CHAPTER 12

 

Terry looked stunning that evening as she stood in front of the mirror, putting her makeup on. Malik couldn’t help but wonder what he did to deserve such a beautiful woman in his life.

“What’s the occasion?” he asked, gently removing her hair from her neck, leaning in to kiss it. She froze, her lips thinning into a disapproving expression.

“You’re going to make my perfume wear off,” she said calmly, pushing him away. She checked the mirror to reposition her hair. “And I’m just going out with my girls.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Really now? You’ve been spending most of your evening’s with those girls for months now.”

“What are you implying?” she asked, not bothering to turn to him, her voice still calm.

“Nothing, I’m just saying.”

“I have to do something while you’re away, Malik. I be bored in the house alone.”

“I understand,” he smiled bitterly, knowing she was right. It wasn’t right of him to leave her alone all the time. He just had so much shit to handle and it didn’t leave much time to take her out like he wanted. “Well, have fun. I’ll be home by morning.”

“Where are you going?”

“Someone’s gotta bring in the cash,” he replied as he walked out of their room.

He didn’t like the fact that she was spending so much time with her slutty ass friends. He had met them and he was sure as hell they weren’t right for her. They were exactly the type of bitches he hated in school – living off of their parents’ money, thinking they were better than everyone else and switching men like panties.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t noticed the coldness she always displayed when he tried touching her. The annoyed looks she cast him whenever he talked. Even worse, he didn’t notice the marks her new lover left on her body. They were well hidden under her clothes, but that was nothing but proof of how often he touched her.

Malik got into his Mercedes and drove away. Let her go out for as long as she wanted, he thought. He had more important things to worry about. Such as finding out who the fuck was messing with his business.

For almost a year, they had been breaking into his houses and killing his men like they were pigs sent to slaughter. Shit was getting serious. Almost no one wanted to work with him anymore, for fear of being brutally murdered.

He stopped at the red light, yawning. A 2Pac song came up on the radio and he turned up the volume. As he listened to the lyrics he made an oath to himself. He was going to catch whoever dared to mess with his shit and personally break off his fucking neck.

Malik was so busy focusing on what he would do once he caught the men responsible for his drop in business, that he didn’t notice Terry powdering her nose in the taxi right next to him. As soon as the light turned green, they separated again, both heading to handle some business.

~~~~

They were alone in the hotel room. The same hotel room their affair began in and the same one they continued it in. The same room Brandon used to fuck Terry senseless, all the while forcing useful information out of her. The same room he made untrue promises of loyalty and affection as he plotted and made moves to tear down his brothers empire.

Although the bits and pieces of information she fed him helped, she was beginning to lose her usefulness. She has been up under him so often with her legs spread that she wasn’t home enough to hear any details from Malik about his business.

That was when he decided that he didn’t need her anymore. Not for information, at least. In fact, he came to realize that outside of fucking, she was just in the way. Basically, she was starting to piss him off.

Like tonight. He was supposed to be watching a house in the city that he suspected was where Malik had moved his headquarters. Instead, he was stuck in the hotel with her. He didn’t even know why he accepted her invitation. Of course you do. It was your dick that made the decision.

“Tonight’s get together was kind of unplanned, don’t you think?” he asked, circling the glass of wine he held as he fixed her with a hard look.

“Well, I didn’t know how to tell you,” she smiled, fidgeting in her chair. “And I wanted it to be to your face instead of over the phone.” It was plain to see that she was making a conscious effort to look comfortable.

“Tell me what?” he asked, already expecting the worst.

“I’m pregnant.”

Silence.

The words still echoed in his ears, the voice getting sharper each time it played in his mind. Louder and sharper until he couldn’t take it anymore and he crushed the glass in his hand. The shards pierced his skin and small drops of blood mixed with the wine as it fell on the clean table cloth.

“What did you say?”

She didn’t seem too bothered by his reaction. On the contrary, she looked rather happy. Did she even notice the glass shattering in his hand?

“I said I’m pregnant,” she repeated, the smile on her face growing wider. “Aren’t you happy? You’re gonna be a daddy!”

It sounded so stupid. Brandon Baker, father of a child that was created while fucking his brother’s woman. It was so stupid in fact that the only reaction he had was to burst into laughter. He threw his head back and let out a loud peal. A maniacal sound that seemed more of a howl than a laugh. And it frightened her.

“How do you even know it’s mine?” he asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

“You're the only one I’ve had sex with these past months,” she said, simply. “Malik has been too busy with his work. You already know this Brandon.”

“You told me you were on the pill,” Brandon accused, angrily.

“I know, but I stopped taking them,” she said softly. “I thought...”

“You fuckin’ bitch,” he snapped, cutting her off. “You really thought it would’ve been a good idea? Ya really thought I would’ve been happy about this, huh?”

“I just—”

“I just… I just…” he mocked her. “You just what? You thought I wanted a kid with you? After a few months of fucking? Dumb ass whore,” he said, shaking his head in disgust.

Terry was shaking. The happiness she felt just a few minutes ago turned into despair, and the despair into anger. Her fist violently met the table, the glass shards clinking softly at the impact.

“You fucking bastard!” she yelled. “You fucking low life coward!”

She reached for the wine bottle and aimed it at his head, but he was faster. He grabbed her wrist, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh as he took the bottle and threw it away.

“I hate you!” she shouted, and spit in his face.

He felt the liquid dripping from his face. With a calm motion, he took a napkin and wiped it off as if it had been nothing. He then yanked her close to him and shoved it into her mouth.

“Get the fuck out of my room,” he hissed through his teeth, forcing her back. He then pulled her towards the door and threw her out as if she had only been a rag.

All the air left her lungs in a painful whoosh as she hit the wall behind her in the hallway. The heel of her shoe broke and she fell to the floor. She covered her face and began to sob uncontrollably.

Brandon was standing in the doorway, staring at her with an amused look on his face.

“Can’t wait to see how you deal with this shit,” he laughed, examining the cuts on his hand. “I imagine my bro won’t be so happy about this.”

Terry didn’t say anything.

“Can you imagine?” he continued. He loved twisting the knife in the wound. “He saw you as some fuckin’ goddess fallen from the Heavens to earth. And what are you? Just a dirty whore who cheated on him with his own brother. And guess what? You’ll be the only one held accountable for it.”

And, with one last chuckle, he went back inside his room, locking the door behind him. After seeing to his hand, he made sure everything was in order before he left. When he opened the door to leave, she was nowhere to be found.

~~~~

Terry looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, black lines of eyeliner were smeared on her cheeks. Her hair was a fucking mess. It was sticking up in every direction and making her look like a crazy woman.

She stared into her reflection’s eyes and saw… nothing. She was numb. She couldn’t feel anything anymore. It was like she had been sedated. No, that was not the right word. Zombie worked better for her situation. She was a zombie. A shadow of the woman she was just a few hours ago.

Taking a deep breath, she washed her face, cleaning every trace of makeup off her skin before applying a fresh layer. She had to look as if nothing happened when she got back home. She couldn’t let Malik suspect anything.

She’d made up her mind about her situation. She was going to tell Malik that she was pregnant with his child and hope he would be too excited to realize that it was technically impossible. Especially since they hadn’t had sex in months except for that one night a couple of months ago when he came home half drunk. Although the whole ordeal was over before it started, she hoped it would be enough to convince him.

Luckily for her, there was no one home when she arrived. Now she could take a few more minutes to gather together her thoughts. An hour had passed by when she finally heard the door open. Instantly her heart started racing.

“Babe?” she heard Maliks’ voice from downstairs. “You home?”

She ran down the stairs and threw herself in his arms. He hugged her back, a mix of surprise and worry on his face.

“Baby, what happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, alarmed.

She looked up at him, cupping his face and planting a soft kiss on his lips before telling him.

“You’re gonna be a father.”

His eyes widened, but his expression was totally different from his brother’s when the same words were spoken to him. He looked genuinely happy and she breathed out in relief. He bought it.

“Are you serious?” he asked, a big grin on his handsome face. “How… When did you… Oh, god, this is so great!”

“This morning. I felt kinda bad, so I suspected something like this. Well, I went to buy a pregnancy test and it came out positive! Aren’t you excited?”

“I am!” he exclaimed, kissing her over and over again. He gently rubbed her belly, looking at her with tears in his eyes. “I’m gonna be a daddy! Me! Ma’s gonna go crazy when I tell her. We should throw a party and invite her and my bro too.”

“No!” she shrieked. “I mean,” she coughed, fixing her voice. “You really think that would be a good idea? Your brother is a cop, after all. I don’t trust him enough to be around your buddies without causing trouble.”

Malik nodded, agreeing with her. It might make his boys nervous.

“You’re right. I’ll just invite my mom then, how’s that?”

“Better,” she smiled. “Much better.”