Mirrors

Four

                                      ✰𝘑𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘩✰

I'm getting married. The whole idea still feels surreal, especially after Khalil's unexpected proposal at Aubrey's show. I honestly thought Khalil was bending down to pick something up when he got on one knee. My attention was on Aubrey at that moment, wondering what he was thinking, feeling my heart race just knowing he was watching. Aubrey... his reaction to the proposal is something I dread to think about. I heard he skipped his own afterparty, probably because of what happened.

It's been a week since that night, and now I'm in Turks and Caicos with Khalil. He really wanted to bring me here for my birthday, a place flooded with memories of times spent with Aubrey. I've been here with Aubrey enough times to have both good and bad memories. Though thankfully, the good outweighs the bad. I haven't mentioned any of this to Khalil, of course.

"So, babe! We have to talk about our living situation now," Khalil said, joining me by the pool. "You're my beautiful fiancée now, I need to wake up next to you every morning." His words made my heart flutter but also brought a sense of reality crashing down.

"You're right, we do," I replied. "The new condos that were just built seem nice. Maybe when we get back, we can check those out."

Khalil gave me a curious look. "Wait, you want to live in a condo? Your house is perfect, especially when we have kids. There are plenty of rooms and enough space outside, and I could make one of those rooms a studio. I thought I could just move in," he suggested, taking my hand. He had no idea about the details of my arrangement with Aubrey, that he's been financially supporting this lifestyle.

"Well, I just figured we'd get something new together. This is a marriage we're talking about," I countered.

"Baby, that's a waste of money. Your house doesn't even look like anyone lives in it. Everything is perfect, I'd love to build our family there. Maybe later down the line, we can move somewhere else. Just think about it, babe," he said, leaning in for a kiss. I nodded, but my mind was elsewhere.

My friends and some of Khalil's arriving soon. Khalil even suggested inviting Aubrey, but there was no way I was going to do that, not after everything.

~~

Later My friends arrived, and of course, as we got ready for a night out, we talked. They couldn't believe I was actually getting married. "Yea, girl, we thought you'd be hanging onto Aubrey's clown ass forever!" Crystal exclaimed. Their words cut deep because they knew all about my crazy history with Aubrey.

"Don't tell me you're still fucking with him," Crystal pressed, her eyes searching mine for the truth. "No, I'm not! We're friends!" I defended myself, though their skepticism was evident.

"That nigga was mad as fuck after that proposal," Nikki added, confirming what I already feared about Aubrey's reaction. Before I could respond, Khalil called up to us asking if we were ready.

~~

At the club, celebrating my birthday, the atmosphere was what I liked. It wasn't too crazy but we had the drinks flowing and I was definitely feeling them. Then, unexpectedly, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder, I turned and was surprised to see Mark. " The birthday girl! Happy Birthday Liyah!"He says.

" Aw, thanks, Mark." I smiled, I was about to ask what was he doing here but something caught his eye. He smirked while looking down at my hand. He held it up. " So this is all real sis?"

" Of course it is! What do you mean?" I pushed him some. He holds his hands up. " My bad Liyah, look your man wants to talk to you." Marks nods over to the other side of the club.