Page 89 of Intercept My Heart

“Do you hear how crazy this sounds? You want me to marry your daughter, even though I don’t love her.”

“What does love have to do with anything? Hell, I’ve been married for three decades, and I can barely stand the bitch most days. I’ve already made myself clear. Whatever my daughter wants, I will do everything in my power to make sure she has it. If you leave her, not only will it destroy her emotionally, but it could also affect her financially. There are brands who have only offered her deals because of her relationship with you.

“Do you know how damaging it would be if you left before the wedding and then turned around and got back with that trollop? You have already hurt my child in private; you’ve got me messed up if you think you are about to embarrass her in front of the world!”

“Your solution is for me to marry her and pretend that I want to be with her? How is she even agreeing to something so crazy? I don’t want to be with her, and even if I were to agree to this bullshit, my feelings won’t change. If anything, this will only make me hate her. You are setting your daughter up to be miserable and unhappy.” I could tell from the dumbfounded expression on his face that reasoning had gone out of the window.

“It would be in your best interest to make the right decision. Otherwise, I’ll have all of this leaked to every blog and news channel within the hour. I’m sure your children would love to see who their father really is. What about that woman you love so much? How do you think she will feel once all of your secrets are exposed? Especially when we spin the story that you’ve been cheating on your loving and devoted fiancée after she recently miscarried and has been planning your wedding. She’ll be labeled as a homewrecker to a cheating drug dealer.” Visionsof me beating his ass bloody popped into my mind. I’d worked hard on my anger problems over the years, but they were trying to bring that dark side out of me. I didn’t take well to threats, especially ones that had the potential to hurt my family.

“How long do I have to make a decision?” I murmured through gritted teeth.

“You can have until the end of the week. We will get the paperwork signed, notarized, and filed. Then, after that, you will be free and clear. Well, almost. I’ve already talked to Harper, and she is willing to forgive you and continue with the wedding. She would prefer you to leave your little concubine, but it isn’t a deal breaker for me. I’ve dabbled in my fair share of women. All I ask is that you make my daughter your priority. Try to keep your sidepiece in the shadows where she belongs.”

I turned and walked out of the office before I did something I wouldn’t be able to take back.

A couple monthslater

“All of the measurements look great, and I’m very satisfied with baby girl’s weight, so we can schedule the next appointment a month from now. You are officially at the halfway point of your pregnancy, so this is when you start to see your body go through the most changes. If you have any questions in the meantime, you can always reach out to me. If not, I will see you at your next scheduled appointment. Continue to drink your water, take your prenatal vitamins, and relax. You’ll have plenty of time to stress when it’s time to push,” she teased, although I was terrified of the idea of giving birth. It’d been so long since I’d done it, and I worried about all of the things that could go wrong.

“Thank you, Doc. I’ll make sure she relaxes, so you won’t have to worry. We appreciate you.” She smiled at him, and for a moment, it made me jealous. Was he attracted to her? I mean, Dr. Mitchell did look incredible. I would have never guessed she was forty-five.

“Can you help me up?” I barked, breaking the little sidebar conversation they were having. Dinero chuckled before coming over to help me button my jeans back up. I didn’t know why I wore these instead of a dress.

“Come on, big mama.” His hand caressed my back while he helped me off the bed. I stood there while he adjusted my shirt over my belly, trying not to be a weirdo. Whenever he was in my presence, my nerves were all out of whack. It reminded me of when we were in school together, and I hated feeling so vulnerable with him.

Dinero held my hand, walking with me to the nurses’ station and then to my car.

“Did you eat today?” The genuine concern in his question made me smile.

“No, I haven’t. I was going to treat myself to lunch once we left here.” My lip was poked out, even though I had no reason to be upset.

“Same ol’ Sunny. What do you want to eat? We can go to a restaurant, or I can grab some food to bring to your crib.”

“Are you allowed to be seen with me in public? I don’t want to end up on someone’s blog with the caption of ‘Pregnant homewrecker spotted at Pappadeaux’s with Money Sutton.’”

“Man, gone on somewhere with that. I’m grown and can eat with whoever I want. Now is that where you want to go, or were you using that as an example in your sarcastic ass comment?” I loved getting under his skin for a reason. I enjoyed the look of annoyance on his handsome face.

“I’m being serious. Your fiancée already messaged me on some Barbara meets Shirley shit, so I want to make sure I’m not tripping.” He ran his fingers through his beard while staring at me.

“Are you always this difficult, or is today some special day or something? Come on now. I need to make sure you and my baby eat before I head out of town tonight.” The mention of him leaving bothered me more than it should have, but I kept a straight face.

“Okay, well, I want some shrimp and grits from Morton’s Place.” It was a newer brunch spot that had opened up not too far from my house. Tamia and I had eaten there about twenty times, and it'd only been here for six months.

“Alright, bet. You can follow me. We’ll drop your car off at the house and then head out there.”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“You already know I’m not good with asking unless it’s concerning pussy. You always gotta have consent for the pussy,” he said with a grin. My mouth dropped in shock because I didn’t see that one coming.

“You need serious help. Come on, fool.”

“It’s daddy or Dinero to you.”

“Boy, fuck you!”

“You already did. That’s how we ended up here,” he boasted, pointing to the OBGYN building.

“Real cute. The only people calling you daddy in my household are our children.”

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