Page 11 of The Prodigy 2: Rise of a Queen

“No, I’ma tell you how it sounds. It sounds like…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “It sounds like you’re still that lonely, dirty girl from high school.”

“Hold up. What?”

Her eyes were sad. “You finally got a taste of the good life. You got the bad boy and the pretty clothes, and it’s making you lose all your good sense.”

I tried to think of a response, but I couldn’t come up with anything. It bothered me, because it made me wonder if there was something to that.

High school washard. Being an outcast wasbrutal. I was never the girl who got chose, or complimented, or even noticed in the hallways. But now…things were different. In the best way.

So yeah, maybe she was right. Because there was no other explanation for me still being here after the way this whole marriage started.

“I get it,” she said. “You look good. Your husband looks good. This apartment is everything. But you need to figure out if all that is worth losing your soul.”

I chuckled. “That’s not dramatic at all.”

“I’m serious, Malika. I'm worried. This thing isn’t gonna end well. And you know it.”

“Do we really have to go to this?” I yelled from the closet.

“We don’thaveto do shit. Iwannago.”

“Why?”

Jakari walked in wearing just his boxers. I tried not to stare, but damn, my man was fine as hell. That face. That toned body. All of it was mine. I was married to it.

Hell, yeah, it was worth it.

“It’s a family dinner,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to keep the family tight.”

Or maybe it wasn't worth it. Sitting at Gab’s table knowing what I knew wasnotmy idea of a good time.

“Jakari. It’s not your responsibility. You’re not the parent.”

“Nah, but I’m in charge.”

“Even after what you told me? Abouther?”

“I’m going, Malika. You ridin’? Yes, or no?”

“Fine. I just wish you didn’t have such a heavy burden on you.”

A thick silence hung between us, and it made me uncomfortable. Something was off with him, I could tell, but once again, he refused to talk to me about it.

How do you get a man to open up? Damn, I wish I knew. He was home now, so yay for that, but I didn’t have all of him. He was holding something back, I knew it. It was so frustrating.

Maybe I could finesse the truth out of him. Jaz was my mentor in that regard, but I hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to try her method. Maybe I would practice tonight.

He was quiet on the ride over, too, all attention on the road. He never looked at me once, even though I was looking really good tonight. No compliments. No anything.

We hadn’t had sex in a few days, something else that was adding to my frustration. Because sex with him was so amazing, word to Rihanna. I missed it.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway at Gab’s house, my heart started pounding. How I was supposed to sit at that woman’s dinner table, knowing what I knew, was beyond me.

But sit there, I did.

The whole family was there, plus Joe, Milo, Jaz’s boyfriend’s manager, and Aubrey, Nay’s baby mama.

It was interesting…Gab and Jakari weren’t talking. They barely even looked at each other. In my mind, I pictured them having a big blowup about him moving out. I wished I could have been there to see her not get her way for once. That would have been more delicious than this dinner.

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