Captured By A Royal Thug 3

by Heiress

  “Zara, what’s wrong? What is it?” Leah quizzed but I couldn’t answer. I was too busy trying to stop the water from leaking out of my eyes. I didn’t think for a second that I would give King Zoen a real fighting chance. I just didn’t want to say no. And if I did say yes, I would have talked to Twan first so he wouldn’t be totally blindsided. But this. Him cheating on me seconds after us fighting. It showed me a lot. If he was willing to do this then he didn’t love me. He couldn’t have.

  Hanging up the phone, I stuffed it back in my pocket. “I have to go,” was all I said before storming out of Leah’s home. I ran as fast as I could back to my house and when I got inside, I fell to the floor with my hands to my face. My heart, breaking inside my chest.

  “Zara dear! Zara dear what’s the matter?” My mother ran to my side, gathering me in her arms like a baby.

  “I’ll do it,” I spoke.

  “Do what my crying child?”

  “I’ll marry King Zoen.”

  Leah

  I woke up with a headache so bad, I was ready to sharpen an axe just to cut it off myself. I don’t know if it was the nerves or if it was everything that happen with Zara last night. Whatever it was, I just hoped it went away soon. I didn’t want to go see my mommy after all these years with nerves and a bad headache. I wanted everything to go perfect.

  “Leah please stop worrying. You’re going to be fine. Me and Twan will be right there with you,” Bella consoled me. “Isn’t that right, Twan.” She raised her voice, glaring his way.

  “Yup! We gone be right there, Leah Peah.” He put his thumb up with a faint smile before he stuck his head back into the toilet bowl. He had shown up to my house this morning, pissy drunk. I gave him a pill to help him sleep it off but this morning, he was getting the worst of his hangover. His head had been in the toilet for an hour.

  “Shouldn’t this be a sign that I shouldn’t go? Not only is my best friend suffering from a hangover but Rima got sick and now my husband can’t be there with me. He has to stay here with her, and I wanted him to meet her. I wanted them both to meet her.” I hung my head down low.

  “I know you did but at least you have me and Twan.” Bella glanced over at Twan puking his brains out. “Okay maybe you just have me, but lucky for you I happen to be the best and I will always be there for you. This is long overdue, and you can’t miss this moment all because your step daughter is sick, your best friend has a hangover and your nerves are so bad, you can’t keep your hands still. This has to happen so get it together and let’s go see your mom.”

  Bella held my hands in hers as she spoke to me. I could feel the love and sincerity exuding out of her. This moment was long overdue. I had so many questions and my momma was the only one who could answer them for me.

  “Your right. It’s either now or never!” I got excited.

  “Right! Now go get dressed and we will meet you downstairs.” Again, she glanced over at Twan who was now laying on the bathroom floor. “Okay, correction, I will meet you downstairs. We just gone leave his ass here,” she said, shaking her head at him. I could only do the same.

  I went to my room to get ready. After taking a long shower and talking to myself the entire time in there, I finally got dressed. In the midst of me getting ready, Amir walked in. His arms wrapped around me from behind and his hands rested on my belly.

  “I’m sorry I can’t be there for you today. You know if I could, I would.”

  “I know.” I smiled.

  “You feeling ok?” he asked.

  “I’m feeling better than I was when I woke up. Bella talked some sense into me. I’m still nervous though.”

  “Nervous about seeing her or nervous about what she’s going to tell you?” he asked.

  “Both,” I simply answered.

  Flipping me around, he made me face him. “Just as long as you remember that she’s a parent. Parents do whatever they can for their children. I didn’t realize that until today. My heart sank in my damn chest when Rima started throwing up. Though it was just the flu, the thought of losing her broke my heart. I flew out the best doctor in Droga and was willing to give blood until I was fully drained if I had to. I’m going to do the same for our daughters, just as I’m sure your mother did for you.”

  His words were so soft. Lately, Amir had been a totally different man. He wasn’t just a prince or a husband. He was now a father and he took it very seriously. He practically did everything for Rima. She didn’t have to lift a finger if she didn’t want to. It made me happy to see the switch in him because I was worried he would never accept fatherhood. He sure proved my worries wrong.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I rose up on my toes to kiss his lips. He deepened it as he held my face in place. His hands went to wondering all over my body. Reaching in between my legs, he tried to push my panties to the side.

  “Amir we can’t. Bella is waiting for me downstairs. The plane is here already.” I pushed him away.

  “You are about to be gone for the entire weekend and you not going to give me some before you leave? That’s selfish, Leah,” he argued.

  “Boy, you had all morning to get some, so don’t act like that. I’ll give you some when I get back because I have to go. Love you. Kiss Rima for me. Byyyye!” I sang as I rushed down the stairs to the car. Once I was in, we made our way to the air strip. Once there, our bags were loaded into the plane and we took off.

  Bella held my hand the entire flight. She didn’t say a word to me, she just held my hand. She knew what I needed which was comfort and support. No words needed to be said. The flight was long and with me being pregnant, I slept the entire time. When we landed in Maine, it was lights out. I thought that when I got off the plane, I would feel at home again, but Maine felt strange. Like I had never even been here before.

  “Is it just me or does everything feel different being back home?” I blurted.

  “You are not alone with that feeling. We done got so used to Africa that the states are what looks foreign to us,” Bella retorted. “Look, there’s our car. Let’s go. It’s almost time for visiting hours to open up.”

  We rushed to the car and once inside, we drove off to the correctional facility. My heart was pounding out of my chest, but I managed to remain calm. It took us an hour to get there and once there, we went through the proper procedures to get in. Once processed, we sat down and waited for my mommy.

  “You think she still looks the same?” Bella asked.

  “I don’t know. I heard prison has a way of aging you,” I responded, tapping my fingers on the table as I impatiently waited for my momma to come out. After ten minutes of waiting, the doors buzzed and finally prisoners were coming out. I searched every person, trying to find her. Just when I grew even more impatient, I saw her.

  “There she is,” I mumbled, staring at her at a loss for words. When she caught my eye, she smiled so wide that I saw all of her pearly white teeth. Her dimples dug so deep in her cheeks that I’m sure they were hurting her teeth. Her eyes were lit up like strobe lights and they glistened like gloss. Both her and I were teary eyed.

  “My precious baby,” she said as she slowly glided to me. I stood up to greet her when she pulled me into a hug so tight, I couldn’t breathe. The funny part is that I didn’t care. I didn’t care if I lost all of my oxygen because hugging my mother after being away from her for years was worth dying for. Tears trickled down my face onto her shoulders. For a minute, we just stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms. I couldn’t let her go. I didn’t want to let her go.

  “I don’t want to let you go,” she cried.

  “Me either. But I’m afraid if you don’t, you’re going to squish your granddaughters.” I laughed.

  She let me go immediately and looked down at my stomach. Her hands flew to her mouth in surprise. “Oh, my God! My baby is pregnant? How many? By who? When are you due-”

  “How about we sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.” I laughed at how excited she was. Bella cleared her throat, m
aking her presence known. “Oh, I’m so sorry mother. This is one of my best friends, Bella. She’s been with me since the first day of being in the system and she’s never left my side.” I smiled.

  “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella. Thank you for never leaving my baby’s side,” she offered up.

  “You’re so welcome and might I say that you look amazing. You’re proof that black don’t crack,” Bella complimented. We all shared a laugh as my mother thanked her.

  “So, tell me about my grandbabies.” She dived right into it.

  “Well, I’m having two girls. I’ll have three all together because my husband has a daughter and-”

  “Your husband? You’re married?”

  “Oh, yea I forgot to mention that first. I’m married to a man named Amir. He’s actually the younger brother of Bella’s husband, Adonis. We all live together in Africa where we-”

  “Africa? What made you move to Africa?” she quizzed.

  “Well we didn’t really have a choice,” Bella answered for me. “See, we were kidnapped by them when we were at this group home and taken to Africa. Then we got separated for three years, forced to work for the King and Queen. A whole bunch of drama in between that would make your head spin. It was a real shit show at first, but we managed to find happiness, get pregnant, and then get married. It’s a whole lifetime movie really,” she further explained.

  My mother’s mouth was wide open. She was both shocked and confused, I’m sure. “Is this a joke or is she for real?”

  “She’s serious mother. I haven’t even told you the half of it. The abuse at the group home was just the beg-”

  “They abused you?” Her eyes watered.

  “Well, yea but it’s ok. I’m fine now,” I assured her.

  That didn’t seem to comfort her. Her eyes began to water, and I could see the hurt in her eyes. “This is all my fault.” She shook her head.

  “Mother it’s not all your fault. You and daddy made a mistake and-”

  “No, I was the one who made the mistake. I got in my feelings and ended up ruining our lives. Were in here because of me. I’m the one who told the police about what your father was doing,” she confessed.

  “Momma… but why?”

  “Because I was mad at him. I had just found out he was cheating on me with his perky white secretary. I knew your father was unfaithful sometimes, hell we both were. Our marriage was more of a partnership, so I never got upset about him sleeping with other women. But when I found out she was white and that she was pregnant, my heart broke. He had never slept with a white woman or had a woman come up pregnant. We had rules and he broke them.”

  “That night, I had caught them, and I got in my feelings. It didn’t help that I barged in the room and nearly pulled the girl’s head from her shoulders. She was talking about how white women did it better and how her white privilege could protect Leon better than I could,” she continued.

  “That dirty white bitch,” I snapped.

  “Exactly! That’s what I said. She had me hot, so I told her I was gone show her white privilege and I beat her ass. Me and your father got into a big fight and he said he was going to leave me for the white bitch and take you with him. I wasn’t going for that, so I tipped off the cops about his private account he had. I was hoping that I could get away with you before they came to get him. I was going to use the money from the account to get us out the country.”

  She fell silent for a moment.

  “When I came over that day to come get you, your father was there. I thought he would’ve been with the white woman but… he wasn’t. We got into an argument about you and the cops surprised us. They were only supposed to take him, but they took me too. Your father pled guilty and said I had nothing to do with it, but they didn’t care. They wanted us both.”

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  “Wow is right. They gave him the maximum of twenty years but only gave me ten. I would have been out a few years ago but I got time added for petty fights. I called you because, I get out at the end of the year. I wanted to see if you would let me be a part of your life. I will understand if you say no-”

  “You’re my mother. I would never say no to wanting to be in my life,” I cut her off.

  “Even after what I told you I did? All that you’ve been through is my fault. It was all my fault, Leah,” she sobbed.

  “Maybe but if you wouldn’t have done it, I wouldn’t have met my Bella and Twan. I wouldn’t have been kidnapped and sent to Africa where I met the man of my dreams. I wouldn’t be pregnant right now with your granddaughters. I wouldn’t have a crazy story to tell my kids when they grow up about how me and their father met. Nothing you could do would make me not want you in my life. Nothing,” I told her with a truthful tongue.

  With tears in her eyes, she cried out loud. I just held her hands in mine to console her happy heart. I knew they were tears of joy. This was such an emotional moment. Even Bella was tearing up. Even after what she told me; I wasn’t upset with her. I wasn’t even upset with my father. One thing I learned in life is that people mess up and make mistakes. As long as they try to do right and learn from those mistakes then I could forgive them.

  It would be wrong of me to forgive the many people I have forgiven and not give that same forgiveness to my parents. I had to. For my sake, their sake and for my baby’s sake. It wasn’t fair for Rima, Ameah and Lira not to have their grandmother in their life all because I was holding a grudge. They deserved to have grandparents just as much as my mother and father deserved to have grandchildren. Who was I to strip that away from them?

  “I know this is a touching moment but where is Leah’s father? Have you talked to him?” Bella asked. I stayed silent because I too wondered that same thing.

  “We actually write each other all the time. After ignoring him for five years straight, I figured I’d give in and forgive him. He had suffered enough.” She chuckled. “He’s at the men’s correctional facility up the road. You should go visit him too. He talks about you in our letters all the time. I know it would make his day.” She smiled.

  “I will try and see him tomorrow then. But right now, I want to focus on you and me. The stories I have to tell you will blow your mind. Like the time me and Amir were running from an African army because we got married, though it was forbidden, and were set to be beheaded once we were caught.”

  “What!”

  Bella

  I sat on the throne and listened to the women of Droga express themselves about their rights. There were a lot of rules and regulations on what women could and couldn’t do in Droga. Now that I was Queen, I was in charge of hearing their concerns and coming up with solutions. This was my first act of being Queen and I planned on taking it seriously. Especially since it involved women. I understood them more than Adonis or any man.

  “So, you see, Queen Bella, we don’t want the same rights as our men. We just want rights period. You have to help us have more of a voice,” one of the women in attendance spoke up.

  Holding up my hand to stop further request being said, I stood up to speak. I had to remember to put my Queen voice on. “I have heard all of your concerns and when I say heard, I do mean heard. I have listened to you and as a woman I do understand. The rights for women here in Droga do need to change and I will be honored to help make that change. I will take your voice to God and my King for answers and solutions. All that attended will be escorted back to the palace in a week. I will announce the changes to you all before I address all of Droga. Is there anything else?” I asked.

  “No, your Queen. Only that we all are glad that Droga has a Queen like you now,” a woman spoke up.

  My heart smiled when I heard her words. I wanted to cry but Adonis said no matter what, don’t show emotions. So, I held back my tears and smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m honored to be your new Queen and I will not fail you,” I ended. They applauded me and I bowed in response.

  One of the guards helped me d
own from my throne and I was escorted out of the palace. I got put in a car and I was driven back to my home. When I got home, I was so exhausted that I kicked my shoes off at the door and started undressing right there.

  “Someone had a long day.” Estella’s voice bounced off the walls. She rounded the corner so quietly I didn’t even hear her.

  “A very long day. It started at six in the morning and I’m just now getting done at seven at night. I don’t know how Adonis does it. I’m tired as hell,” I expressed. Estella laughed at me.

  “Well I have something that might lift your spirits.” She smiled wide like a cat. “Bellamy. Donna. Abel. Come show mommy what you did today,” she called out. Seconds later, my babies came waddling around the corner. My eyes and my heart lit up with so much joy and happiness. Immediately, the tears started to flow like rivers. My hand flew over my mouth in surprise.

  “My babies…their walking. Look at you them,” I cried. “Come to mommy. Come on. Come on,” I baby talked as they made their way to me. It was the cutest thing ever when they finally made their way to me. they all fell into my arms. I hugged them so tight that I’m sure their oxygen was being cut off. It was like hearing them say mommy and daddy for the first time.

  The front door opened behind me and in walked Adonis. “What’s going on in here?” he asked, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

  “I’ll show you. Go stand over there and call for the babies.”

  Doing as I said, he stood a few feet away and squatted down. With his arms out, he called out to them. When they began walking towards him, his smile lit up the room. “My babies out here walking. I can’t believe it.”

  “I know right!” I agreed. All three of us stood around calling the babies back and forth to us just to see them walk again. We did that for like thirty minutes straight. We couldn’t get over it. Finally, the babies got tired and it was time for them to go to bed. Adonis and I both decided to give Estella a break and put the babies to bed ourselves. We fed them, gave them a bath, and then put them to bed.