Empire: HAKEEM & SASHA

Chapter 17: Hakeem's Flame

Weeks after Sasha got out of the hospital, I was back in my zone—my "I don't give a fuck" era. The air felt thick with tension, and I could sense the storm coming. Luscious had gone too far this time, and I wasn't about to let it slide.

Sitting in the finest strip club in the city, surrounded by neon lights and the smell of cheap perfume, I felt a fire building inside me. Chicken and the crew were posted up, bottles on deck, and I was already half-gone. I stood up, unsteady but defiant, and raised my bottle.

"Yo, I'mma reign hell on Luscious Lyon's empire, y'all," I slurred, downing another swig from the bottle, feeling invincible. The music thumped through my veins, and I slapped the table with authority. Tonight was the night we plotted the beginning of his downfall.

That's when my phone buzzed. I fumbled for it, almost dropping it in my haze. It was Camilla. We had been cooking up something big, but this message? It was next level.

"Forget that Lioness album. We're dismantling it piece by piece," her text read. "The world doesn't need another watered-down, feel-good project. We're dropping a Hakeem album—hardcore, raw, straight fire. Aim every shot at Luscious. Let's ruin him with your words."

I grinned, the idea clicking perfectly in my mind. It was bold. It was reckless. And I loved it. Finally, I could take back what was mine. Let everyone know who the real king is.

I started typing back to Camilla when my phone buzzed again. It was Sasha. I stared at her name for a minute, the guilt creeping in. She'd been struggling with all that postpartum stuff, and I knew she needed me. But right now, I wasn't in the mood to deal with her emotions. Not tonight. Not when I was this close to putting my plan in motion.

I hit decline.

My hand wrapped back around the bottle, and I downed another long drink. The liquor burned, but it also numbed everything. The weight of being a father, the pressure to stay clean, to stay soft for Sasha and the babies it was too much sometimes. I needed to escape. To remind myself I was still Hakeem Lyon, the one who didn't take shit from nobody.

A dancer brushed up against me, and I smacked her ass without thinking, flashing a wild grin. Chicken laughed beside me, cheering me on, but my mind was already a thousand miles away focused on Luscious, on the revenge tour I was about to kick off.

This wasn't just about music anymore. This was war. And I was ready to burn it all down.

Sasha's POV

The cries echoed through the room, piercing my head like needles. Both babies were wailing, and I felt like I was on the verge of breaking. I reached for my phone, hands trembling, and tried Hakeem again. It went straight to voicemail, the cold silence on the other end only making the knot in my chest tighter.

Tears welled up, the anxiety washing over me. It was too much. The sleepless nights, the stress of being a new mom—everything was crashing down on me. I couldn't hold it together anymore. My head spun, and I felt the hot tears fall. I couldn't do this alone. Not today.

I scrolled through my contacts and hit Cookie's number. If anyone could handle this, it was her.

"Hey, baby," her voice came through, calm yet commanding.

"Cookie, I— I need help. I can't do this," I choked out, trying to catch my breath between sobs. "Can you... can you come over? Please."

Without hesitation, she agreed. "I'll be there, and I'll get your mama to come by too. You just hang on, alright?"

Relief washed over me, but the weight in my chest didn't fully lift. I set the phone down and tried to rock the babies, but their cries just blended into the overwhelming noise inside my head. Where was Hakeem? Why wasn't he here when I needed him most?

Hakeem's POV

I leaned back in the tub, the warm water soothing me as steam curled around the edges of the room. Camilla sat across from me, her sharp eyes cutting through the mist, her presence as commanding as ever. She had this way of staring me down, like she could see every thought I tried to hide.

"You know I want you on that throne," she said, her voice smooth, dripping with that sweet venom that always pulled me in.

I nodded, my mind already racing with the possibilities. "And we will handle that," I replied. "First, we start with the press. I'll call up Andre, but we'll keep it low-key. We won't let it slip that you're alive... yet. But we'll make it clear Luscious ain't fit to be CEO."

Camilla gave me that wicked smile, her lips curling as she leaned forward. "You're thinking ahead. Good."

She kissed me, and I kissed her back, the fire between us sparking again, but this was bigger than us. It was about power, control—taking what was rightfully mine. Luscious had his time. Now, it was my turn.

As Camilla wrapped herself around me, all I could think about was the empire I was about to seize. I'd built my whole life on being underestimated, and that was Luscious' biggest mistake. He never saw me as the real threat. But he would soon.

For the first time in days, I finally got some peace. My mom and Cookie had taken over, letting me steal a much-needed nap while they watched the babies. When I woke up, it was like a fog had lifted from my mind. I felt rejuvenated, like I could finally breathe again. But that moment of relief didn't last long.

I heard the front door creak open, followed by heavy footsteps. Hakeem strolled in, and instantly, the air in the room shifted. He reeked of weed, alcohol, and the unmistakable scent of perfume. My heart sank.

Cookie, sitting with the babies, was the first to speak. "Hey boy, where were you?" Her tone was sharp, laced with irritation. I could see the slight pinch in her brow, a mix of worry and disappointment.

"Out handling business," Hakeem replied, his voice rough with annoyance. He didn't even look at her as he brushed past, heading straight for the back room.

I felt a knot of anxiety form in my stomach. Something wasn't right. The way he was acting... this wasn't the Hakeem I knew. Without saying a word, I got up. "I'll go check on him," I said quietly, though I knew both my mom and Cookie were watching me with concern in their eyes.

As I walked through the hallway, I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. The babies were finally sleeping peacefully, and yet my mind was anything but calm. I found Hakeem slouched in the corner of our bedroom, his back turned to me, his head hanging low.

"Hakeem?" I approached him slowly, trying to sound calm, though my voice wavered with worry. "Baby, are you okay? I haven't been able to talk to you..."

Before I could finish, he cut me off. "I'm fine. Just carry on, babe," he said dismissively, waving me off like I was bothering him. His tone was clipped, a little too sharp for comfort.

I took a step closer. "Are you sure? You sound really woozy... maybe you should—"

"Just drop it," he snapped, jerking away from me. His body tensed up, and I could see the frustration bubbling beneath the surface. It wasn't just annoyance anymore. Something deeper was eating at him, something he wasn't ready to share.

I stood there for a moment, frozen in place. The distance between us wasn't just physical. It was emotional, and it scared me. Whatever was going on with him, it was pulling him further and further away, and I didn't know how to pull him back.

"Hakeem," I whispered, my voice barely audible now. But he didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. The man I fell in love with, the father of my children, felt like a stranger in that moment.

And as I walked back to the living room, where my mom and Cookie sat in the quiet calm of the babies' soft breaths, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was slipping out of my control—something I wasn't sure I could fix.