Page 17 of Their End Game

I chuckled. I was sure that before I came into the picture, Radiance would either not drink or if she did with Ja’Lani around, she handled her on her own. I wouldn’t let that be. “She’s sleeping. Plus, you need to sleep your alcohol off before dealing with her.”

“I don’t wanna sleep.” She slurred.

Radiance attempted a step but obviously misjudged it as she stumbled, almost falling. I reached out, grabbing her. “You might not want to, but you need to.”

“Well, damn. Mr. St. Clair over here handling me and shit.”

I wasn’t even holding on to her tightly. I knew it was the alcohol talking. “Come on so you can lay down.” I tried guiding her, but her feet were planted.

Radiance’s eyes roamed from my eyes all the way to my feet slowly. “I can lay down, but it ain’t to sleep.” She tried to sound seductive but failed.

I chuckled. “Nah, you not thinking right. You really don’t want to do that.”

Pulling from me a bit, Radiance stared up at me. “A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.” She spoke lowly just before she pressed her lips against mine.

I could have pulled away from the kiss, probably should have, but in the moment we were in, I didn’t want to. At first, Radiance dominated the kiss; eventually, I took over while hoisting her from her feet. Right or not, I wanted her, and she wanted me. If there would be regret, we’d deal with it when the time came.

16

Radiance:

With Ja’Lani in my arms, I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the fridge. I couldn’t believe that after all this time, Ja’vari and I had once again proclaimed our love for each other and rekindled in the best way known to man. It had all been so perfect, and though he said he and Vanessa were done, a piece of me couldn’t give myself fully to him; I was waiting for that ‘just kidding’ moment to happen.

“I am famished.” I spoke out loud to Ja’Lani, resting her on the counter. It was funny that since it had always been her and me, she’d hear most of my conversations and listen intently, even if she didn’t understand or respond back. She was my little person. “Maybe I should order us all something to eat. What you think about that?”

Ja’Lani looked at me and giggled. Whether she understood me or not didn’t matter. I felt times like these were simply our bonding moments.

I adjusted Ja’Lani on the counter so she wouldn’t slip off, before kissing her chubby cheek. “I love you, sweet pea.”

Satisfied that Ja’Lani was good, I began looking through the drawers to find the list of restaurants the hotel and area hadto offer. After finding the list of things, I grabbed Ja’Lani and headed for the sitting area. I detoured when I saw a white envelope slip under the door as I passed it. At first, I wasn’t going to pick it up. It wasn’t until I saw the logo and name in the corner. It was fromAny Lab Test Now. Under those words, the small letters DNA results caught my eye. Squatting, I placed Ja’Lani on the floor beside me, picking up the large, white folder. Besides what was in the corner, only Ja’vari’s room number was on the envelope.

Most times, I wouldn’t have pried into someone else’s belongings, but it was a DNA test result, and it more than likely involved my child. I had to know. As I began opening the envelope, my breathing increased, and my hands started to shake. It felt almost like when I took the test to find out I was pregnant with Ja’Lani. Pulling the single sheet of white paper with black typed words on it out, my heart shattered. At the bottom, it said, “The alleged father cannot be excluded as the father of the tested child.” Ja’vari had tested our daughter behind my back. I didn’t have a problem with him doing the test because though I had never cheated, I did keep her a secret, but doing it without me knowing hurt.

“Hey, daddy’s baby.” I heard Ja’vari’s deep voice, startling me, prompting me to stand to my feet. I had been so engulfed in the test paper that I didn’t hear him nor notice Ja’Lani had crawled off his way. “What’s wrong?” he asked in a concerned tone, scooping Ja’Lani in his arms.

Swallowing hard, I tried to keep my composure. “Your results are in.”

Ja’vari’s expression scrunched in confusion. “Results?”

“Is this the reason you insisted on having your daughter today? You wanted her, so you could take a DNA to ensure she was yours? Ja’vari, you know me. You know I would have never stepped out on you, and you also know that if I had doubts ofher being yours, I would have told you,” I fired off, fighting tears. I couldn’t decide which part was causing the most pain. I just knew I was hurt.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. Help me understand what you’re talking about.” Ja’vari was playing a hell of a role. He genuinely seemed confused.

Walking to him, I shoved the paper his way but was careful not to hit Ja’Lani in the process. “This. If you had doubts about her being yours, we could have tested together. You didn’t have to be scandalous about it.”

I watched Ja’vari closely, tears stinging my eyelids, and I wanted nothing more than to take Ja’Lani from him and say fuck him forever. Ja’vari looked up from the paper. “I didn’t do this.”

I scoffed. “Why lie, Ja’vari? You clearly took a paternity test on our child since, as you can see, she does belong to you.” I pointed to the results. “Without me knowing.”

Ja’vari parted his lips with a comeback, but it was halted when the suite door opened and in walked Vanessa, all happy go lucky. I instantly realized I’d been played. Ja’vari hadn’t ended things with her. He’d manipulated me for sex and even went behind my back.

“Oh, sorry. I won’t be long. I am just here for my things, and then I am gone.”

“Nah, it’s cool. My daughter and I were just leaving.” I took Ja’Lani from Ja’vari, though I felt resistance. “He’s all yours,” I added, heading to gather Ja’Lani’s things.

In the room, I called Santia, asking her to come to Ja’vari’s room to help me with Ja’Lani. I just wanted to get everything and go. Quickly gathering the things, I could hear Vanessa and Ja’vari talking, and it seemed to be getting loud, though I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Just as I picked Ja’Lani back up, I heard Santia’s voice. She’d come right over so fast that I missed her knocking on the door.

“Everything cool?” Santia questioned when I rounded the corner.

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