When A Playboy Loves

|| 68.

Uti

The door locked behind King. I stepped into the bathroom to freshen up before he got back with the water I requested. The faster we got out of here, the better for us. Another second with his mother and I might lose my mind. What kind of mother acted that way?

I didn't have time to take care of my kids because I was busy. Working my ass off to get the best life for both of them. I walked back to the room with a small towel pressed to my face. We didn't come with anything but my purse so there was nothing for us to pack. Seated on the bed with my elbows propped on my knees, a pained sound left my lips. I tried. I tried to be there for them.

The door creaked open. I didn't look up but a smile touched my lips. King. Baby daddy.

He sat on the bed but didn't touch me. My body tingled in anticipation of his touch. I jammed my legs together to ease the buzzing between them. This was not my first pregnancy but some of the symptoms felt new.

"I'm sorry."

That didn't sound like King. My head rounded in the direction of the voice. Grace Daniels offered me a half-smile. I could easily see some of King in her. Her composure and aura was everything expected of a powerful woman like her. She slid her hands between her legs and squeezed her shoulders. Her eyes were tame, red-rimmed and it didn't befit her.

"I'm sorry," she said again. For lack of a good response, I kept mute but my eyes sought the door. If this was another one of her stunts, I didn't want to be involved in it. I couldn't deal. Her hand reached for me and I flinched. She broke down but not in tears. Her body sagged under the weight of her unspoken words. "You're just so poor, Uti."

For unknown reasons, I smiled. "I know."

"He's worth a lot of money and you're worth almost nothing, Utianle."

I knew she didn't say it to feel like the bigger or richer person so I wasn't offended. The way she said my name, the way my mother would have. It made my insides grow warm.

"I know," I told her, "some of us were not born into wealth. And money isn't everything."

"Money makes the world go round."

She was right. Money and power made the world go round. It was what Umoh had that I didn't. The reason he still roamed free. The space between us diminished. Grace didn't try to take my hand and I didn't offer it.

Her palm moved up and down her upper arm. I realised she wouldn't say more so I did. "I would give it all up if it meant having King."

"Even if he's broke?" she asked.

"Without thinking."

Grace's forehead pinched in shock. I almost laughed. She wouldn't understand what it meant to go to sleep at nights with only gari and groundnut for dinner. The same thing you ate during the day. Or what it meant to go on a food ratio. 0-0-1 or 1-0-0 or 0-1-0. I spread my fingers over my knee and shrugged.

"I've known broke for more than half my life. I've known poverty," I said. "We will be fine."

A heavy silence hung between us. Her arm brushed against mine and she offered me her first genuine smile. I smiled back at her. Now that Grace had retracted her claws, I could see her for her. A woman who worried about her son marrying the wrong person. A woman who worried I was with him for his money. I would be the first to admit that my life had become easier with King in it but it wasn't his money that kept me, it was him.

"Do you promise to take care of him?" she whispered. She didn't need to ask. It was my duty to do that. He did the same for me. He stepped up when I was grieving and took care of my babies. I would take care of him. Why wouldn't I? Grace took my hand to place it over hers. There was a deep longing in her voice when she said, "He is a big baby and he really just needs someone to love him completely. I think I failed in that aspect."