Page 44 of Love's Free Will

I nodded, locking eyes with my brother. “I won’t.”

That was a promise.

Later that night,after the studio session, Averi and I were laid up in my bed, scrolling through our phones. Since the Tea And Honey post dropped, several other blogs posted too.

Lipstick Confidential

“It’s Giving Sneaky Link Turned Soft Launch: Royal & Averi AreOfficiallya Thing.”

You heard it here first, dolls — looks like Averi St. Claire, Actress turned Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, is officially off the market. The man making it happen? None other thanAtlanta’s favorite toxic crooner, Royal.

Yup. That Royal. The one who swore up and down that he doesn’t “do relationships.”

Well…he’s doing something. And her name is Averi.

The two were spotted this weekend in Los Angeles at the ultra-exclusive vow renewal for NBA champ Creed Langston and his longtime love Serenity Bradshaw (aka QweenJaiMil’s worst nightmare).

While the event was a dream in lavender and luxury, the real moment came when cameras caught Royal and Averi sharing a full-on kiss, not even trying to hide it. (Swipe forthatshot, thank us later.)

Now — we’ve all seen the subtle posts, the mysterious heart-eye emojis, and that one paparazzi shot outside Ms. Kay’s Soulfood, but this? This is a hard launch if we’ve ever seen one.

And let’s talk impact:

Fans are in a frenzy.

Twitter’s on fire.

Ex-flings everywhere? Pressed.

No word from the couple yet (we hear they’ve instructed their teams to “let the pictures speak”), but let’s be real — they look very together.

So… is this industry love? Real love? Or just a beautifully produced situationship? We’ll be watching.

#RoyalAndAveri #HardLaunchSeason #LipstickLeaks #CreedAndSerenityWedding #BookedAndBooedUp

Basically, the internet had been wildin’.

I wasn’t new to being talked about. But this time, it was different because now Averi’s name was attached to mine.

I smirked as I scrolled through X. The reactions were all over the place.

@scubaraae: Averi and Royal, that’s my kind of carryin’ on. Get it, sis.

@amberjoy: idk why y’all so surprised. He been posting her for a while now, just glad they stopped denying it.

I chuckled, tossing my phone onto my chest. “Ayo, Ave.” She hummed in response, still scrolling through her own phone. “You see this shit?”

She sighed. “Yes, unfortunately.” She rolled her eyes. “why are people like this? This is the bad part about being famous, everybody is in your business. Not to mention my Mama and Daddy have been blowin’ my phone down for hours.”

I tapped her thigh, my voice dropping. “It’ll be old news soon.” Her eyes met mine, and after a second, she nodded looking very unconvinced. “Aye,” I murmured. She looked up at me. I studied her for a second before saying, “Come to dinner at my mama’s house tomorrow.”

Her brows lifted slightly. “We meeting families already Royal?”

I smirked. “You technically already met most of my family. You know Zay and King, then you met Queenie in passing when she stopped by the studio that one time, remember? Just gotta meet Princess now.”

She hesitated. “Your little sister?” I nodded. She sighed, biting her lip. “King said she was mean. You think she gonna like me?”

I huffed out a small laugh. “She a fan of that corny ass show you play in.” I laughed and she hit me with a pillow. “Nah, but Princess is… a hard shell to crack. If she don’t like you, she’ll tell you to your face. And if she fucks with you? You’ll know.”

---