May 6, 2023

Queen

The sound of the cool jazz filled the sport's car as Aiden pressed on the gas a little bit too hard. The cold air rushed into the car as buildings became unrecognizable at our speed. I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes, thankful for all of the distractions clouding my mind. My full attention should've been on Aiden, but ever since I talked to Saint, I'd been thinking about Syn.

I knew something was off, but the fact that Saint mentioned it...it made everything feel more real in a way. Everything that was happening with Syn wasn't just in my head. He wasn't fine. Something was happening that I just couldn't see...

That hurt me the most; that I couldn't see it.

If we were in each other's shoes I was sure he'd figure me out within seconds. Obviously, it was because he knew me better than anyone, but that realization only made my heart hurt to the core. It meant that I didn't know him enough to be able to figure it out. What's wrong with me? Was it because Syn never told me anything or because I didn't try hard enough?

The car came to a slow and my eyes fluttered open to see us pulling into the driveway off a large gated mansion. With one arm, Aiden drove around the large water fountain in the middle of the walkway and parked in front of the staircase. I looked around to see about a dozen other cars parked around us and I raised a brow.

"I thought this was a dinner...?"

"Dinner...party," he added with a grin as he took off his seatbelt. "I hope that's not a problem."

"No." I shook my head. "It's fine." It was better this way. More people meant that this was less intimate and hopefully there would be a lot less attention on me. "Is there anything I should know before we go in?"

"Well, my father is having a meeting with this big contractor about some property," he said. "It was a last-minute thing but chances are you won't see much of him tonight."

"Okay." I nodded. "Let's go then."

We both left the car and I held the bag of wine in my hands nervously. Guests were walking up the long steps with trains of dresses following behind them and I grimaced. "I thought you said there was no dress code."

He laughed, glancing around us quickly before placing a hand on the small of my back. "You look perfect, trust me."

I glanced down at the satin burgundy dress, fixing the spaghetti straps as I took a deep breath. I guess I didn't look horrible, but I wished I put in a little bit more effort. I watched my steps as I walked, making sure my heels didn't slip. Falling here in front of all of these people would be an embarrassment I was sure I wouldn't be able to recover from.

Two guards on either side of the double door entry nodded at us as we walked in and Aiden shot them a familiar smile before guiding me inside. "Woah," I said as I walked inside. One would think that a single chandelier would be enough to capture the beauty of a house and reflect it, but there were dozens. A large one dangles over the foyer as smaller ones danced around it.

A double staircase floated across both sides of the foyer leading to a walkway between them where guests were lounging and watching the front door. I could hear the faint jazz music in the background and immediately picked up on where Aiden got his taste in music. That must've been the only thing he got though because he definitely didn't get his parent's extravagance when it came to decor. I'd been to his house and although it was nice, he didn't seem to care for any color coordination or extra things.

"This is nice," I said with an astonished nod as I looked around.

"It's okay, I guess." He brushed it off, continuing to lead me deeper into the house. "Excuse me," he muttered to guests in the way. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of a large double island where a woman was wearing an apron and laughing with the guests around her. "There she is," Aiden said lowly.

"Is that your mom?" I whispered. He responded with a nod and my eyes floated back to her as I took her in. Her brown skin shone under the light filling the room and her radiant smile was contagious as she flashed it to everyone in the room. Her dark curly hair reached for the sky as her curls floated above her shoulders with every move of her head.

"That's when I told him to kiss...my...ass," she said out loud, earning a laugh from everyone around her. "Y'all don't wanna listen to me until you find yourself on the wrong side of the road at five a.m." They all laughed with her once again, chatter flowing about at the conversation they were having. After a few moments, her eyes floated in our direction and her smile grew. "Why y'all being strangers? Get in here."

Aiden laughed softly as he walked towards her and he caught me off guard, pulling me along with him. He hugged his mother as we said hellos to everyone around him, and after a few seconds, he pulled my hand and moved me in front of him. "Mom, this is my friend Queen."

"Friend?" She raised a brow as she looked down at me. Whatever she was looking for, she must've found satisfactory because she pulled me into a hug. I smiled, returning the gesture and she pulled away, holding me at arm's length. "You're such a pretty girl. He never brings anyone home."

I glanced at Aiden who was rubbing the back of his neck and laughed softly. "Thank you for having me Mrs. Green," I greeted her, handing her the wine."

"Thank you and please," she waved her hand in the air and shook her head, "call me Simone." I nodded with a smile and she laid a hand on my shoulder, looking at Aiden. "I raised you better than to just stand there. Make her a plate."

"It's okay." I shook my head. "I'm not hungry."

"You're gonna eat, baby," she said. "Nobody is leaving here hungry."

"Amen." Someone said followed by grunts of approval at her words and I smiled, not wanting to be that one person. I looked at Aiden who busied himself with doing what she said and her mother pulled up a stool next to her on the island she was cooking on. I sat down and immediately was bombarded with questions by everyone around me.

From seeing everyone outside I expected this to be one of those functions where people barely talked, but I was completely wrong. Everyone had something to say in any aspect of the conversation. It was overwhelming since it wasn't what I was used to, but a part of me liked it. There was no room for quiet awkwardness.

After an hour of conversation, people dispersed and began dancing to the music while I stayed in my seat, checking my phone every few minutes. Aiden had run off to talk to his cousins so I was alone for the most part...except with the company of his mother who was feeding me everything she could.

"Try this," she said for the dozen time, lifting a fork with a piece of fried shrimp to my mouth. I did as she said and when the flavor hit my mouth, I raised a brow at her and nodded. "It's good, huh?" She raised her brows, smiling with a knowing nod. "I know."

She walked to the sink to wash her hands and I continued eating the plate she had made for me. After a few moments, she came back to me and sat down on the stool beside me. "So Queen, tell me about you."

I held a hand over my mouth, swallowing the food in my mouth as I turned to her. "What do you want to know?"

"How old are you? What do you do for a living?...Everything, I'm nosy."

I laughed softly and wiped my hands as I answered. "Well, I'm twenty-five and I'm currently a model, nothing too crazy."

"Any kids?"

"Mhmm." I nodded. "I have one. He's turning two in a few days."

"Aww, how precious." She smiled. "Enjoy them while you can," she said. "They grow up one day and you'll just ask yourself where the hell time went." I followed her eyes to where Aiden was and smiled to myself.

"You raised a good man," I told her.

A slow smile spread across her lips as she rested her chin on her palm. "I did, didn't I?"

"Definitely."

"It's hard work..." She swallowed a breath before turning to me. "...raising a son on your own. If you ever need help with anything, you call me, okay?"

I didn't know if I gave the impression that I was raising Saint alone, but I just nodded. I didn't want to delve into a conversation about how Syn was still in the picture when chances were that I wouldn't see her after today.

"Mom, stop bothering her," Aidan said as he walked over to us.

"I'm not bothering no damn body." She hit him with a cloth beside her. "But I'll leave you two be for now." She stood up and pointed at me. "Don't let this be the last time we talk tonight."

"I won't," I assured her. She shot me one more smile before removing the apron over her gown and disappearing into the crowd of people around us.

"I hope she didn't say anything too embarrassing," Aiden said as he sat down.

"No, she was great."

He smiled at my response before leaning his elbows onto the table and looking around. "Well, this is my family." I nodded, looking around with a small smile as we remained silent. "If you ever want to join, you're more than welcome to," he teased. I bumped him with my arm and he laughed softly as he shook his head. His eyes moved back to the guests, but something caught his eye that made his smile falter.

"What?" I asked.

"My father."

"Do we not like him?"

He shrugged. "He's whatever, I guess."

The tall man came in our direction, greeting guests along the way. When he was finally next to us, Aiden and I both stood up to greet him. "Son." His father nodded. "How has football been?"

"You'd know if you ever watched a game," he replied.

"You know how busy I get." He laughed, his eyes moving down to me. "And you are?"

I introduced myself, holding a hand out and he shook it firmly. "Darius Green," he said.

"Nice to meet you."

He nodded, dropping my hand as he looked back at Aiden. "I have someone I'd like you to meet about the investments I told you about."

"We're at dinner. Is this the time for business?"

"There's always a time for business." His father turned around, signaling a man over to us. As he approached, I tilted my head slightly. There was something familiar about him that I couldn't quite place. He wore a navy suit, his dark hair gelled back as he approached us. His blue eyes landed on me as he smiled briefly and I squinted my eyes. "Aiden, this is Drake Kincaid. He's in charge of the Luxor properties on Fifth Avenue I told you about."

"Aiden, I've heard a lot," the man said as he held his hand out. Aiden shook it, giving him an inattentive nod as his father began rambling about his business ideas. As the moments passed, I could feel this Drake guy's eyes on me whenever I was looking at something else. It was weird, but I brushed it off. He was a guy, I guess.

"If you want more money from me, just say that," Aiden interrupted, making his dad raise a brow in surprise. "What? Let's not pretend that's not the reason we're talking for the first time in a year."

"You know what, umm..." his dad looked around. "Maybe we should discuss this privately, son?"

Aiden sighed, looking down at me. "I'll be right back." I nodded and the both of them walked away, leaving me alone with the mystery man. I gave him a quick smile, looking around nervously and not knowing what to say. My intuition was telling me to get away from him as fast as I could, but I figured it was just me. I tended to be more paranoid around men than I wished to be.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"What?" I replied.

He took a step forward, his hands in his pockets as he gave me a charming smile. "Would your ex-husband be on Earth too by any chance? Him and I have some...things to discuss." Ex-husband? My blood ran cold at his mention of Syn and I cleared my throat as I looked around.

"You'd be stupid to do anything here," I warned him lowly. "Walk away."

"Relax." He held his arms up in defense. "I wouldn't lay a hand on you, your highness."

"I'm sure," I muttered, crossing my arms.

"Tell me, though. How does the Queen of Hell...find herself in a room full of humans?"

"The same way you do, Drake," a voice from behind him said. He turned around, trying to see who spoke to him and when I heard him scoff, I looked around him and at the intruder.

No fucking way.

꧁꧂

Author's Note

Chile...it's a lot going on...
I'm running on no sleep so ima make this quick lmao😭
So Queen met Aiden's parents? How do we feel about them?

I hope y'all remember Drake from earlier chapters...if not, he was a rival of Syn's who went as far as to try to get a girl to slip something into his drink at a party👀. What's he doing here?

What do y'all think happened at the end?
Lmk your thoughts ✨