Complicated 3 Page 2

  “I know Mekhi wanted to die when you walked in there with that big ass belly,” Zyra chuckled.

  “He did a double take when he saw the belly, but he really wanted to die when he saw my ring,” Rylee laughed.

  Rylee would never have imagined getting married so soon after divorcing Mekhi, but that’s exactly what happened. Zyrian wanted them to purchase a home and welcome their first child into the world as husband and wife. A week after she stopped working, Zyrian surprised her with the biggest princess cut chocolate diamond ring that she’d ever seen. It was much prettier than the ones she’d been looking at because he had it custom made with lots of extras. Zyrian didn’t think the chocolate diamond looked expensive enough, so he had the jeweler to work his magic and design one that was. Rylee loved how he listened to her whenever she talked. Just like she wanted, Zyrian rented a boat for the entire day after their courthouse wedding and had a chef to prepare an intimate meal for two. It was plain and simple, but Rylee loved every minute of it. She didn’t need another extravagant ceremony to profess her love. Being with Zyrian felt right, and that was all that mattered.

  “You want some more to eat baby?” Rylee’s mother-in-law Glenda asked her when she walked into the kitchen. Just like always, she gave Rylee a hug and rubbed her belly. They were so happy to be having a grandbaby and Rylee was happy to be the one carrying it.

  “Mama if you hug that girl one more time,” Zyra warned.

  “Shut up Zyra,” Glenda fussed. “If I’m getting on your nerves Rylee just tell me. I don’t mean no harm. I’m just excited about my grandbaby.”

  “I know that Mrs. Glenda. It’s okay. I don’t mind, and neither does she,” Rylee said referring to her unborn baby.

  “You gon’ die if it’s a boy,” Zyra smirked.

  “It is a boy,” Zyrian butted in when he walked into the kitchen with his father.

  “She probably already told you. That’s why she’s over there smiling,” Rylee assumed.

  “I didn’t tell anybody. My mama didn’t even want me to tell her. Everybody is gonna be surprised at the party except for me,” Zyra promised.

  “Mama you went with us to the appointment. Why didn’t you want to know?” Zyrian asked.

  “The doctor talked to Zyra after I left. I wanna be surprised too,” Glenda smiled.

  “I should have never agreed to this shit. Now I gotta wait for Zyra’s crazy ass to reveal the sex of my baby,” Zyrian fussed just like always.

  “Stop complaining so much boy. A few more days and it’ll all be over with,” Zyra assured him.

  “Have y’all thought about a theme for the room yet?” Glenda asked.

  “We’ve been looking at some stuff, but I don’t really want to do anything until I know the sex,” Rylee replied.

  “I need to paint the room first too,” Zyrian said as he rubbed Rylee’s belly.

  “Since the house is almost done, what do you plan to do with that bar you just bought?” Zyrian’s father Zach asked.

  “I don’t know. I might tear that shit down or put it back on the market,” Zyrian shrugged uncaringly.

  “What!” His father yelled. “Why would you tear it down? I only went there the one time for your party, but that’s a nice place. You know how much money you can make every month? You can take care of your family just with the money that you get from your businesses.”

  “Why did you even buy it if you didn’t want it?” Glenda asked him.

  “Because, I wasn’t feeling how they were trying to play my wife. They tried to be sneaky and got beat at their own game. I don’t care nothing about running no bar. Me and my wife are about to have a baby. That’s the only thing on my mind right now,” Zyrian replied.

  “You don’t care nothing about running the body shop either, but business is still booming. Just say the word and I’m on it. I can run the bar and the body shop too,” Zach offered.

  “Nah man, that’s too much on you. Me and Rylee might think about doing something with it once the baby comes,” Zyrian replied.

  “You can count me out. I’m done with all that mess,” Rylee replied.

  “But you did it for that other nigga, though. Don’t even play no games with me Rylee,” Zyrian fussed.

  “I was sick of it then too. I can help you get it right and hire some good people, but I don’t want no parts of that anymore. Why can’t you just own it and let somebody else run it?” Rylee questioned.

  “I don’t own, we do,” he said pointing back and forth between the two of them. “And you can hire whoever you want to run it. I want us to focus on raising our baby.”

  “As big as this family is, you don’t need to hire anybody. You can put some of your aunties in the kitchen, and I can do the books just like I do at the body shop. You might need to hire some bartenders and managers, but that shouldn’t be hard,” his father suggested.

  “I can’t think about that right now. My focus is on my baby and finishing up our house, so we can move next week. Everything else can wait,” Zyrian replied.

  Rylee nodded her head in agreement. They had enough on their plate and owning MJ’s only added more to the pile. It was crazy how everything went down, and she was over it already. Mekhi going behind her back to purchase the bar was a waste. Especially since she told him from day one that she didn’t want any parts of it. He could have been a man about the situation and just told her that he wanted to buy her out. She wouldn’t have had a problem with it as long as she got her half of the money. But just like always, Mekhi had to be sneaky and ended up paying the price for it. He was trying so hard to hurt her, but there was no way that he could. He’d already done that when he cheated with her cousin and made a baby. Besides, she was very happily married and expecting an addition to her happiness soon.

  Chapter 3

  Zyrian was a ball of nerves when he and Rylee pulled up to the hotel where their reveal party was taking place. Zyrian kept it simple with his Gucci loafer and matching belt. His Gucci shirt and jeans set the outfit off just right to give him a classy, yet bad boy look. Rylee was cute and comfortable in a white maternity halter maxi dress. She paired it with pink Chanel sandals and accessories to welcome the baby girl that she swore she was having. No matter how many people told her that she was having a boy, she refused to accept it. She would be cool either way, but her heart was set on a baby girl.

  “They got me fucked up,” Zyrian fussed making Rylee look over at him.

  “What’s wrong?” Rylee asked him.

  “They don’t have nowhere for us to park.”

  “It’s a parking lot Zyrian. They have a million empty spots,” Rylee said pointing to the far end of the huge concrete slab.

  “I’ll be damned,” Zyrian mumbled as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

  He already had a huge family on both sides, but it looked as if Zyra and his mama invited the whole world. The entire parking lot was almost full, and it was huge. Rylee shook her head and laughed when she heard Zyra’s voice come over the speakers in the car. She already knew that her husband was about to start an argument.

  “I hope y’all are on your way,” Zyra said when she answered the phone.

  “We’re already outside, but that’s not the point. I hope you don’t think I’m making my wife walk all the way from the back of this parking lot. We’ll be back at home watching this shit on FaceTime,” Zyrian swore.

  “Boy stop the dramatics. We saved the very first spot in the parking lot for you. It says reserved for the guest of honor. Rylee, help your dumb ass husband out,” Zyra laughed before hanging up the phone.

  “Back up baby. I see what she’s talking about,” Rylee instructed.

  She saw that Zyrian was getting upset, so she grabbed his hand in hers while he drove to their designated parking spot. Rylee was happy that this part of her pregnancy was about to be over because her husband was not feeling it. He didn’t like having to wait to find out the sex of their baby, and she had long ago regretted the decision to l
et his family do it. She knew that he would be back to his old self once he found out what they were having and Rylee looked forward to that more than anything. Once he parked, Zyrian got out of the car and helped his wife out. As aggravated as he was a few minutes ago, he was starting to feel better already. He and Rylee walked into the hotel lobby and followed the pink and blue balloons to the ballroom. Zyra was already standing at the door waiting for them with a microphone in her hand. After speaking to them both, she got on the mic and announced the parents to be before opening the door to let them walk in.

  “Damn,” Rylee mumbled as her mouth dropped open in shock.

  Glenda had gone all out and spared no expense for her first grandchild. There were well over one hundred people there and room for even more. The entire room was decorated in white with hints of pink and blue everywhere. Three long tables to the rear had pans of every kind of food imaginable with servers standing next to each dish. A waiter walked around with champagne glasses filled with either pink or blue liquid that the guests seemed to be enjoying. Rylee and Zyrian walked over to the two chairs at the front of the room and took a seat.

  “Is this the baby shower?” He whispered to Rylee.

  “No, it’s a reveal party,” she answered as she continued to look around.

  When her eyes landed on the desert table, she was in awe once again. Her mouth watered at the sight of the pink and blue cookies, cupcakes and candies that were spread out. The three tiered cake looked fit for a wedding instead of a gender reveal party, but she wasn’t complaining.

  “So all these nosey muthafuckas came here just to find out what we’re having?” Zyrian asked pulling her away from staring at the sweets.

  “I guess so,” Rylee shrugged as she called Zyra over to her.

  “Do y’all like it?” Zyra asked with a smile.

  “Yeah, everything is so pretty. But that’s not what I called you for,” Rylee answered.

  “What’s wrong?’ Zyra wanted to know.

  “Nothing, I just want you to fix me up a candy bag,” Rylee answered.

  “My mama already got your greedy ass covered. She got you a bunch of shit put up. She’s fixing y’all a plate of food now.”

  “Alright, so when do we cut the cake and announce my son to the world?” Zyrian quizzed.

  “Damn Zyrian, you just got here,” Zyra fussed. “We haven’t even started playing the games.”

  “Games!” Zyrian shouted. “Man, I didn’t know y’all had to do all of that. This is just like a damn baby shower.”

  “Zyrian shut up. Look, Buck and Grim are sitting over there. Go talk to them,” Rylee said waving him off.

  He was about to have a snappy come back until he saw his cousin China walk in with her boyfriend. China didn’t care for Rylee, but Zyrian knew that it was only jealousy. She didn’t have a reason not to like his wife, so there was no other reason for her to have a problem with her. His family was very close, so he expected China to be there. What he didn’t expect was for her to bring Brandy’s trifling ass along.

  “See, now they’re trying to start some shit,” Zyrian said as he got up and walked over to the three people who had just walked in with Zyra following right behind him.

  “What’s up cousin?” China said with a sneaky smirk covering her face.

  “Ain’t nothing up. What’s up with this here?” He asked pointing to Brandy.

  “What you mean what’s up with it?” China replied.

  “You know damn well what he means. What the fuck did you bring this bitch here for?” Zyra snapped angrily.

  “Y’all trying to disrespect my wife or something?” Zyrian questioned.

  “Nobody ain’t trying to disrespect your wife. That girl ain’t worried about Rylee. That’s my best friend, and I invited her,” China spoke up right as her boyfriend walked off.

  He was scary as hell, so Zyrian wasn’t surprised. China messed all over him, and he let her do it. He had a few skeletons in his closet, and he knew that Zyrian could expose him if he wanted to. His broke ass didn’t have a job, so China paid all the bills. She treated him like he was her child because of that.

  “Your best friend huh?” Zyrian smirked while looking at Brandy. She hurriedly turned away and played with her hair.

  “Yes, my best friend. Can she stay or not?” China asked.

  “Not. Pets ain’t allowed in here, so show that bitch to the door. And you can walk out with her if you have a problem with it,” Zyrian replied right before he and Zyra walked away.

  China was heated, but she knew better than to cause a scene. Her brothers already looked at her as the messy one, so they would take Zyrian’s side for sure. She was pissed that Rylee had worked her way into their family and had everybody fawning all over her. And Zyrian’s stupid ass had to go and marry her stuck up ass. He didn’t even invite anybody to the ceremony. He claimed that Rylee wanted something simple, so only a handful of people knew about it. Zyrian didn’t even seem like the marrying type to her, but Rylee had him gone. She had everybody in the family fooled, but China wasn’t convinced.

  “What was that all about?” Rylee asked her husband when he came back over to her. Glenda had fixed him a plate, and he wasted no time digging in. Rylee was almost done with hers and was already begging for more.

  “Nothing. I just told China to walk her puppy out,” Zyrian said making Rylee laugh.

  He wasn’t trying to stress his wife out with any drama, so he changed the subject quickly after that. He and Rylee talked and ate before walking around to mingle with the guests. Rylee barely knew anybody there, but thanks to Glenda, they all knew her. She still smiled politely and returned the many hugs that she was receiving. Zyrian’s parents were so excited, and the smiles on their faces were evidence of that. They paraded Zyrian and Rylee around, showing them off as the proud parents to be. That only made Rylee think about her parents. She wondered how they would feel knowing that they were going to be grandparents. Sara was excited, and she knew that they would be too. She tried not to let thoughts of her family get her down, but sometimes it was hard. Rylee’s family was so small, but compared to Zyrian’s it was almost nonexistent. Aside from her father’s side, Nakia was the only family that she associated with on her mother’s side. She’d washed her hands with Nicole and her aunt Leslie the minute she walked out of their house.

  “Alright y’all, it’s time for us to play some games,” Zyra announced over the microphone making most of the men in attendance groan. Rylee saw that Zyrian was already aggravated, and she didn’t want to make things worse. Buck and the rest of his cousins were on the patio having drinks, and Rylee knew that he would rather be there instead.

  “You can go outside by your people baby. I’ll be fine in here,” Rylee told him.

  “You sure? I don’t want you to feel like I’m leaving you in here by yourself,” Zyrian replied.

  “I’ll be okay with Zyra and your mama. The other men are already gone, and you look like you’re ready to run out of here too,” she laughed.

  Zyrian looked around and noticed that most of the men had already gone outside on the patio. The only men that were left were his father and some of his brothers. China had her man on a tight leash, so he sat at the table with her and some of their other female cousins. Derrick and Amber had their own little private corner and didn’t seem to care if anyone was there or not.

  “I am, but I would have stayed if you wanted me too. I wish they hurry up. I’m ready to cut the cake and see what’s up,” Zyrian replied.

  “I know, but keep your phone close by. I’ll call you when it’s time,” Rylee promised.

  Zyrian nodded and kissed her lips right before he headed outside with some of his cousins. He was anxious to find out the sex of his baby, but being with his cousins helped to keep his mind off of it. They kept him laughing and when Snake walked in with one of his newest women, things only got funnier. Snake was a big, tall, muscular man, but the woman that he showed up with was short and thick. She had a
cute face, but she was the total opposite of the women that they were used to seeing him with. She had three small kids with her, but they were almost as tall as she was. The two little girls looked just like her, but the boy was a little darker and fat as hell.

  “Hey y’all,” Snake said when he walked up to his family. “This is my girl Ashley.”

  “Which one?” Grim asked making everybody laugh. It was funny as hell since all four of them looked like kids.

  “Stop playing so much man,” Snake snapped at his brother. “This is Ashley.”

  He pulled the woman close to him and introduced her to everybody. She seemed kind of shy, but she sat around with them and talked anyway. Her kids ran around on the patio while she occupied a spot on Snake’s lap. This was probably the fifth woman that they’d met in less than a year, so nobody was impressed. Snake was always claiming to be in love with somebody, and they would be over a few weeks later.

  “Here comes your wifey Buck,” Grim spoke up.

  Zyrian looked up towards the door and got pissed when he saw Buck’s girl Asia walking towards them with her cousin following close behind.

  “What the fuck is really going on? Somebody must really want to see me back in jail. Why would Asia bring Renata here with her?” Zyrian asked Buck.

  “That’s her shadow. You know she don’t go nowhere without her cousin,” Buck answered.