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“Kyenna! Girl, come here,” she said, pulling me in for a hug. “You look so good.”

“Thank you.”

“You came in just in time. I have some new stuff that just came in this morning.”

“Well, let me see. I know you only order one of everything, which is why I love coming here. I don’t have to worry about anyone else wearing what I got from here.”

She walked to the back and came back with a rolling rack full of clothes. For the next hour, I tried on dresses, jeans, jackets, and shoes. The last dress I tried on really had me staring at myself for a while in the mirror. It was beautiful and would be something I would wear if Rah wanted to take me on an expensive date. I had no idea where I was going to wear the damn dress. By the time I walked out, I had enough bags that security had to help carry them to the car. I had one more stop. There was a tennis bracelet that I wanted. Not that I needed anymore jewelry.

Finally, I was trying on a bracelet that I had been eyeing for months. When the jeweler placed it on my arm, all I could do was look at my wedding ring. Rah used to randomly buy me things like this and pretend it was nothing. I pushed the thought aside before it could become anything heavier.

“I’ll take it,” I said.

“I’ll get this wrapped up for you.”

“Can you add the necklace in with it too?”

“Of course.”

When I pulled back up to the compound, I was exhausted. Security unloaded my bags, and I carried the smaller ones inside myself. By the time everything was upstairs, my closet looked like I had robbed a store. I didn’t feel bad about it. It was needed, and I felt better. Rah would be mad had he known I wasn’t keeping up with the lifestyle he gave me. I had put a reminder in my phone for next month to run the shit back again.

CHAPTER 32

RAYA

Ispent so much time at this place. I was starting to think this nigga liked me. Slamming my car door, I threw my purse on my shoulder and walked up to Lloyd’s office. He had sent me an email that he wanted to meet with me, and it was urgent. His receptionist buzzed him, and he walked from the back and greeted me.

“I hope this is about Kyenna releasing my daughter’s money,” I said as we walked to his office.

He didn’t say anything as we walked in and sat down. Lloyd sat behind his desk and opened a folder. I was starting to hate seeing those, too. The last time I was here, I had to sign a paper to share my fucking daughter with people that hated me.

“Kyenna has agreed to catch your mortgage up.”

“What’s the catch with this bitch?”

“You cannot mention anything about the fight or Royal Flush on any social media or with anybody.”

I laughed. This was typical Kyenna behavior. Shut me down so it wouldn’t mess with her reputation. Lloyd slid the paper across the desk and placed a pen on top of it.

“Why do y’all do this? I’m starting to feel like every time I come in this damn office, somebody got a piece of paper for me to sign just to get what I need.”

“Because unfortunately, Raya, your mouth has a way of turning situations into something bigger than they have to be. Kyenna is willing to bring your mortgage payments current, but she’s not willing to pay thousands of dollars for you to turn around and go online telling people she assaulted you because you asked for help with Ryleigh.”

I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms.

“So basically, she’s buying my silence.”

“No. She’s protecting herself. There’s a difference. You came into Royal Flush causing a disturbance. There are witnesses and cameras showing that. She also put her hands on you, which means if you decide to make an issue out of it, both of you could end up dealing with something neither of you needs to. She wants the situation closed, and frankly, so do I,” Lloyd said.

I looked down at the paper and briefly read a few lines.

“Where is the money coming from?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Is the money coming from my daughter’s trust? And how much is she taking out?”

“None.”