Page 1

Chapter 1

Jasmine

After I called out Hov, Crew walked out of the lobby. The automatic hospital doors slid open and shut behind him, leaving silence over everyone who was left standing there.

Throughout all these years, my brother finding out about me and Hov had been one of my biggest fears. I never truly believed it would happen, especially not in front of everyone.

Hov and I had been reckless over the years, sneaking and fucking when there was a house full of people and meeting up during the day when anyone could’ve saw us. But, somehow, we were never reckless enough to get caught. Hov was always adamant about it not being right, yet he was hooked on me for a minute the same way I was hooked on him.

It was funny how life worked, because these days I don't think of him in that way. He was still fine, still a boss ass nigga, but I knew he was taken and wrapped up tighter than a fuckin blunt.

My biggest regret is not speaking up at a better time and keeping our secrets more private. Now Reggie’s family knew, and worst of all, the one man we never wanted to know this secret, Crew. I blame Reggie and his horrible parenting for all of this. I should beat his ass again right in this lobby.

As the doctor stood there looking both impatient and uncomfortable, I felt the need to rush his decision once more. This was urgent, and it was the whole point of me saying something in the first place.

“Hov, are you going to come back here or not?” I asked.

Hov dropped his head for a second before looking back up at me.

“Yeah. I guess so. If I need to. Do I really need to, Jasmine?”

“I don’t know, Hov. I’m just trying to be sure. You all heard what the doctor said, and I want to rule everything out at once. It’s not to start a debate or—”

“Why the fuck is this even a conversation we have to have right now, Jasmine?” Reggie turned his nose up at me. “You haven’t been sure that he’s my kid this entire time and had me raising and loving the little man?”

His eyes glossed over, and for a second, I did feel sorry for him. Reggie was a dumb ass nigga and insufferable at times, but there was no doubt that he loved his son. RJ was probably the only other person he loved more than he loved his fuckin self at times.

I remembered when I first had him, for a few months, I really thought we would be a loving family. It was his possessive ways and everything else about his personality that he had hidden that made me distance myself from that thought. He was no longer a husband type, just a typical baby father. Or at least what I thought a baby father was supposed to be like.

“Reggie, there’s a big chance that he’s yours, but you’re also not the only man I was with around conception. What if your blood or mine doesn’t match, and he dies? I can’t live with that, so I had to put it on the table.”

“Jasmine, was me and this nigga the only people you were with?”

Hov spoke up.

“Yes, I, I’m sure of it. Only you and him,” I replied, thinking back quickly to that year and remembering I was loyal to Reggie until the times when Hov wanted me, and then I went running to him every time.

No matter if I was in bed with Reggie, I would get up and go see Hov. Then, once he got with Cashmier, he became more and more distant, turning me from somebody he needed into somebody he fucked when it was convenient.

Hov turned to Ciara, who was standing behind him. “Mama, I swear I didn’t know about this shit.”

I crossed my arms, getting irritated because here he was again, making sure she was okay during a time when he could be worried about many other things. I hated to be this way, but fuck how she felt. My son could die, and he was worried about her feelings right now. We were before them, so apologies to her shouldn’t have even been a fuckin thing.

“Hov, this is about the baby right now. We can discuss the meaning of all this later. You should just go and do what the doctor needs you to do.”

Hov nodded his head shamefully and then looked back toward me. Thank God she had some sense about the situation because I would’ve hated to go at it with her right now.

Reggie started doing that egotistical ass chuckle that I hated from him.

“Damn, I’m really about to have to get poked for a kid I shouldn’t even give a fuck about saving? That’s crazy. You know how much of a hoe this makes you look like right now, Jasmine?”

With Crew outside, Reggie’s mouth was slick as hell, but before I could force the right words out, Hov took two slow steps toward him and stood right in his face.

“I don’t know if that kid is mine either, and I haven’t heard shit about it being a possibility until today, but I’ll take a needle in my arm if it might save his life. So, stop acting like a lil bitch in your feelings and come get this shit done. You’re not the first nigga to take care of a child that could not be yours. That’s just how this fuckin world is.”

Hov glanced back at me before looking at him again.

“And trust me, I’m heated too, but his mother’s lies shouldn’t stop us from being men.”