Page 63 of Before I Say I Don't
Danica leaned back, eyes wide in mock shock. “Engaged? Ohhh, so that’s what we’re calling it now? ’Cause from the way you’re glowing, it looks a lot less ‘engaged’ and a lot more ‘entangled.’”
I tried for an eye roll, but the smirk that followed told on me anyway. “Entangled? Sis, please. If I was entangled, you’d be able to see the receipts all over me by now.”
We shared a laugh.
“But he was…” I searched for the right word and found three. “A gentleman. He fed me, held me, let me fall apart, and didn’t try to fix me before I was ready. I felt… safe.”
“So you almost?—”
“—But didn’t,” I finished. “Now… If Mother Nature didn’t tap me on the shoulder? Different story.”
Danica slapped the counter. “Lord be a fence!” She tried to look mad but failed. “I’m not gonna lie—part of me is mad you didn’t just cancel the wedding and move on. But the other part of me is relieved that your body seems to have a mind of its own... remembering it belongs to you. I’m also pissed your fiancé made room for this in the first place.”
I proceeded to tell her everything—the shocking content of the recording, the unexpected news of the baby, theother women, and the way my heart felt both shattered and mysteriously healed while Roman stood beside me.
Danica’s demeanor changed abruptly; she went rigid, her expression transforming into the kind of focused silence she adopted just before she unleashed a calculated verbal explosion.
“So let me get this straight…” Danica started, eyes narrowing. “This man sat in your house, ate your food, let you plan the Black Royal Wedding of the year… with a whole side baby and a history of hoe habits?”
I nodded. “That’s the summary.”
“Girrrrrrrrrrrl. Kam, listen. You know I’vebeenready to cancel this wedding since the day he called himself booking a venue and forgot it existed!”
“I’m not calling anything off.”
“Kam … you haveeveryreason, every receipt, and every red flag to walk. You ain’t gotta pray for a sign—God has practically laid out an entire PowerPoint presentation just for you. The presentation is color-coded, with bullet points and background music!”
“I know,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper, the weight of my decision heavy on my heart. “And I will…afterthe wedding. I’m walking down that aisle… just not for the wedding they think is coming.”
Her brows shot up. “Ohhh, so you gon’—”
“—reveal everything at the altar,” I finished. “Calm, collected, and in front of everybody.”
Danica leaned back, her mouth slightly agape as she processed my words. Then, slowly, a smile broke across her face.
“So you’re actually going to flip the script at your own wedding? That’s some serious Lifetime movie material.”
“More like a Netflix special," I countered with a wry smile. “At least then, people will be compelled to stick around and see how it all ends.”
I took a sip of my wine, letting the rich flavor momentarily distract me from the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me.
“Oh, you savage-savage! Ilikethis, Kam!” Danica spun the tea mug by the handle, gears turning.
“Seriously, if I call it off now, all of this wedding planning would have been for nothing. My money is going to a greater good for something… his public humiliation.”
“I heard that! Now run me your skeleton; I’ll add flesh.”
“At the altar, I’ll tell it all. With each word, I’ll lay bare the truth, and when I’ve finished, he’ll have to decide whether he wants to stand there, ring in hand, and lie not just to me but to God himself.”
Danica, unable to contain her amusement, slapped her hand against the countertop, her laughter ringing out like a bell. “My God today!”
“I want Diane planted in the front row,” I insisted. “I want her to hear exactly what her good son built out of my kindness.”
“Listen, sis,” she went on, pointing at me with her mug, “this isn’t some petty act of vengeance; this is a strategic move. Petty is slashing his tires at midnight; what you’re planning is purposeful. You're making sure the whole congregation knows the man behind the facade before you even waste your vows on him.”
I took a slow, deliberate sip of my red wine, savoring the velvety texture as it slid across my palate.
“Then purposeful it is.”
