Lioness (18+)

Chapter 26

Heyy

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edited/rewritten

Temi

I blame my mother for what happened to me when I was twelve–sleeping with a rich man and then angering his wife enough to put my father through so much. She blamed my father for not keeping my mother away from her husband.

My father lost his job. He lost everything, and suddenly, my siblings and I were living in a hut. My mom lived in another hut close to us, but none of us wanted her near.

I heard the conversation that happened between my father and the man and woman who tormented us. They wanted me, the only girl out of four children, to marry the seventy-six-year-old senator in private. I saw my father lose his dignity and his pride, getting on his knees to beg.

They didn't listen to his pleas...but he also refused to give me up. My mother also refused, which caused me to forgive her just a little bit.

That night, I thought to myself a lot, and when I woke up, I told my father to let me go and that I would honor his family in a way my mother couldn't. Of course, my brothers and my father protested, but I thought I was protecting everybody.

Saving them from the torment, after all, the senator will die soon enough, and I can come back.

I was wrong.

My father, stricken with grief, had his heart fail on him. My oldest brother, Femi, died of an aneurysm. My two other brothers, Demi and Semi, were poisoned and killed so they would keep their mouths shut about me, and my mother was hit by a car.

Everyone I sought to protect was gone, and I now had a child with me. I had to outsmart everyone... that's how I got here.

These thoughts haunt me. The memories haunt me when I'm alone.

I drink a glass full of champagne and pour some more into my cup. I need to get back to Reign before I go crazy with these thoughts.

"Hello," A deep, boyish voice greets my ears from above.

I scoffed as the man sat down uninvited, but then paused when I saw his face. He was a wet dream, with beautiful black hair, and the most vibrant bluish-greenish eyes I've ever seen in my life. His face was strong and as chiseled as the rest of his body which was out for show because his shirt was unbuttoned.

His eyes were attracting me, but I needed to see if he was really worth my time. I'm just going to say some bullshit and see if it repels him as quickly as I attract him.

"Nko ni iferan si." (I'm not interested.) I spoke in Yoruba to throw him off. "No english." I put on my best heavy accent.

This didn't seem to take the amusement from his eyes; instead, he pulled out his phone and laid it down in front of me. It was Google Translate, how comical. "Even though I know you can speak English, I'll play along." He smiles; I realize as he talks more how much he sounds a bit French but a bit of something else too. A French man interested in me?

Oh, la la!

Look at the way he smiles at me.

God could not have possibly made someone as sinfully hot as him.

I sigh, rolling my eyes. "I'm not interested."

He's undeterred, still smiling. "Why don't you get to know me first because making the assumption that you're not interested."

Oh my god, he won't budge.

"I have a daughter. Responsibilities. That should scare you away," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the anticipated reaction–but once again, I was fucking wrong.

Instead of being surprised, backing away, or making a dumb-ass excuse–He gasps excitedly. "I have a daughter as well, her name is Verity and she's thirteen."

This made me smile a bit. "My daughter's also thirteen," I say. "Her name's Reign."

"You see, we already have a lot in common as single parents," he grins at me.

I bit my lip, trying to hide the obvious interest I had in him at this point. I stuck out my hand. "Temilola, but you can call me Temi."

Instead of shaking my hand, he took my hand and softly kissed it. Definitely French. "Nice to meet," he says. "Remington, but you can call me Remi. Remi and Temi," he wink, making me laugh.

"You're funny," I say, drinking my champagne.

"I'm a lot of things, if you're interested now, I could be of service."

I smirked, looking at his fine face, which was also plastered with a smirk. "Mhmm," I hummed, "maybe, I'm curious,"

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