Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Antwone shook his head. “It would change my life in a way I’m not ready for. I don’t want to change my life, Candice.”
“You don’t?” she frowned. “You know there are times you say stuff that doesn’t make any sense.”
He shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
This made her laugh. She didn’t know what it was about Antwone, but he seemed to know what to say to make her happy.
Today had been filled with mixed emotions.
“Well, if you don’t want whatever changes they intend to make, then I’m glad you came to see me.”
“Trust me, you should be.”
He finished his water, and she rolled her eyes, grabbing the bottle to pour him more.
The rest of the evening went by without event. The bar closed and like every other night, Antwone waited for her.
She’d grown so comfortable around him. She closed the distance between them, sliding her arm into his, and holding him as they started to walk to her apartment. For the first ten minutes, neither of them spoke. The silence wasn’t tense or awkward, just peaceful.
“Is this how you imagined your life?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Working in a bar late at night, walking home with a customer?”
She giggled. “No, not at all.” She sighed. “I didn’t imagine a world where my parents weren’t in it. I saw myself living in my old town, maybe with a husband, a couple of kids, going to see them every day. Having big cooking sessions with my mother.” She sighed. “But this is pretty good.”
“You wanted to get married and have kids?” he asked.
“Yeah, I did. I know my parents wanted to have a big family and I was the surprise to them late in life. I guess I wanted to also have a big family. I know at big events like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter, and birthdays, she wanted to have big family potlucks and stuff like that. There was only the three of us. She’d sometimes invite a few neighbors, which was cool, but you know, that was not often.”
“Do you still want to get married and have kids?”
Candice glanced up at him. She didn’t know how to answer that question. Did she want to have a family?
“Yeah, I think I do.” She took a deep breath. “Life is easy now. I only worry about getting to work and paying the bills, but … at times, it can get lonely.” She tried not to think about the loneliness.
There were days when the bar was closed over the festive seasons where it felt crushing. She’d go into the city to shop and she’d see families enjoying their time together, and it created a yearning deep within her.
“Do you want to have kids and a family?” she asked.
They arrived at her apartment and she let Antwone go, afraid of what his answer would be.
Since the kiss they had shared, she had felt at times it was the elephant in the room. She hadn’t kissed or done anything other than hold his arm. They hadn’t even hugged, and to her that felt innocent.
He didn’t answer, not until she got into her apartment and closed the door. Every other night, he went to the kitchen, but not this time.
“My father wasn’t a good man. He was fucking evil and the more hurt he caused, the happier he was.” She was pressed against her closed and locked door. Antwone took a step toward her. “I know his blood runs through my veins and for a long time, I decided I was never going to have kids. I was never going to run the risk of any child suffering because of me.”
She had a feeling his relationship with his father wasn’t a good one. “Just because your dad was horrible, doesn’t mean you’d be a bad one.”
“But if I don’t risk it, then it means they will always be safe.”
“But they will never be born, Antwone. Take your father out of the equation. Do you want to have kids?” She stopped, licked her lips. “To have a family?”
He looked into her eyes. “Between you and me, more than you know.”
Chapter Six
Finding Devon wasn’t hard.
Antwone had a great deal of contacts who were more than happy to give him information without asking questions. He paid them the right price, and he’d also helped them out of bad situations. Their loyalty to him was absolute.
It was how he was able to locate Devon. Candice’s ex was a piece of work. Not only had he hit Candice, and he didn’t believe it was only once, but the man liked to hire pieces of ass. The man visited many brothels and according to sources, he paid to slap women around, beat them up, and then fuck them.
The man lived a double life as a respectable businessman by day, and by night, he was a piece of scummy shit. Antwone had also gone and visited a few of the women who had been paid to take a beating.