Page 169 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

Her fingers tighten around mine, her smile stretching from ear to ear. The rings slide on. The kiss comes next. Then we turn to face all four of our guests as Mr. And Mrs. Ace Jackson Taylor.

I’m smiling, too.

I have a wife now.

She’s my princess, and I’m her hero.

That’s the story as of now. What comes next, the next phase of this adventure…I guess that’s up to her.

But just like my wife, I’ll never take my eye off the ball. I have to think like her. I have to reason like her. I lowkey have to be just as twisted as she is.

My life depends on it.

51

Epilogue

It’s been a month since the wedding, and I’m still glowing.

From love, yes, but also, the sun.

Ace took me to Anguilla for our honeymoon, and when I tell you that man spent money like it grows on the trees in his backyard, I mean it. Private villa, private pool overlooking the ocean, spa treatments every morning, massages every night. Lobster, champagne, a jazz quartet playing us through dinner every evening. I didn’t touch a dish. I didn’t lift a finger.

It’s the life I always knew I deserved with the man I made my husband through sheer force of will.

Life is good.

Now we’re back home, settling into marital bliss. I quit Ordered Steps the minute we touched down at Hartsfield, like legit called Jonetta and told her I’m out. She was mad about the two weeks. Mad enough to call Tori and snitch on me. So, tomorrow’s my last day. Finishing out the two weeks was the least I could do, I guess. Actually, it was the most I could do. Fuck that school and them kids.

I’ll check on Aniya periodically, though. She lives ten minutes from the day care, and she takes dance classes about five minutes from her house. I think she’ll be alright, but part of me, way deep down, wants to make sure of that.

Ew. Maybe I’m getting soft.

I put away the groceries, leaving the salmon and risotto on the counter. The receipt falls on the floor, which is fitting, because I won’t be needing that. I rip it up and toss the pieces in the trash, then stick the ten dollar bill in my wallet.

Every time I shop for anything I can get cash back on, I’ll do it. I’m siphoning off my mad money, which I’ll deposit in my savings account every month. Ace takes good care of me now, but you have to always be prepared for a man to switch up on you. There’s no telling what he’ll be like in ten years. Five years, even. He already mentioned kids on the honeymoon. I had to laugh that off, but he didn’t see the humor.

I unwrap the salmon, rinse it, and place it on the cutting board. Dinner has to be hot and ready when my husband gets home. That’smyrule, not his. There are just some things I think I should be doing as a good wife. I cook. I fuck him. I suck him. I listen to his problems. Next week, I’ll go up to his office to have lunch with him so I can get a good look at his coworkers—and any potential problems, like women who are a little too friendly, or men who are a little too competitive. I already follow all of them on my burner account, but I need to see them up close. I need to feel their energy.

If I need to handle somebody over Ace, I will.

Ten toes down. Always.

The orcas are all under control now. I’m gonna reach out to Vanessa soon, though. She seems less horrible than the others. If I can get her on my side, it would be good for Ace. I want to gently advise her, and them, on how to move going forward. How they need to relate to my husband. How to treat him. How to love him the way he deserves to be loved. Because the war is over, I think. We're in the reconstruction era now, and I'm the president. If those assholes wanna be let back in the union, they got some fucking work to do.

Kamryn’s dead to me right now. The wine-guzzling cunt is very scarce, but I’m glad she at least called Ace after the wedding. For whatever reason, he loves the bitch.

Daddy Taylor? He's scared of me. As he should be. The second he gets out of line again, I’m telling his dried up wife how he tried to fuck me.

Okay, but…enough time has passed for me to acknowledge that the man has some real nice lips, and he knows how to use them. I was lowkey turned on when I kissed him that day. I could have fucked him. Probably should have, just for the fun of it.

But that’s neither here nor there.

All that matters now is that I have Ace all to myself.

Time to put the salmon in the oven. I have my GED course in an hour, so I’m on the clock.

That's going well. I have a solid plan for my future, I think.

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