Page 92 of Til Death
I tossed the remainder of my drink back then leaned back in the cushioned seat. I didn’t plan to make anything public until things were figured out, but fuck, this had been bothering me. I hated when shit went off script. Improvising wasn’t something I enjoyed.
“Xylina’s pregnant,” I admitted.
His eyes ballooned and he choked on the drink he was in the middle of taking. He pulled the glass from his mouth and hit his chest a couple times.
“Fuck, man,” he choked out once he gathered himself. “I didn’t expect you to say that.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect it either.” Digging into my pocket, I pulled the silver case out and opened it. I stared at the cigars inside. I was sure she wasn’t aware but Xylina had unknowingly bought one of my favorite brands and flavors. “We didn’t plan it.”
“Ahhhh,” he dragged out. “You always wanted to be a dad, right? Why am I sensing that you’re not happy about it?”
“If I’m being honest, I don’t know how I feel about it.”
Roman looked confused, but I didn’t explain further. Some part of me didn’t want to reveal what Xylina had done because I didn’t want her looked at more negatively than she already was.
“A’right, it’s obvious I’m missing something here; so care to clear it up for the class? You always said you wanted to be a father and now it’s happening? Instead of celebrating, you’re over there looking like someone kicked your dog.” He paused and realization passed over his face. “Hold up, is this because you still planned on divorcing her and now you’re stuck? Ay, man, don’t sweat it, married couples divorce all the time and co-parent; it’s not a big deal.”
Furrowing my brows and turning my mouth upside down, I wondered how the hell we’d stayed friends this long.
“I don’t plan on creating a broken home for my kid.”
“Then what the hell is this issue? You always preached about settling down and creating a family. I know shit didn’t turn out how you wanted, but you’re getting just that and you seem upset about it.” He finally lit the cigar he had cut, brought it to his mouth, and lit it. “At your parents’ house, you two seemed to be getting along. So what’s the problem?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t about to reveal that I’d been made a fool of again.
“Forget it. I didn’t come here to talk about it.” I sat up and reached for the cigar cutter.
“I know you don’t fuck with her, or maybe you do now, I don’t know, but from the few times I’ve been around her, she didn’t seem that bad. Even Moms said she looked at you like a girl in love and you know how tough she is to convince of anything.”
My eyes dropped to the awaiting cigar.
“And speaking of your wife, I read her dad’s due to start trial soon. If I was him, I’d be shitting bricks with all the charges he’s looking at.”
“If you ask me, he’s getting what he deserves.” I lifted the cigar after cutting it. “Plus, karma’s a bitch. He ruined thousands of lives, it’s about time he gets a taste of his own medicine.”
Roman smirked. “You’re right about that. I heard there was a whistle blower, but no one knows exactly who.”
I lifted a brow. “How did you hear that?”
He shrugged and puffed his cigar. “I know people.”
I kept my attention on him a moment longer then brought the cigar to my mouth, tilted my chin, and stared at the ceiling.
“Regardless if there is or isn’t, Phillip Fox has been building his business on the backs of millions of people with no remorse of how he got to the top. People like that always fall eventually.”
Roman nodded in agreement. “You better hope wifey didn’t inherit that shadiness.” Roman laughed, but I couldn’t join in. In reality, it was a hard pill to swallow, but Xylina held some negative traits from Phillip that I wished could be erased.
CHAPTER 21
Xylina
Hubby
I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for the day after tomorrow. It’s to confirm my pregnancy and find out how far I am. I want you to be there if you can.
Nibbling my bottom lip, I sent the text and stared at the phone, waiting to see if Yosiah would respond. He had gone back to icing me out at home and I hated it. I missed his touch and company overall. We haven’t spoken about the pregnancy since the day he kicked me out of his office. If I decided to go forward with the pregnancy, I hoped he would be there for me. Yosiah didn’t give me deadbeat vibes, but then again, he hated the thought of having a kid with me. I rubbed my chest, trying to ease the aching pain hovering inside.
“What do you think of this?” Savannah questioned, stepping out of the dressing room. “I finally got rid of all of last season’s clothes and now I need to replenish for the summer.”
