Page 27 of A Virgo's Muse
“She gon’ be mad you didn’t ask me sooner.” He chuckled through his tears. “But she’s gon’ say yes. You hear me?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I hope she do.”
“She will,” he said with certainty. “But don’t just give her a ring. Give her peace. Give her the kind of love that makes all the pain worth it.”
“I will,” I said. My voice was barely above a whisper. “On everything I love.”
We both wiped our faces like it didn’t just happen, but we knew. That moment was real… raw… permanent.
I turned back to look at her mother before I left. “Thank you,” I whispered.
And when I walked out that room? I walked out ready to become somebody’s husband. No more almosts. No more half-stepping. It was time.
If you told me a couple of months ago that I would be ring shopping for my future fiancée with her best friend, I would’ve laughed and asked what drugs you were on. But now? Now, she was squinting through diamond cases like she was the one proposing.
“That one’s not it,” she muttered, tapping the glass at a cushion cut. “Looks like something you pick up at the mall kiosk. Desire would roll her eyes so hard she’d see her past life.”
I snorted. “Damn.”
“She’s a Virgo, remember? You gotta be intentional. She don’t like nothing half-done. If you gon’ go big, make it thoughtful, not loud.”
I pointed to one with a soft oval cut, nestled into a hidden halo with a thin, elegant band. It looked like it came with quiet power.
“This one?”
Sade leaned in, studied it, then smiled. “That’s her. It says ‘I see you, I know you, and I took my time choosing you.’”
I nodded once. “Say less. I’ll take it.”
While the sales associate handled the paperwork, Sade leaned against the glass with a sly smile on her face. I could feel her eyes on me like she was reading my soul again.
“I ain’t forget,” I told her after a moment. “That night you set up the studio… the paint, the vibe, the music… all of that. That shit shifted something in me.”
She smiled, softer this time. “She needed it. So did you.”
“I don’t take that lightly. That moment? That was the first time I didn’t feel like a villain in a long ass time. I just felt… seen.”
Sade didn’t say anything at first. She just looked at me, her face unreadable. Then her voice dropped.
“You should’ve just told her, Onyx.”
I looked down, jaw tight. “I know.”
“She found out the worst way—through me. And I was caught in the middle of something I didn’t even know I was in the middle of. One day, I was helping to set up a dream date for my girl. Then the next, I’m laid out half-naked with bruises on my ribs.”
That shit cut deep hearing her say it out loud. I clenched my jaw tighter then exhaled slowly.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly but with everything I had. “I never wanted that for you, Sade. I kept all that street shit tucked away on purpose. I wasn’t doing it to be shady, but I wanted to keep people like you out of the fire… away from it.”
Her eyes glistened a little, but she held strong. “I get that now. I do. But when it exploded, it still got on all of us.”
“I’ll live with that regret forever, but I need you to know I see you. I’m grateful for you. I would’ve never had the chance to show Desire who I really am if you hadn’t helped soften the space for her to even look at me again.”
Sade blinked fast and chuckled, trying to brush it off. “Damn, you getting sappy on me?”
I cracked a grin. “Little bit.” Then I glanced at her seriously again. “I do like seeing you around Ghost, though.”
That smile was real this time. “Yeah… He’s been good for me. No pressure. No pretending. Just… peace.”
