Page 38 of Heavy Is The Crown

That shit stung.

“You good? How was school?”

“Fine.”

His fingers curled slightly against his jeans.Damn.

She was watching him. Guarded. Seeing if he was really here, or if this was just another visit that wouldn’t mean shit in a week.

He swallowed and forced some energy into his voice. “I got some good news. Got a job. A real one this time.”

That made Brooke glance up from across the room, arms still crossed. Her curiosity deepened. “Oh yeah? Doing what?”

Kenyatta stood, leveling her with a look. “Maintenance work. Apartment complex. It’s steady, legit.”

Brooke snorted. “Maintenance?”

Kenyatta’s jaw ticked. “Yeah. Maintenance.”

Brooke sipped from her oversized wine glass, shaking her head, eyes twinkling with amusement. “That’s wild. From running the city to fixing leaky pipes? That’s the glow-up?”

Kenyatta exhaled hard. His patience was thin as hell already. “You think it’s funny, huh?”

Brooke shrugged, setting her glass down on the counter. “I just never pictured you as a blue-collar type.”

“Nah.” Kenyatta smirked, but it wasn’t humorous. “You just never pictured me working for my money the right way.”

Brooke tilted her head, like she was debating on whether to push it further.

She did. “I mean, it’s just funny ‘cause…you struggling, and meanwhile, other dude’s out here winning. I’m so in love with that Hellcat out there. Ain’t it fire?”

The words hit like a gut punch.

She wasn’t just flexing. She was reminding him that while he was starting over, she was riding luxury on another man’s dime.

Kenyatta let out a slow breath through his nose, a smug grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “Good for you. Guess when yo’ nigga get locked up, you can drive that bitch to go put money on his books.”

Brooke’s smirk vanished. “You so damn bitter.”

Kenyatta chuckled darkly. “Nah, you just love comparing me to that clown ‘cause you think it makes you look like you won. Where your nigga at anyway?”

Brooke scoffed, flipping back a loose tendril of hair. “Handling business.”

Kenyatta, amused, leaned against the wall. “Yeah? That’s what he told you? I’m sure he at some other bitch’s house while you over here goofy about a damn Hellcat.”

Brooke’s lips pursed slightly, her nails tapping against the stem of her glass. That little flicker of something in her expression told him everything he needed to know.

Brooke folded her arms, shifting slightly. “I mean…you wasn’t much better when we were together.”

That had some truth to it. Kenyatta had been wild back then. Doing dirt. Ducking commitment. Making promises he couldn’t keep. But the difference was that he grew up.

Turning away, Kenyatta crouched back down beside Kaliyah. “Listen, baby girl. As soon as my checks start rolling in, we gon’ hit up—” he paused, trying to think of somewhere special. “—The Trinity Bay Zoo & Safari Park. Just me and you. How that sound?”

Kaliyah barely reacted. Didn’t even look up. “Okay.”

That hurt. She didn’t believe him. Didn’t trust that his promises were anything more than words. And, honestly, she had every reason to feel that way.

Kenyatta forced a smile, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

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