Page 125 of Set me Free

SERENITY

Ididn’t know what divine energy had to be working in my favor, but life was good right now.

No—great.

For the past four year of the five years it had been on, The Coven had been the number one show on the CW. The only reason it wasn’t number one the first year was because Birds of a Feather had occupied that spot. It was surprising for a majority all black- led cast. Hell, only one of our cast mates was white and one was of Native American heritage.

And us being number one wasn’t just fluff talk. Our ratings were insane, social media was obsessed with us, and our Chevalier Witches—Dailie, Elle and Frankie—were pop culture icons now. Me, Egypt, and Averi had become a force, both on-screen and off. And the industry took notice.

Over the past three years, we had won two BET Awards, 3 NAACP Image Awards, four People’s Choice Awards, Four Teen Choice Awards and even a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award. Even though getting slimed at the Kids’ Choice Awards was disgusting, I couldn’t lie—it was one of the most fun moments ofmy career, especially because I got to share that experience when I took Gio and Cree with me. Gio was always included in my milestones. I appreciated Creed, even Gianna for allowing this.

Egypt and Averi weren’t just thriving in acting, either, they had dominated the music scene. Their biggest achievement? Winning a damn Grammy for writingLove with No Limits—a record-breaking hit by Heaven, an artist under Lux LA’s label. Averi, who had also produced the song, won a Grammy for Producer of the Year—a HUGE win for a Black woman in a white male-dominated category. It was no wonder they won, the song had been dominating the radio for the entire year that it came out. Heaven’s powerful voice mixed with the sultry beats Averi composed were top tier. To say we had come a long way from our days at Tisch was an understatement.

And Arielle? She had moved back to LA, officially done with New York. My girl had graduated from Columbia Law, passed the California Bar, and was a powerhouse entertainment lawyer at the family’s law firm Bradshaw Law & Associates. Once she passed the bar, the first thing I did was made sure she was on my team. I knew nobody would fight for me as hard as Arielle and I was right. Everywhere I turned, my circle was winning. To say I was proud of them would be an understatement. My girls and I were making boss moves and getting money together.

And now, Creed was back in my house, under my roof, stirring up feelings I had no business feeling. Living with Creed again had been...an adjustment.

For one, he was always around. It wasn’t like before, when we would only see each other in passing like when I would go to the home we still owned together in Phoenix to drop Cree off, or when he and Gio would come to California; this was permanent.

Now, I woke up in the morning, and he was already in the kitchen making breakfast for Gio and Cree. And watching him with our kids? That shit was dangerous. Because it remindedme why I fell for him in the first place. I knew the moment I got the news of his trade that things were going to be different. With him so close, there were no longer any excuses for why our relationship was still on pause. I had to force myself to remember— We’re just co-parenting. This is temporary.

But then?

We’d be up late at night, watching in his bed. It started off innocent enough—just watching TV, talking, joking. But then, his arm would be slung over the back of the bed, and I’d be leaning just a little too close. He’d laugh at something, his deep voice vibrating against my skin, and for a split second, I’d forget that we weren’t that couple anymore. And it only got worse when he fell asleep right next to me, his breathing even, his face relaxed. That was when I’d get my ass up and sneak back to my own room. Because the last thing I needed was our kids waking up and finding me in his bed.

As if living with my ex wasn’t complicated enough, Creed’s social media-famous girlfriend kept testing my patience. Jailah—orQweenJaiMil, as she called herself online—was doing the absolute most. Tweet after tweet, post after post, subliminal after subliminal. She was shading me constantly—and the internet was eating it up.

At first, my family and friends told me to ignore her.

“Be the bigger person.”

“She’s just jealous.”

“It’s not worth it, Serenity.”

But there was only so much bigger person shit I could do. Because I wasn’t Jesus. And if Jailah kept pushing me, she was going to be meeting Jesus in person. And she was gonna find out real quick that the fighter Lenox and Sienna raised was still in me at the end of the day.

Girls’nights were sacred. No matter how crazy our schedules got, no matter how many projects we were juggling, we always made time for each other. And tonight, we were at Nobu, drinking cocktails, eating way too much sushi, and talking our shit like we always did.

The restaurant was packed, but our private table—tucked away from prying eyes—gave us enough peace to enjoy ourselves without worrying about someone secretly recording our conversation for the blogs. Egypt, Averi, Arielle, and I had been through everything together, from college to careers to heartbreak—so when we got together, it wasn’t just dinner.

It was therapy.

“Bitch, I cannot believe Ari’s getting married,” Averi gushed, sipping on her lychee martini.

“She’s been locked in with Brodie since we before were in college,” Egypt pointed out, grabbing another piece of yellowtail sashimi. “It was only a matter of time.”

Arielle smirked, twirling her chopsticks in her fingers. “First of all, don’t act like my man didn’t take his sweet ass time proposing,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I thought for sure when I got pregnant with the twins during law school he’d do it, but nope… still, better now than never.” We all laughed because we knew how long Arielle had been patiently waiting for that ring.

“And now look at you,” I teased. “About to be Mrs. Brodie Jackson.” Arielle smiled so big it made me warm inside. It wasn’t fake happiness—it was real, pure joy.

“Speaking of the wedding festivities,” Egypt cut in, setting her glass down. “Vegas is about to be wild.”

“Oh, I already know,” I smirked. “And I can’t wait. I’m ready to have some Mommy time. I love the kids, so much, but sheesh.”

The bachelor and bachelorette trips were combined, meaning we were all rolling deep to Vegas for a long weekend of chaos before Arielle and Brodie said I do.

“Creed is coming, right?” Averi asked, giving me a knowing look over her glass.

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