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I gently opened my eyes and stood up, stretching. I looked to the side and found Trevante soundly sleeping. I can't believe we did it so early, and I typically don't do it with someone so early. While he slept, I continued to look at his gorgeous ass. His hands were clasped behind his head. I decided to climb on top of him and grab my phone to take a picture of him. I snapped a photo of him and shared it on Instagram.

😍

I noticed it was 8 o'clock in the evening after I posted the picture, and I also noticed I had several missed calls from Rubi.

I completely forgot about my mother's dinner preparations for us tonight. I leapt to my feet and began putting on my clothing. Trevante was probably awakened by my excessive loudness. With one eye open, he glanced at me.

"Why are you getting dressed fa? I expected you to stay a little longer." In his sleepy deep voice, he said

I was having difficulty putting my pants on. "Remember I told you my mother came to visit, babe? She's making dinner for me and Rubi tonight, and I forgot to bring the food back to the house."

He rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed. "Perhaps I should come over and have dinner with you guys. I'd like to meet my sister-in-law and mother-in-law."

I had finished putting my clothes on. I reached for my keys and purse. "You can't. I'd like that, but Manny is going to be there, and we're pretending to be a thing so my mother doesn't find out anything suspicious. If she does, you know what will happen."

He stood up and changed into his basketball shorts. "Have you still not found the money? I told you I'd help you find the money if you want me to. You could ask me to assist you."

I approached him and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I'll give you a call when I need you. I promise I'll find it, and then it'll be over, and I'll be able to resume my usual life."

He softly chuckled and kissed me on the lips. "Come on, let me walk you out."

He gently took my hand in his and led me to the front door. We spotted Mariah standing at the front door when he opened the door. She was about to knock on the door, as you can tell. She appeared sick and enraged when she spotted Trevante and me.

"Are you still dealing with this hoe, Trevante?" I was under the impression you had gotten rid of her." She remarked, her gaze falling on me.

Trevante drew me in closer. "Why the fuck would I get rid of her? You expected me to get rid of her for you? This my ole lady. You ain't shit to me. I don't wife hoes, fuck outta here."

Trevante said something to her that made me giggle. Her face was puzzled as she stared at me. "What the fuck is so hilarious? I can quickly air you out, so if I were you, I wouldn't be laughing."

I was going to say something when Trevante interrupted me. "Do you believe your threats will frighten someone? You and I both know you're too terrified to call the fucking cops. Why don't you get out of my yard before I backhand your ass?"

I genuinely love the way he defends me. It just has an amazing effect on me. He shoved her out of the way and led me to my vehicle. He opened the door for me, I walked in, and he closed it for me. He rested his arms on the door of my vehicle. When I looked at Mariah, you could tell she's enraged that Trevante cares about me

I decided to be petty and gave Trevante a slow kiss. Our kiss was fierce and juicy. We kissed for a few seconds before he looked at me and bit his lower lip.

He pecks my lip once more. "Lil mama, I'll holla at you later."

I smirked as I looked at Mariah. "All right, baby. I love you."

He cracked a grin. "I love you as well."

Mariah was enraged when she looked at us. "Are you serious, Trevante? You're going to do this right in front of my eyes. I thought you genuinely cared about me."

He burst out laughing. "I didn't tell you to look, so that's your fault. I honestly believe you're insane because I never told you I cared about you or that I loved you. We only had sex once, and that was the end of it. How come you can't see that shawty?"

She began to cry. "But Trevante, I-I love you, and I can't imagine myself with anyone other than you. You can't fall in love with her and then completely forget about me. Please do not harm me in this way."

His brows were pressed together. "This is the last time I'll say this. I don't like you, I don't want to be with you, and I don't care about you. Please make this your final visit to my house, as well as your final act of disrespecting my ole lady. If you ever come upon my property. Respectfully, I swear I will put a bullet in your head."

As he walked passed her, he collided with her. He entered his home and slammed the door behind him.

She wiped her tears away and turned to face me. "What exactly are you looking at?"

As I put my car in reverse, I laughed. "I'm staring at your weak and delusional ass. Don't get furious at me because he wants me more than he wants you."

She was enraged as she glanced at me. "I swear to God, this isn't over for either of you."

I ignored her and exited Trevantes' drive way. I arrived at the house in a hurry. It took me only a few minutes to arrive at the house. When I arrived to the house, I was relieved to see that Manny's vehicle was not present, as I didn't want to see his obnoxious face right now. I parked my car and walked inside, grabbing the groceries from the back seat.

I noticed Rubi and her mother getting ready to cook dinner. They both stared at me with a puzzled expression on their faces.

With her hands on her hips, my mother approached me. "Where were you? I was very concerned about you. You didn't answer any of our calls for several hours. I assumed something terrible had occurred."

I handed the groceries to my mother. "I apologize, Mom. I was snarled in traffic. You are aware that traffic in LA can be extremely congested."

"Girl, you and I both know you weren't stuck in traffic." Rubi said laughing in hushed tones.

I elbowed Rubi in the ribs. My mother began to prepare the food by bringing out pots and pans. Rubi and I assisted her in the preparation of the food. We only had 30 minutes to prepare the food.

I was making plates for everyone when I noticed someone coming through the door. When I looked up, I saw Manny. I was hoping he'd be too preoccupied to come to dinner.

Manny approached me and kissed me from behind. Rubi laughed as I forced a fake smile on my face.

"What are you cooking, mama?" He asked me this while hugging me from behind.

I desperately wanted to yank his head off my neck, but doing so would jeopardize our cover. I just pretended it didn't bother me.

"My mother prepared Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops for us. Please take a seat at the kitchen table." In a sarcastic tone, I said to him.

He grabbed my neck and turned my head to the side. "Did you happen to be with Trevante? On your neck, there's a cologne odor." He inquired quietly.

I didn't even bother to look at him. I continued to fix my plate. "Why are you so worried about my relationship with him? Don't bother with me."

He clenched his jaw. "Alright. Where my money at?"

I made a gesture toward my back pocket. He snatched it and stuffed it inside his pocket. My mother interrupted him as he was going to say something else to me.

"What are you two lovebirds whispering about over there?" As she sat down at the table, my mother remarked, "Come on, let's eat."

Manny followed me over to the kitchen table when I finished fixing my plate. We sat next to one other, and I swear I didn't want to be sitting next to him. We all started eating our meals. I swear I enjoy eating my mother's cooking because it's so delicious. Manny took a bite and immediately began moaning. I rolled my eyes since he enjoys deliberately being dramatic.

Manny uses a napkin to wipe his lips. "Mrs. White, this is absolutely delicious. You had to put your entire foot in this."

Rubi interrupted my mother as she was ready to say anything. "Thanks. You're aware that I assisted her in the preparation of that meal." Rubi stated this with a huge grin on her face.

Rubi got a grin from me as I rolled my eyes. "You know damn well, girl, mommy cooked that all by herself. You couldn't even properly boil a bag of noddles on the stove."

Rubi's face was flushed with embarrassment. "Girl, why in the hell did you say that? First and foremost, you weren't even present, so shut the fuck up."

My mother cut me off just as I was ready to say something to Rubi. "You'd better mind what you say in here. You know how much I despise swear words. Don't cuss around me, no matter how old you are." She then shifted her focus to Manny. "Thank you, Manny, for your compliment. In the kitchen, I give it my all."

He put a big grin on his face. "I'm aware of it. I simply wish you could stay a little longer since I love your food."

No, he want her to stay longer because he want to murder her, and I hope she doesn't because I promise I don't want her engaged in this or to know what I do for Manny because she'll have a heart attack. She already lost my father to the drug business, and I'm sure she doesn't want to lose both of her children to it either.

My mother laughed. "I wish I could stay longer, but I have business to attend to back home. I'm one of New York's most prominent lawyers, and I'm always on the go. Someone could be one of the most powerful doctors in New York, but she hasn't been doing her schoolwork."

Is my mom throwing shade at me? I mean, I would have been doing my school work if someone hadn't been telling me all day and night to kill or sell drugs to people.

I chewed my food slowly. "I promise, Mom, I'll get back to my schoolwork."

She smiled and nodded. She began to devour her meal. "When are you going to make me grandmother? Angel, I'm getting old, and time doesn't seem to be slowing down for anyone."

Rubi and I both started choking on our food. I know she didn't just ask that question. Manny began patting my back and smiling at her.

"We haven't made a decision on that yet. I suggested that we have a daughter. Isn't that right, mama?" Manny said as he rubbed his hands against my thigh.

I stared at him with a straight face, then returned my gaze to my mother with a smile. "Yes, we discussed having children, but I'm not sure when is a good time. I did mention that I would prefer to have a girl first."

My mother sighed and rolled her eyes again. "What are you waiting for? You have a large home here, after all. He has a decent job, and you have money that your father has set aside for you."

"You know I can give you a grandchild mom if she doesn't want to give you one." Rubi stated as she sipped her drink.

My mother had a solemn expression on her face as she stared at Rubi. "Rubi I'm not going to play games with you."

Rubi raised her hands. "All I'm trying to do is help you out."

My mother gave Rubi a sidelong glance and began searching around the house. Because she was staring at something for a second, something caught her eye. She then glanced at me with a puzzled expression.

She got up and started pointing at something. "Hey Angel, where did my favorite vest go?"

Manny and his crew, I recall, smashed pretty much everything. I'm hoping she doesn't inquire about pictures fames or anything else because all of those things have been shattered. Manny had a firm grip on my thigh.

"I changed it because I didn't like it. The design on that vest was hideous." I scratched my chin nervously.

My mother rested her hands on her chest. "Angel, that vest was not hideous. That was my all-time favorite vest." She then turned her gaze to the ground."What exactly is that red stain on the floor?"

Manny's grip on my thigh became extremely tight. I started groaning in agony. I was frantically trying to come up with something to say.

"Mom, I ended up squandering something on the floor. It isn't a major issue." I said, a little uncomfortably.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You should be more cautious. You should know that this floor isn't cheap. It is very expensive, and it must be well maintained."

I jumped to my feet and began grabbing everyone's empty plates. "You know, Mom, it's getting late. I'm sure you're tired from eating that food. It's time to call it a night."

It's best to get her to bed as soon as possible because all of her questions are making me uncomfortable. Lord knows what other questions she might have asked, and one of them might have gotten us caught up.

She started to yawn. "You're absolutely correct. I'm starting to feel a little drained. I should start by cleaning up the kitchen."

I intervened as she attempted to enter the kitchen. "No, you go up to your room. I'll take care of the kitchen."

She shifted her weight onto her shoulder and shrugged. "Ok. Good night, my beautiful babies. I love you. See you in the morning."

Rubi and her made their way upstairs to their room. I put everyone's plate in the sink and started washing them. Manny was sitting at the kitchen counter, staring at me. I turned around after finishing the dishes to give Manny my complete attention because he was staring at me so intently.

"Do you need anything? Because you keep staring at me." With my eyes squinted at him, I said.

He jumped off the kitchen table and massaged his chin. "Actually, I need you to help me with something."

I sucked my teeth. "What do you need right now? I really just sold pills to someone who today came dangerously close to raping me. Could you please give me a break?"

He had a serious expression on his face when he looked at me. "And Spooky handled the guy for you. You will be given a break until you give me my money. Now I need you to go to my warehouse and help Spooky with some money laundering."

With a befuddled expression on my face, I glanced at him. "What the fuck is money laundering?"

"The process of cleaning counterfeit money and converting it into genuine legal cash. Spooky will be waiting for you when you arrive." With a grin on his face, Manny said.

I put my hands on my hips. "I'm trying to figure out why you weren't able to do it."

He jumped off the kitchen counter and approached me. "You're my employee, and that's your job. I'm not going to say it again. Spooky is waiting for you, so proceed darling."

I looked at him for a moment before tossing the dish rag in the sink. I grabbed my keys and jacket and went outside. I got in my car, cranked it up, and drove to his warehouse. It didn't take long to get there.

I noticed a few cars here, which indicates that he has a large staff. I got out of my car and parked it. I turned around as I was about to approach the door when I heard very loud noise something.

I began to approach the commotion. "Hello? Is there anyone there? "

I shrugged my shoulders and proceeded towards the door because I hadn't heard anything else. Just as I was ready to open the door. Someone seemed to have a chokehold on me. I was being dragged away from the door by someone. I began kicking and yelling and I was attempting to free myself from the individual's grasp.

I'm attempting to fend off the attacker. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!"

I was going to scream again when someone covered my lips with their hands. The individual threw me in the van and shut the door behind me. I started pounding on the door.

When I looked back, I noticed that there was another person in the van with me. I stepped away from the individual, who ran over to me and covered my nose with something. I was attempting to push the individual away, but whatever he threw under my nose knocked me out.

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Hello there, guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. I know I said this before, but I can't multitask, I know some of you want a chapter where I speak from Manny's, Rubi's, or Spooky's perspective.

I can only write from one person's perspective. If I make a part 2 of this book, I'll probably do Manny's, Rubi's, or Spooky's point of view. All you have to do now is bear with me. Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed the chapter 💕

Love, Red ❤️