"Relax ma," Dave said as he helped Naala out of the car. "It's just dinner," He said holding onto her hand and squeezing lightly. "If you start to feel some type of way remember, it's us against the world," He muttered kissing her lips.

"I know, us against the world," Naala mumbled opening Sinai's door so she could jump out, "I don't even feel comfortable bringing 'Nai here," She said leaning down to fix Sinai's dress,

"Chill Love, I'm right here," Dave assured grabbing Sinai's free hand to guide them to the door. Before he could even knock the door flew open, Topaz stood in the doorway with a light smirk.

"If it isn't my dear little sister," She laughed stepping to the side to let them in, "Oh and a new man. What happened to Darnell's fine ass,"

Naala gritted her teeth and stepped into the house. Dave followed behind with a mug, he didn't understand why her sister was already starting to fuck with her.

"You can't speak," Topaz said to Dave looking him up and down,

Dave didn't even bother to respond, he gave her a head nod and followed behind Naala.

"Daddy?" Naala called out through the house, "Where is he? I'm ready to leave already," She muttered holding onto Sinai.

"Miani," Jacob's loud voice sounded through the dining room, "Come here," He said with his arms open, pulling her into a big hug. Naala let go of Sinai's hand and wrapped her arms around her dad tightly,

"I missed you old man," She said as they pulled away,

"Old?" He questioned, "If I was old would I be able to do this?" He said before scooping Sinai up and spinning her around,

"My grand baby is getting so big," Jacob said tickling her,

"Stop Paw Paw," Sinai squealed trying to wriggle out of his grip. Jacob laughed and set her down,

"My man," He said to Dave dapping him up, "How you been son?" Jacob asked Dave,

"I'm been good, you're daughters been keeping me sweet," Dave smirked, causing Naala to laugh,

"You don't have to say that," She said looking around, "Is Zuri here yet?" She asked her Dad,

"Yeah she's through there with your mom," Jacob said making Naala roll her eyes, "The men are in the game room son, let's leave the women to it," Jacob said before leading Dave off with him. Before Dave walked off, he pulled Naala into him,

"Be calm," He reminded her before kissing her cheek. Naala nodded and took Sinai's hand walking towards the kitchen.

"Lala," Zuri said loudly, drawing attention to Naala walking into the kitchen. Monica turned around and put her hand on her hip,

"The prodigal child returns," Monica said with attitude, "Sinai why's your hair all over place?" She said looking Sinai up and down.

"Don't start mom," Azure said as she saw Naala's face frown up.

"I don't care Zuri," Naala shrugged, "Go and find your daddy baby," Naala said to Sinai who took off running.

"I heard you broke up with Darnell," Monica said looking over her shoulder at Naala,

"I did," Naala said blankly, she didn't understand how that was any of her business,

"And now you are back with the same man that knocked you up and left you high and dry," Monica laughed, "You've always been dense Lala," She commented,

"I'm not even going to reply to that, I came here to see what my dad wants to tell us," Naala spoke uninterestedly,

"Well it's the truth isn't?" Topaz added, Naala turned her neck towards her and burst into laughter,

"And where's your baby daddy?" Naala asked tilting her head, "The last I heard is he stole all your money and dipped on your ass,"

"We split up actually," Topaz said getting embarrassed,

"Right," Naala chuckled, "That's not what I heard," She shrugged,

"My daughter doesn't need a man to make her feel important," Monica added pulling the chicken out of the oven. It was dry as hell from where Naala was sitting.

"Who said that?" Naala said, "I never mentioned anything about a man making her feel important, clearly that's what you think of her," Naala added,

"Listen here little girl --" Monica said stepping towards Naala,

"Mom enough!" Azure shouted, "You are a grown woman behaving like a child, grow up," Azure said sitting back in her seat,

Just as she said that Jacob came into the kitchen, Dave in tow. "Is the food ready Mon?" He asked his wife, she planted a fake smile on her face and turned around,

"All done," She smiled,

"Girls help your mom set the table," Jacob said to the girls. Naala looked at him like he had 3 heads, Dave walked over and put his arm over her shoulder and squeezed her arm slightly,

"Just do it," He said quietly because he knew she was about to say something. Naala huffed and got up following behind her sister's to set the table.

Everyone sat around the table trying to stomach the awful meal. Monica had many talents and traits however cooking is not and would never be one of them. She either over seasons everything or adds no seasoning at all.

Naala picked at the Mac and Cheese feeling like she could be sick any second. Sinai looked over at her mom with a sad face, she hated the food as well. Naala looked down at Sinai and put her own fork down and picked up Sinai's,

"Have some of the vegetables baby," She said putting a bit of the fork and feeding her,

"She's a big girl, you shouldn't be feeding her," Monica said from across the table, watching Naala feed Sinai.

"I will do what I like," Naala replied continuing to feed Sinai. Dave leaned down to Naala and whispered in her ear,

"This food is whack, can you make something when we get home?" He almost begged, he had never tasted something so bad.

"I already thawed some chicken," Naala chuckled, wiping lint off his face.

"Daddy what was the announcement?" Topaz asked sipping on her glass of wine eyeing Naala. She hated that her sister was all boo'd up and her man wanted nothing to do with her.

Jacob cleared his throat and grabbed Monica's hand, Naala raised his eyebrow because they both looked very excited.

"Well we called you all up here because one I never see all my girls in the same place and secondly, me and your mom have decided we are going to try for a baby," He said seriously. Naala had to hold in her laughter, that was the funniest thing she heard all day.

"A baby?" Azure asked making sure she heard correctly,

"Yes, we think a new addition to this family would be perfect," Monica added, smiling happily.

Dave leaned down to Naala's ear once again, "She can still have kids?" He asked quietly,

Naala couldn't hold her laughter in anymore, she burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Everyone looked at her weirdly apart from Dave who just sat there smirking.

"What's funny?" Monica snapped, giving Naala a dirty look, "This is what I mean Jake, she can't take anything seriously,"

"Wait a minute," Naala said recovering from her laughing fit, "What do you mean I can't take anything seriously?"

"Exactly what that means." Monica said rudely, "At least I'm having children with my husband, you're still playing house with a man that left you," She added.

"Now Monica that's enough," Jacob said sternly,

"No Jacob, I'm sick of her, do you know how many women would have left you after you had your bastard? But no, I stuck by you. I've put up with this for too long. I put up with her coming home at 17 pregnant, I put up with her mental illnesses, hell I even walked her ass into the abortion clinic and was gonna spend my well earned money on that abortion. I'm not gonna say this again Jacob, I don't want her crazy ass anywhere near my family,"

Naala just sat there, nothing she heard was out of the ordinary, they got this speech at least twice a week since Naala announced she was pregnant.

"Excuse me?" Dave said with a mug, "Don't talk about my girl like that," He added, then looked over at Jacob, "You gon' let this woman talk to your daughter like that?" He questioned very confused as to how Jacob could sit there and listen to his wife insult his child like that.

"He does it all the time, it's nothing new," Naala spoke quietly, "Congratulations daddy," She said before getting up and leaving the table. The comment about her mental health really hit home for her.

Dave sighed, "That's foul as fuck man," He said, "And even you Azure, you just gon' sit there like everything is sweet?" He asked.

"Don't address her," Derrick said, leaning forward,

"Nigga shut up," Dave said waving him off, "Y'all are all whack for real," He said and picked up Sinai.

"Are we leaving?" Sinai asked in her dad's arms,

"Yeah baby, we're going home," Dave said softly, walking her to the door.

Naala stood outside leaning on Dave's car. When she saw them come out, she sighed, "You can go back in there, I'll stay out here for a bit," Naala said to Dave avoiding eye contact.

"Nah, we're leaving, get in the car," He said to her unlocking the doors. He opened the passenger door for Naala to get in and then put Sinai in her seat and strapped her in.

"We didn't have to leave on my account," Naala mumbled staring out of the window,

"You think I'm gonna stay there and let them speak about you like that?" Dave asked looking over at her, "That's not cool ma, what happened in there was not cool at all." He said shaking his head,

"It's always like that," Naala shrugged, "I've always been the 'bastard', nothing new," She spoke quietly,

"Don't call yourself that," Dave said putting his hand on her thigh,

Naala placed her hand on top of his, "Thank you for standing up for me," She said genuinely, "No ones ever done that,"

Dave looked at her in disbelief, "No ones ever told her she's out of pocket?"

Naala shook her head, "Not when she's having one of her rants. Azure stops her sometimes but as you can see she keeps quiet most of the time,"

Dave shook his head, "I hate that, your sister is meant to be there for you,"

"It is what it is," Naala said, "That's why I didn't want to go, my family have a way of getting me so angry," She said. For once she didn't feel like crying, she felt like punching a wall.

"Don't let them get to you Love, we've come so far," Dave spoke looking at her as they approached a red light. He turned the radio down so she could hear him. "You have come too far to let this shit bring you down. Look in the back seat," He said. Naala looked behind her and saw Sinai drifting off,

"That little girl looks up to you, you're her literal hero. So fuck what they think - she's all that matters,"

Naala sighed, "I don't want to cry Amir," She breathed out,

"It's okay to cry Love, it's natural. I don't want you to hold that in, remember what we said, us against who?"

"The world," Naala finished his sentence, "Please don't leave me," Naala spoke tearfully,

"Where would I go," Dave smirked and pulled off.

They pulled up at the house about 20 minutes later. "I'll give her a bath tonight," Naala said softly as they got out of the car.

"Alright, I'm gonna start the food," Dave said, "Let me cook for a change," He said before Naala could protest.

"Alright I look forward to it," Naala said with a small smile as they walked into the house.

Dave went into their room and changed into a shirt and some shorts before going back down to the kitchen.

Pulling the chicken out and moving over to the sink, he started to wash the chicken throughly. He decided he was gonna make baked chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was now about 9:30pm so he had to be quick.

He peeled some potatoes and put them on the stove. By the time he was putting the chicken up, Sinai was walking into the kitchen.

"You had a good bath?" Dave asked as she walked in,

"Yeah, now I'm hungry," She pouted pulling open the refrigerator door.

"You and your mama are exactly the same," Dave chuckled, "Give me 10 minutes," He said,

"10 minutes?!" She whined, "That's so long daddy,"

Dave raised his eyebrows, "You can wait 10 minutes, I'm not your moms all that whining isn't gonna work with me," He told her firmly,

"Not too much on my baby," Naala said walking into the kitchen, dressed in a oversized tee shirt and biker shorts.

"Your baby is spoilt," Dave said laughing, "You let her get away with everything,"

"Because she's my baby," Naala said hugging Sinai, "My only one," She pouted, squeezing her tightly.

"Not for long," Dave smirked pointing to her stomach, Naala covered Sinai's ears,

"It's too soon for her to find out," She whispered loud enough for him to hear.

"She's gonna know when you're walking around with a swollen belly," He pointed out,

"Okay we have time," Naala said before taking her hands off of Sinai's ears,

"I hate when you do that," Sinai sassed causing her parents to laugh at her,

"Sorry mama," Naala said in between laughs.

10 minutes later the food was finally done and Dave was serving up everyone's plates. Naala eyed up the food,

"This looks so good," She said dancing in her seat a little.

"Call me Chef East," Dave said setting Sinai's plate in front of her and grabbing his own.

"Not too fast let me try it," Naala said before breaking off a piece of the chicken and putting it in her mouth. She chewed slowly trying to get every taste,

"Well?" Dave asked watching her chew on the chicken,

"You won this time," She said rolling her eyes, "This is actually really good," Naala added.

"Do you like it Nai?" Dave asked Sinai who was eating quietly.

"It's better than Nanny Monica's" she smiled, "I didn't like that,"

"I could tell," Dave laughed, "Glad my girls enjoy my food," He said before digging in.

Dave's phone buzzed off the hook the vibrations alerting Naala. His phone was beside her so she picked it up,

"Papa you're phone," She said,

"Answer it," Dave said whilst picking up his drink, Naala nodded and slide the answer bar.

"Hello," She said into the phone. The line was quiet for someone before she heard a feminine voice,

"Who's this?" The unknown female said. Naala drew the phone from her ear and checked the caller id, the number was not saved.

"You're calling my boyfriend's phone so who are you?" Naala said calmly,

"He knows who I am," The female replied. Naala laughed,

"I'm sure he does but I want to know who you are," Dave looked at her and furrowed his eyebrows, she returned the same confused look.

"Bi- just tell him it's Charity," Charity said before hanging up the phone on Naala. Naala put the phone down and picked her fork back up,

"Who was it?" Dave asked looking at her,

"She said her name was Chastity or something like that," Naala shrugged continuing to eat her food.

"Charity?" Dave asked,

"I don't know Amir why don't I call her back and ask her name," She said shooting him a look.

"That's the lady from the store," Sinai said remembering the woman that introduced herself.

"Why've you got an attitude?" Dave asked Naala with a confused look on his face,

"I've not got an attitude, I'm eating my food," Naala said giving him a look, "You said it's the woman from the store Nai Nai?" Naala asked her,

Sinai nodded, "Yes mommy, she's said I was pretty and she had your favourite chips,"

"That's sweet," Naala said staring at Dave. Dave just looked away suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore, he knew Naala had a problem.

They continued their meal in silence apart from Sinai's questions. She was at the stage where she always wanted to know everything.

When they were done Sinai asked to watch a movie with the both of them so they were all cuddled up on the couch. That didn't last long because 20 minutes into Princess and the Frog, Sinai was knocked out.

All that could be heard was the sound of the tv and Sinai's light snores. Both Naala and Dave sat in silence not speaking to each other once. Dave was the first to break the silence,

"Are you angry at me or something?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Why would I be angry?" Naala said softly, "You didn't do anything to me,"

"There's clearly something wrong Love," Dave spoke now turning his body to her.

"It's nothing," She assured keeping her eyes on the tv.

"Alright," Dave said getting up, "I'm gonna put Sinai to bed,"

"Cool," Naala said, "I'm going to bed," She said also getting up and going to their bedroom.

After Dave put Sinai to bed he walked into their room where Naala laid in the bed with her back to the door. Dave got into the bed and got comfortable,

"I just find it funny how a random girl is calling your phone like you guys are cool," Naala mentioned turning over,

"I thought there was no problem," Dave said looking at her.

"I lied," She stated bluntly, "Who is she?" Naala asked.

"She's not important," Dave said pulling Naala into him,

"No Amir, who is she? I know you," Naala said with a serious look on her face.

"She's just someone I used to fuck with in LA," Dave said bluntly.

"So y'all used to fuck?" Naala spoke, "You've got to be kidding me," She laughed sitting up.

"What Love?" Dave said sitting up as well.

"So if my ex called me you wouldn't have a problem?" Naala said tilting her head,

"What would he be calling you for?" Dave said frowning,

"Exactly so why does she think she can call you?" Naala asked, "That's the million dollar question, bitches only get comfortable when you let them," She said shaking her head.

"Naala I literally saw her for the first time today," Dave explained, "I haven't seen her in almost a year" Dave said honestly.

Naala didn't respond, "I'm telling the truth Lala, I don't even have her number saved and I don't plan on saving it. She was clingy as hell. I've only got my eyes set on you." Dave spoke honestly, he wasn't about to mess up his family over a hoe.

"I believe you but she needs to know her place Amir, I'm not looking stupid behind you," Naala warned,

"You won't," Dave said rubbing on her ass,

"Uhn Uhn, you on pussy prohibition," Naala spoke before turning over, "Goodnight Papa," She said before closing her eyes.

"What the fuck," Dave said to himself, "Are you serious Naala," Dave asked leaning up so he could see her face,

"As a heart attack," Naala giggled, "There's lotion in the bathroom but don't use my good shit," She added.

Dave huffed and turned over dragging the covers with him.

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