuckled, taking a sip out of her drink.
“Yeah, nosey!” Denice chimed in. “Besides, we came over to talk to Seojun, not you two knuckle heads.”
“Oh! So now we knuckle heads? Was I a knuckle head when I had that big knuckle that’s in between your legs in my mouth an hour ago?” Ayzo asked, leaning against his pool stick.
Ashlynn spit out her drink while Nicholas missed the cue ball when he made his shot before they burst out into laughter.
“Akeno!” Denice laughed before throwing him the middle finger. He pretended she was blowing him a kiss and caught it before putting it in his back pocket. He winked at her and waggled his eyebrows, causing her to blush as she shook her head.
“Y’all so damn nasty.” Ashlynn laughed, wiping a tear from her eye.
“We nasty? Girl, the way Nicholas been putting you through the headboard since y’all met, I’m surprised you ain’t pregnant.”
Ashlynn and Nicholas briefly looked at each other, causing me to arch an eyebrow. They tried to play it off, but Denice had caught the interaction, too.
“Ash?”
“D?”
“Bitch!” Denice shouted.
“Yes ma’am!” Ashlynn cheered, sticking her tongue out. The pair started shouting with excitement and embracing one another.
“Uh, are they speaking in another language?” I asked, looking at Ayzo, He shrugged, and I could tell that he was just as confused as I was.
Nicholas laughed out loud at us before downing his drink. “Y’all are two of the smartest technical men I know, but couldn’t pick up on their ‘language’?”
Ayzo and I continued to stare at Nicholas, waiting for him to explain what was going on.
Nicholas laughed as he playfully threw his head back. “Seo, what My fiancé and her best friend were saying is we are going to be parents.”
Ayzo dropped his pool stick and embraced his best friend. “Congratulations! First comes love, then comes marriage, now coming a baby in a baby carriage!”
I laughed and shook my head as I walked over to give Nicholas a congratulatory handshake. “I’m sorry about my cousin, he didn’t come with a manual.”
Nicholas laughed and clapped Ayzo on the back. “That’s the reason he’s my best friend.”
I chuckled before waving the waitress over. “This calls for a celebration. I may not have known you and Ashlynn for a long time, but from the stories y’all have told me about how y’all met and got kidnapped, y’all deserve this happiness.”
I ordered everyone another drink except for Ashlynn, who got another virgin margarita. As everyone excitedly talked amongst each other, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Glancing at the screen, I saw my associate Vincent, who was back in Vegas, calling.
Ayzo and I first met him when we touched down in Vegas two years ago. While we were still in hiding, I started up my business to keep money rolling in, but I needed someone to be the face for S&V Realty. After a thorough interview and background check, he was hired on as my lead real estate agent. He showed his loyalty to my company while working hard, and I admired that. Him and Ayzo became good friends, too. You could imagine Ayzo’s surprise when he found out Vincent and Olivia, Nicolas’s ex, were dating. I didn’t know too much about Nicholas but heard about the foul shit that put him in the hospital and had his brother killed.
When Ayzo had called to tell me that Nicholas was on his way to get his revenge, I wanted to help and planned on keeping Olivia in a safe place so he wouldn’t have to look too hard to find her. Hell, he deserved to get his lick back after the bullshit she pulled. Unfortunately, Olivia suddenly disappeared. My first instinct was that Vincent told her what was up, but I quickly squashed that. No one told him about Ayzo’s connection with Olivia so there was no way of him knowing. Ayzo and I still decided to keep him at a distance until we could prove otherwise.
“What’s up?” I said, answering the phone.
“Sorry, I know it’s late over there but wanted to check in and run a few things by you.”
I checked my watch and saw it was just a little after 8pm, but it was just past 5pm back in Vegas.
“You’re good.”
