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If Rah wasn’t already dead, I would’ve killed him for putting me in the middle of this shit. I hated for drama to hit my doorstep. After Rah begged his way back two years ago, I hadn't seen these bitches or heard their voice. He made sure where I stood was safe. If I was going with him anywhere, they need not to show up. They weren’t even allowed to touch my doorstep. Averie and I never had beef because she was years before me. I also understood their chemistry.

“None of this is her fault. Damn! She’s the one that found him. Can we not do this right now?” Shameek said. “My muthafuckin’ brother is dead. I don’t need this fuckin’ shit between y’all right now.”

I walked off and left their ass standing there. Shameek could escort them to the den where the rest of the family was. When I laid eyes on my daddy, I headed straight for him and fell into his arms.

“I got you, Baby. I’m so sorry.”

Shameek walked over to us.

“Sis, my bad for that shit. I’ll keep them away from you. Let’s just get my brother in the ground so we can figure out who the fuck did this.”

Day of the funeral…

A week had gone by, and I was finally putting my man to rest. The journey here had been tiring. From fussing with the baby mamas about their kids, shutting down Royal Flush until further notice, and dealing with my own grief was hard. When I got the obituaries made, I did not include his baby mama’s. I included all three of his children. That was a whole argument because they felt like they should’ve been in there. For what? He never claimed Raya and Averie were ex-girlfriends.

I sat on the front row with my hat low over my eyes. My daddy sat on the side of me, holding my hand. My legs were too weak to walk in with the family. I sat there looking at Rah laying there peacefully while I lived on without him. Once the family started walking in, I prepared myself for any mess that was going to start. As far as I knew, Rah didn’t have any secrets. Averie walked to the casket with their twelve-year-old son, Kaiden, and eight-year-old daughter, Khari. My heart broke watching them both kiss him.

Khari and I were really close. She was like my little best friend. Averie wasn’t a fan of it. She kept that baby away from me since Rah died. Kaiden hated my guts because he blamed me for his daddy leaving them. Rah and Averie were over before I came into the picture by at least a year. Khari was already one when I started dating Rah. Still, I respected that he didn’t like me. When he was at the house, I gave him space. I made sure he ate and his clothes were clean before he went back to his mama’s house.

Raya and Ryleigh came right after. She was three years old and was clueless at what was going on. All she knew was daddy wasn’t coming back, and he was asleep. She was the baby I had to get used to. At first it was hard to look at her because she looked just like Rah. It only reminded me of what he had done during our marriage. As a woman, I had to realize that it was not the baby’s fault that her parents were careless. She had since become my little baby.

“You promised you weren’t leaving me with this baby.”

I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer. Averie got up and grabbed Raya.

“This not about you,” she said.

“The fuck it ain’t! My daughter ain’t got no daddy now.”

“Neither do mine,” Averie told her.

“See, this is why you don’t have babies everywhere,” someone behind me said.

“You got the house, money, and the ring.” Raya cried. “What the fuck my baby got?”

She had a valid question. I stood up and walked towards her. Everyone probably thought I was going to beat her ass. Instead, I took my wedding ring off and held it out.

“You think this means I won?” I asked, as the tears fell from my eyes. “You want it that bad, take it.”

Raya stood there in disbelief as my daddy and security stood behind me.

“Because I’d trade every dollar, house, and car just to hear my husband argue with me one more damn time.”

The church was silent. I sat back for a week and let everyone do and say what they wanted. My mind and body were tired. Rah was gone and there was nothing any of us could do about the shit. I wasn’t about to argue about material things. His kids were in his will. Whatever they wanted when it came to me, they could have. Shameek walked up behind me and picked up my ring.

“My brother put this ring on yo’ finger. It stays there,” he said, placing the ring back on my finger.

“That’s her problem. Y’all baby her,” Raya said.

“Aye…anybody got a problem with Kyenna…got a problem with me.”

“Is she going to run the Flush?” a guy asked.

Again, the church went silent. That was the burning question everyone wanted to know. This was the wrong place and wrong time.

“Get the fuck out,” Shameek told him.

My father-in-law had enough. He stood up and nodded for the security to remove the guy. Even street shit didn’t stop for a funeral. I just wanted to go home and sleep this off. Once everyone was back in their seats, the service went on. I made the program, and I couldn’t tell you a damn thing that happened. My mind wasn’t here as I stared at my husband. I wasn’t even able to give my husband any children. Slightly, I turned my head to look down the aisle at his kids. Though I loved them, biologically they weren’t mine. After today, there was no telling when the next time I would see them.