by A. G. Khaliq
Fresh tears welled in my eyes, and began spouting down my cheeks.
I couldn’t breathe.
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I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“I chased him and chased him, and for fucking what?! I thought he was starting to reciprocate my feelings, and now everything's fucking ruined!”
I smashed down a glass onto the floor, feeling like I was going fucking crazy.
Feeling like I’d reached the brink of fucking insanity.
“Donte will be mine whether he likes it or not!” I blustered. “I can't believe he broke off the contract for that piece of fucking trash! Her ass and tits are so fucking big it's embarrassing! She looks like a pig! I'm ten times the woman she is!”
I shook my fists angrily, feeling my veins make their way to the surface of my 387
skin as heat continued to roar through my body.
I was fixated on revenge.
Fixated on vengeance.
Fixated on getting my own back.
“I have to do something to get rid of her!” I snarled. “Poison her drink, or frame Donte by turning up naked to his house and seducing him! There's gotta be something!”
“You'll be doing no such thing,”
came a voice.
I jolted backwards, startled, feeling my cheeks flush red as I burned with embarrassment. My heart throbbed against my chest, hammering against my ribcage into a frenzy, as I felt the colour drain out of my face.
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I couldn’t believe it.
I couldn’t fucking believe it.
Donte’s father strolled into the kitchen, bloody murder written all over his face. He looked like he wanted to kill me.
Fuck.
I’d fucked up so fucking badly.
So damn fucking badly…
“What are you doing here?” I croaked, my heart feeling like it was in my throat. It felt like my head was about to explode.
“I came here to speak to your parents, but I see they're not in,” Donte’s dad seethed. “I heard every word you just 389
fucking said, Sharon.”
I folded my arms uneasily, feeling my eyes continue to well with tears. I didn’t know any possible way that I would be able to wriggle myself out of this situation. Donte’s dad always thought good of me, so I was sure that I would be able to convince him that this was all just a misunderstanding…
“I was just angry,” I mumbled quickly. “I didn't mean it.”
“Oh, I think you fucking did,” he snarled.
I let out a deep breath, feeling like the walls were closing in on me.
Feeling like it was the end of the road for me.
He was for sure going to put a 390
bullet through me for everything I’d just said…
There was no coming back from this.
There was no fucking coming back…
“Look, Sharon,” he began, sighing heavily. “I know you loved my son. And I'm sorry that he doesn't feel the same way.” He shook his head, folding his arms angrily. “But your behaviour is fucking unacceptable. I'm not going to stand here and turn a blind eye to it. A blind eye to you threatening to poison my son's girlfriend.”
“You wouldn't understand how I fucking feel!” I snapped back harshly, in a state of rage. “Do you have any idea what I’m going through right now? Do you know how long I fucking chased 391
him?”
“To be quite honest with you, I don't give a fuck how long you chased him,” he snarled bitterly. “Move on with your life, Sharon. Find a new man to bother.”
I jolted back, hurt by his reaction.
Out of all people, I didn’t think that even Donte’s father would turn against me. I thought that he would understand how I was feeling.
I guessed I thought wrong.
“Because I swear to you, if you even go near my son or my girlfriend again, I will be cutting ties with you and your family, and you'll no longer receive your share of money from the businesses.” His voice dropped to barely below a whisper.
I’d never seen him like this before.
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I
could
feel
myself
going
increasingly pale, feeling like my world was coming crashing down on me from millions of different directions all at once.
Wondering
why
God
was
punishing me like this.
Wondering why God was torturing me like this.
“You can't do that,” I mumbled doubtfully.
“I can, and I will,” he hissed, in a matter-of-fact tone. “I just want my son to be happy. You're sat like a fucking bum at home all the time, getting everything put on a plate for you, getting your mother and father to spoil you. But my son has worked very hard for all he has, and I won't let a snob like you ruin his chance at happiness.”
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It felt like somebody had grabbed hold of my heart, ripped it out of my chest, and was twisting it. Each word that came out of his mouth stung me like a fucking bitch. I felt like fucking shit.
So damn fucking worthless about myself.
Tears began sliding down my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop them.
Because deep down, I knew.
I knew that everything he was saying was right.
“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“You've been warned, Sharon,” he said quietly. “If I hear you making threats like that again, I won't hesitate to inform 394
your fucking parents. We'll see how they feel about their sweet daughter then.”
He rolled his eyes bitterly.
“I'll make my own way out.”
And with that, he turned on his heel, and started walking out of the house.
Leaving me dithering in the middle of the kitchen, feeling empty and lost.
Knowing that I had to move forward.
Knowing that I would have to get over Donte, and learn to live without him.
Knowing that as broken as I was…
I couldn’t keep pursuing a man 395
who clearly was never meant for me, no matter how much love I showed him.
His heart belonged to somebody else…
And that somebody else wasn’t me.
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44
maya
After our heated moment in the club, Donte drove me home. I looked a little messy, but I didn't care. Maisie sure was right. Donte really did rock my damn world.
I couldn’t help but to let out a giggle, flushing bright pink as I recalled 397
everything that happened just a few moments ago. How the club manager had walked in and caught us, the same man who had confused me for a stripper, yet we did nothing and continued to kiss each other carelessly.
“What are you giggling at?” Donte laughed.
“Nothing,” I lied, smiling. “I was just thinking about an inside joke between me and Maisie.”
He chuckled in response. “That's cute.” He broke off his sentence, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, looking hesitant to say what he was about to say next.
“What’s up?” I asked, concerned by the expression on his face.
“There's something I've been wanting to ask you,” he admitted.
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“What is it?” I mumbled nervously, scratching my neck.
“You know I love you, right?”
“I love you too,” I replied sheepishly.
“I'm serious about you, Sapphire,”
he groaned.
I let out a deep breath, not knowing where he was going with this. I could feel my heart pound with nerves.
“H – have-” Donte stammered.
“Have you ever thought about having kids?”
I scratched my arm awkwardly, not knowing what to think or make of this.
“Or getting married?” he asked.
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“I don't know,” I admitted, shrugging. �
�It's never really crossed my mind.”
“I guess what I'm trying to say is-”
he stumbled, “not right away, or anything. But would you want to have them with me in the future?”
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He looked embarrassed, and I couldn’t help but to let out a giggle. He was so fucking cute.
“Yeah, I guess,” I smiled sheepishly.
“You don't have to give me an answer right away,” he said quickly.
“We've both had a lot to drink tonight. I just want to know that we're both on the same page. That we both want the same thing.”
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He rubbed his chin, suddenly immersed in thought.
“Yeah, I get you,” I reassured him.
“Anyway, I'll let you go home now,” he smiled, pressing his lips to my forehead as he pulled up to the curb, pressing down his foot on the brakes.
“Goodnight, beautiful.”
“Goodnight,” I replied, kissing his cheek.
I bent down, reaching for the handle to the car door. As I stepped out of the cab, I could hear Donte murmur something underneath his breath.
“I love her so much. I hope nothing ever ruins what we have…”
I could feel butterflies hammer in 401
my chest, feeling like a teenager with a school crush. I turned on my heel, a big smile plastered across my face, as I made my way back to my apartment.
I walked inside of my apartment, slamming the door shut behind me before I walked towards the bathroom. I stripped off my clothes, and jumped into the bath-tub. I took a long, warm shower and then dried my hair, before going to bed.
It was hard to get to sleep. My heart was thumping into a frenzy. I had butterflies swimming inside me. I kept replaying what Donte said in the car.
He didn't directly propose to me, but he wanted me to consider the prospect of marriage with him. And I couldn't stop smiling.
He wanted to marry me…
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Have kids with me, live the rest of his life with me.
And the thought excited me so much. I'd never thought about marriage or kids before today, but now that Donte had suggested it, I couldn't get this picture out of my head. This picture of me and Donte together with five children, having our happily ever after.
I could hardly contain my excitement and happiness… But I knew that I should sleep on it. I would speak to Maisie about it tomorrow… Get her input on it. Yasmeen and Mikail had been happily married for years, and I found myself wondering…
Could me and Donte have that same fate and happiness?
I rubbed my eyes, drifting in and 403
out of sleep. A wide smile plastered across my face, as I allowed my mind to think about the future.
A bright, happy future spent with a man that I loved.
The next morning.
I dusted myself off, yawning as I got out of bed and got ready for another day. I took a quick shower and threw on some jeans and a shirt. I wanted to go and see Maisie, and speak to her about what Donte had said to me last night.
I made my way to her apartment door.
“Hey Maisie?” I called out. “You in?”
Maisie opened the door, smiling.
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“Hey girl,” she greeted.
“Sorry I just barged in,” I sighed exhaustedly. “But I really need to fucking talk to you.”
I could hardly hold my excitement in. I wanted to tell her everything.
She giggled in response.
“That's okay,” she grinned. “Are you here to give me juicy details about last night?”
“Yeah, we fucked in a private lounge,” I laughed.
“Girl, you're wildin',” Maisie giggled. “How hot is that?”
We both cracked up with laughter.
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“That's not what I came to talk to you about, though,” I shrugged.
Maisie rubbed her chin, furrowing her eyebrows. “No?”
I let out a deep breath, as we walked into her living room.
“Last night in the car,” I began nervously, “when Donte drove me home, he asked me if I've ever thought about getting married and having kids.”
“That's fucking adorable!” Maisie exclaimed, clapping her hands to her face in excitement. “You do realise he asked that so he knows whether to propose to you, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” I breathed, my heart hammering against my chest. I scratched my arm timidly, millions of emotions flooding through my body all 406
at once.
“Do you love him, Sapphire?”
Maisie asked intently. “Honestly?”
“Yeah, I do,” I admitted sheepishly.
“I really, really do.”
“Then go for it, babe,” Maisie replied, with her hands on her hips.
“You'd be a fool to turn him down.”
“I wouldn't know how to be a mum,” I mumbled.
“Being a mum is tough,” Maisie shrugged. “Especially when the kids are still babies. It's a lot of hard work. Not to mention pregnancy is no walk in the park.”
“True.”
“But your love for Donte will get 407
you through it. I swear, watching babies that are literally the mini version of yourself and your other half… is the most adorable shit ever.”
I felt myself go bright pink as she said this. Just thinking about it filled my heart with a happiness that I couldn’t explain.
“You're blushing,” Maisie giggled.
“I want this, Maisie,” I mourned. “I want it so much.”
Maisie chuckled, amused.
“Then why come here and ask for advice?” she grinned. “Go find your man and tell him how you feel! Say yes!”
I nodded in response, and before I knew it, I was bolting out of her apartment at full-speed.
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Wanting and needing to see Donte.
Ready to say yes.
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45
maya
I ran through town, my heart thumping against my chest. I was making my way to Donte's house. And I was so fucking excited…
So fucking excited to tell him that I wanted to marry him.
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So fucking excited to tell him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
I couldn't wait to see the happy look on his face, and then have him slam me against his bedroom wall and have his way with me.
God, I loved this man.
I loved this man so much.
I continued to run, one foot in front of the other.
One foot in front of the other.
One foot in front of the other.
One foot in front of the other.
As fast as my legs could carry me.
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As fast as my body would will me to move.
My surroundings blurred around me, the trees overlapping and fading in the background.
I was just seconds away from his house now.
I arrived at his house, my heart hammering against my chest.
But I was not prepared for what I was about to see.
I wasn’t fucking prepared.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It felt like I was suffocating.
Like my windpipes were crushing.
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Like my soul had been sucked straight out of my body.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“You are under arrest for the murder and torture of Alfonze Michael, Lily Graham, Raymond Ruiz, Terry Roberts, Ruby Allen and Bratva Boulevard,” came Boss’s voice, as he put Donte in handcuffs outside of his house.
“I didn't fucking do this shit!”
Donte roared, his veins pulsing to the surface of his skin. He looked like he wanted to kill. Like he wanted to fucking murder.
“You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence that you 413
>
later rely on in court,” Boss snarled.
“I'm being fucking framed,” Donte sneered. “I should have known that you would have something to do with this. I knew you looked fucking familiar from the day that I saw you at Sapphire's mom's funeral.”
Boss roared with manic laughter.
One laugh after the other, mercilessly, relentlessly, and he wouldn’t stop.
He wouldn’t fucking stop.
“I didn't do any of this,” he spat back bitterly, his voice dropping to barely below a whisper. Thin, stone-cold, like ice. “I had the help of a woman. A woman I sent undercover. A woman that you love very dearly.”
I could feel my chest heave upwards and downwards, feeling like I 414
was about to explode. Terror swam through my body. It felt like the life had been drained right out of me. Like I was better off fucking dead.
I couldn’t bear this.
I couldn’t fucking bear it…
“Ah, she's here,” Boss grinned, nodding in my direction as he turned around to face me. “Maya, the brains behind this whole operation.”
Donte turned around to face me, his eyes swimming with tears.
Looking defeated.
Looking completely and utterly shattered.
Empty.
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Numb.
Hollow.
“Sapphire?” he breathed.
This
couldn't
be
fucking
happening.
No, no, no…
NO!
“You see, Mr Abruzzi,” Boss drawled, “Maya here is part of the Secret Service. I sent her undercover to Manhattan under a new identity. The identity of Sapphire Myers.
“She played you like a puppet.
Made you fall in love with her, got you to sleep with her, fed you sob stories about her past. When really, she was gathering evidence against you this whole time.
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“I couldn't be prouder of her for doing this mission so well. She really used her brains here, got you thinking with your dick, just to get what she wanted.
“Evidence to show that Indigo Limited is corrupt. Evidence to show that it was you behind the murders. That you had involvement with the Russian Mafia.