King

It was the very next day, and we were still in the hospital. The doctors wanted to keep Theodore over night just to make sure his vitals were all right. Honestly, I thought they were trippin' about nothing. The little nigga got shot, he could've went into surgery last night and been out the hospital within an hour after they stitched him up since where he got shot wasn't life threatening. But they decided to keep him and Mya too.

So, in the mean time, I was handling business in the waiting room. I wasn't about to let these kids slow down my business. I sent Isaiah and Adonis back to the warehouse to keep business going while Theodore's away and I told them to be on the lookout for Tee Tee and Nicole. Something has to be done about those bitches, as well as Theodore's top flight security. With as much security as he has, there's no reason those bitches should've gotten that close on him and he shouldn't have gotten shot either. They should have protected him if he wasn't able to. Daniel shouldn't have been shooting at Tee Tee.

The business I was handling was to expand Theodore's empire. I know he's all up Mya's ass since she's the only female he's been with, with some common sense but he needs to see the financial aspect of their relationship. If I had known Mya was who she was months before last night, there would be no doubt in my mind about expanding my business. There's no reason Theodore hasn't looked into her since he moved her ass up in his crib. He should've had somebody following her, somebody should have done a background check on her and she should've had her phones tapped.

By now, Theodore could've been ten times richer if he got into business with Mya and her family. Mya's family had quite the reign here in Atlanta. They weren't as good as me, nobody is, but they made do with the resources they had down here and they're rolling in cash now, which is surprising to me. As much as Mya pretended to struggle, she really put on a good act for everybody. But now that I know the truth, there's no reason why we can't combine our forces.

"I'm thinking we go into business together," I told Matt, Mya's Dad.

"How? I mean, Prince has his shit going on and I got my own shit going on. We'll be stepping on each other's toes."

"No, you'll be expanding your empire across the city. More weight and more guys will be put on every corner and there won't be any competition since we got the biggest shit going on in the city. Once we team up, these other little niggas getting started will have to join us, which in the long run will be more money for all of us."

"I mean, I don't have any issues going into business with you but I don't mess with that shit no more. I'm out the game, so you're gonna have to talk to my kids who are running my business now. They're going to make the final decision on what's going on and I'm sure it's the same with you and Prince. All this talking we're doing is fine, but the kids are making the final decision."

"Oh, Prince and Isaiah will make the right decision," I told him. I know Prince and Isaiah will be willing to expand the empire and make some more money. They won't have an issue doing that since they do everything I tell them to do anyways. "You just need to make sure your kids make the right decision and know what's on the table once they agree to joining forces. And it's no backing out once the plan is made."

"Don't worry about my kids, I got this. We need to solidify this though."

"How?" I asked. I knew one way to solidify our families legacies but I don't know if Matt will agree to putting his daughter up as a pawn for all of this. As sprung as Prince is over Mya, I'm sure he won't have an issue but Matt might.

Matt kissed his teeth. "You know how. The kids gon' have to get married. Once they tie the knot, that'll be enough bonds to keep our empires connected for years to come and they need to make some babies to solidify shit. I know that's how we used to do it back in the day and I don't know if they'll be too accepting of that, but something has to be done. We need to move more weight and get more boys out on the streets, and the only way to do that would be to team up with a partner that's just as big as we are."

"It's gonna take some convincing, but that's the only way to get shit moving," I agreed with him. Mya and Theodore are gonna have to get married and they're gonna have to have some babies to make shit official. "We need at least a year to get shit moving but we do have a little problem we need to handle."

"What?"

"Some Banga nigga that's been following Mya. You know about that?"

Matt's face tensed up at the sound of Banga's name so I knew he had to know something about the kid and what he's been doing to Mya. As scared of him as she is, there's no doubt in my mind the little niggas' been beating her ass. "Hell yeah, I know about that little prick. I've been waiting six months for that nigga to wake up and get out of the hospital so I can personally handle him."

"Oh, so you got that covered then?"

"Hell yeah, don't even worry about it. I'll take care of Banga and the extra baggage that comes with him and you work on getting these kids married with children in the future," Matt told me.

"What about Mya? She seemed pretty reluctant about joining the business."

"I'll straighten her out. Mya just doesn't understand she's what's riding on us blowing up. She'll come to her sense once I explain everything to her and tell her how important this will be for all of us. You see, Mya didn't grow up seeing me work my ass off to get where I am today. She's my youngest, so she came after all the bad shit was done and she lived the luxurious life. She don't know all the shit we went through and I don't plan on going through hard times again, so Mya will be open to being apart of the business. She's our only hope."

I nodded my head, agreeing with him. I just hope he can get Mya on board with this whole situation or this whole plan will be down the drain. Nothing will work out if Mya and Prince can't agree to this, so we need the both of them on board in order to move things forward with our families and secure our legacies.

Mya

I sat on the edge of my hospital bed, listening as my siblings lectured me about protecting myself where ever I go. I know I need to protect myself, but how could I when I was jumped by two girls? There's no way I could've won that fight, even if they didn't have a gun.

"I was so shocked when Mama called me and told me what happened to you last night," my older sister Imani began, "out of the four of us, I didn't think you'd be the first person to get shot. I figured it would've been Marquis."

My brother Marquis, who was the oldest out of the four of us, smacked his lips. "You always talking shit little girl. Unlike the rest of y'all scary girls, I know how to protect myself and shoot a nigga or a bitch if they decide to get in my way."

"Yeah, but you're trigger happy," Precious, who was also older than me and Marquis' twin, said, "unlike you, we think before shooting. It makes me wonder how you're three minutes older than me since you act so immature."

"Age is just a number Precious, which makes it obvious as to why you're so damn stuck up. You're old," Marquis told her.

"At least I act my age!"

"I act like I'm 27, you need to act it too and stop acting like you 57. You too scary. You shoot first and ask questions later so niggas can't catch you slipping."

I rolled my eyes. "If you wanna be honest, the both of y'all act like you're about seven years old fighting over who's more mature. You're immature if you shoot people just for the hell of it," I mumbled, making Imani roll her eyes.

"Here we go, the goodie two shoes is back to preaching her clean shit again. Give me a break Goldie. Daddy's gonna make you go into the business one of these days, especially once he finds out what you're really doing at that niggas' club. Daddy's gonna kill you when he finds out you're stripping for old men and fucking your boss."

I rolled my eyes. Out of all of my siblings, Imani and I had the worst relationship. I don't know what it is with her but it's like she's determined to see me fail. All she wanted as a kid was for me to get in trouble by my parents. She'd do something, then blame me for it and I'd get in trouble by my parents. They eventually caught on to her games, but every now and then, they fall for her foolishness since she loves to keep tabs on my life just to blackmail me and hold it over my head.

Precious shrugged her shoulders. "And so what if she is fucking her boss? If she wants to fuck him 'cause he gotta big dick then she can. Shit, I'd be doing the exact same thing if I was hurt because I doubt her fucking him is doing anything but positively effecting her job. I don't agree with the stripping, but if that's what she wants to do, then fucking let her. Damn, maybe you need some dick."

Imani scrunched up her face. "I don't like that."

"Well it'll help your stubborn ass instead of using strap ons all the time."

"Okay!" Marquis exclaimed. "Damn. I don't know why Mama and Pops didn't have more sons. I can't take listening to y'all argue and talk about this female shit. Do y'all mind stepping out so I can talk to Goldie?"

Precious folded her arms. "Why do you need to talk to her alone? How come we can't be in here?"

"Because as her oldest and most mature sibling, I have the right to do what I want. Now leave."

Precious and Imani walked out of the room, leaving Marquis and I alone. Out of all of my siblings, Marquis and I were the closest. Growing up, Marquis always protected me and stood up for me. He was the one that always told my parents the truth when Imani used to lie on me. Precious would stand up for me, but she'd never go up against my parents. Marquis would.

Marquis plopped down in the seat right beside my bed. "You know I'mma stand up for you regardless of the shit you doing, but I didn't know you were stripping. How come you didn't tell me?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"Because you tell me everything Goldie. You should've told me and I could've been there to protect you last night. And who's this nigga you laid up with anyways? You back with that Banga dude?"

I sighed. "No, we broke up."

"Good. So who's this new guy?"

"His name's Prince."

"What's his real name?"

I scrunched up my face. "None of your business Marquis."

He nodded his head. "A'ight, if that's how you wanna be, fine. You don't have to tell me his real name but I got enough information on him to figure out who he is anyways. So, why are you stripping? I mean, if it's money you need, then you know you can just get it from us. Mama and Pops don't care if you get money because we got a lot of it, but stripping? Mama and Pops raised you better than that. What happened with you being in school? I thought you were trying to go the clean route and be different than us."

"I am but I was low on mone--"

"Cut the bull shit Goldie. You're not low on money. I handle Pops' finances and I know he sends you money every month. The fuck you doing with the twenty grand he's sending you every month?"

"I'm saving it."

"For what? 'Cause you stripping and living with some nigga."

"I'm using the money to pay for school."

"Okay, so why are you stripping then? You got more than enough money to survive on if you weren't stripping."

"Because it's quick money," I told him, since I really couldn't come up with an explanation as to why I chose to strip. I didn't want to be working in an office every day since I'm going to be doing that for the rest of my life and I don't want to make minimum wage. "I don't want to depend on Mama and Daddy for everything. Why can't I make my money my own way?"

"Because I don't like the way you making your money. Is that Prince kid pimping you out or something?"

I scrunched up my face. "No. Why would you think that?"

"'Cause it's clearly something keeping you at that club."

"Maybe it's because it's something I want to do at the moment."

"Look, I know you Goldie and this isn't something you need or want to be doing. Either that nigga is pimping you out or something else is going on because he isn't going to stay with you forever with you being a stripper. You don't wife strippers, you fuck them."

"You don't even know Prince. He isn't even like that," I told him.

"But the nigga let you get your ass beat by his baby mama though. That nigga ain't shit and I can't respect a nigga like him."

"Why not? You've got bitches out on the streets selling themselves, which is far worse than Prince having girls that strip. You're a hypocrite Marquis!"

He chuckled. "Damn. This nigga really got you wrapped around his finger Goldie. Any nigga that lets you fight his battles isn't a man and you need to recognize that. The shit he's got you doing is unacceptable and I think you can do a whole lot better than what you've been doing lately. Because let's be honest, you've got more than enough money to be living on your own. What happened to the apartment you just got?"

"I moved because Banga kept following me. He wouldn't leave me alone so I had to lay low."

"So then you should've called me. I would've handled it."

"Don't you get that I want to do things on my own? Why can't anybody in this family just accept that I don't want to do the same shit y'all do? I don't want to be like you, Imani, Precious or our parents. I just wanna be myself and creat--"

"You been preaching this same shit for years and nobody cares Goldie! It really ain't up to you about what you wanna do with your life at this point. Mama and Pops let you go the clean way but you're fucking up, so now we need to step in and clean up your mess per usual. The plan is to let you finish school and you're going to help me run the business since that's what you've been in school studying the past few years. Out of the four of us, you'll have the most knowledge running a business so Pops wants me and you to work together doing that and I don't really care about any complaints you have. Me and Pops discussed this awhile ago and we all think it's a good idea. And it's not like you can back out. Once Pops makes his mind up about something, it's no changing him so you need to get with the program and quick," Marquis told me. "Does that nigga know who you are?"

I rolled my eyes. "You know, he has a name, right?"

"I don't care about his name. I care about why y'all been together all this time and he hasn't met the family. Is he hiding something?"

Theodore wants to meet my family. He's asked me several times if he could meet my family but I've been the one stopping it from happening. I don't want Theodore to know about my family because he'll think I was just using him the past few months. And I know how my family is about new people. They probably don't like Theodore now because of what happened at his club last night but he ultimately had no control over what his baby mama was gonna do. I didn't have to stand up for him, but I did because I love him and I wasn't going to let those girls take advantage of him and the situation he's in.

"No. You know how our family is. I don't want to put him through that."

"He's a grown man. He can expect us to ask questions. Is he in the hospital right now?"

Yes, Theodore was here. He was only three rooms down from me and the only reason I know this is because we stayed up on the phone talking all last night once visiting hours were over. He even came by my room to see me last night too, even though we got caught by the nurses. We talked last night and I explained to him why I fought those girls, well attempted to fight them. Theodore and I talked about me fighting those girls for him. He didn't just let me fight his battle for him, I willingly did it on my own.

"He could be," I shrugged my shoulders. "I wouldn't know."

Marquis chuckled. "Alright, keep playin' with me Goldie. You know I'll go to every room in this bitch 'til I find that nigga."

"You don't even know what he looks like."

"Actually, I know a lot about your little friend. Probably a lot more than you know. Do you know he's pimping girls out? What kind of man does that when he has a daughter? It's sick, if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you," I rolled my eyes. "And you do the same thing. Daddy did the same thing. Nobody is forcing the girls to sell themselves and he's not their pimp. They're willingly selling themselves."

"Alright, well next thing you know, he's gonna be pimping you out too if you keep believing everything he says."

"Shut up. You sound stupid. You don't know anything about him or our relationship and I'd like it if you stopped looking into my man and what he's doing. I know what he does in private, and clearly I'm all right with it since I've been with him all of this time and decided to move in with him. I don't care about what he's doing because it's exactly the same as what our family does. So mind your own business Marquis and worry about finding a girlfriend for yourself."

"I have one."

"I hate that bitch," I mumbled. His girlfriend went and cheated on him, got pregnant and didn't know who the father was so she pinned her baby on my brother since he was the only person fit to take care of a kid out of all the other potential baby daddys. It eventually came out my brother wasn't the father, so instead of breaking up with her, he stayed with her and has been taking care of her baby for three years now. He's a fool if you ask me.

"Like you told me, mind your own business about my relationship. Me and my girl good. Just make sure your relationship is good."

"Me and Prince are good."

"Good."

"Good," I rolled my eyes.

Aubrey

I leaned back against the headboard on Jazmine's bed as I watched her roll up the blunt in front of me. I can't even lie and say I'm not happy, because I am. Since Jaz and I got together when we were kids, we've never stayed together because we could never get along long enough to do so. But I guess five years apart and a lot of maturing really changed the two of us for the better. We've been together for five whole months and we haven't even broken up, and we haven't been fighting either. We've been getting along, and I like this side of Jazmine. I like being able to get along with Jazmine because she keeps me sane, when we're good at least.

"Who taught you how to do this?" I asked as Jazmine licked the blunt and sealed it. "'Cause back in Cali, you were too good and young to do this. I had to do it for you."

Jazmine smirked as she lit the blunt before taking a hit. "Actually I learned from watching you all of those years and I wasn't too young. You just never let me," she said as she laid back on her bed next to me. I reached out for the blunt but she shook her head and took another hit. "Nah, I bought this shit."

I snatched the blunt out of her hand and laughed at her. "Yeah, from me." I took a pull from the blunt before passing it over to her. I scooted further down in bed so I was laying on her stomach and wrapped my arms around her. "You staying over here tonight or you gon' leave?"

I got my own spot down here in Bankhead. It wasn't the safest place to be and not where I wanted to be particularly, but it was all I could afford at the moment. I could've asked Theodore to help me out finding a decent place to stay but I wanted to do shit on my own. I didn't wanna have to ask anybody for anything and this is temporary. I've been saving up my money to move to a better neighborhood and hopefully Jaz will come with me.

Jazmine ran her hand down the side of my face but stopped to play in my hair. "I wish I could stay but I really have to go back home. I've been here for three days and Theodore is coming back tonight. I really need to be there to help him."

I sucked my teeth. I know I told Jazmine I was done worrying about her and Theodore, but I just don't trust the two of them living together. Every time I ask either one of them about what happened between them while I was gone, they get all defensive as if I shouldn't be asking. I'm just curious to know what happened while I was locked up because it doesn't make any sense why Jazmine waits on him hand and foot like she's his wife or something or looking for his approval. I just wish they'd be truthful to me so I'm not in the dark with shit.

"Don't he have a girlfriend living with him now?"

"Yeah but she got shot and beat up too and Princess will be there. Who's going to help her?"

"Her father," I said, sighing. Theodore's got too many niggas living up in that house to need my girl to come to his aid. "I think you're crossing boundaries Jaz. Mya's his girlfriend, she can take care of him. Plus, he's a grown man and he just got shot. He ain't dead so he doesn't need anybody cooking and cleaning for him. And he can take care of Princess just fine."

Jaz sighed. "You're blowing my high Aubrey, damn. Why do you care so much?"

"Because you're my girlfriend and I barely see you because you're waiting hand and foot on a married nigga. Theodore's my nigga but he doesn't need anybody to take care of him, especially you. What about me and my needs?"

Jaz quickly sat up as she passed me the blunt. "What the fuck do you want from me Aubrey? I've been over here with you for three days, waiting on you hand and foot. I just fucked your ass to sleep and cooked for you. What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to stay here with me. I'm tired of you living with another nigga."

"Another nigga? That's our friend."

"Right and I'm your boyfriend, so doesn't that mean more? Man, you on that bull shit Jaz. You're trying to make me out to be the bad guy but I'm just trying to secure our future. I really wanna make shit work with you but we can't do that if you're on the other side of the city living with another man and taking care of him and his family like you're maid."

Jaz shoved me. "I can't stand you Aubrey! He's our friend and I've taken care of Princess since we moved out here. I can't just leave her"

"Well move the fuck on. She has a mother already and it's not you."

"I never said I was her mother. I can't just leave her."

"You don't have to leave her. You can still come around her, I don't have an issue with that. But I have an issue with you leaving me to take care of some other people. What about me and our baby?"

Jaz rolled her eyes. "I'm not even pregnant."

"Not yet," I smirked as I watched her naked body stand up from my bed. "I'm not tryna start no shit with you Jaz, seriously. I really just want shit to work between us. I know you don't like coming here to see me because this isn't the safest place but trust me, I'm trying to move up outta here and I want you to come with me. I want the two of us to live together and start a life together. I want to marry you Jaz but I just can't."

"Why not?" Jaz asked as she pulled her leggings up over her hips. She bent down in front of me, making me sit up a little. She stayed bent over in front of me putting on her shoes and I just kept starring at her ass. Jazmine looks good as hell. I don't know what she's been doing the past few years but she looks too good to have been single the past five years. If I was down here with her, we would've been together. I wouldn't let no nigga come near her. "Aubrey," Jaz laughed, finally turning around but that's when I noticed she wasn't wearing a shirt or a bra. I licked my lips at the way her titties were sitting up. She had a few hickies on her chest from the love we've been making the past few days. "Aubrey! Pay attention to me." Jaz grabbed my chin and lifted my face up so we were looking into each other's eyes. "I wanna marry you."

She kept my chin in her hand but I kept looking down at her lips. Damn she was so fine."Jaz just lemme--"

"What?" Jaz asked as she looked down at how hard I was getting. "Damn. I'm turning you on that much?"

"You know what you do to me Jaz. I'm tryna keep my composur--"

"Why? If you want me, then just fuck me. You know I want you too."

She didn't have to tell me twice. I wrapped my arms around her and tossed her down on the bed before climbing on top of her. I mean what I say when I tell Jaz I want it to just be me and her. I still want her to have a friendship with Theodore because I have one too, but I want her to put more time into our relationship instead of her devoting her life to Theodore. I don't know what happened between the two of them or what Jaz is still holding on to but I wish she'd let it go so our relationship can grow and flourish, because at this moment, I can't trust her or Theodore.

I leaned down and tried to kiss Jaz but she turned her head to the side.

"What?" I asked.

"I actually have to tell you something."

"What? You pregnant?"

She smacked her lips. "No, of course not. My Mom was actually coming back into town tomorrow. I know you two don't get along but I'm trying to fix my relationship with her and she wants to sit down and talk to us."

I scrunched up my face. "Who is this 'us'? I don't like that broad."

"Aubrey, c'mon. I know you don't like her but she's changed, I swear."

"I don't care. She fucked up our relationship, so therefore, I don't want shit to do with her. I don't want her or your stupid ass father fucking up what we put so much work into. I love you Jaz and I don't want to ruin this."

She sighed. "I understand but I really want you to be there. She's changed a lot and I told you about the new woman my Dad has. They're divorced and that's changed my Mom. She stopped letting my Dad control her. She actually has a mind of her own now, so just give her a chance please?"

"No."

"Fine," she mumbled. She pushed me off of her and sat up so she could continue getting dressed. "I'm just gonna leave then."

"Damn, so because of that bitch, you're just gonna leave? She's already fucking up our relationship again."

"No, you're fucking up our relationship and you really need to stop calling my Mom a bitch because you'd be mad if I called your old wrinkled ass, son-obsessed, bitch of a mother out of her name. So, yes, I'm going to leave because you can't respect me enough to speak with my mother and I'm not coming back over here either."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't care," I replied, even though I did care.

"And I'm not having sex with you so don't even call me trying to have phone sex, don't text me any freaky stuff, don't Face Time me trying to fuck and don't call me to come over to have sex with you because the answer to all of those is going to be no."

"So, you just gon' hold out on me because of that bitch?"

"Yup."

I nodded my head as I watched her finish getting dressed. "A'ight, that's cool. Do you then. I'll just find one of your coworkers to fuck then."

"Do it and I swear I'm cutting off your balls. I swear Aubrey, if you ever cheat on me I--"

"I don't care," I cut her off, laying back in my bed. I wasn't going to cheat on Jaz. I was past that. I did my dirt in high school and could've been with any other girl but I chose Jaz for numerous reasons. I wouldn't cheat on her because I worked so hard to get where I am today. "You can see your way out."

"Whatever. I hate you Aubrey."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I hate you too. Goodbye."

Jazmine snatched her purse off of the edge of my bed before she walked out, slamming the door close. I'm serious about not dealing with Jazmine's Mom. I don't care if she's not with her Father anymore, she's still a grown woman and chose to make decisions on her own. She could've told her husband he was wrong for the way he treated Jazmine or how he ruined our relationship but she stayed by his side and contributed to mine and Jazmine's downfall. Therefore, I'll never be able to sit down and have a conversation with or anybody in Jazmine's family because they're all full of shit. Jaz and I have gone through too much to let one sit down with her mother ruin all of that.

Milan

"Wake up bitch."

My body shook as ice cold water was thrown all over me and I knew it was Victoria. She was the only person bold enough to kick a person when they're down. After she pushed me down the steps, she should have taken me to the hospital to treat my injuries but instead, she kicked me in the face and tied me up to the pipes in the bathroom. I don't know how long I was knocked out for but I knew it had to be a long time. The sun is setting now so it had to be almost 24 hours of me being handcuffed to the pipes under the sink. I can't believe they left me here for this long. Well, I can believe Victoria would but not Teddy. I figured he would've set her straight about treating me like this.

My wet hair dripped down my face and body, making me shiver. Victoria stood over me with an empty mug in her hands and a smirk on her face. She placed the mug on top of the sink before closing the bathroom door behind herself.

"W-Where's Teddy at?" I asked. My body was already cold from lying on the bathroom floor all night but it didn't help the fact that Victoria just threw water and ice all over me to wake me up.

"Oh, your ex husband left for awhile," she said as she leaned up against the sink.

Why the hell would Teddy leave me here with this crazy bitch? I know we had a big argument last night but I didn't think he'd leave me here and then still go along with this divorce. We haven't been married long enough to get a divorce. We're still in the honeymoon stage. "Excuse me, but I think you're getting me mixed up with you. Teddy is your ex husband, not mine."

"Well, your soon to be ex husband. After the little performance you displayed last night, Teddy doesn't want anything to do with you. He probably would have forgiven you if you got on your knees and begged but then you just had to throw my son under the bus as if he really had a helping hand with your divorce."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious? My relationship with Theodore is what drove me away from Teddy in the first place! You know how mean Teddy can be and her never showed me any attention because he was always with you. You may not want to believe it but your son treated me a whole lot better than Teddy ever did. Theodore is a real man and I wish I met him before I even met Teddy. Theodore would never turn his back on me like this."

"Of course he's a real man, I raised him," she scoffed. "But I don't see my son chasing after you now. You've been locked up in this house for how many months and you haven't received a phone call or a visit from my son? I don't know if you're dense or just can't believe it, but my son doesn't want you and neither does his father. Teddy's a pain in my ass and I know he's a mean person but I'd never subject him or my son to a woman like you. You're a gold digging slut. Teddy has given you anything you've ever wanted and you went behind his back and slept with his son, which is the worst thing you could've possibly done."

"Theodore and I love each other though!"

"Shut up! You don't love my son! You used my son."

"What would I gain from being with Theodore? I've risked my marriage and my relationship with my husband's family."

Victoria scrunched up her face. "Teddy doesn't have any family, except for my family. You weaseled your way into our lives and created nothing but hell ever since you've been here. You ruined my relationship with Teddy, you destroyed the relationship between my son and his father and you've kept all of us separated."

I scrunched up my face. "Is your relationship with Teddy seriously what you're still worried about? I've never kept any of you separated, that was Theodore. He cheated on you with me. I never knew he had a family and a wife because he told me you two were divorced. I've apologized time and time again to you about what happened but that was five years ago and you need to get the hell over it. Everybody in the family has gotten past it but you because you're still in love with my husband and you're jealous because I'm with him and you're not."

"That's not true."

"And it pisses you off to see me with your son, doesn't it?" I smirked. "You just hate the fact that Theodore and I had something going on because you want to be the only woman in his life. It's like you want to be with your son or something to make up for the fact that you're a horrible mother and never treated him right. And you don't even have to defend yourself. Theodore told me all about how you treated him and how you walked away from him when shit got hard. I fell for your son because I felt bad for him for everything you put him through. You're a horrible person Victoria and you have mental issues and you put your issues off on other people. You and Theodore fucking deserve each other. You're both crazy."

"Oh fucking well," Victoria rolled her eyes. "We deserved each other in the past but you ruined all of that."

"Then take him!" I yelled. "Take him because I don't want him! Take a man that doesn't respect you and treats you like shit because I'm tired of putting up with his shit."

"But just because you divorce Teddy, doesn't mean you can get with my son. I'd have to be dead before I ever let you get your hands on my son again, and even then, I'd haunt your ass. You're not going to touch my son or his father bitch."

"You can't stop Theodore and I from being together. We're in love."

"You're pathetic to be infatuated by my son Mulan. He runs through bitches like it's nothing and you're just another bitch he was fucking. He never had actual feelings for you and if you think he did, he was just telling you shit to distract you so he could continue fucking you. And trust me, you weren't the only female he was fucking so don't start feeling yourself because he told you he loves you back. You're just one of many."

"But I'm sure many other broads weren't spending the night with him and Princess though," I spat.

I jumped back when I saw Victoria's hand flying in my direction but she missed. She knows it's the truth. No matter how man times she denies it, she knows Theodore and I were in love and he wasn't messing around with any other girls until the end of our relationship when Goldie's stripper ass started coming around.

"You're a disgusting, filthy whore," Victoria said as she shook her head as she bent down so she was in front of me. "That's why I came in here to set you straight."

I frowned. "Don't you think you've done enough?"

"Not exactly. I actually have to get something from you and if you won't give it to me then I'll just cut it off of you." My eyes widened as I watched this crazy bitch pull a pocket knife out of her pocket. Who walks around their house with a pocket knife that's covered in blood? I knew she was crazy but I didn't think she was this crazy. "Look, Teddy sent me in here to get your engagement and wedding rings. I'm giving you the chance to make shit easy for the both of us and you can just give it to me or I can chop off your finger and get the rings off. You choose."

No matter how crazy she may be, this bitch can't chop my fingers off with a pocket knife.

"No!" I yelled. "If Teddy wants my rings back then he shouldn't have given them to me. I'm not taking off my rings."

If anything, I'll pawn these rings to get some money when Teddy gets rid of me. I know it's coming now that Victoria is in his life more. He doesn't need me anymore and he proved that when he let this bitch throw me down the steps. It's like she's influenced him since she's been here in Atlanta. Teddy hasn't been himself. He's been acting crazy just like her, because Teddy would never talk about chopping me up with a chainsaw until she came around. Victoria is crazy and I know she put that crazy shit into his head since he can be manipulated so easily.

Victoria sighed. "Milan, I really tried to be nice to you and let you take off your rings on your own but you just don't listen to anybody. Now I'm going to have to remove them on my own."

Victoria sat in front of me and grabbed my hands. My wrists were bloody and sore from the way my body was being pulled against the cuffs last night but Victoria didn't didn't care about the blood or my protests.

"Please stop!" I begged.

Once Teddy kicks me out, he won't let me take anything with me. All I want is to take my rings so I can be set for a few weeks until I can get myself together.

"Stop!" I yelled once I felt the knife being pressed into my skin. "Stop!"

Victoria smiled. "No. I gave you a chance to take off the rings, so now I'm going to take them off on my own."

I screamed out in pain as soon as the pocket knife punctured my skin. My body was in so much pain from the night before but this knife was excruciating. The pain radiated throughout my body as Victoria slowly drug the knife down my skin, letting my skin burst open and blood drip all over the two of us. The longer she drug the knife down my skin, the cloudier my vision became. The tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't stop yelling for her to stop but she just wouldn't. It's like she was taking her anger out on me because she started at the top of my arm just to drag the knife down to my ring finger. She wanted me to suffer.

"F-Fine!" I gritted through clenched teeth. "Fine! Take them!"

Victoria finally stopped dragging the knife down my arm but it was no point in stopping now. She had already reached my rings. She snatched them off of my finger, almost snatching my fingers off in the process. The rings were bloody since the two of us were covered in blood but she just slipped them into her pocket.

"I got them!" Victoria yelled.

The door opened up and Teddy walked in with a smile on his face. I knew he was in on this too! The two of them can't do anything on their own. They always have to be in cahoots with each other because they're too pathetic to do anything on their own.

"Thanks for getting them baby," Teddy said as he grabbed the rings out of Victoria's hand. "Milan, I have a little proposition for you."

I opened my mouth but I couldn't even speak. I was in way too much pain to speak. I couldn't do anything but cry and watch as my arm bled out. The two of them towered over me, watching the blood seep out of my arm.

Victoria wrapped her arm around him as she laughed at me. "She's a little tied up right now Teddy. She can't talk."

Teddy chuckled. "She might not be able to talk but she's damn sure gonna listen. The proposition is for you to leave. You know, get the fuck away from my family."

"W-W-Why?"

"Because we don't want you around anymore. It's really not a proposition, honestly. We're just telling you that you'll be gone within the next few days. I'll give you some money but you gotta get the fuck out of the country, lose our numbers, don't come around our family and never bring your ass back to the country. Our marriage is through and quite frankly, your time here with me is through as well. You've done too much to our family and you'd honestly be dead if it wasn't for this divorce, so consider yourself to be one of the lucky ones that didn't get killed. But you need to always watch your back Milan."

"Why?"

If they wanted me gone for so long, how come they just can't leave me alone? I'll leave. I'll stay away from their family because they're nothing but trouble, so why can't they just leave me alone?

Victoria bent down and grabbed a handful of my hair. "Because we said so! I should've killed your ass when I had the chance to on the yacht trip," she whispered as she slammed my head into the bathroom sink, making me black out again.

~~~

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How was this chapter? How do you guys feel about the future King and Matt want Goldie and Theodore to have? Will they get married and have kids for the sake of their families businesses? How do you guys feel about Goldie's siblings? Was Goldie wrong for keeping who she is a secret from Theodore and his family? How do you guys feel about Aubrey and Jazmine's relationship? Will they stay together for a long time? Why does Jazmine's Mom want to sit down and talk to Aubrey? Does she have bad intentions for him? How do you guys feel about Milan and what Teddy and Victoria are doing to her? Are they wrong? Does Milan deserve everything she's getting from them or are they taking things too far?