𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 ¹

thirty seven.

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
two breakups

Royalty

After the family meeting this morning, Royalty escaped the house and came straight to Empire. She needed to get away from the craziness for a while. There was always something happening, and honestly, things weren't this crazy before Cookie came back. Royalty wasn't blaming her, but...

Anyway, she was listening to Let Me Rock again. She and Tiana had finished recording it, and it came out great. She just hoped Blake never heard it...

The door opened and she quickly stopped the song. It was a good thing she did because Blake came walking in. She greeted him. "Oh hey, babe."

"Hey." He kissed her. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I saw the fight between your brothers..."

Ro wasn't even surprised. "Yeah? And let me guess, you heard Jamal's gay?"

"I mean, that's what the internet is saying. Is it true?"

She lied. "No it's not true, Blake. Jamal has a girlfriend that he loves." Blake just snorted. "What? I'm serious!"

He still wasn't buying it. "Yeah, okay. I have never heard any of you talk about this Tory girl before today."

Ro lied some more. "Because they're a new couple. They wanted to keep it lowkey."

Blake tilted his head, not believing her at all. Royalty believed he was a little angry that she was lying to his face. They were dating now, so she shouldn't lie to him."Fine. I'll be honest with you, but you can't tell anyone. Jamal really is gay; he likes a guy named Mateo. The Tory Ash stuff is a cover up to keep Empire from getting blacklisted."

Blake was lost. "Why would Empire get blacklisted because of Jamal's sexuality?"

"Because cancel culture is serious," was all she said.

Blake chuckled. "Yeah, that is true. Well, I'm sorry that Jamal is going through all of this. He's a cool guy."

Ro frowned and looked at the equipment. "Yeah, it sucks."

"Here." Blake put his jacket over her.

"Wow. You just be having jackets on standby, huh?" she joked.

"Yeah, you're always cold for some reason. But aye, aren't you making an album?"

"Yeah."

"Have you wrote any songs?"

"One."

"And I haven't heard it yet, because?"

She swallowed hard now. "Ummm. I don't know if it's wise. I want to keep it lowkey."

Blake insisted. "Oh, come on. You need some honest feedback, right? I'm your guy!"

But she already knew what he was gonna say; he wasn't gonna like it. "I don't know, Blake..." He gave her an angry look, and she really wasn't trying to argue. "Okay, fine."

She played the song and watched Blake's face the entire time. He was not happy. "Wow. Those lyrics were personal, huh?"

"Real personal..."

"Because it's about me," Blake said angrily.

She sighed. "Blake-"

"Tell me! Is it about me?!" Blake yelled.

"Yes, it was about you, okay?! But-"

Blake was furious now. "Wow! You don't wanna be my wifey?!"

"Yes I do! I wrote this before we started dating! When I was pissed at you!"