Chapter Four

Aries watched Prince dress for work and dreaded what she was about to do. She was tired of lying just to survive. No matter how hard she tried to live her life the right way, wrong had a way of finding her. In order to keep up one lie, she had to tell another lie, and another and another. It was all too much to remember, but at this point there was no turning things around. Aries was so far removed from the truth that not even she knew what it was anymore.

Aries smiled as she watched the love of her life struggle with his tie, and she stood up to help him. Her short silk robe hugged her wide hips as she walked over and reached up to adjust it for him.

“What would I do without you?” he asked playfully as he stood tall while she dressed him. She tied his tie and then grabbed his jacket, holding it out for him so that he could slip his arms inside.

“You’ll never have to think about that,” she replied, hoping that it was true.

“I think I need to go back to the States for a while, Prince,” she said, throwing out the bait.

“For what? You just came back, Rachel. We may as well move back there you’re back and forth so much,” he stated with displeasure.

“It’s my mother. She’s not getting any better, and she needs me. It won’t be too long. The doctor says she won’t live long, and I just want to be there with her. No one should have to die alone, Prince. Besides, I’m her daughter. I just need to go be with her,” Aries said, pleading her case so convincingly that her eyes pooled with emotion. Little did Prince know Aries had been a motherless child since she was a young girl.

Prince sighed as he felt sympathy for his wife. “How long will you be gone?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. As long as it takes,” she responded. “Hopefully she will go peacefully and in a few weeks I’ll be back home. I wish that I could take you with me, but you have work and I don’t want Tre to see her like that.”

“It’s not like she’ll want to see either of us anyway. She never approved of our marriage from the beginning,” Prince stated. “Now you want to go away to her aid without telling me when you will be back. That’s a lot to ask for a woman I’ve never met.”

Aries had told Prince that she and her mother had never seen eye to eye. He was under the impression that her mother disapproved of their relationship. “What type of mother is she? She doesn’t even want to meet your husband and child,” he snapped.

“She’s the only mother I’ve got,” Aries defended. She sighed and wrapped her arms around Prince’s neck and then kissed his neck sensually. “Please, baby. I promise you that after this trip I will be all yours. You and Tre will be my only priority after I handle this last thing.”

Prince couldn’t resist his woman and easily gave in. “Okay. We’ll be here waiting for you. Just make sure you don’t let another man have any of what’s mine,” he said as he put his finger in her mouth and then toyed between her thighs.

She was wet and more than willing to please him, but he was running late. He sighed, knowing that he couldn’t stop to put his woman to bed. He had a very important meeting to get to and pulled away from her. “I’ma handle that when I get home. When do you need to leave?” he asked her.

“As soon as possible. I’ll probably book the first flight leaving out tomorrow morning,” she answered.

Prince shook his head, not really wanting to see her go, and said, “Handle everything that you need to handle, Rachel. I want you home with me and our son. No more trips overseas after this. After you bury your mother, bury all of the baggage that keeps pulling you back there.”

“Okay,” she answered. Aries had no intention of leaving things undone this time around. She was going back for the last time. She was going to make sure of it.