Midnights Lotus.

35 - epilogue,

"Right, you have been raising Jaden for a couple of months now, so you have an idea. It's in your nature Mid; you'll be a great dad." Tiny added her input.

"Yeah, I know, but Jaden is a teen. This is a whole new human coming into the world; my parenting and Koi's parenting determine how our child will be in the future. I just don't want to fuck up, and my daughter somehow feels resentment towards me—" Mid started venting.

"Bro, you got a second chance at life because of Clarence and Minnie; because of them, you're not that fucked up in the head. They were able to instill different aspects and lessons into you even as a teen—just like you're doing right now with Jaden. You not gone fuck up, we all got faith in you Mid; your daughter gone be proud to have you as a dad." Santos interjected.

Mid sat and listened to his friends, slowly nodding his head, intaking the words of encouragement and assurance. A few weeks before shutting down the business, he was given the news that he was indeed the father of the baby that Koi was carrying.

Although Mid tried pushing the news that she was pregnant to the back of his mind until he received his results back from the test, he was rushing to tie up loose ends that would have him and his daughter set for life.

It was apart of the reason why he wanted to leave the street life behind and go legit. He couldn't risk his daughter's life, and Jaden's as well since he now had custody of him.

Mid received custody of Jaden, when his mother decided that she wanted to go to rehab—given the fact that she was using heavily and wanted better for her son. For the time that she would be gone, she signed rights over to Mid to become his legal guardian.

Clarence teased him from time to time, saying that he was always soft; it just took him having his children to raise to realize it. Clarence always knew in the future that his son would leave the game earlier than expected, he was a family man who put his family first, and no amount of money could change that about him. He was following in his footsteps as a father the moment he started to look after Jaden.

Nonetheless, his parents were ecstatic to meet their granddaughter.

"I'm gone, pretend you didn't just low-key call me crazy," Mid said, side-eyeing Santos as he chuckled, throwing his hands up in surrender. "But thanks, y'all, I'm ready to meet her. Besides Jaden, she'll be the only one I'll let bring chaos into my life." he slightly laughed, taking out his phone to check the time.

Lotus sat her phone down on the counter after checking the time, seeing that it was now going on five in the evening. The sound of her slippers sliding across the mahogany wooden tile floor of her apartment.

She reached down to grab Prince, who was attacking her feet as she walked. She rubbed the top of his head, making smooching noises, his ears perking up every time she did.

"You're getting heavy, baby boy; mommy won't be able to pick you up anymore." she cooed at him, putting him back down on the floor.

Lotus grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. She got onto the bed and sat Indian-style, staring with a blank expression. "Maurice, get your ass up," Lotus finally said, watching as Reese slept peacefully.

She saw a smirk form onto his face as he heard her use his government name—which was rare. "I'm up; I'm just resting," he told her, peeking one of his eyes at her. Lotus scoffed and got up from the bed, walking to the communal bathroom.

"You been resting for the last two hours; I let you sleep in because I know you had to get up dumb early for your flight to come here." she flicked the light on and walked over to the shower to run the water.