Diana nodded while pulling her turkey from out of the oven.
“What does momma say do when the going gets too tough?”
“Pray,” Normani responded still rubbing Novah’s back.
“And I say it because I mean it. We’re women baby. We are able to withstand anything that’s thrown our way. You can’t give up. You have boys that are looking up to you. Boys that are looking forward to seeing your face every day. I know you’re tired and I know you’re hurting but this mess with Carter can’t bring you down. That’s what he wants but it’s not happening. You’re a Royale and more importantly your father is the Most High. With him by your side you can do anything. Even go up against someone as evil as Carter. I’ll call the lawyer and make sure he’s on his job. Carter isn’t cutting that money. Hell, I’ll be on his bitter momma’s doorsteps if I have to be to make sure he knows what’s up,” her mother replied.
Novah swallowed hard and looked up at her mom.
“But he has more money than me and the media loves him. What makes you think I could win a case against him?” she asked.
Diana stirred her greens before responding.
“Because when you have an evil heart you can only get away with your scandalous ways for so long. Stop looking so down and help me finish up this food so we can eat. Carter can’t steal any of the joy we have over here. Let’s not even discuss his ugly ass anymore,” Diana replied making Novah smile.
Even if it was only for the moment Novah would ignore his threats and pretend he didn’t exist. With him out of the picture her life didn’t seem bad at all.
Novah held the coffee cup tightly as her eyes skated around her back room. The contractor stood by her closely as she inspected his work.
“Bueno?”
Novah nodded. She glanced over at Jorge and smiled. He always took care of her and because he’d known her late father it was at a discounted rate. She adored him much more for that.
“Si perfecto, espero que esta sea la ultima vez que me veas este ano.”
Jorge laughed while pulling out his car keys.
“Rezo que sea,” he replied before flashing her a parting smile.
Novah took one last sip of her coffee before sitting it down. As she started up the kiosk at the front desk her front doors chimed. Her eyes peered up and her breath got caught in her throat. Novah’s heart thundered in her chest as the insanely attractive russet hued male swaggered her way.
He adjusted the diamond link chain adorning his neck before gazing down at her. The clothing he was draped in was eye catching and only added to his sexiness. The blue tattered jeans that he wore an army green camo style BAPE shirt with suited his tall frame. On his head was a pink El Chapo fitted cap and even that looked sexy on the handsome guy. Subtle jewelry caught her eye as it sparkled from the light glares that hit it in the room, but his face was the star of the show. He possessed the kind of face that you couldn’t help but stare at.
“How you doing?”
Novah smiled. His lips were full and evenly colored. His eyes were down casted and dreamy. The kind of eyes you would want to wake up to in the morning.
“Excuse me you good?”
Novah’s brows drew together as she realized she was tripping, and she laughed to play off her nervousness. She shook her head and the handsome, tall man that smelled of everything she didn’t need but craved at the moment smirked down at her.
“I’m Durand. I was looking to book a spa party for my mom and her girls. Can I do that?” he inquired.
Novah glanced behind him and noticed the door was in fact cracked. Something she would fix as soon as he left. She peered back up at Durand and his face mixed with his name lit a bulb inside of her head.
“From the rap group, Luca Gang?”
Durand nodded coolly. He dipped his head and she watched him roam his brown orbs over her curvy frame. Novah wore a black ribbed strapless dress with Chanel sneakers and a blue jean top that was tied around her waist. She smoothed a hand over her two-day old body wave curls and Durand smiled at her.
His thick lips parted, and his tongue swiped against his lower lip as he gazed her way.
“Yeah that’s me but can you do that? I didn’t know you wasn’t open. The door was cracked,” he said with his eyes roaming around the spa.
Novah followed his line of sight and took in her partially cluttered space. The front of her business was black and white themed. Novah loved the colors and often filled her home and establishment with it. The walls were a stark white while the floor was a checkered black and white shiny tile that people often raved over. On the front walls were uplifting word art canvas’s in bold graffiti text by a popular Detroit designer that now resided in Philly. Novah had flown out to New York to purchase the exotic art prints and four months in she was still in awe of the artwork.
A compact seating area filled with plush black loveseats and a glass table sat in the area to the left of the room while drinking supplies mixed with magazines and glass shelves filled with nail polishes sat on the left wall. Novah stared at the large wall of polishes lost in her thoughts until Durand cleared his throat.
Novah nodded forcing herself to look back at the handsome man before her. Durand had her temporarily discombobulated. Things that usually came second nature to her was on brief pause.
“I’m actually closed right now but I will be opening up back soon…” Novah stopped talking and shook her head. “What I meant to say was that I will be opening back up soon. I can give you a birthday party reserve sheet and we can go from there,” she replied trying to pull herself together.
Durand nodded instead of verbally responding and Novah moved fast to grab him the form that he needed to fill out.
Thirty minutes later Novah had Durand booked and his mother was all set to go. Durand pulled his fob out of his pocket as Novah grabbed her blogger bag style crossbody from her front desk. He looked her over as she placed on her items and she stared up at him shyly.
“Did you need anything else?”
Durand looked at her intently for a few moments before chuckling.
“Nah, you have a good day ma,” he replied before walking out of the building.
As the door closed leaving in Durand’s wake his scent Novah was able to relax. She sighed with relief and when light gas filtered from between her fat butt cheeks she laughed.
“He was so damn fine he had me holding everything in,” she commented.
Novah shut down her spa and headed to her truck that sat in the reserved parking spot. A handsome dark-skinned man approached her with a sly smirk on his round face.
Damn two fine ass men in one day.
“How you doing beautiful?” he asked as she hit the locks on the truck.
Novah stopped walking and looked the man over before smiling. He was dressed clean in a two-piece grey suit that appeared to be custom made. His face was insanely attractive as he gave off a young Morris Chestnut circa The Best Man vibes but after seeing Durand the man paled in comparison.
“I’m fine. Do I know you?”
The man frowned and licked his lips. His slanted eyes looked Novah over as he sighed.
“I’m not sure. Are you Novah Royale?” he asked coolly.
Novah nodded and he grinned down at her. The man swiftly pulled a white paper from inside of his suit jacket and walked up on her.
“Ms. Royale, you’ve been served,” he said passing her the paper.
Novah’s heart raced as she looked down at the papers.
Carter was taking her to court, and he wasn’t requesting split custody. Instead he was requesting full custody of their twins. Her knees grew week and she found herself immediately growing ill.
“You okay?” the process server asked watching her.
Novah waved him off as she composed herself. She closed her eyes and thought of her boys. Yes, Carter loved them but not like her. Everything that she did was for the betterment of her sons. They was her life and now he wanted to take them all away
because of his own fuck up. It wasn’t even because he wanted them.
Novah’s rage grew to dangerous levels and she hopped in her truck and called up her sorry ass baby daddy.
Carter ended the call and hit her back on a video call.
“I hate him,” she muttered answering the call.
Carter’s wife Melanie sat on a large plush king-sized bed with a cheshire grin on her thin brown face. Melanie was pretty in a plain jane sort of way. She wasn’t Carter’s type, that Novah knew for sure but she worshipped the ground Carter walked on and the way that fed his ego was enough for him to keep her around.
Melanie licked her thin lips and pushed some of her shoulder length hair away from her face as she grinned at Novah.
“My husband is downstairs with the boys. I take it you was served today. I hope you’re happy now. All you had to do was take the pay cut. Are you really that money hungry Novah that you couldn’t do that?” she asked.
Novah opened her mouth and quickly clamped her lips shut. If she started to go off, she was certain she wouldn’t stop.
“Tell him to call me,” she replied and gave Melanie a big smile before hanging up.
Seconds later a text came through to her phone from Carter’s cell that made her want to beat some ass.
Once we get the kids then you’ll have nothing. No child support, no boys and finally no more of my man’s time. Now that’s something I have been praying for!
Novah closed out the text with a heavy heart. She wanted to call her family and friends and vent to them but opted out of doing so. Her anger and pain from dealing with Carter and his ditzy ass wife was so great she chose to stew in it alone. Her next move had to be her best move because her children’s home front was on the line.
2
#newme
Her long dark ashe blonde strands swept past her shoulders and hung loosely down her back as she stood confidently before the people. To them she was sure they thought she was putting on a front, but she wasn’t. Even on her worse days she slayed. Billie had been blessed with impeccable genes. Beauty flowed through her effortlessly. Even when in distress she looked nothing short of gorgeous.
Like now as she remembered the darkest time of her life, she came off stunning. She wore blue ankle jeans that were distressed with a sleeveless Black Gyrl Magic, top made by her friend, a Detroit based stylist from her new t-shirt line. Billie paired the look with Jonatina style Christian Louboutin heels and gold David Yurman bangles that were a gift from her man.
Billie’s chocolate colored eyes peered at the people intently watching her and she licked her lips.
“Hi, my name is Bethany, but I hate that name, so I go by Billie instead,” her soft voice said, and a few people laughed. Billie shot them a playful smirk before continuing. “I’ve been sober for seven hundred and thirty days. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day that I ran my vehicle into oncoming traffic while my twelve-month old son slept in the back seat. It hurts to admit this but all that day I’d been getting drunk. I was out hanging with my friends and I partied hard. So hard that I almost forgot to pick up my baby, but I didn’t. As I headed home, I blacked out. I ran into a minivan and from there a four-car pileup happened. We should have died but God had a plan for me that was greater than the one I had for myself. He wanted me to live. He wanted my son to live as well. To serve out his purpose and I’m so grateful to him for that. Without this facility that wouldn’t be possible. I’m not perfect. I wanted to drink yesterday when I thought about the fact that I couldn’t put my son to bed because of my reckless behavior but I didn’t. If I would have picked that bottle up that would have been the worst thing for me. I would have been right back at step one. I owe my son so much more than a drunk mother. I wanna sponsor one of you so if you feel like I could be a good ear or shoulder to cry on find me after this is over with,” Billie said before sitting down.
Billie looked on as three more people stood and began to tell their testimony. They were in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting not church, but Billie very much considered them testimonies. Her story alone was powerful and showed God’s grace. Despite being an alcoholic, she was still alive and slowly changing her ways.
In a matter of three years she ruined her modeling career and lost custody of her son all because of her addiction to liquor. Billie had partaken in ecstasy occasionally, but liquor was the one vice she couldn’t give up until she had no choice but to. It was either liquor or her life and Billie chose herself. She had to or else she was sure death would be coming much sooner for her.
“You’ve come such a long way,” Mr. Carmichael said walking up.
He was the first-person Billie met when she’d started her AAA meetings. He was an older gentleman that had lost years of his life to liquor. He was also devoting the rest of his life to helping as many alcoholics that he could.
Billie smiled as she peered up at him. She slowly stood and tugged down her top that was committed to rising up. She gave Mr. Carmichael a quick hug before stepping back.
“And I’ve got such a long way to go. I’ll look at my calendars and see the days I’ve done but it doesn’t make me proud. I still feel the shame,” Billie spoke earnestly before looking away.
Mr. Carmichael nodded with an empathetic gaze on her.
“Honey beating yourself up about this will only get you back to the bottle. The devil will make you think you haven’t changed because you are changing, and he doesn’t want that. If you were going down the wrong path, then he wouldn’t be messing with you. How is your son?”
Billie thought of her small son Kawan and smiled. He was the best thing to ever happen to her.
“He’s good. With his father right now. I’m praying for the day that I can get him back, you know?”
Mr. Carmichael nodded. He rubbed her arm gently before placing his hands in his cream-colored pants pockets.
“And you will. The courts will see how much you’ve changed. Just keep up the good work,” he said speaking words of encouragement like always before walking off.
Billie headed for the door when a small tawny brown hand grabbed her arm. Billie glanced back at the pretty young lady and she smiled.
“Hi, I’m Billie,” Billie spoke politely.
The girl let her hand go and hugged herself. Her slanted dark eyes shifted nervously around the room before peering up at Billie who had on her at least four inches.
“I um…” the girl stopped speaking and cleared her throat. She straightened her back and Billie smiled.
“Yes, no matter what be strong with it,” Billie said quietly.
“This is different for me. My parents are making me come. If I don’t, they said they’re going to cut off my money and I’m a full-time college student so I can’t have that. I don’t have time for a job. My name is Charisse, but everyone calls me Reese,” she replied.
Billie nodded. She noted how tiny the girl was with her pretty round face and wide set brown eyes. Reese wore long box braids that hung to her waist with fitted clothes and a timid smile.
“Nice to meet you Reese. Are your parents the only reason why you’re here?” she asked.
Reese’s eyes fell and she stared down at the ground. She kicked small dirt around the floor as her shoulders sagged.
“I kind of picked up a drinking habit once I started school. A few months back I had to get my stomach pumped and since then my parents have been tripping out on me. Like I can’t control it,” she quipped with an eye roll.
Billie cleared her throat. Her eyes cast down to her Apple watch before she looked back to the small Reese.
“Take my number down. I would love to sponsor you but first we need to discuss some things. Call me tomorrow so we can set up a time to get together,” Billie told her.
Reese’s head shot up and she quickly whipped out her silver cellular device. Billie called off her number before exiting the building. Infront of it double parked like always was her boyfriend of two years Dreux. Billie’s face stretched into a wide s
mile. Her feet moved at a swift pace as she headed for Dreux’s white 7 series BMW.
Billie slid inside of the sleek vehicle and only as his audacious cologne assaulted her senses was, she able to relax. His large hand fell onto her small thigh as he pulled away.
Billie’s eyes ventured down to the tattoo of the queen chess peace adorning his hand and her heart swelled. He always told her she was his queen. His ace in the hole. The one person he would stop the world from spinning for and she believed him.
Dreux breathed life into Billie when she was ready to give up. He loved her at her lowest and for that she would always love him with everything that she had in her.
“You good, baby?”
The deep timber in his voice made her vaginal muscles clench together. Billie didn’t think anyone was more in love than she was. Dreux made her so happy she felt as if she were floating on a cloud whenever she was in his presence.
“Yes, just tired. Every time I speak about my past and how bad I messed up it does something to me. It’s the reason I lost Kawan and it kills me,” she admitted sadly with her eyes still trained on his tattoo.
The shading and attention to detail the artist placed on the artwork was amazing to Billie.
“But that’s old shit and it doesn’t help that you keep dwelling on it. The things we’ve done in our past doesn’t define who we are. Of course, a child killer or rapist can’t come back from that, but God has the final say so and only he can judge us. Life is about progression. I watched you suffer and go through rehab. That shit wasn’t easy, and I could see that you wanted to give up plenty of times, but you didn’t. Give yourself credit for that. Malachi not giving you no problems, is he?” he asked.
The tone of his voice told her that if she were to say yes nothing good would come from it. Billie shook her head while staring his way.
“He isn’t,” her light voice answered quietly.
Upside Down In Love Page 3