Page 97 of Before I Say I Don't
“It’s cool,” Jayla sighed. “I just—what do you think Kam thinks? She heard I was pregnant, so why didn’t she say anything to me about it?”
I leaned my shoulder against the wall and let the cool tile hold me up.
“And why the fuck did your brother just stand there?” Jayla added angrily. “He hasn’t even asked me how I’m feeling!”
Why in the fuck would he?I wondered, my lips pressing tight to keep the thought from spilling out.
Then Kendall’s reply cut through the door, colder than ice. “Jayla, you’re my girl, but pregnant with his child or not, you really thought my brother was gonna come to your rescue in front of Kam? His fiancée? Be serious. Angelo loves that girl more than he probably ever loved me—and I’m his sister. So what made you think you were the exception or ever on his list to protect?”
My breath stalled. The hallway seemed to sway as my world tilted and my stomach flipped in on itself.
Jayla’s pregnant by Angelo?
The words clawed at me, wrapping tighter with every beat of silence. Suddenly, every little thing clicked—the excuses, the half-smiles, the sudden distance, the way she’d been dipping out early like she had somewhere more important to be. I didn’t need another excuse about missed periods, food poisoning, or how Jayla had been “under a lot of stress lately”.
It all makes sense now.
My fingers curled against the wall until my nails bit the paint, gripping harder as though the plaster could anchor me… but it didn’t.
“Damn… well say how you really feel?" Jayla urged, her voice tinged with hurt and disbelief. “I thought if anyone would have my back, it’d be you.”
Outside the bathroom, I smirked, shaking my head at how perfectly everything was playing out. Jayla really thought she was owed loyalty? From Kendall? Please. That girl couldn’t even stay loyal to her own wigs—always switching styles, never sticking to one, flaky as hell. And now she expected someone to cape for her while she was pregnant by my fiancé? The entitlement was louder than her common sense.
A trash can lid banged shut, followed by the sound of running water. It interrupted a moment of quiet, but Kendall's voice still broke through.
Kendall spoke again, softer but still scalpel-sharp. “Listen, sis. I’ma keep it a buck with you—my brother isn’t about to change. I tell females all the time that Angelo is two people… charming and chaotic. You made a mistake trying to glue those halves together with a baby.Carrying a man’s child doesn’t mean you’re carrying his heart;that’s where a lot of y’all females mess up. A baby doesn’t equal loyalty; it just makes a man somebody’s daddy. I know my brother, girl. You’re banking on a man who can’t even bank his own damn secrets. I wish I knew you before you got pregnant; I could’ve saved you from wasting your time, from mistaking attention for love, and building a dream on a man who ain’t even stable on his own two feet. Because now… there’s a real chance you’re about to be a single mother. Angelo’s not built for this the way you want him to be.”
Good for her ass,I thought, stone-cold, the corner of my lip curling.She wanted the part, now let her live the script.
Jayla sniffled. “Shit wasn’t even that serious with us. It just… happened! A baby was never supposed to be in the plan.”
“That’s the thing about playing with fire, Jayla—you don’t get to pick whether it warms you or burns you. Y’all called it casual, but life doesn’t care about casual. Babies don’t ask forpermission; they just come. And now? You gotta deal with the fallout.”
“If Kam finds out, I don’t know what will happen.”
Kendall didn’t hesitate. Her tone was flat and laced with brutal honesty.
“It’s notifshe finds out, it’swhen.The girl is a lawyer—brilliantat that. She doesn’t just argue cases, but she also studies people, reads patterns, holes in stories, and the pauses between words. You can’t out-lie somebody who’s made a career out of catching lies. Kam’s like a bloodhound when something smells off—she’ll circle it until she finds the body. Oh, and the minute she catches wind of all of this, you won’t just lose Angelo… you’ll lose whatever fake friendship you were pretending to have, too.”
Kendall let out a humorless laugh. “So you can pray, cry, lie, or even stall… but the truth is already pacing outside the door. And when Kam opens it, don’t expect her to be polite about what she drags out.” She let the silence hang, then added one last sting. “You wanted fun… now you got forever.”
Now I’ll admit, Kendall wasn’t one of my favorite people, but in that moment… I had to respect the way she laid it out. She didn’t sugarcoat or twist anything into pretty words. She said the kind of truth that slices people open, whether they’re ready for it or not.
When the faucet cut off, I peeled myself off the wall, straightened my shoulders, and walked back the way I came.
So let me get this right. My fiancé is a liar and a cheater. He’s got a baby by his sister’s friend, possibly one on the way by my best friend. And as if that ain’t foul enough, he had the audacity to invite hisexto stand beside me in my own damn wedding. Kendall and Jayla secretly hate me. Jayla not only slept with my man, but got pregnant by him, and now it’s looking like she’s about to be a single mom. And throughall that, they still gon’ show up tomorrow in tuxes and satin, smiling like we’re one big happy family? Like we’re sisters?
Cool.
I found Danica seated, checking off vendors on her list like it calmed her blood pressure.
“All these bitches got me fucked up!” I bellowed low, the fury clean and cold in my voice.
Her head snapped up. “What happened?!” she asked in the same tone she used when her favorite pen went missing.
“I’ll tell you in a minute.”
I hightailed over to Viangelo, bent lightly, lips at his ear, and whispered, “We need to wrap things up—it’s getting late.”
