Soul Ties, page 15
“Daddy will always love me. It’s just that some bad men are trying to take your dad away from us, and he’s focusing all his attention on doing whatever he can to stay with us,” Nina said unconvincingly. “Once all this blows over, our family will be back to normal. Okay, man?” Nina smiled lightly as she kissed Nasim’s forehead. “Come on, let’s get you out and ready for bed.”
After putting Nasim to sleep, Nina took a shower of her own and waited in bed for Yasin to arrive. His new routine consisted of him coming home late and drunk. Nina prayed the trial would be over soon because she didn’t know or like this new Yasin. It was as if she were sleeping beside a stranger every night. They hadn’t had sex in almost two weeks, which was unusual for them. Normally, you couldn’t pay Yasin to keep his hands of Nina. Now, he barely touched her, let alone conversed with her. The only explanation for his weird behavior was another woman. Nina was going to get to the bottom of it because she refused to have her heart broken again.
When Yasin finally entered their bedroom, it was well after midnight. Nina could smell the alcohol on him from the door. Sitting up on their California king-sized bed, Nina was the first to break the silence. “You know your son asked if you still loved him tonight.” Yasin sat on the edge of the bed and removed his Tom Ford loafers. “Then he asked if you loved me.” Nina’s voice cracked.
“You know I love y’all,” Yasin said as he removed his slacks and button-down Ralph Lauren shirt. “I’m handling business.” He slid to the top of the bed and placed his head on the pillow.
Nina looked down at him in disgust. “All day long, Yasin? At this time of the night?”
Sitting up, Yasin gave Nina a serious look. “Listen, Nina, I don’t feel like arguing with you. I deal with enough shit every day. I’m trying to make sure you and my son are good if I go down.” Yasin snatched the covers over his body and flipped onto his side, facing the opposite direction from Nina. “I never hear you nagging when your bougie ass out spending my money on all that Gucci and Prada and those hundred thousand–dollar cars in that driveway. So, can a man get some peace and quiet in his own home? Fuck.”
Nina was taken aback by Yasin’s words. He had never spoken to her in that manner before. She knew at this moment that he was cheating on her. It was like he was a completely different person. And the fragrance of a woman’s perfume lingering on his body did not help his case. Nina decided to let him go to sleep and avoid a fight, but she was going to go through his phone as soon as he was out.
It didn’t take long for Yasin to fall into a deep slumber. Nina grabbed his iPhone and eased out of the bed quietly. She went straight to his messages. An unsaved number caught her attention, and she opened the message thread. Her heart dropped as her suspicions were confirmed.
K: I miss you. I want you inside me.
K: $5,000 Apple Pay Request
K: the door is unlocked. I’m waiting for you.
K: $3,000 Apple Pay Request
K: I love you, Yasin. I want to be with you every day.
Nina let out a forceful breath as she scrolled through the seemingly never-ending message thread. Her worst fears had been confirmed. Dropping the phone, Nina slid down the wall, covering her mouth to conceal her cries. Here she was, engaged to a man who couldn’t be faithful to her.
I could have stayed with Chance for all this shit. At least with Chance, Nina knew she would be happy and loved like only he knew how to love her.
“I’m not putting up with this shit.” All Nina needed was to confirm Yasin’s disloyalty to her. She couldn’t afford to give second chances to anyone anymore. If Yasin stepped out on her when she held him down, helped run his business, and took care of home while raising their child, then he was capable of anything.
Nina reentered their room quietly and went to retrieve her Gucci luggage from the closet. She didn’t care what she grabbed to put into the suitcases. She stuffed clothes into them until they were full. She carefully rolled the luggage out, being sure not to wake Yasin. Entering Nasim’s room, Nina grabbed a couple of his belongings and threw a sleeping Nasim over her shoulder. She was leaving Yasin. She didn’t know where she would go. Her only friend, Miami, lived all the way in New York. She had no family in Atlanta, or even down south for that matter. But she did have enough money to start her life over wherever she desired. That was one thing Yasin did do right by her. He provided for her so well that she didn’t have to touch her own money. She collected her funds while blowing Yasin’s money. However, no amount of money could forfeit her self-worth.
Exiting the mansion she had called home for the last three years, Nina looked at the lavish cars parked along the driveway. She knew she could only take one, so she opted for the black-on-black custom G wagon. It was Yasin’s favorite, and Nina’s pettiness impelled her to take it. Yasin spent hours handwashing and detailing the vehicle himself every other day. He treated the luxury SUV as if it were his most prized possession. The truck probably got more of Yasin’s time than Nina.
For my time wasted, Nina thought incredulously. She safely secured Nasim in his seat and got in the driver’s seat. Her destination was unknown as Nina pulled out of the driveway without looking back. The tears fell as she drove away, but she didn’t bother to wipe them. This pain she had kept bottled up for months had to come out. Nina wanted to put Atlanta far in her rear view. There was only one friend she could call on, and she knew it was a selfish decision, but she hoped she would be welcomed until she figured out her next move.
* * *
A loud banging of the front door woke Chance out of his sleep. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Chance grabbed his Glock as he made his way to the front of his condo. No one ever showed up to his place uninvited, so he figured the person on the other end of the door was an enemy. He looked through the peephole, but it was covered.
“The fuck.” He sighed in irritation as he slowly unlocked his two locks. His gun was the first thing to greet the person on the other side of the door.
“Chance, it’s me,” a regretfully familiar voice called from the other side.
Chance lowered his weapon and looked at the sight before him. Nina stood outside with a sleeping Nasim on her chest and a few bags of luggage at her feet. Her eyes were swollen and red, so he instantly knew she had been crying. Despite it all, the woman before him was as beautiful as he remembered.
“Nina, what are you doing here?” he asked, confused. “Are you okay?”
Nina avoided eye contact with Chance because she knew he would see right through her. No, she was not okay. “Can I come in?” Nina noticed Chance’s hesitation, and she didn’t blame him. It was selfish of her to show up on his doorstep with her problems, but she didn’t know where else to go. Hotels were too risky because that would be the first place Yasin checked.
Despite it all, Nina would always have a safe haven with Chance. Chance stepped aside and let Nina enter. A part of him wanted to turn her away, but there was still love there. He knew she had to be damn near desperate to beseech him for help.
“Baby, who’s that at the door?” Yasmine, Chance’s girlfriend, appeared in the living room with nothing but a robe on. She looked from Nina and Nasim to Chance then back to Nina. “What’s going on?”
Nina recollected a memory from two years ago when she and Yasin took a trip to Miami. They were introduced to a round table of drug dealers that included Chance and Cassidy. The video vixen–looking chick standing before her was the same chick Chance had been with that night. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. Chance, I can really go if there’s a problem.” Nina turned toward the door, but Chance reached out for her arm.
“You don’t have to go. You look like you need some rest. There’s a guest room down the hall to the right. Make yourself at home.” Chance nodded for Nina to give him some alone time with Yasmine. “That’s Nina.”
Yasmine scoffed as she shook her head. Chance had finally opened up to her about Nina a few months ago. She needed to know why he was so defensive with his heart. Even after seeing each other for two years, Chance had always avoided her questions about taking things to the next level. That type of behavior only resulted from heartbreak. “The same Nina who left you for another man after you risked your life for her? And now she shows up years later and expects you to help her out? No way. You don’t owe her shit.” Yasmine was livid. The way Chance peered at Nina made her skin crawl. He never looked at her that way, like a delicate treasure he wanted to protect.
Chance understood Yasmine’s protests, and she was right in a way. Nina made her choice when she left years ago. But Nina and Chance had history, and before becoming lovers, they had been friends. He could never turn his back on her. “She wouldn’t have come here if she didn’t have any other options, Yas. There’s a lot you don’t know. I can’t see her out on the streets.”
“I can’t believe this shit.” Yasmine shook her head incredulously. “You know I’m not the one to be in competition over you.”
Chance walked up to Yasmine slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m not asking you to be. All I’m asking is give me a couple days to figure out what’s going on.”
“Is that your kid?” Yasmine whispered as her bottom lip quivered. Chance’s response did not convince her. As much as she wanted to trust him, Yasmine knew she couldn’t compete with a kid.
“My only child is back there sleeping in his room.” Chance spoke of his three-year-old son, Chase. “Look, why don’t you go home and unwind for a couple of hours? I’m going to let Nina rest up, then get to the bottom of things. We should all have dinner tonight.” Chance grabbed Yasmine by the waist. He snuggled his chin against her neck before kissing her lips softly. “Okay?”
Yasmine giggled before nodding her head. She could never resist Chance. “But I want her gone in a couple days. Put her in a hotel, find her a house, I don’t care as long as she isn’t here.” She pointed her finger in Chance’s face to let him know she meant business.
“Whatever you say.” Chance kissed her one last time before she exited the condo. He sighed deeply as he walked down the hall toward the guest room.
Nina was sitting on the bed, alert.
“You were listening huh?”
Nina cracked a smile for the first time in the last ten hours. “She doesn’t like me very much, I see.” Nina twirled her fingers nervously. Being around Chance again was a bit weird. Not because of how they acted, because it was as if no time had ever passed, but because the circumstances were complicated. A lot had changed within three years. They led two separate lives with two completely different people.
The twirling of her fingers brought Chance’s attention to the princess-cut diamond ring on Nina’s left hand. “You’re married?” he asked, a bit jealous. Nina shook her head. “Why are you here?” he asked as he sat down on the bed beside her.
“He hurt me, Chance.” Tears streamed down Nina’s face.
Chance’s nostrils flared as his temperature rose. “That nigga put his hands on you?”
Nina felt the urge to smile through her tears. Chance had always been her protector, and it was good to know some things remained the same. “No, but he never loved me like he said he did. He’s been fucking around on me for months now. I don’t know what I’m going to do, Chance.” She looked into his eyes for advice. “He doesn’t know I left. And I know it’s selfish of me to come here, but I didn’t know what else to do or where else to go.”
Chance’s heart softened as he watched Nina break down before him. He never seen her cry like this before, not even after her mother’s death. I told you so, Chance thought, but didn’t say it aloud. It wasn’t what Nina needed to hear right now.
“Damn. I always knew there was something I didn’t like about that nigga. But, Nina, you can’t run from him forever.” Chance shrugged. He couldn’t believe the words that he just spoken. He hated Yasin, but a spade was a spade. Chance loved Nina enough to tell her the truth, even when she didn’t want to hear it. “I mean, you’re his fiancée and the mother of his child. Y’all gon’ have to come to some type of terms because I’ll hate to body that nigga if he come with some hot shit here.”
Nina lowered her head and rubbed her hand across her chest. She cleared her throat. “Nasim isn’t Yasin’s,” she said quietly.
“Come again?” Chance asked in disbelief. Surely, he’d heard Nina incorrectly.
“At first, I thought Yasin was Nasim’s father. But as he grew up and came into his own personality, I began to question it. He looks like you, Chance. He acts like you. He reads me just like you do. I don’t think Nasim is Yasin’s son. I’m so sorry.” Nina collapsed in Chance’s lap as she sobbed.
Chance rubbed his hands over his face in disbelief. Finally, Chance looked down at Nasim and studied his features. The little boy had a striking resemblance to his son Chase. He just didn’t know what to say. Whether to be mad or happy. Whether to hate Nina or love her all over again. He needed time to process the bomb Nina had dropped on him.
I need A DNA test, he thought. He didn’t want to get his hopes up if Nasim could indeed turn out to be Yasin’s child.
Chance gently pushed Nina off him. “Yo, Nina, I need time to think right now. I don’t know what to say. I got to go clear my head. Chase is sleep and should still be asleep by the time I get back. I’m just going to take a ride.” Chance stood up as he shook his head.
“Chance!” Nina called after him as he was almost out the door. “I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry.”
“I know, Nina,” Chance replied softly. “Get some rest, beautiful.”
* * *
Nina woke up to the sounds of kids playing and dishes being moved around in the kitchen. Checking her phone, the time read 4:30 p.m. She had slept for hours and didn’t even notice, but the rest was much needed. She felt way better than she had when she went to sleep. There were no missed calls from Yasin, which didn’t surprise her. He had probably left the house that morning without even noticing she was gone. However, she knew she would get that call soon. Yasin wouldn’t like the fact that Nina took off with Nasim without letting him know first.
Nina got out of bed and walked into the living room,, where she found Nasim and Chase playing on the PS5. The boys favored each other so much that it hurt Nina. Chase was conceived when Nina and Chance were broken up, but he was living proof that Chance had been with other women besides Nina. This little boy’s existence had influenced Nina’s decision to be with Yasin, but she could not hate Chase for being born. He was a part of Chance, and Nina loved every part of Chance, including Chase.
“Mommy, is Chase and his dad my family?” Nasim asked innocently. The boys already shared a bond that warmed Nina’s heart. Chase was a few months older than Nasim, but the boys could almost pass for twins. They both shared Chance’s smooth brown complexion, dark eyes, and thick eyebrows.
“Yes, they are, baby.” Nina kneeled beside the boys. “Chase, my name is Nina, and I’m a friend of your father’s.”
“I know who you are.” Chase gave Nina a big hug. The little boy had never met Nina in person but learned to love her from hearing his dad speak of her. “Daddy keeps a picture of you and him in his room.”
“Aw.” Nina cooed as she returned Chase’s embrace. She could only imagine how the boy longed for a mother’s love. From the looks of things, Tiana had never made an effort to be in her son’s life. That was something Nina couldn’t even fathom. Life without Nasim wasn’t a life worth living. She couldn’t wrap her mind around how a parent, especially a mother, could abandon their own flesh and blood without a second thought. Even though Tiana was a shitty person and an envious bitch, Nina wondered if Chase ever crossed her mind. Every woman had a motherly instinct. It was innate. Did she ever wonder about Chase’s well-being?
“Is your dad in his room?” Both boys nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Nina made her way down the hall and knocked on Chance’s door, which was slightly ajar.
“Come in,” his deep baritone called out. “How was your rest?” Chance sat on his bed, feet propped up on a bed of pillow, with a MacBook Air on his lap.
Nina entered the dark room and sat on the opposite side of the bed from Chance. “It was good. I really needed that. And thank you for watching Nasim.”
“It’s nothing. My nanny, Charlene, looked after them while I was out.”
Nina turned her nose up and scoffed at the mention of a nanny.
“What?” Chance knew Nina well enough to know she had something to say in response. “Speak your mind, Nina.”
“Why do you have a nanny when you have a woman living with you?”
Chance chuckled as he closed his laptop. He placed it on his nightstand and turned on the lamp beside it. “I’m a busy man, Nina. And so is Yasmine. I never asked her to step up and help me take care of Chase.”
“You shouldn’t have to. She lives with you. I’m sure you’re fucking her and spending money on her. So, what’s the problem with her having a relationship with your son? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
That was one thing Chance always loved about Nina. She was big on family and would do anything for the people she loved. She was the type of woman you married and raised your kids with. “You’re a mother, Nina. Yasmine isn’t. I don’t want to ask her to stop living her life to help assist with mine. We have an understanding. Charlene lives here and helps out. It’s working.” Honestly, Chance didn’t put those expectations on Yasmine because he wasn’t sure if what they shared would be long term.
“I feel you, Chance, but if a woman can’t accept your child and love it like their own, she’s not worthy of your love. That’s just my opinion. Anyway.” Nina waved her hand in the air, dismissing that conversation. She could tell Chance was a little defensive when it came to Yasmine, so she didn’t push the situation any further.
Nina’s attention was drawn to the 5x7 picture that rested on the nightstand next to Chance’s bed. She walked around to the picture and picked it up. “Wow.” She covered her mouth with her hand. A silly smile spread across Nina’s face as she held the photo frame. In the picture were18-year-old Chance and Quan and 15-year-old Nina, standing in front of Chance’s old Honda. Nina stood in the middle of the boys in the picture. They were always her protectors. The three of them used to be as thick as thieves back in the day.
