May 9, 2023

Queen

I heard the sound of the blinds open and sunlight beamed on the lid of my eyes. I groaned, lifting the blanket over my head in an attempt for a little bit more sleep but unfortunately for me that wasn't in the cards. The blanket was seized from my body and tossed aside, completely exposing me. "Rise and shine!" Syn cheered.

I opened my eyes, shooting him the nastiest look I could and he chuckled. My eyes fell on Saint who was in his arms and my irritation faded away. "Aww," I got up from the bed and walked over to them. "Good morning, baba," I said in a baby voice as I laid small kisses on Saint's head. I earned a giggle from him that warmed my heart.

I looked up at Syn who was watching the both of us with a smile and gaze I couldn't decipher. When he caught me looking at him, he smiled and adjusted Saint in his arms. "We made you breakfast." He gestured behind me and I turned to see the patio doors opened. Outside, there was a table and a couple of chairs set up for the both of us and I grinned at the gesture.

"Just umm, let me freshen up really quick." I pointed to the restroom.

"Take your time." He lifted Saint in the air playfully as he walked toward the patio and I slipped into the restroom. When I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I nearly screamed. My hair was a mess from me not wrapping it up before I went to bed. It wasn't even a cute mess. I looked horrendous.

I had sleep wrinkles on my face from the lines in the pillows and my eyes were bloodshot with bags underneath them. In utter horror and shock at what was in my reflection, I washed my face quickly before leaving the restroom.

"I'll be right back!" I yelled, hiding my face as I ran out of Syn's room. There was really no point in hiding since he had already seen me. But seeing how good he already looked this early with knowing I looked like a monster made me sick.

I walked into the room I was staying in and immediately made a beeline to the bathroom and got undressed. I showered as quickly as I could and when I was done, I tied my hair up into a ponytail. If I tried to manage it right now I'd be here for the next hour.

I slipped into my nude pair of panties and matching bra and gave myself a mental pat on the back for buying the set. They made my boobs look like they were levitating. I threw on my white sundress and pulled it down to my thighs before adjusting the chest area where the low sweetheart neckline showed off my "assets".

I grabbed my lip gloss and mascara and applied a small amount before my eye caught a flickering follow from the ruby necklace on my chest. I watched it for another moment, not sure what happened, but when it didn't glow again, I finished up in the bathroom and headed back downstairs to Syn's room.

When I reached the bottom of the steps, I noticed the front door open and I could hear chatter outside. I peeked through the window to see a group of large men sitting on the long picnic table outside. They were laughing, smoking, and seemingly eating breakfast at the table.

"Are you going to stalk them or go introduce yourself?" I jumped when I heard the voice behind me and I turned around to see Paris holding two plates. Each of them contained a stack of half-burned pancakes.

"Don't sneak up on people." I scolded them. "Who are they anyway?"

"My men," he said. "If you want to come outside with me I'm sure they'd love to meet-"

"Are you having like...a breakfast party thing?"

"A breakfast party..." He laughed. When he noticed my confusion, he stopped laughing and tilted his head. "Did Syn not tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

He raised his brows and grimaced before walking around me. "I don't know." Before I could ask him another question, he sped out of the house and I bit my inner cheek in thought. What could Syn possibly have to tell me that involved all of these people?

꧁꧂

Syn

I cut up the banana on the plate and gave a piece to Saint. We'd been waiting on Queen for almost ten minutes. I knew I told her to take her time, but I couldn't imagine how long she thought the food would stay hot. When I heard her footsteps enter my room, I relaxed and wiped Saint's hands. "Here she comes," I whispered to him.

As if understanding me, he turned to the room. With an excited squeal from him at seeing his mother, I looked at her and my eyes widened. I'd seen her covered in almost everything and nothing at all yet she always managed to steal my focus.

"Mama!" Saint yelled excitedly. She smiled down at him and leaned forward to push out of her seat. What was an innocent movement became warped in my mind as the time slowed. The necklace I had given her swung from her chest and directly beneath it, her breasts were on full display.

They moved with her abrupt movements and my chest tightened. If Saint wasn't here right now I'd take her inside and finish what we started last night, but he was. Father mode was activated and it'd remain on no matter how good she...

My eyes followed her delicate fingers as she picked up a croissant from the plate between us. She ripped off a piece of it and placed it into her mouth, her plump and glossy lips momentarily wrapping around her fingers.

She turned her neck to the side to look beyond the patio and my eyes fell on her exposed neck. Her heartbeat suddenly filled my ears and my jaw ached. I missed the taste of her. I put a finger over my lips absentmindedly as I watched her caramel skin glow under the sunlight. She gave Saint a bright smile, saying something I had hardly heard in my haze before looking up at me.

I watched as her lips move, yet I couldn't bring myself to listen to what she was saying. I was captivated. She threw her head back in a laugh that echoed in my head and I wished I could take a mental picture of her right at this second. One accompanied by her laughter that I could keep with me forever...even if she wasn't there.

I felt something hit my head and immediately, I was dropped back into reality. I cleared my throat, sitting up as Queen laughed. "What?"

"You just zoned out on me again, Syn. This is your second time in the past two days. What are you so distracted with?"

"Umm, nothing," I lied. "Were you saying something?"

She sighed. "I thought we had a good night last night. Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"You asked me to wait up for you and I fell asleep. Now you're hardly listening to me."

"I don't care that you fell asleep. I'm glad you did and chose to stay in my bed. Waking up to you is one of my favorite things...despite your snoring problem."

"Shut up." She smiled. "I wasn't sure...I thought you'd be mad that we didn't...you know. I'm sure you were expecting-"

"Queen." I covered Saint's ears. "I would never just expect sex from you. That's weird."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm sure you didn't but the word expect makes it feel like you don't have a choice when that's far from the truth. You're the one in control of that when it comes to me. I don't move without you. So no, sex would never be an expectation."

"Well." She bit her lip and looked down at her plate. "I expect it from you." My brows raised at her bold statement and I looked at her in surprise as she plopped a grape in her mouth. "I don't know if that's weird or disrespectful to you..."

"You can disrespect me."

She bellowed at my words, but I was completely serious. "I'm joking, Syn!"

"I'm not."

"Oh my gosh..." She grinned and turned away from me, covering her face in embarrassment. "Stop being weird. I have something to ask you."

Saint yawned in my arms and I lifted him, placing him on my chest. "Ask away."

"Who are all those guys in the front?"

Shit. I had forgotten they were there. I knew I had to break the news to her eventually, but why did it have to be now? Everything was going so well. I took a large bite of a croissant, stuffing my mouth and giving myself a few more moments to think.

When I finished chewing, I shrugged and continued eating, not meeting Queen's eyes. "Just some of Paris' friends, I guess," I said lowly.

"Oh okay, cool," she said with a nod and I relaxed. "Now tell me the truth."

I sighed, knowing our moment was over and I rubbed my temples with my free hand. "They're here for you and Saint's security."

"What?" She scoffed. "So you just completely ignored what I said a few days ago at my house? You know how I feel about-"

"I know, okay? Trust me when I say I do. You've been through things I'll never be able to relate to," I said sincerely as she crossed her arms. "I know you're worried and scared, but I've personally checked and chosen Paris and his men. They aren't a threat, I promise."

"It's not just that, Syn. I opened up to you about something important to me and you turn around and do the one thing you said you wouldn't."

"And I wasn't going to, but after speaking with your brothers-"

"My brothers?!" She scoffed before placing her hands on her head. "I swear it's like you men aren't capable of letting any women have a say in anything when potentially dangerous situations come up."

"Don't pull that card."

"Am I wrong, Syn? I'm almost as powerful as you and yet you have no faith in my ability to protect myself. Why is that?!"

I covered laid a hand over Saint's ear. "Don't yell. Be as mad as you want but don't yell at me in front of my son."

I grew up around with arguing adults. If it wasn't my father and mother, it was her and Julius. It happened so often that I started thinking it was normal. I refused to let Saint ever hear us argue. No matter how pissed we were, all that he needed to know was that his parents loved one another.

"Can you say what you need to say without raising your voice?" I asked in a low tone.

"It doesn't matter what I say to you," she replied as she pushed the chair back and stood up. "You're not going to listen anyway."

"Right now you're the one that's not listening."

"Okay, Syn," she said before coming to my side. "May I have my son?"

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure one of your guards will report everything to you."

"You're being childish right now. Can we just sit and talk for a moment? I made breakfast and-"

"I want to leave."

"The house? That's not a good-"

"Your general area- hemisphere or whatever you call it." She reached for Saint and I let her take him into her arms. I stood up and followed behind her hoping to calm her down, but she completely ignored me. When she reached the door, she slammed it behind her and it took everything in me not to lose my shit. The only reason I didn't was for Saint's sake. He didn't need to grow up thinking that it was okay to go off on his mother because I couldn't control myself.

I'd have to deal with this later, but it seemed like the best thing to do right now...was leave her alone.

꧁꧂

Author's Note
Me to these mfs😤

I'm SICK AND TIRED. 😭
Who do y'all agree with here? Was Syn wrong for what he did? Was Queen's reaction justified?🤔

But let's take a minute and just look at the way this man looks at herrr😭😭😭

Lmk your thoughts ❤️