Page 44 of Plea
His wife made him take a DNA test or she was going to divorce him, and it turned out he wasn’t the only man she wasfucking before she met Carson. Even with the uncertainty of the paternity of her child, I prayed Trevor would leave me alone after today just like Asia had left Carson alone. It was crazy how people could harass you and treat you as if you’d done them so wrong while they were lying, withholding secrets, and living all kinds of double lives.
“Do you want to talk to him?” Carson asked, arm wrapped around my waist. “Now that we’ve come to an agreement, you can if you’d like.”
The agreement was that Trevor would drop the lawsuit and leave me the hell alone in exchange for me keeping his secret. And seeing as the secret would expose both him and Adam, I felt like he wouldn’t risk it coming out. Trevor might not have been shit when it came to our relationship, but he was honestly killing the financial game in the South and was one of the best financial advisors and day traders under the age of forty. The man got paid to pay people’s bills and make sure they were saving and spending their money properly. The bulk of his profit came from the percentage he received after making investments on his client’s behalf though. He had some of the wealthiest people trusting him with their money, and if I was him, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize losing that just to fuck with an ex that I clearly didn’t want to be with to begin with.
“I don’t have anything to say to you, but if you have something to say, you can,” I said before pulling in a deep breath.
“I just wanted to apologize. This situation caused me to look back on my behavior, and I can acknowledge that I wasn’t treating you right. I’ve been going through some shit, and instead of me dealing with it, I punished you for my suffering. The way you asked me to treat you, I treated others. I didn’t make space for you intimately because I was giving those parts of me to someone else. Then when you finally had the courageto leave me, my ego made me want to hurt you because I was embarrassed.
“The truth is, I didn’t want to be with you. I like men, and I should have been honest with myself about that. You are the only woman I’ve ever seen myself marrying and being happy with, though, and that’s why I wanted us to get married. I figured it was better to at least have a woman I could get along with at home to keep up the façade while I did my own thing.”
“If you want me to keep this a secret, why are you coming clean to me now?”
He shrugged and gave me a sad smile. “Just… felt like I owed you the truth. I know that won’t change things between us, but I just wanted you to know the truth.”
“Well, I appreciate that, and one day I hope you have the courage to live loudly in your truth. If not, your secret is safe with me, just as long as you leave me the hell alone.”
Trevor chuckled and bobbed his head, and I smiled as my heart squeezed.
“I will. You deserve better than I was able to give you. I can admit that now.” His eyes shifted in Carson’s direction. “Make sure you give her that.”
“He already is,” I assured him, running my hand up and down Carson’s chest as his hand tightened on my waist.
Trevor eyed me for a few seconds more before nodding and walking away, and all I could do was thank God that this chapter of my life was finally over.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Venus
Now that itwas officially spring, the weather was starting to warm up. It didn’t really get too cold until the end of December, but January and February could be brutal. Today, it was seventy degrees, and I loved that for me. It was a cool seventy, so I had on thigh high boots, shorts, and an oversized sweater. I was hanging out with Serenity and Taj. We had lunch and did a little shopping for Cash’s grand opening. Though Serenity didn’t plan to attend, she came to help me and Taj find something to wear anyway.
I would bet money that Carson appreciated me shopping with them instead of him. He didn’t mind spending money at all, but he hated being in the same place for hours unless he was watching a game or betting. I loved that he did it even when he didn’t want to, and more so, he didn’t look like he didn’t want to. A lot of people went through the motions and you could tell they didn’t want to be there by their attitude or expressions, but that wasn’t the case with Carson. My man didn’t complain, talknegatively, or have an attitude. He just went into his own little world mentally and let me have my way.
“Alright, ladies. I think I’ve got everything I need,” I said.
“Me too,” Taj agreed. “Serenity, did you want to look in any other stores?”
Serenity’s head shook as she smiled. Her belly was round and sticking out and so stinking cute. My girl was glowing, and I loved that for her. We didn’t talk daily, but when we did, I asked about how the pregnancy was treating her. This morning, she said it was going well and that Kaos was taking amazing care of her and the baby.
“I’m good. I’m ready to get home and relax. These heels got my feet screaming for a massage.”
I looked down at her feet absently and chuckled. She looked so cute in her white sweater dress and heels.
“Okay, we can head out then,” I advised, turning so we could head in the opposite direction for the exit.
“Oh, wait! There’s one more thing we need to look at, remember?” Taj reminded Serenity, gripping her arm.
“Hmm? O-oh yes! You’re right. T-the thing at the… the… yes!”
I wasn’t sure if Serenity’s baby brain had her forgetting what the hell they were supposed to be doing and she was trying to cover it up, or if she was horrible at keeping a secret. Either way, I followed them down the escalator toward a vacant store in the mall.
“One of you opening a new business?” I asked curiously.
“Well, I am, but this ain’t for that,” Serenity said. “I’m looking at buildings for my staffing company. Right now, I’m home based until I find the right one. Hopefully I’ll find it before the baby gets here.”
“Aww I’m sure you wi—” My encouragement cut off immediately when I looked into the vacant store. It had been rented out… by my man.
