I remember a few ppl asking for a Kania pov at the beginning of this book so here y'all go 🫶🏾
Ch 𝟷𝟿:
Mother's Day
____
5:30pm
ONE WEEK LATER
𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗, 𝚃𝚇
"I'm actually trynna fuck with you, Nia. Like on everything I love you're the only girl I'm even considering talking to." Kania rolled her eyes at the tired line she'd heard a least a million times as she chewed on her french fry. Jovion sat across the table from her, watching as Nia stared at him blankly.
Kania had messed with enough boys to be able to detect an ain't-shit nigga instantly. She knew all the overused sentences, the tricks they thought she was oblivious to, the overheard lies — growing up with 3 brothers gave her that insight too.
But when it came to Jovion? It was harder to call him out on his bullshit because they were both wrapped around each other's fingers. Kania had met Jovion towards the end of her senior year of high school. He had just transferred to Westwood from Chicago and was already one of the finest boys in her graduating class by far.
He also seemed very out the way which was the complete opposite of every other boy she messed with in the past. Nia had a known habit of choosing boys who were either going to traumatize her, fuck up her life, or both.
As soon as they started getting close and the idea of an actual relationship became a reality for the both of them, Jovion was offered a football scholarship at Ohio State University. They were gonna go from seeing each other everyday, in and out of school, to being almost 19 hours away from each other.
The transition didn't sit right with either of them but they couldn't help the way the world worked. As soon as college rolled around, the Facetime calls and texts went from everyday to brief check-ins every few weeks.
Nia didn't try to fight the inevitable anymore and she wasn't going to fight for someone who had clearly moved on with their life. Did it hurt like hell? Definitely. But growing up as the only girl in a house full of men taught her to grow some thicker skin and roll with whatever obstacles she endured.
But now here Jovion is, popping up on her at Texas Roadhouse and casually announcing that he's moving back down to Texas after being fed up with the several racist encounters he's had with the coaches at Ohio State. A small part of Jovion had hoped Nia would wait for him; but that thought was laughable to her because that was the last thing she had in mind.
Kania definitely had a different mindset now than she did in high school. She was a young black woman who had her entire life ahead of her. She was exploring her options and accepting the outcomes as they came. At this point, any boy that wasn't with her lifestyle choices would be holding her back and she didn't need nor want that.
In an attempt to distract herself from Jovion's heartbreak, she'd go on dates with whatever boy peaked her interest. But the date would almost always end with one of her brothers dragging her or the boy out of the restaurant.
Her brothers had a no tolerance policy for creeps or boys who had no interest in actually pursuing Nia. And as much as Kania asked them to stop popping up on her dates, they didn't.
Their excuse was that they just wanted to keep her safe, given everything that happened in the past, but Nia called bullshit on that. She knew they were just trying to be nosy and wanted her to stay a kid forever even though she'd grown into a beautiful young woman — and a lot of men would agree with that too.
"It's been what? 3 years, Jovion? What do you expect me to say to that?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him.
Jovion shrugged in response. "You been waiting for me?"
"Absolutely not."
Jovion's eyebrows raised. Not really surprised with her answer, but surprised with her attitude about it. It seems like she adapted her brothers' bluntness over the years.
"You talking to someone?" He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. Nia noticed the way his biceps looked broader and the abundance of tattoos he had trailing up both of his dark arms.
"Maybe, maybe not." She cleared her throat.
"How man-"
"Does this look like a speed date to you, Jovi?" Nia rolled her eyes, accidentally using his family nickname. She didn't like how he was questioning her about her love life but hadn't mentioned anything about his.
Jovion chuckled at her attitude, subconsciously licking his plump lips. He was probably the only guy that could actually keep up with Nia's mouth. She was as humble as they came; but growing up with three brothers and a dad that gave her everything they could made her very spoiled. It also made her standards high as hell.
"As mouthy as I left you huh?" He smirked, causing the dimples to dent his cheeks.
Nia pursed her lips to the side and looked away from Jovion's dark-skinned face, glancing around the half-empty eatery. Utensils clanked against plates as the sound of chatter and low-volume music filled the restaurant. Nia's eyes scanned her surroundings before she jumped, feeling someone's hand on her shoulder.
"Well." The deep voice of her oldest brother was instantly recognizable.
You gotta be fucking kidding me, Nia thought to herself as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and found Jovion staring above her head with a nonchalant expression gracing his face.
"The fuck we got here?" Nia jumped in her seat and turned around at the sound of Samiron's voice. Unexpectedly, both of her older brothers were standing right behind her.
"Both of y'all? Really?" She glared at them. Both Samiron and Zion stared back at their little sister blankly, completely ignoring the anger that was practically rolling off of her in waves.
"We been calling you. You know what today is." Zion spoke up first. She knew today was Mother's Day and she wouldn't miss their annual grave visit for the world. She just wanted some time to herself before heading to the graveyard to meet them there.
"You don't think I know that?" Nia raised her voice slightly, but quickly lowered it when she saw people glancing over at the table. Most of them were women who were openly ogling both Samiron and Zion with lust clear in their eyes.
"Chill out." Samiron looked down at Nia, watching her sink in her seat. "Who's this nigga?" He jerked his chin towards Jovion, keeping his eyes on his sister.
"You don't gotta speak about me like I'm not sitting right here." Jovion cut in before Nia could respond.
She mentally palmed her face, silently asking him to shut the fuck up. Zion had already met the boy when Nia brought him home one day when they were still in high school. But Mir on the other hand was locked up when he first came into her life. Nia feared for Jovion. If he thought Zion, her dad, or even her twin were bad, he wouldn't be able to handle Samiron, who in her opinion, was the craziest out of all of them.
Samiron chuckled, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip before speaking. "You got the attitude of a bitch."
Jovion sat up from his slouching position, ready to snap back at him. "You got 30 seconds, Ni. We'll be at the door." Samiron spoke, not bothering to hear what the boy had to say. He followed Zion towards the entrance after giving the boy a distasteful once-over with his eyes.
Nia watched her brothers with her eyes. When they were a good distance away, she turned towards Jovion again. "You must have a death wish or something Jovion."
"Even if he is your brother, you think I was gonna let dude speak to me like that?" He squinted at her, his Chicago accent more prominent now that he was heated.
Nia rolled her eyes. "You met Zion, but Samiron was in jail for first degree murder on manslaughter charges at the time." She gritted through her teeth, trying not to draw too much attention to them. The last thing she needed was for Jovion to get into with Samiron because he thought they were on the same level. She needed him to understand that Samiron didn't give a fuck.
Jovion furrowed his eyebrows. "That's him?" He questioned and Kania nodded in response. She told Jovion when she first met him that one of her brothers was incarcerated, he just didn't know for what exactly.
"Yes.. I love him with my whole heart, but he's fucking crazy sometimes, especially over the people he loves. So don't push his buttons please. I'm telling you this for your own well-being." Nia warned, closing her 13" Macbook Air and sliding it into her Marc Jacobs Jacquard Tote Bag.
Hastily, Nia stacked her empty plates up and stood up from the table, having already paid her check. Jovion stood up as well, walking around the table to stand in front of her. She avoided looking at his face at all costs and instead stared at the door where both of her brothers stood, watching her cautiously.
"Where do we go from here?" Jovion asked, stepping in her brothers' line of sight and bringing her attention to his face.
Kania sighed, her shoulders dropping. She knew she couldn't just fall back into his arms after all this time no matter how close they were before he went to college. They were grown now and she needed to know what kind of person he's turned into, and if some kind of relationship was even worth considering at this point.
"Don't know." She mumbled with a shrug.
Jovion breathed out a sigh as he stared down at Nia. "Your number still the same?"
He watched her nod hesitantly. "I'ma text you."
"Jov-"
"And you better answer too, shorty." He looked at her expectantly, already knowing what kind of games Nia likes to play. She rolled her eyes but eventually nodded in response. Before she could register what Jovion was doing, he leaned down and gave her a swift kiss on the corner of her lips.
"Wha-" Nia blurted in disbelief. Seeing the ghost of a smirk on Jovions face confirmed that he'd done it just to grind her brothers' gears.
"Asshole." She mumbled to herself, making him chuckle as he dropped back into the chair.
Nia picked up the strap of her tote bag and hooked it on her shoulder. Glancing above Jovion's head, she found Samiron and Zion staring at her with irritated expressions on their faces, obviously having seen the innocent kiss.
She avoided Jovion's eyes completely as she walked away from the table and towards the door but she could still feel his heavy gaze. Her brothers started walking out of the restaurant as she neared them.
Walking across the parking lot and reaching Zion's black Range Rover, Samiron slid into the passenger seat while Zion got behind the wheel. Kania sighed to herself, opening up the back door and sliding in. She placed her tote next to her on the black leather seats before holding her hands in her lap. After glancing at his sister in the mirror, Zion began backing out of the parking lot, keeping Stick Talk by Future at an appropriately low volume.
"Might fuck around and shoot both of his kneecaps out if he keeps acting like a bitch." Samiron spoke as he rested his elbow on the window, runnings his finger over his bottom lip.
Zion broke out in a laugh. "You're the only nigga I know to sit in a penitentiary for three years on a murder charge and still joke about shooting people."
"Who said I was joking?" Samiron retorted, earning a chuckle from his older brother. Nia scoffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't find anything funny about how over protective her brothers were.
Zion briefly glanced in the rear view mirror just in time to see Nia rolling her eyes. "You know what momma used to tell us, keep rollin' your eyes and I'll roll them shits on the floor."
"Oh shut up." She spoke, rolling her eyes again and making sure to look into the rearview mirror as she did. Zion stuck his middle finger up at her in response.
"Can't be mad at us for trying to protect you from fuck niggas." Samiron shrugged.
Kania huffed out an irritated breath. "Protect me from fuck niggas? That's hilarious really. You two were the definition of fuck niggas before y'all went and fell in love."
"Who?"
"I just know her lil' ass lyin'."
"Zion you literally cheated on Mayah with some broad you met at a club! And to make matters worse, you two already shared a whole child at the time. And Samiron, you used to go through females like you were in a marathon before you met Mari. Not to mention you dogging them out when they attempted to try for a relationship with you." Nia snapped.
If they felt like she was prone to dealing with ain't-shit niggas, it's because she was familiar with their ways. Her brothers, specifically the older two, were the first ain't-shit niggas she's encountered.
"Aight' now, Kania. First off, I didn't go through bitches like you're trying to make it seem. I had three specific females I would fuck and that would be it. You sittin' up here talking about me like I would go on the corner and sell my dick to everyone or something." Samiron turned around and furrowed his eyebrows at his sister before facing foward again.
"And I never dogged no one out. If I didn't want a relationship, they weren't getting one. Do you not remember what happened when I gave one of those bitches a chance at a relationship? The hoe cheated on me with my homeboy and got pregnant by him."
"Whatever." Kania mumbled, staring out of the window as Zion sped down the freeway.
"And don't be bringing up that bitch," Zion spoke up, referring to the girl he cheated on Mayah with. "Mayah moved on, I moved on and learned my lesson. We're good. I'm a family man now."
Samiron chuckled, turning to slap his brother on the shoulder. "Gonna be a daycare owner soon with the way you and Mayah been pushing these kids out."
Zion shrugged Samiron's hand off, glancing over at him with a shady look on his face. "Two kids, and one on the way. How the fuck is that a daycare?"
"All of that is besides the point. Y'all are too invested in my love life— fuck love life, any boy that shows the slightest interest in me! I'm grown, one of these days y'all gotta learn that." Nia frowned. She genuinely felt like she was going to die single and alone if her brothers kept coddling her the way they are now.
"Like Samiron said, you can't be mad at us for trying to protect you. We don't want to deal with another Syeed.." Zion sighed, glancing over at Samiron and making slight eye contact with him, a silent understanding passing between the two.
Kania ran her tongue along her bottom teeth as Zion's words echoed in her head. She hated even the brief mention of the boy's name. But what she didn't know was that Samiron had put $500k on Syeed's head when he first got locked up after finding out from Zion that he was still trying to come back into Nia's life.
Samiron knew he wasn't going to let his sister's rapist live much longer anyway, he was just waiting on the perfect time to set it all up. So Rell and Eli shot Syeed's mother first, the woman who swore up and down her son wasn't a rapist and Nia was just lying, and shot Syeed a week later; burning both of their bodies after they were done.
Zion was in on all of it and made sure Nia never found out. If she ever asked, they would tell her the truth because they never spared her. But both brothers knew Nia hasn't even muttered Syeed's name since the day he raped her all those years ago.
Nia dropped her eyes. "I understand that. But not every boy is him, and I'm not a stupid girl. Like I know when a nigga isn't for me."
"We know." Zion replied, making her roll her eyes again.
Samiron cleared his throat, his eyes trained on the window. "Who was ole boy in there though?"
"Her ex." Zion answered for her. Samiron turned to look at his sister with raised eyebrows.
"He can't be my ex if we never dated, Zy."
"So you were just fuckin' with him or what?" Samiron inquired. Before Nia could even answer, he turned around again and looked at her with wide eyes. "Speaking of fucking, you're a virgin right?"
"You have to be kidding me." Nia mumbled to herself, rubbing her temple exasperatedly. When she didn't reply, Samiron turned around and started cussing at no one in particular.
* * *
"Mama look! I made for you at sch-ol." Sani smiled as he stood next to his mother's desk in her office.
Mari tore her eyes away from her pink iMac to smile down at her son. She turned in her rolling chair, taking the paper he was holding out to her, and read it to herself.
Mari poked her bottom lip out in awe as she looked over the paper again. "Aw! Thank you so much baby. You're so sweet." She cooed, making him flash her a cheeky smile.
"Me and Ms. Cole make it with paint. We put it on our hands." Sani exclaimed, holding up his palm as a demonstration.
"I can see that," Mari nodded in approval as she glanced down at the construction paper again, "It looks so good. I really appreciate it, baby boy."
"You welcome." He shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
Mari turned away from Sani briefly to shuffle through one of her desk drawers. Once she found the pack of Command Strips she was looking for, she tore two out and stuck it to the back of Sani's artwork.
He watched with a smile on his face as his mother stuck the paper to the wall right behind her desk where a few of his other school art projects were also hung on display. The colorful pieces of paper clashed against the beige and black theme Mari had going on in her office, but she could care less.
"Now everyone who comes in here can admire my baby's art skills." Mari clasped her hands together, turning towards her son and mirroring his smile. Sani walked between her legs and hugged her waist as Mari leaned down and wrapped her arms around his back.
Sani pulled away slightly to look up at Mari. "I stay here while you work?" He asked.
"Yea. Your iPad is on the table over there. You just. gotta get your charger from the living room before it dies." She motioned with her head to the other side of her desk where two small loveseats sat adjacent to one another. Sani's iPad Pro sat on the glass side table between them.
Sani nodded and quickly pulled away from his mother's arms to run out of the office. Mari let out a little breath, leaning back in her desk chair as she stared at the door he walked out of.
The entrance to her office sat on the right when you first walked through the front door. In her line of sight, sitting at the bottom of the spiral steps, were all the Mother's Day gifts Savior had dropped off this morning before going to work.
Three shopping bags from Chanel, Bottega Veneta and Dolce & Gabbana sat next to a large bouquet of yellow and pink roses on the floor. The Return To Tiffany Heart Tag Necklace he'd bought her from Tiffany & Co sat upstairs in her bedroom in it's teal box on the dresser next to the round-cut Swarovski tennis bracelet that he'd also bought her which paired perfectly together.
Mari couldn't help but admire the thought Savior put into his gifts. Every time he brought up the idea of buying her a Mother's Day gift, Mari always told him that he isn't obligated to buy her anything, but he still did.
Pushing her chair towards her desk, Mari picked her phone up and went straight to her and Savior's iMessage thread.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Savior ❤️
Today 3:23pm
Thank you for the gifts again baby
I love themm 💕💕
You're welcome baby & happy
mother's day again ❤️
I'ma be over there after work
Thank you!
And okayy
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Setting her phone back down, Mari turned her attention towards the door again when she heard the sound of small feet pattering against the hardwood floor outside of her office.
"I find it, mommy." Sani held up the charger in his hand as he made his way towards the couches in front of Mari's desk. "It was under couch."
"Okay baby. Just make sure the volume is low so mommy can focus."
Sani nodded as he got comfortable on the black couch, sitting on his side with the iPad on the couch in front of him. Mari lowered her eyes to her computer screen, picking up where she left off with the payroll she was trying to finish.
An hour into her work session, Mari was still far from done with her work. She huffed out an annoyed breath before glancing behind the screen to find Sani curled up on the couch asleep with his iPad still playing an episode of Paw Patrol.
A knock on the door prompted Mari to quietly get up from her chair, being careful not to wake Sani up since he's a light sleeper. She shook the cramp out of her leg as she walked to the front door. Opening it, she found a young woman standing on her porch with what looked like three large bouquets of baby blue roses in her arms. She was dressed in dark blue jeans, and a white t-shirt that had a small bouquet logo in the corn.
"Are you Ms. Browne?" The young woman asks, adjusting the bouquets in her arms.
Mari pinched her eyebrows together, her eyes dropping to the roses before looking back up at the caucasian girl. "Uh, who's asking?"
"This is for you." She held out the flowers.
Mari stared at her a little longer before reaching out and taking the flowers from her arms, not trying to make her hold them any longer. "You sure you got the right house?"
"Yes ma'am." She nodded assuringly before pushing her honey blonde hair her behind her ear. "Let me go get the rest."
"The rest?" Mari asked herself, seeing as the girl had already started walking back to the white truck with the huge "Fisher Florist" logo on the side.
Mari pushed the front door open wider with her back, letting the girl carry the flowers into the house, to the round glass table that sat in front of the door. "There is fine." Mari nodded as the girl set four more bouquets down and turned to her.
"Can I ask you who these are from? Cause I don't remember ordering any flowers." Mari asked as she walked over to the table and set the bouquets she was still holding on top of the pile.
Taking a step back, she stared at the pile of 10 baby blue rose bouquets before looking back at the girl. "I'm not sure but there should be a card in one of the bouquets. The sender had the option to write their name on there or leave it anonymous."
"Okay.. thank you." Mari gave her a smile which the girl returned before making her way out the front door. Locking the door behind her, Mari turned around and put her hands on her hips as she admired the pastel blue roses on her table. She'd never seen roses dyed that color and they were beautiful.
"Ooh. What that?" Sani's little voice spoke as he walked into the foyer from the office, scratching his eyes with the back of his hands.
"Someone sent me all these roses." Mari replied, running her hand over the pile. Sani walked over and inspected the flowers.
"Daddy." He spoke, making her look down at him.
"What about daddy?"
"This da." Sani pointed at a small white card buried between two roses.
Mari held the card between her fingers and saw the name "Mir" signed in a black cursive font at the bottom which she recognized to be his hand writing. She assumed that's where Sani had read the name from. Mari chuckled at Samiron's little note at the top before starting to read the handwritten card aloud since Sani was staring at her impatiently.
"You've always strived to be the best mother you could be and I admire you every day for that. For the way you smile and hold our son like your world revolves around him," Mari spoke, looking down and chuckling to herself when she saw how Sani's eyes lit up, "I can't thank you enough for giving me the best gift in the world — our son. So happy mother's day again." She finished, smiling to herself.
"Nice." Sani spoke, not knowing what to say since he couldn't really understand half of what his mother had just read.
Mari laughed at him. The sound of knocking on the front door made her turn around. "Daddy?" Sani questioned, looking up at his mom to see her shrug in response.
She opened the front door and Samiron stood there just as Sani expected. Mari's eyes dropped to the abundance of designer bags that sat next to his legs on the floor and she narrowed them in confusion.
"Hi da!" Sani smiled, moving around Mari's body to hug his dad's legs. Samiron chuckled and bent down to kiss the top of his head. "What's up, Sani?"
"What's all this?" Mari tore her eyes away from the bags to look up at Samiron's piercing brown eyes as he stood up from his crouching position.
"They yours." Mir scratch the side of his face before shrugging. He glanced down to see Sani already started moving the bags into the house.
"Mine?" Mari raised her eyebrows, stepping aside slightly to let Samiron carry two of the bags he'd picked up into the house. "All this?" She questioned.
"Yea shorty." He chuckled at Mari's disbelieved facial expression as he walked passed her, setting the last bag down next to the rest of the ones Sani had placed.
"You thought I wasn't gonna get you anything?" He asked, running his tongue over his bottom lip as he stared at her.
Mari shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know." She spoke genuinely. She wasn't sure what type of terms they were on since his argument with Savior a week ago. She knew Samiron wasn't the type to redirect blame, but she was still the root of their argument so she wasn't sure how he felt.
"Why wouldn't I get my son's mother something for Mother's Day? That's fucked." Samiron furrowed his eyebrows.
"But this...this is a lot." Her eyes skimmed over the designer bags again before looking up at him, giving him a slight smile. "Thank you though. I appreciate it."
"Of course." Mir spoke, unable to contain his own smile. He didn't know how Mari would react to him showing up here given they haven't really had a real conversation since he and Savior got into it. He was just glad she wasn't acting even more indifferent towards him because their relationship is already damaged as is.
"Mama need to open daddy gifs' now." Sani butted in while peeking through the bags.
"Oh do I?" Mari chuckled along with Samiron. Their son nodded in response before picking up two bags and carrying them into the living room.
"You heard my son." Samiron playfully shrugged, bending down to pick up three bags.
Mari rolled her eyes, making him chuckle under his breath. Picking up the last two bags, she followed the boys into the living room. The trio set all of the bags on the floor in front of the couches before Mari took a seat on the couch adjacent to Samiron. Sani was clearly ecstatic as he took a seat on his dad's lap, patiently waiting for Mari to open her gifts.
"Do 'dat one first mama." Kasani pointed at the bright orange Louis Vuitton bag.
Mari nodded and pulled the bag towards her. She slid a matching orange box out and placed it on her lap. As she opened it, her mouth dropped open to find a black OnTheGo Tote Monogram bag. "You must be able to read minds or something." She commented as she spun the bag around by the handle, inspecting it in awe. She's always wanted one in black but could never get her hands on it.
Samiron shrugged cockily, watching Mari with a smile on his face. For as long as he's known her, Mari has always had a thing for black designer handbags. She has her fair share of colored bags, but a shelf in the handbag portion of her walk-in closet is dedicated to solely black designer bags.
Mari continued to smile like a kid on Christmas morning as she went through her gifts. She didn't even want to think about how much money Samiron had spent, given the fact that the first bag she opened was already well over $3k. A pair of Chloé Betty Rain Boots, black Lanvin Curb Sneakers, a Lanvin x Gallery Dept. Tote Bag, matching MX Sand Grey Foam Runners for her and Sani, as well as some Cardinal Red 3's for both of them sat on the fluffy off-white carpet after Mari was done unboxing everything.
"Wow." Mari couldn't help but say aloud as she stared at everything. She couldn't believe he really went out and bought her all this.
"This a lot, mommy. Your closet not fit." Sani spoke from the floor where he was now seated, trying on his new Foam Runners.
Mari and Samiron both laughed at him before redirecting their attention to one another. Mari sighed, unable to wipe the smile off her face. "Thank you again. I love everything."
Samiron licked his lips, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk as he stared at her. "You're welcome. Like I said on that card, I can't thank you enough for being an amazing mom to our son. Happy Mother's Day, beautiful."
Mari gave him a shy smile, trying to ignore him calling her "beautiful," and stood up from the couch in sync with him. Samiron held his arms out and Mari complied, allowing him to engulf her in a hug and letting the scent of her Victoria's Secret Tease perfume invade his nostrils. Mari wrapped her arms around him before eventually, much to his dismay, pulling away from each other.
Samiron stared down at Mari who had suddenly went shy on him. He rarely sees her like this. Even when they first started messing around, Mari was always straightforward when it came to how she felt and what she wanted. Now she was acting like a little school girl, and Samiron couldn't say he didn't feel a little bit of pride being able to be the one to bring that side out of her.
Sani craned his neck back to stare up at his parents as a smile graced his face. He loved seeing his parents affectionate towards one another because he doesn't remember a time where they were ever like that, seeing as his dad went to prison shorty after his first birthday.
"What else did you get today?" Samiron cleared his throat, trying to break the sudden silence.
"Money, jewelry, food — just a bunch of stuff." Mari said and Samiron nodded approvingly. She didn't go into the specifics because she's gotten so many gifts today that she really couldn't keep up at this point. Her family always made sure to treat Mother's Day like it was her second birthday.
Duck and Eli had stopped by earlier to give Mari a cookie cake with "Happy Mother's Day" frosted on it and a stack of $10,000 that they, as well as Tasia, Mayah, Rell and Zion, had all contributed to. Aijah had to go all out on her own and got Mari a navy blue Christain Dior Saddle Handbag with a matching Dior Saddle Chain Wallet as well as an edible arrangements fruit basket.
"That's what's up. You deserve it ma." Samiron spoke, making her smile at him again. He held her eyes and couldn't help the emotions that washed over him. Sometimes he wished Mari hated him because it would make it easier to move on from her. But whenever she simply smiled at him with that gorgeous face of hers, all his common sense would go out the window.
"The real question is where am I going to put all those flowers." Mari spoke with a chuckle. "You just had to go above and beyond, huh?"
"Of course. You know me." Samiron shrugged like the answer was obvious. He also knew that everyone else liked to get Mari gifts for Mother's Day, and flowers were a common gift. He wanted to be the one to give her flowers that stood out, so he went big and spent over $500 on 10 bouquets of custom-colored roses.
Mari shook her head with a soft smile on her lips before looking down at Kasani. "Mama it fit." He stood up, showing his parents the matching Cardinal Red 3's Samiron had bought him with Mari.
"They look good, baby. You're going to match with mommy huh." Mari spoke as she bent down to start putting boxes back into their designated bags.
"Yes!" Sani exclaimed, making both of his parents smile. Walking around Mari and over to his dad, Sani held his arms up, indicating for Mir to pick him up.
Mir complied, picking him up and holding him on his hip. "What do you tell daddy?" Mari eyed her son knowingly. Sani looked at Samiron and mumbled a quick Thank You before smiling and resting his head on his shoulder.
Checking the time on his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch, Samiron cursed himself mentally. He agreed to meet up at his dad's house with his siblings at 4 o'clock since they had all left the graveyard together and it was nearing 5.
He reluctantly put Sani down on the couch and turned towards Mari who was still putting things back in their packaging. "I gotta go. I was supposed to be at my dad's house a lil' while ago."
Mari nodded and let him say bye to Sani before walking him to the front door. Just as she opened the door, Samiron stepped closer to her, his tall frame practically towering over her.
"Thank you again. I know I keep saying that." Mari chuckled awkwardly as Samiron nodded in response.
"I'm tellin' you, you don't have to thank me." He shrugged, knowing Mari was going to anyways. "But I did want to talk to you about me and your boy last week at my club."
Mari sighed before shaking her head and waving her hand around dismissively. "Listen, y'all both some grown ass men. I understand your argument stemmed from me, but I would appreciate if I just got left out of it. Y'all wanna be hostile towards one another? Cool. I just don't want no parts." She already had a lot going on in her life and her babydaddy and her current man having some type of beef was the last thing she needed right now.
They didn't have to like each other, hell, they didn't even have to get along — she just needed them to not like each other in silence.
Samiron just nodded, kind of regretting even bringing it up bow. "I can respect that."
Mari let out a relieved breath, expecting a little more back and forth with him but she was glad he wasn't fighting her on this. She really wanted no parts of what he and Savior had going on. It would make her life easier if they just stayed cordial — but she wasn't about to make two grown ass men sit down and talk it out their issues like they were having a school mediation.
"I'ma see you soon." Samiron spoke. Mari nodded and he took the opportunity to give her a side hug which was out of the usual for them. She hugged him earlier out of appreciation but they never gave each other "goodbye hugs" and Mari felt like it was strange. She got a whiff of his mens' Dior perfume as she embraced him before pulling away.
Mari looked up at Samiron and he held her captivating gaze, wanting to say so much more but deciding to keep quiet for now. She eventually cleared her throat and looked away from him, their little staring contest making the tension in the room rise too much for her liking. Mari watched him walk down the concrete path to her large driveway and get into his Hellcat. Samiron backed out of the driveway, staring at Mari a little longer before chucking his chin at her and driving off.
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If you didn't see my lil announcement, i quit my job soo ima try to consistently update without anything getting in the way lol
w/c; 6344