Page 68 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

“She talk too damn much, Skyler. Be answering herself and it was quiet hour.”

“Quiet hour?”

“You gonna fucking help me fix it?”

She sighed. “I guess since you want to fix it, that means you’re sorry. You have to apologize to her because that is harsh. Menace, she’s going to be your wife, not some random chick… not the one from Monaco.”

“Kelsie.”

“Her name was Kim, Menace.”

It had been a minute since I even thought about Kim’s ass so getting her name correct wasn’t the top of my list in the moment. Stevie wasn’t talking to me because I fucked up, and I missed hearing her talk. I never thought I would ever miss hearing someone talk.

I missed hearing her though.

“Any fucking way, how I fix it, Skyler… you saying a bunch of nothing.”

“Apologize to her. If you both are going to go through with this, then you need to learn how to humble yourself and go to her. Make it right and show her that you’re sorry and care. Stevie is so forgiving, too forgiving at times.”

“Think she would like an island or something?”

“Island?”

“Yeah, I own a few.”

“Menace, be so for real right now… your money doesn’t impress her because she’s never been like that. While she likes nice things, that doesn’t make it right. Do something that you know she would enjoy… Tap in, twin, has she told you anything?”

I thought about the conversation that we had when visiting my parents. “Ight.”

“Ight? No thank you Skyler you are the best… let me buy my God daughter a pony and a mansion.”

“She want one?”

“Menace, no. I am kidding. Look, I am doing my best not to try and control Stevie’s life because I have been since moving in with her. She’s been lost since my aunt passed away, and I understand her pain because I lost my mom, too. I had no choice but to keep on pushing because I have Estella. Stevie has kind of been in the wind, going wherever it blows her. She hasn’t had someone, aside from me, who cares about her and wants to give her the love she deserves. If you marry her, can you promise me that you can give that to her… she fucking deserves it, man.”

Listening to how passionate Skyler was about her cousin’s happiness did something to me. She cared about her cousin and realized she was different, so she required someone different. “I got you.”

“Cool… my fee is six million.”

“Skyler, you broke over there?”

“No. Your best friend makes sure of it.”

“Then stop being stubborn and let us get at homie… then go get married on that damn beach he always chatting about with him and Jeffie.”

“See, now you in my business… later, Menace.” She ended the call.

The look of sorrow she gave me while telling me that I was groomed irritated me. I knew what me and Angelica had. I may have been in love and wanted a life with her, while all she wanted was what we had on the low.

It was the reason that Jeffie and her mother’s relationship was so strained. I told her that we had something going on, and she felt the same way as Wonder did. Kora felt the same exact way and refused to acknowledge it.

The only reason Kora knew was because she caught Angelica giving me head when she was supposed to be asleep. After Kora found out, that was when she wanted to cool it. Breaking my heart because I was in love with her old ass.

I ain’t never been someone who gave a fuck about forever. To me, forever ended when my parents were lowered into the ground. Angelica had restored that for me, and I thought we could be together.

I would have taken care of her, made sure she never needed anything because I would handle it. Zoya and Landon were heartbroken when Angelica moved out, and I told them that she deserved to have her own life.

Shit, I told the story so much that I started to believe it myself. It was then that I realized that love wasn’t real. Every person that I loved ended up leaving me, and that wasn’t real.

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