Page 8 of Certified Pressure 3
“Man,” he murmured, shaking his head with a little grin. “I know I put a son in you.”
The conviction in his voice made my stomach flip. I should have been rolling my eyes, but instead I found myself turned on by the love he was already pouring into a baby I had only just found out about this morning. My heart ached because as much as I wanted to hold onto my anger, I couldn’t deny what I felt for him.
Still, I had to be strong…
“I need to get back to Zurie,” I whispered. Saying her name reminded me of my responsibilities. It reminded me that Icouldn’t let myself get lost in him again no matter how much I wanted to. Besides, he’d made his choice.
We sat there in silence for a long stretch, his hand never leaving my stomach, his thumb still moving in slow circles that made my skin prickle. My throat tightened when I finally spoke again.
“I wasn’t using you,” I said softly, my eyes locked on his. “Yes, I needed money for Zurie, but I fell in love with you. That was real. It still is.”
He exhaled heavy through his nose, like my words hit him but he didn’t trust himself to respond. Instead, he leaned back in his seat, kept his hand right where it was, and held me there in silence.
Three hours passed like that. Him steady and unmovable beside me, me fighting tears that slipped down my face anyway, the two of us wrapped up in something that words couldn’t fix.
When my flight was finally called, my chest caved in. I stood slowly, adjusting the strap of my bag, and looked down at him. His eyes were waiting for me, sharp and tender all at once, pulling me in like they always did. For a second I wanted to throw my boarding pass in the trash and stay, but I knew I couldn’t. Not with Kashmere still at the mansion.
So I gave him one last look, strong as I could manage, and turned toward the gate. I walked away with my chin high, but the moment I stepped onto the plane and dropped into my seat, the tears came harder than they ever had. I buried my face in my hands and let myself cry for everything I had lost, everything I was carrying, and the man I couldn’t stop loving no matter how much it hurt.
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
Pressure had been gone for hours and I was trying my best not to drive my damn self crazy thinking about it. At the same time, I couldn’t help how I felt. The estate was too quiet, and the silence made it easy for my thoughts to keep circling back to the same shit over and over, which was Pluto, her face, her voice and that little bomb she had dropped that had flipped everything upside down.
I had finally moved all my clothes into Pressure’s room earlier today. His closet was so big it felt like my own personal boutique, and when I slid my dresses and shoes onto the racks beside his things, I felt like I was stepping into the life I alwaysdreamed of. I had been arranging everything for hours, folding, hanging and shifting things around until it felt like my presence in this room was permanent. And when I finally sat down on the edge of the bed earlier and stared down at the ring on my finger, it felt like proof.
The ring sparkled even in the dim glow of the lamps. It was big, bold and flawless as fuck. Pressure had slipped it on my hand like it was nothing, like giving me this type of luxury was as simple as breathing. I turned my hand back and forth, letting the light catch the diamond, and I couldn’t help but picture myself walking into rooms as Mrs. Mensah. The way heads would turn, and the way my whole life would shift. Everything about the ring said power, money, security, and the type of love most women only dreamed about.
I thought about my mother and all the times she told me that men like Pressure didn’t marry women like me. I thought about the way she used to roll her eyes and say I was wasting my time chasing after fairytales that weren’t meant for me. If she could see me now, sitting in his room with a diamond like this on my finger, she’d have to swallow every single word.
That thought made me smile, and for a minute I let myself float on it. The wealth, the lifestyle and the fact that I was engaged to one of the most powerful men in Trill-Land. But then, just like that, my stomach twisted and all the sweetness turned bitter.
Pluto’s face flashed back into my head. That soft, pitiful look she had when she said she was pregnant.Pregnant... The word alone made me want to scream. I didn’t even know if she was telling the truth, but the possibility was enough to shake me because if she was, then that baby would be the center of Pressure’s world, and no matter what I did or how much he loved me, I would never be able to compete with that.
The worst part was I hadn’t even known he was fucking her. That thought alone made my skin crawl. It wasn’t just that he had touched her, but it was that he had given her the same good dick that had me crying into his chest at night, the same good dick that had me walking around this estate on weak legs, smiling at every maid and guard because they didn’t know what I was carrying in my body from him. The idea of him giving that to Pluto made me sick to my fucking stomach.
While in the tub gripping a glass of liquor, I leaned back against the foam, trying to swallow down the rage, but it burned in me anyway. I couldn’t believe how much had changed between us. Never in a million years would I have thought that being with a man like Pressure would destroy my friendship with Pluto. We had gone from laughing together, plotting together, walking in side by side, to now being enemies. Our whole world had been flipped upside down because of him.
And the part that stung the most was I knew I had loved her in my own way. She was my friend, and she had been there for me like I had been there for her, but sitting in this tub, sipping liquor and staring at the bubbles, I realized that none of that mattered anymore. Because right now, I didn’t care what happened to her.
I hated admitting it, but in the back of my mind, I prayed she wasn’t pregnant at all, or if she was, that something would happen and she wouldn’t carry to term. It wasn’t that I wished death on a child. It wasn’t that I was evil, but my focus was my man, my life and my future. And if that baby existed, it would always stand between me and the life I was now trying to create.
The thought made my chest ache because it reminded me of the test I had taken not too long ago… the one that came back negative.
I should have been the one carrying Pressure’s child. I should have been the one rubbing my belly and feeling his palm spreadacross me. I should have been the one who had that piece of him. Instead, I was empty, and the girl I once called my best friend might be carrying the very thing I wanted most.
The liquor was making my head warm, and I popped a grape into my mouth, chewing slow while I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My lips were wet, my skin glowing from the steam and the diamond on my finger sparkling like it was mocking me. I was the fiancé. I was the one Pressure had chosen, and no matter what, I was going to be the one walking down that aisle.
I let my head fall back against the tub, closing my eyes, and that’s when I heard the door open. It was faint, but I knew that sound anywhere. The weight of it, the slow close and then the scent drifted in—rich cologne, expensive and heavy.
It was Pressure…
I sat up quickly, my heart beating faster, and grabbed a towel. I wrapped it around me tight and walked into the bedroom, water dripping down my legs. He was standing at the bar with his back to me, and his broad shoulders taking up space like always. He poured himself two shots and knocked them back, one after the other. Then he picked up his blunt, rolled it with the same focus he put into everything, and lit it. The flame flashed against his face, and when he blew out the first drag, it filled the air with smoke that clung to everything.
I walked over to him, not hesitating, and climbed right onto his lap. He leaned back in the chair, blunt in hand and his eyes cutting to me as if he was already waiting for me to come.
Even though my stomach was boiling with anger over everything that happened earlier, I leaned in and kissed him. My lips pressed against his, and I whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He looked at me with the blunt hanging from his fingers, smoke curling around us. I pressed my forehead against his and went on, “I didn’t mean to act the way I did earlier. I was justhurt and angry. I don’t wanna lose you. I just need to know where we stand. Do you… do you really love me?”
