Must Be Fate [COMPLETE]

Stronger.

"What do you mean?" Sharice looks at me with pleading eyes.

I can't lie to her. I have to say something.

She gives me a confused look, then shakes her head.

"Baby-" I start before she cuts me off.

"Don't you fucking baby me. You're doing it again. I warned you, Malik, why do you want-"

"It was my ex!" I blurt out interrupting her.

"What?" She whispers.

"It was Mariah who pushed you. She took a key off one of the housekeepers and came into my place. Mason saw her on the security camera footage."

She sat quietly for a second before speaking, "How long have you known?" She lowers her eyes from me.

"The night I came home. I didn't want to upset you with it. When the police came to the hospital to ask question Mason, they ended up closing the case calling it an accident because we didn't know at that time. My father's in contact with a detective. He gave him the new information but when he went to Thomas' for a meeting, and casually brought Mariah up in conversation, her mother said she'd taken her daughter on vacation. He didn't press the issue because he didn't want to seem suspicious." I sang like a canary.

"So, where is she now?"

"Mason told me she just got back into town. I don't think she knows that we know it was her."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I sigh deeply and sit down on her bed. "I was afraid. It's all my fault you were hurt. If I would've never brought you here-"
She cuts me off with her finger to my lips.

"Malik, you haven't talked to this woman in years, right?"

"Yes, baby, I swear to God."

"Then how can you blame yourself for someone else's actions? You didn't know what she was capable of."

"But... because of my past...our baby-" I cry, no longer holding in my pain. It hurt.

Sharice gave me everything I asked of her, she stayed by my side and she was carrying my child. Mariah stole that from us.

She wraps her arms around me. I try to hold her as gently as possible.

"You can't carry that burden, it's not your fault. If anything, I shouldn't have walk-"

"No! You should've been safe in my home." I stop her. It's nowhere near her fault.

She sighs, "It just wasn't our time, Malik." She rubs her hands up and down my back to comfort me as we cry in each other's arms.

"It's okay. It was a part of us that we lost, but we'll be okay. We won't let this loss tear us apart, but make us stronger." She says wiping her tears away. "I love you, and you promised you'd give me as many babies as it takes." She giggles through her tears.

I look her in the eyes and see nothing but sincerity.

"Tu es ma Reine." (You are my Queen.) kiss her lips. I haven't kissed her in 3 weeks. I missed her so much.

"Marry me, Sharice"