Page 11 of Only for Me
“She’s four months.”
“And you were pregnant for nine. That’s over a year that I missed. Did I get to experience any of that?”
“Would you have wanted to?”
“Is. She. Mine?”
I opened my mouth to say no again but decided it was pointless. For whatever reason, he really wanted to know the truth. So I’d give it to him then pray like hell the truth was all he wanted.
“Yes, she’s yours.”
“Then yeah, I would have wanted to experience that shit. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, Makari?”
“We had sex, that was it. I didn’t know you. Sex doesn’t grant you access to my life.”
“It does when sex ends up with a gotdamn kid. My kid,” He growled. “You’re not her only fucking parent.”
“Actually, I am. Kids need stability, security, and parents they can count on. You can’t give that.”
His jaw ticked. “How the fuck you know what I can give?”
“Are you seriously asking me that right now? Do you remember what I do for a living or do you only remember your dick commingling with my pussy? Every stupid ass decision you’ve made over the past year is all over every blog and social media. You’re not parent material, Omiri.”
“Bruh, you sound crazy as fuck. You don’t get to decide what I can be to my own kid.”
“Why don’t I? I have seen all the stories. The parties. The women, the DUI you managed to escape without consequence. Your life is not what I want for my daughter.”
“Ourdaughter,” he growled, locking me into a heated stare.
When Avi startled from the bass in his voice, I tightened my hold around her tiny body and began gently bouncing her in my lap. At least the asshole had the decency to notice her mood change because he relaxed his tone.
“I don’t want to argue with you, Makari. She’s mine and I want to figure this out.”
“What the hell does figure this out mean? She’s not a hobby you can pick up and put down when having a kid doesn’t align with your mood or lifestyle. I’m sure you feel like you can slide in and be father of the year…”
“I don’t know what type of father I’m gonna be but you damn sure are not going to get in the way of me finding out. I have rights andshehas the right to know me. Your ass is out here playing judge and jury with no fucking thought to how that affects us.”
I cringed at the venom in his voice. I wasn’t sure if he was angry because I made the decision or because he truly felt slighted about missing out, but still, Avi was the one who would be affected if this went left.
“It’s not that simple…” I argued.
“Yeah the fuck it is.” He removed his phone and pulled up something before he looked at me. “I have a private DNA test scheduled. My lawyer set it up and they’re going to come to my place to keep the shit from leaking to the media.”
I blinked several times, caught off guard but not surprised in the least that he was pushing so hard for this. “You already have a lawyer? You’re not taking her from me, so I hope like hell that’s not how you think this is going down.”
“Look how you handled things. Did you really expect me to not be prepared? Once we have all this in writing proving she’s mine…”
“I just told you she was and you can look at her and see she is,” I defended and he glared at me with arrogance.
“I know she’s mine. Them damn eyes are proof enough, but I also don’t trust you to handle this maturely. So I want the proof documented. Once we have that, we can work out a custody arrangement.”
“Custody.” I choked on the word. This felt too real, too damn fast.
“You do realize that’s how this works. She has two capable parents and I’m not trying to take her from you unless you push me. Truthfully, I should, because you owe me the year you stole.”
I grilled the hell out of him, not having any argument to present. Was his reaction because he genuinely wanted to be a father to Avi or was he simply flexing because of his position and privilege?
“Kids are exhausting, demanding, and nonstop with commitment. Avi is not going to give a damn if you have games,a press run, or hangover from partying too much. She’s solely dependent on me and, if you decide that you want to do this, onyou.”
