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I locked my gaze on Manny as he sat back and relaxed in his chair. He was dressed in full black, as he normally is, and had a beanie hat on his head. I'm curious if he ever wears colourful clothing.

With a disgusted expression on my face, I looked at him. "What exactly are you doing here?"

He cocked his head to the side and fixed his gaze on me. "How come you didn't follow instructions? I told you to meet me at my crib, but you didn't show up. When I tell you to do something, you do it, darling."

I gave him a sly smirk. "I was planning on coming after I finished my dinner. Are you okay with that?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his gun, which he placed on the table. "No, that's not going to work for me. I'll use this shit on you if you don't come to my crib in 15 minutes."

With a surprised expression on my face, I gazed at him. "Are you serious? You expect me to arrive at your place in 15 minutes? I literally just got here. This guy and I haven't really had a chance to get to know each other fully yet."

With a puzzled expression on his face, he stared at me. "This guy? Who is this guy?"

I gave him a slight chuckle. "Why do you want to know? It isn't your concern."

He also gave me a soft chuckle. "Because you are my business, and it is my right to know who this lovely man is."

I gave him a shake of my head. "I'm not going to tell you who it is, so you might as well stop asking."

He began to look around the restaurant. "Well, darling, if I were him, I would have taken you to a nicer restaurant than this one."

I began laughing hysterically at him. "It sounds like you're envious of him."

With a smirk on his face, he said. "No, I'm not envious."

I had to stop myself from saying anything else to Manny. Our food was eventually delivered by the waitress. The waitress looked at Manny, perplexed, and I know the waitress wondering why there's another man sitting here with me, which I couldn't explain.

The food was placed on the table by the waitress. "Your food has arrived. Please enjoy your meal. Please let me know if you require any assistance; I will be happy to assist."

Manny smiled. "I appreciate you bringing me such delicious food."

The waitress walked back into the restaurant. Manny stuffed a napkin into his shirt and reached for a folk and a knife. I know he's not going to eat Trevante food. He's obviously lost his mind. He should have called the waitress back and placed a separate order for himself.

I grabbed the fork and knife from his grasp. "What in the world are you doing? You can't just eat off other people's plates. You could have ordered your own food."

He gave me a blank stare before shrugging his shoulders. "Fine. I'm just going to use my fingers."

He tore a piece of Trevante food and placed it in his mouth. He was chewing very dramatically because he knew how much that had irritated me. Why would you dig your dirty ass fingers into someone's plate? I'm sure he has blood on his fingers from killing people on a daily basis.

With a sickened expression on my face, I looked at him. "Why would you put your dirty hands in someone else's plate? That is literally disgusting."

He started licking his fingers. "Yo, this lamb is delicious. Please pass me some sauce."

I sighed vehemently. "Ok. I'll be at your place in 15 minutes if you'll just leave from the damn table."

He stood up from the table, grabbed the napkin, and wiped his lips. "Dinner was delicious, mama, and I have a surprise waiting for you at the crib. You'll be astounded."

He kissed me on the side of my check and lightly patted me on the shoulder after that. Did he just say a surprise? Should I be ecstatic or terrified? Because he could be talking about a completely different surprise. Trevante returned to the table after around 6 minutes. With a puzzled expression on his face, he sat down and stared at his plate.

I laughed awkwardly at him. "Please accept my heartfelt apologies. I just couldn't stop myself. I was extremely interested in trying your meal because it appeared to be very tasty."

He sat down and motioned me away. "It's fine. I'm not bothered in the least. I'm sorry I had to abandon you in such a manner. That phone call was important."

I gave him a wry grin. "No, that's ok. I understand how important it was to you. I'm not complaining in the least."

We both grabbed our forks and started eating. I'm not going to lie, the food is delicious. We both ate our food until it was all gone. We both took out our napkins and wiped our mouths. We sipped our drinks and smiled at each other.

He started yanking on his chin hair. "Do you have any children?"

I looked at him as if he were insane. "Hell no, I don't have kids and I'm not planning on having any anytime soon. Children are extremely troubling."

He burst out laughing at what I said. "That's good because when we get together, we'll be able to have our own kids."

I smirked at him and rolled my eyes. "Yeah ok. Who said I'd ever have children with you?"

He bit his lips and looked at me with a puzzled expression. "So you're not going to have my kids? I understand how you feel."

I began to laugh uncontrollably. "I'm only kidding. If we ever get to that point, I might just give you a child."

With a smirk on his face, he said. "I'm sure you would. I'd like you to have my son."

I began choking on my spit. "First and foremost, I want to have a girl. Second, before we discuss children, you must first put a ring on my finger."

He gave a soft chuckle. "I'm fine with that. Before you arrived in Los Angeles. What were you doing in Harlem?"

I let out a sigh. "I was in school to become a doctor, but because I've been working for Manny, I can't go online and do my online classes, and I can't even study. That was my dream, and I can't even accomplish it because of the circumstances I'm in. I'm sure my mother will be upset when she finds out I haven't been to class in a few days."

He gently took my hand in his and held it there. "Listen, just because you're in this situation doesn't mean you should abandon your dreams. You can still be the doctor that you want to be. You simply cannot give up on your dreams so easily. You can't let him put a stop to your dreams in that way. Lil mama, you have to be more powerful than him."

I'm not sure why, but when he said what he said, I was taken aback. I started to cry a little, but he's correct. Because I'm in a difficult situation, I shouldn't give up so easy. I smiled at him as I wiped away my tears.

I kept wiping away my tears. "I understand, and I appreciate your reassuring me that I can achieve my goals. That means a great deal to me."

He pressed both of his hands against my cheeks. "I'll be there for you every step of the way. I know you'll be able to do this since you're a brilliant woman. I also want to add that I want to be with you and that I can see myself spending the rest of my life with you. I'm quite aware that you're not like the other women I've dealt with. If you believe we are moving too quickly, I understand."

My hand was placed on his hand. "No, we're not moving too quickly. We're headed in the correct direction. I also want to be with you since you're such a caring, loving, and supportive man."

We exchanged glances before he placed his soft lips on mine. He kissed me slowly and passionately. The more we kissed, the weaker my knees became. For about 10 seconds, we kissed each other. Then he let go from the kiss and looked me in the eyes with a smile.

My red lipstick was all over his lips when I looked at him. I wiped it away with my thumb. "I'm so sorry. My lipstick has smeared all over your mouth. That was not my intention."

He wiped his lip with his finger and discovered that I had left lipstick on his lip. "No, you're good. I really enjoy having your lips on mine."

I began to blushed. I checked my phone and saw that 15 minutes had passed since I was supposed to be at Manny's. I quickly rummaged through my purse and threw out a tip. I stood up from the table and straightened myself up.

Trevante received a bear hug from me. "I need to get somewhere, and it's very important. I'm overjoyed and grateful that you took me to this lovely restaurant. This date means a lot to me because it shows how much you care about me. I truly appreciate it."

He hugged me back, but he gripped my booty as well. "I'm glad that you like it, lil mama. I had so much fun with you, and I hope we can do it again soon."

I encircled his neck with my arms and kissed him on the lips. "We can absolutely do it. Simply inform me of the time and day, and I will be there."

So sexily, he bit down on his bottom lip. "Ok, bet. I will make certain that I do so."

We exchanged one more hug before saying our goodbyes. I strolled up to my car and climbed inside. I started the car and headed over to Manny's house.

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Manny was outside, resting against his car, smoking weed when I arrived at his crib. I parked my car, exited, and walked over to Manny. I looked around and saw nothing that surprised me, so I'm curious as to why he brought me here. He smoked his weed till he was completely out. He threw aside his last piece of blunt and finally gave me his whole attention.

I drew my arms together and began tapping my feet. "Can you tell me about the surprise you mentioned? Don't tell me you dragged me here for no reason."

He wore a sinister grin on his face. "Oh, darling, the surprise is inside the house."

With a unsure look on my face, I gazed at him. He came up behind me and covered my eyes with his hands. He strolled alongside me as I walked inside gently. We seemed to be going around in circles. I'm beginning to believe I came here for nothing. I felt as if I had been walking for five minutes. My stomach began to ache when we eventually came to a complete stop.

He took his hands away from my eyes. "Surprise, darling."

What I saw astounded me. I couldn't find the words to say anything because I was mute. I couldn't even blink my eye or move. Manny tied Jada in the chair and taped her mouth shut. She had been crying all day, you could tell. Manny sat down on the couch with the gun in his hand when I looked at him. He was smirking, as if this was a joke.

When I looked at Jada, she burst into tears even more. "Manny, why is she tied up? What exactly did she do? Can you please let her go?"

He started messing around with his gun. "If I let her go, she'll go to the cops and tell them you killed her boyfriend, and you'll be locked up for life, mama. I couldn't let her hurt you like that."

My heart felt like it had exploded. "How could she have known I did that? Nobody was present when that occurred."

He stood up and moved over to me, using his pinky to push my hair out of my face. "Darling, the streets are speaking. You can now kill her, or if it's too difficult for you, I'll do it for you. It's entirely up to you.

At this point, I began to cry. "You forced me to murder her boyfriend. I didn't want to do it in the first place since I knew it would result in something like this. It's entirely your fault."

He started laughing in a sinister manner. "Do you honestly believe I care if it's my fault or not? You are a drug dealer as well as an assassin. It is your responsibility. Now, if you let her go, she'll snitch on you, and you can count on it."

My eyes welled up and tears streamed down my cheeks. "I can't murder her. Manny, she doesn't need to be involved in this."

He approached Jada and yanked the tape from her mouth. "Aren't you going to call the cops and tell them what happened? Speak the truth."

She couldn't even speak because she was sobbing so hard. "I swear I'm not going to tell on her. Please just let me go. I'm not going to tell the cops anything."

He replaced the tape over her mouth. "She's lying, mama. We let her walk out the door, she's going to the cops right away. One of my men overheard her going to the police station to inform them on you. Fortunately, we catch her just in time. Now, as I previously stated, I will kill her or you can. It's your call."

I frustratedly raked my fingers through my hair. "Manny, I can't just kill her and move on with my life. I've only just met her and she's a very kind person. I'm confident she won't tell anyone. We'll probably be able to work something out."

He had an angry expression on his face as he looked at me. He approached me and grabbed my jaw firmly. "There is no such thing as us being able to work something out. That's not how this shit works. Now, if you don't hurry up and make a decision. I'll handle it myself."

I started crying uncontrollably. I had completely messed up my make-up at this point. "Please, Manny, I beg you, please let her go. She doesn't deserve it. I swear I won't let her tell anyone. I swear I'm not going to let her go to the cops. Simply untie her and release her."

He had an angry expression on his face as he looked at me. "Do you really believe you have control over this? You really think I'll listen to you and let her go? So you clearly want to rot in jail? It doesn't matter what you say or what she says; she'll tell the cops what you did. Get out of your feelings, darling, because your feelings don't matter in this game."

I was still sobbing uncontrollably. "Please, Manny, let her go. She is innocent."

For a few seconds, he kept a straight face at me. He quickly drew his gun and shot Jada in the head. Jada's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell so quickly. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I dashed over to her and hugged her. When I ripped the tape from her mouth, you could tell she was trying to speak but couldn't.

I began rocking her back and forth, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, Jada. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to involve you. Please wake up and communicate with me. This was not something I intended to happen. It's not my fault, I swear it's not my fault. I apologize."

She closed her eyes and stopped breathing at this point. When I looked at her, I burst into tears. I can't believe I dragged her into this. If only I had left her alone and stopped being her friend, she'd be alive right now. I continued to rock her while crying my eyes out. This is entirely my fault. Manny snatched me by the shoulders and yanked me to my feet.

He pushed my hair out of my face with his pinky. "I want you to go home, clean up, and rest. I know this was difficult for you, darling. Regardless of what you say, she was going to turn you in to the police, and we couldn't let that happen."

I couldn't even speak to Manny because I was so disgusted. I took my belongings and the keys and exited Manny's house without saying anything to him. When I looked down at my dress, Jada's blood was all over it. I started crying all over again. This appears to be a nightmare from which I am unable to awaken. I climbed into my car and drove home in silence.

It took me a few minutes to get to the house. I got out of the car and stumbled into the house. I noticed Rubi in the kitchen preparing some food. She looked up at me as I shut the door. Her smile had faded from her face. She rushed up to me and began grabbing my face.

She began to feel all over me. "Are you all right?" Did you sustain any injuries? What happened? There's a lot of blood on your dress. Let's get it off."

I stopped her from touching all over me. I'm not sure if I should tell her because if I do, she might look at me differently, she might not love me as much, or she might even hate me. I decided to tell her because there's no reason to keep secrets any longer.

I started to cry a little. "Ruby, I'm alright. Something dreadful has occurred, and it is entirely my fault."

She wore a troubled expression on her face. "What exactly do you mean? "What the hell is going on?"

I slide all the way to the floor by leaning on the door. "Remember when Jada claimed her boyfriend was murdered by someone? I killed her boyfriend. Manny compelled me to kill him even though I didn't want to. He was going to murder me if I didn't do it. I suppose she found out I killed him and was about to snitch on me to the police."

Her face was etched with a wow look. "Did Manny really have you kill that girl's boyfriend? He's such a vile individual. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Angel. But, if this not your blood on your dress, who is it?"

I began crying after covering my face with both hands. "It's Jada blood. Manny killed her after she found out about me killing her boyfriend, and I believe one of Manny's men saw her walking to the police station. I swear to you Rubi, none of this was my intention. I begged him not to kill her, but he still did. Please don't pity me because of this. I'm so sorry."

Rubi sat down next to me on the floor and hugged me. "How can I hate you if I know this isn't the real you?" I know you wouldn't murder anyone. I know you're being forced to do these heinous things because your life, mine, and our mother's lives are at stake. I can't believe she's gone, but I know it's not your fault. We'll get out of this, just like you said."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at Rubi. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Rubi."

She returned my hug. "I love you as well. Let's get you out of this bloody dress and clean you up. I know you need to rest."

She helped me up and walked me upstairs slowly. I can't wait to get into my bed and wash all of this blood off of me. I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight after what I just witnessed. I'm hoping I got a good night's sleep for tonight.

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Hello, everyone. Because of Jada's death, I'm sure some of you are shocked. Some of you are undoubtedly wondering why she died so early. However, I hope you appreciate this chapter and that you are not bored by it. For each chapter, I'm attempting to make it extremely exciting. Leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter 💕

Love, Red ❤️