Queen

The bed was empty when I woke up, Syn's side completely fixed and made up. If I couldn't recall his faint snores throughout the night I would've believed it if someone said I dreamt it all. I sighed, a part of me feeling disappointed that I wouldn't wake up to him but I shook it off.

"You can't have it all, Queenie," I whispered to myself, shifting to my side and reaching for my phone on the nightstand. 8:34 a.m. The bright screen flashed back at me, burning my eyes. I turned it off, collapsing back onto the bed and taking a deep breath.

It was way too early to be up.

I snuggled under the covers, forcing my mind to rest and willing my subconscious to give me another dream about Syn. It almost happened. I could feel myself drifting away, my body getting heavy, random scenarios playing in my head like a movie...

Then I heard a ringing, the noise acting like a dagger cutting the wires between my reality and dreams. It freaking hurt.

I sat up groggily, recognizing Syn's ringtone and reaching for his cell on his nightstand. It could be about Saint. The number wasn't saved but then again, it was Syn. He didn't care enough to save most people on his phone.

"Hello?" I answered, yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"Hi?" A woman's voice filled my ear, pausing my movements. "Who is this?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," I said slowly, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"Would you mind passing him the phone, sweetie?" She asked. "I really need to talk to him."

Sweetie?...Talk to him about what?

Questions were running through my mind but I bit my tongue. There was no need to make a big deal out of nothing, she could've been a friend. I had to remind myself that Syn had a life for himself in the time we were apart. Besides, I trusted him. I would always be jealous when it came to him and other women, but I trusted him. If there was any time for me to start growing up, it was now.

I moved the phone from my face, taking a relaxed breath before speaking again. "Sure, let me just look for him."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

I rolled my eyes, hearing the fakeness oozing in her voice, and hopped out of the bed.

"Mhmm."

I put her on hold and tossed the phone on the bed. I took my sweet ass time looking for a pair of shorts and a top. Just because I trusted him didn't mean my pettiness was gone. I could hear her high-pitched voice screeching from the phone every few seconds to check if I was still there and I ignored it. If she wanted to speak to Syn so badly, he'd be the next person she talked to.

I grabbed the phone and finally started heading downstairs after five minutes. I found Syn standing in the kitchen, his throat moving as he drank a bottle of water. His dark hoodie rested on his head, the front unzipped and showing off his chest and abs, shining with sweat.

My steps slowed as I neared him. "You went out for a run?"

"Something like that," he muttered, tossing the bottle in the trash. "You're never awake this early. I hope I didn't wake you."

No, but one of your bitches did—

"No, you didn't." I smiled, leaning against the counter in front of him. "But you did get a phone call." I held out his phone to him and he eyed me, slowly taking the phone from my hand.

"From?"

"I'm not your assistant, I didn't get her name for you."

"Her." He repeated with a nod, a slow smile spreading across his face. "That's why you're acting like that."

"I'm not acting like anything," I shrugged, gesturing toward the phone. "Go on, I wouldn't want you to make her wait."

His smile spread as he lifted the phone to his ear and I rolled my eyes, leaning off the counter and busying myself with opening the cabinet for anything. It'd be weird if I just stood there and watched him, but I still wanted to know what was going on.

"Hello, Janelle." Her name rolled off his tongue smoothly, his deep and velvety voice making the ordinary name sound fascinating. My scowl must've been more evident than I realized because Syn tilted his head to get a better view of me and I opened another cabinet, blocking his view.

"Okay," he said to her, shutting the cabinet and grabbing my wrist. He raised his brow at me in question, but his amused smile disrupted his fake concern. "No, you're not interrupting anything."

"Stop," I pulled my arm from his hold and grabbed a box of crackers before turning my back to him to walk away. He snaked an arm around my waist, holding me against him as he continued his conversation and I groaned. How the fuck did he get all his energy back overnight? There was no way he could've done this to me yesterday.

Despite my continuous resistance, his strong arm remained wrapped around me until I gave up trying to move away.

"This Friday night?" He asked her, pausing to listen for a bit before speaking again. "No worries, I'll be there."

What?

My head snapped up towards him and he was looking at something else, his attention focused on the woman on the phone. The conversation continued with a few more okays and mhmm's, before they said their goodbyes but right before they hung up, Syn spoke up once again.

"Wait, Janelle before you go," he said, moving the phone down to my eyesight before putting her on speaker. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Queen."

"Queen as in your wife?" She asked.

"We're not married," I said, side-eyeing him.

"Technically we are..."

"I've heard so much about you," the woman spoke up. "It's such a pleasure to meet you."

I stayed quiet, not sure what exactly to say and Syn brought his lips to my ear. "Rein in that jealousy, Princess. Be nice," he whispered.

"You as well," I replied, feeling defeated as I felt Syn smile against my skin.

"Janelle is our death data specialist," he said. "She and her wife are in charge of the physical records and documentation of all the residents in Hell. We've been having a lot of losses lately...which is concerning us. That is why she called me this morning- to schedule a meeting with the counsel Friday night so we can discuss what measures we need to take."

"Oh..." Was the only thing I could say as embarrassment flushed through my entire body.

"Oh," Syn repeated, letting out a deep breath. "I'll see you all tomorrow, Janelle."

"Yes, your majesty," she spoke. "It was nice finally meeting you, your highness. I look forward to speaking with you again."

My chest pinched with guilt as my rage-colored glasses began to slip away and reality set in. She wasn't being fake or rude earlier, I had just let my jealousy cloud my judgment. I had made the woman wait for my own selfish reasons when she was calling for something so important.

"Same to you," I said lowly and Syn hung up the phone. I bowed my head in shame, staring at the floor and not turning around. I couldn't look at Syn right now, but I felt his eyes on me.

"Well," he spoke up. "I hope that phone call addressed your concerns..."

I frowned, pushing away my pride and shame before setting the box of crackers down and facing him. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" He leaned his arm against the counter, head tilted as he waited for my response and I sighed.

"For being a bitch."

"You're not a bitch.

"Maybe not, but I was acting like one."

He shrugged. "I would've done worse. By the time I came to give you your phone, I would've had a phone number search and background check done." I smiled softly, taking a step toward him and wrapping my arms around his neck. He wrapped his free arm around me, his fingers caressing the exposed skin on my hip. "I hope you were merely jealous because a woman called me and not because you thought I was cheating on you."

I pulled away slightly to meet his eyes and I saw a serious gaze directed back at me. "No." I shook my head. "You're too whipped to cheat."

He narrowed his eyes in thought. "Whipped..." he teased the word on his tongue. "What does that mean?"

"Mmm. More or less it means you're obsessed with me."

"Obsessed with you." He smiled. "You think I'm obsessed with you?"

"No, I don't think you're obsessed. I know you are," I said confidently. "You've been obsessed with me from the moment we met. I just know there were neon lights in your mind flashing 'mine'. You couldn't resist and I'm not sure I can blame you."

He scoffed. "See, I knew I should've held out on your ass back then—" I burst out into laughter and he shook his head.  "Now I'm going to have to deal with centuries of you telling our kids these blatant lies," he teased. "If anyone was obsessed at first sight, it was you."

"Oh, absolutely not." I shook my head slowly, biting back a smile.

"See, me? I can admit, I wanted to fuck you, fine," he said, twisting a strand of my hair between his fingers. "But you? You were in love with me before I even spoke to you, Princess."

My mouth dropped and he grinned. "Syn, let's be honest here. You were the one who said 'I love you' first."

"All that means is that I beat you to it. If I hadn't said it first, you would have."

"Oh, please." I held up a hand. "I promise you I wouldn't have."

"Oh, yes I forget." He tapped his chin. "You used to always  read those books where the girl confessed her love and he leaves her because he's damaged and can't find it in himself to—"

"Stop," I laughed, holding a hand over his mouth and he pulled it away.

"And then he comes back suddenly and he is in love with her, who knew?" He asked. "But she's mad at first- heartbroken yet ends up taking him back because he does some huge display of affection for her—"

"You make it sound so predictable—"

"Did you expect me to do the same?" He questioned, leaning closer to me, the scent of his cologne and sweat filling my nose. I bit my lip and his eyes fell on them before he smiled again. "I think that's why you didn't tell me you loved me sooner. You were afraid I was like those men you read about, so you waited for me to say it first. Isn't that right?"

He was right that I didn't tell him because I was afraid of his rejection, but it wasn't because of the books...I'm pretty sure.

"That's...not how that happened..."

"Uh-huh." He nodded with a smug smile, not believing me. I hated how good he was at reading me sometimes. "You just don't want to admit that I'm right," he said. "Would you have been more satisfied if I were more like them? I can do it now if you like."

"No." I gave him a peck on his jaw, wrapping my arms around him. "I love you just the way you are and I love you for telling me before I told you. Let's not get that part twisted."

His eyes widened as he looked at me in shock and I returned his surprise, confused at the shift in mood. His hand slowly grabbed my arms, moving them back to my side and he shook his head.

"No."

I laughed. "No, what? Are you good?"

"Don't- don't say that." He shut his eyes, shaking his head. What? My laughter slowly came to a stop. "Don't say those words to me. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"What the fuck..."

He opened his eyes and looked at me. "You don't love me- you can't." I stared at him for a long moment, unsure what he was talking about before realization filled me. I held my stomach as uncontrollable laughter left my body. "What's so funny about this? I told you not to fall for me."

My vision became watery as he kept going and I reached for his hands. He pushed them away standing up straight and I pressed my lips together, trying my hardest not to laugh in his face. "I'm sorry." A giggle slipped out of me. "I couldn't help it. You're just so...emotionally open."

"I am not," he said as if taking grave offense to my words. I held a hand over my mouth. "And I never will be. Not for you, not for anyone. My rich and luxurious life is just so hard, you would never understand."

I cracked up for a moment, quickly holding it together before nodding quickly. "Okay."

"This will be the last time you ever see me," he said. "Unless I suddenly get the need to fuck you and pop back up here just for you to turn me away...But that won't happen because I never need anyone."

"Right."

Syn stepped back, shaking his head at me. "We're done. I hope you find someone who can love you the way I just...can't." He turned around to head to the stairs but quickly turned back to me. "Just making it clear that I do not want you or your heart. However, the instant you start showing interest in anything else but me, there will be a problem. Have a nice life."

I laughed after him as he walked to the stairs and disappeared to the second floor. My heart swelled at the light-hearted moment and a smile stayed on my face as the seconds passed.

"Hm." Paris hummed, an orange juice in his hand as he walked into the kitchen and looked toward the stairs. "That is exactly how I plan to be."

"Please no." I laughed, shaking my head.

He sat down on a stool and took a sip of his drink. "He seems to be feeling better. Last night was...rough."

I nodded slowly, memories of the night before coming back to my head. "It was. And I'm sure there will be a lot more rough days and nights. But today is a good day, so let's focus on that. One day at a time, right?"

He looked at me for a long moment before nodding. "Right."

"Also," I raised a finger, "to answer your question from last night: yes, I love him very very much. More than anything."

"I told you not to say such things!" I heard Syn say as he rushed down the steps, an empty bottle in hand and his hoodie still unzipped.

When he saw Paris and me together at the kitchen island, his steps stopped. He took us both in for a few more moments before storming over to me and staring me down.

"Who is this man?" He glanced at Paris before looking back at me. "I love you. I was wrong. Now please take me back and be with me so I know you won't be with anyone else."

I laughed again and Paris clapped slowly, shaking his head. "That was...powerful. Look at you breaking these literary barriers. Shit is monumental."

Syn nodded. "Thank you."

"They need to put you on the big screen."

"Exactly what I've been saying. I need to speak to someone about that," he replied.

I grinned at the sarcastic interaction between the two and Syn moved behind me. He wrapped his hand around my waist before placing his chin on my head. "I'd pay to watch that," I said, rubbing his forearm.

"I'd pay to watch you do a few things on a big screen as well, Princess."

My cheeks heated, my eyes widening as I glanced at Paris. He wore an amused smile on his face, shaking his head as he took a sip of his juice.

"You need to give Paris a raise if you're going to make him sit through all this harassment."

"Paris will survive." I wiggled out of his arms, ignoring the heat coursing through my body at his words.

I'd pay to watch you do a few things on a big screen...

I could never imagine seeing myself on full display on any screen, let alone letting Syn see it. I had never even taken a nude photo before. I had heard way too many cautionary tales about it over the years- scorned exes and leaked private images and videos. Even recently with Stella's blackmail attempt and that video...it made me sick to my stomach.

I just had to douse the flaming curiosity Syn was beginning to ignite in me.

꧁꧂

Let's make a movie, pookie😘.