Beautiful Liar

Chapter 26

-Bahja's POV-

I stood awkwardly in front of Zoey, cursing myself out for coming here. I knew in the back in my mind that this was a mistake but I couldn't fight it. I had to see him. I missed him and so did Dakotya. I couldn't wait until he went back on the road; I needed to talk to him now. He needed to understand that and I was intent on making him do so. I thought after he leaned down and kissed me he understood that I needed him and that he needed me. However, these good feelings were cut short when Nique came downstairs and ruined it all and to add insult to injury, two other people showed up at the front door.

"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," I heard her say from the door. I quickly realized that these were Nique's parents and from the look on Zoey's face, he was obviously uncomfortable with this whole situation. As Zoey's in-laws walked into the room, Dakoya decided to start throwing a fit. I patted her back and told her to 'shh' quietly, but it was no use. She had caught sight of Zoey and immediately wanted who in her mind was 'daddy'. Zonnique's mother looked me up and down and raised her eyebrow a bit. Clearly she had noticed Dakoya reaction to Zoey.

"Who is this?" she asked politely. I swallowed the knot in my throat and switched Dakoya to my other hip as I stared at the older woman.

"Um...I'm Bahja," I answered softly.

"And she was just leaving," Zonnique interrupted through gritted teeth. Her mother ignored her.

"Bahja, eh? What you doing here? I could almost see Phil break out into a sweat.

"Tiny, she must be a friend of Nique and Zoey's duhhhhh. Ain't You," Her husband responded with a small laugh before continuing her interrogation.

"Of course. I'm so fucking slow. Are you here for Brielle's birthday party? I don't think we've met you before. Are you a new friend of the family?"

I quickly stole a glance at Zoey before answering, "I came to see Zoey." Tip eyes scrunched together and Tiny looked even more puzzled.

"Why the hell would you come see my daughter's husband?" Tip asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's my, uh, road manager..." Zoey answered quickly, trailing off at the end. Zonnique's eyes watered up slightly and she shook her head at him.

"Really? You lied to me and now you're lying to my parents, too?" Zonnique piped up.

"Nique, don't start this now. We can talk about it later."

"Why are you talking about a 'lie', NiqueNique?" her dad asked.

"Bahja is Zoey's hoe," Nique said quietly, a tear streaming down her face. Zoey looked as though he was heartbroken seeing his wife cry. Her parents were looking as though they were ready to kill him.

"You knew this? You were O.K with this asshole cheating on you?"

"Of course I wasn't O.K with it, Mom. I found out, we were ready to get divorced and then he told me things between them were over. We stopped the divorce proceedings because I thought he was being truthful but now I see that he wasn't because he just lied for her. Again." Zoey reached out to her but she moved back. "Don't touch me, Zoey." More tears fell from her eyes.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" A small voice asked. All heads turned towards the kitchen and her son Jayden was standing there in the doorway, holding his sister's hand. I swallowed the knot in my throat as I looked at his kids. Nique wiped at her eyes quickly.

"I'm fine, baby," she whispered at her son.

"Are you sure? Why are you crying?" their daughter asked in a soft voice. Nique nodded and the kids went over to their mother and hugged her legs.

Her father looked at Zoey disgusted. "You're fucking worthless, Zoey," he hissed at his son in law. "I always knew you were no fucking good to my little angel". Phil hung his head down a bit and nodded his head.

"I'm sorry, Nique," He mumbled quietly before turning to me. "Go get your car started. I'll be out in a few." I switched Myia to my other hip and did as I was told. While walking out, I tried to keep the sly smirk off my face. Finally, he's mine.

. . .

I watched as Zoey paced in front of me while rocking Dakotya back to sleep. The drive to my hotel was quiet and uncomfortable but I still felt joy; I had gotten my man. I settled Dakotya down on the bed so she could continue her slumber and turned my attention back to Zoey. He looked so upset. I knew he was probably upset because he had to leave his own kid's birthday party, but I needed him.

"Are you alright, babe?" I questioned quietly. He turned to me, bit his lip and took a seat in the desk chair in front of me.

"Bahja, you're a great girl. But I can't be with you. I'm in love with Nique; that's why I married her," He said softly, staring down at me. My heart felt like it had just been split in two. I shook my head.

"You don't mean that. You love me, too. If you didn't you wouldn't have kissed me today and you wouldn't have walked out on your family."

"I made a mistake. Sure, I love you, Bahja. I have a special place for you in my heart but I'm not in love with you. If anything, it's mostly lust." My eyes quickly clouded with tears. Did he really just bring me here to tell this? Slowly, I rose from my feet and walked over to him. I settled into his lap and rested my head against his chest.

"I know you're in love with me, Zo. Please, don't leave me. I need you. Dakotya needs you. We depend on you for everything," I sobbed into his chest.

Zoey sighed, "I'll take care of you guys for the first few months but you have to get a job, Bahja. You didn't go to college for nothing. Make some use of that degree." I continued crying.

"But what about Dakotya? She needs a father in her life!"

"I suggest you call Prodigy and tell him the truth. He probably won't be mad." Zoey lifted me off his lap and set me down on the bed. He brushed my hair out of my eyes and looked down at me. "I'm sorry for leading you on like this." He crushed his lips against mine and wrapped his arms around me. We pulled away from the kiss but stayed in that position for a moment or two.

"I love you, Zoey," I sniffled through my tears. He nodded.

"I know." He wiped at my face and kissed my cheek. Then, he leaned over gave Dakotya a kiss on her forehead. Zoey gave me one last apologetic smile before turning his back and walking out the door. Leaving me alone. Forever.