Page 12 of Plea
“We’re not on anything actually. If that’s all you wanted, I need to go.”
“Fine. We can finish this conversation later. And take that necklace off. Unless your daddy or brother gave it to you, I’m not comfortable with you walking around wearing something that looks so expensive from another man.”
For a while, we just stared at each other. A few seconds passed before I burst into a fit of laughter. This man had to have lost his mind. There was no way in hell he thought he could come here making any kind of demands for me to follow.
“I’m not taking anything off,” I said after my laughter died down. “Not only is this my favorite gemstone, but you know I love green. If you don’t want me to wear it, buy something to replace it with.”
Truth was, I’d probably still keep this one anyway, just because it was so selflessly given to me. Like lightning, Trevor’s hand wrapped around the necklace, and before I could stop him, he ripped it off. Dropping it to the ground, he stepped on it repeatedly. My weight against his frame did nothing as he used his arms to hold me back. As I growled and swung at him, Peter walked over to us. The second Trevor’s arms dropped, I smacked the shit out of him and pushed him away from the choker.
Tears blurred my eyes as I picked it up. It was absolutely ruined. The diamonds were cracked, the pendant had ripped, and the chain was tattered—crushed—just like my heart.
“I hate you!” I yelled, lifting my fist to punch him. Had it not been for Peter grabbing me and calling for security, I would have tried to hit him with every ounce of power in me. Even with everything we’d gone through over the past two and a half years, there had never been a moment where I felt so disgusted by Trevor until now. Whether it was jealousy, fear, or possessiveness that made him do such a vile thing, I absolutely hated him for it.
Ignoring Peter as he asked me if I was okay, I stormed out of the lobby in desperate need of fresh air. By the time I made it to my car, I was sobbing. I don’t know what hurt me worse, seeing a version of Trevor that I didn’t know existed, or having something that meant so much to me be destroyed. Either way, I wasn’t in the mood to go to brunch. I texted my sisters in our group chat and let them know I was heading to our parents’ house so I could cuddle with Mama and let her rub my scalp until I felt better. Just when I thought nothing could make me feel worse than Trevor not being here for me yesterday, he showed up and made me wish he never fucking existed.
“You tellthat lil boy if he comes here, I’ma beat his ass,” Daddy warned, leaving the bedroom he shared with Mama.
I felt kind of bad because he was looking so comfortable in bed with his wife until me and my sisters arrived. We all were in their large bed like the old days, but when we started talking about relationships, he excused himself.
It wasn’t until Trevor started calling and reminding me that he tracked my location and could pull up to my parents’ house that Mama told Daddy what was going on. Even without all the details, there was no doubt in my mind that Daddy would swing on Trevor if he showed up. All he knew was I came home crying, and it was because of Trevor. That was something Trevor would not be able to talk his way out of, especially while Daddy was upset.
Trevor sucked his teeth, letting me know he’d heard exactly what Daddy said. “Look. I don’t want no trouble. I just wanted to apologize.”
“At this point, Trevor, I’m sick of your apologies.”
“You have to try and understand where I’m coming from, bae. I saw that necklace and snapped.” He sighed. “I was already feeling upset with myself for not being there for you last night. So when I saw that necklace and you were being secretive about where it came from, it made me think another man was where I should’ve been—by your side. Now I can admit that was my fault. I felt jealous as hell, Venus. Tell me you understand that.”
“I do,” I grumbled, drawing circles on the comforter with my finger. “But that doesn’t justify your bad behavior.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I came out of character like that. You’re my wife, and I don’t want you wearing jewelry fromanother man. Especially one I don’t know. I didn’t handle the situation correctly, and I’m sorry. I know I should have addressed it when we were on better terms.”
With a sigh, I scooted out of bed and left the bedroom for some privacy. The sound of Mariah saying, “Oh God. She’s about to forgive him,” made me smile.
“Mama surprised me by inviting the guests to give me gifts. The choker was a necklace one of the guests bought me. His girlfriend is one of our newest clients.”
I didn’t feel the need to tell him that Carson was easily the most attractive man I’d ever encountered and that our chemistry was insane. I also didn’t want to tell him I’d spent most of the party with him and his friends, or that his girlfriend wasn’t there. Well, technically Carson said they weren’t in a committed relationship, but Trevordefinitelydidn’t need to know that.
The more the truth swirled around in my head, the more I felt guilty for not coming completely clean. I made up in my mind to forgive Trevor because of the horrible way I represented him and our relationship at the party last night. I also decided I couldn’t have anything else to do with Carson unless it revolved around his girl’s appointments—whether they were in a committed relationship or not. I was, and if my relationship with Trevor ended, it was going to be because of us, not me and Carson.
“You will never rip anything off me again,” I made clear. “You will never touch me abusively or yell at me. Or disrespect me in any way. If we can’t talk calmly to one another, we won’t talk to each other at all.”
“Agreed,” he said quickly. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
I paced in the hall for a while before nodding as if he could see me. Even though I didn’t want him to think he could treat me any way and I’d forgive him, I said, “Yes. I forgive you, but I need space.”
Had I not spent most of the night with Carson and felt intense feelings for him, Trevor would have still had my whole ass to kiss.
Chapter
Eight
Carson
It wasn’tmy intention to be late for Asia’s appointment, but court ran over. I couldn’t leave in the middle of my client’s hearing just to meet her at her gynecologist’s office, even though I wanted to. As soon as court was over, I headed straight to the doctor’s office, only to find that Asia wasn’t there. My first thought was that something bad had happened, so I called to make sure she was okay. She assured me that she was okay and decided to reschedule the appointment since I was late and wouldn’t be there with her. That was a bittersweet gesture. It made me happy that she wanted me there but also sad that she’d missed the appointment because of me.
I hated showing up anywhere empty handed, so I grabbed some roses and her favorite candy before heading to her apartment. Since she was in bed when we talked, I used the code to let myself in. She’d been dizzy, tired, and nauseous lately. I still couldn’t believe she was pregnant and that we were having a baby, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to really process that. Regardless, I wasn’t sad about the babyanymore and was starting to look forward to watching my baby grow in her womb. I wasn’t necessarily happy about the woman I was having the baby with, but I was happy about the baby, nonetheless.
I expected to find Asia laying in bed, but she was sitting on the edge of it putting on her shoes.
