𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝐃𝐄

II.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛𝚜 ❌

𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟹

𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒊

Today was my first day back at the office since the passing of my father. I mentally prepared myself for all the cards and shit that people have probably left on my desk. As a man I never sought out for sympathy, never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me. I handled my business, took my L's in silent and simply moved on. Things were different this time around, this was my father we were talking about.

Not some deadbeat who visited me on birthdays but a simple man who taught me everything I know today. The reason I run a successful multimillion dollar company and the reason why I am the man I am today. Growing up with my father wasn't always easy but the older I got the more I understood his reasons behind each lesson he taught me.

Letting out a deep sigh, I said a silent prayer for the hundredth time today before drowning myself in paperwork and phone calls. Mondays as usual was always one of my busiest days of the week. Listening to multitudes of voicemails, replying to emails and going over contracts. Six years ago my father passed down his real-estate business to me. Just before picking up things here, I owned my own chain of soul food restaurants across the East coast. Most people would look at me and just assume I was some rapper or an athlete. But growing up food has become something I was passionate about.

At a young age I realized how it gathered friends, families and even strangers. I used to watch my mother put her heart and soul into her cooking. Each and every time she would sit a plate before me or my father our eyes would light up as we would be overjoyed. Eventually owning two big companies became too much and I ended up selling my restaurant to a great friend who I took the time to teach all of my recipes to.

Even though I still received a nice monthly check for my share in the company, I did not have anything to do with the business aspect of things. My current business venture had its pros and cons but it still allowed me freedom. Something I took very serious, I wanted to enjoy the money I made.

People spend most of their lives chasing money and not enough time enjoying it. At the age of thirty three I had all my ducks in a row and took pride in being financially free. As a man I prided myself on taking care of those around me. I took a percentage of my yearly income and put it back into the community. Fortunately for me I don't have a sad life story to share because my family was pretty well off due to my parents both being very successful folks. With my father working in real estate and my mother being an attorney, we lived well.

Though I did not come from that life or had much experience of what the streets was like, I could only imagine the everyday struggle for most people. My father always taught me that a good man is never selfish.

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂

"You know damn well I'm tender headed Tae." I whined.

I was in desperate need of something done to this head of mine. It's been over three hours and I was still getting braided down by my beautician. Today she was installing medium waist length knotless braids. Shit was time consuming but so was doing my hair every damn day. Coughing up almost three hundred dollars for this hairstyle almost made me choke but with the year I been having, this was a little treat to myself.

"I just noticed you ain't wearing your ring, please tell me you finally left that nigga." Tae paused. Did I mention that she was also my annoying best friend?

Amir was Tae's younger cousin. Even with them being family she knew he wasn't shit and once she found out he was abusing me, she cut all ties with him. "I wanted us to work out, I really did but Tae he's not even trying. I'm too good this, after I leave him I'm going to take time for myself. Figure out who Maya is. I've been living in this man's shadow since I was sixteen. Showed up to every game, cheering him on even while trying to pick myself up from the recent lost of a child. That's when I needed him the most, you know where he was at? Out celebrating with his friends. It hurts me so much to walk away from him but it hurts me more to stay and continue to take this." I sobbed.

Imagine giving a man over ten years of your life just for him to fall out of love with you. It made me so insecure about myself. He no longer called me 'beautiful' and he didn't even come onto me sexually anymore. It's almost as if he lost interest in me completely.

"You're an amazing person Maya. I've watched you be there for my cousin more than his own damn family, hell even me. He don't deserve you, now when you grow some balls. March your ass down to that courthouse and get those divorce papers and move on with your life while you still can. Trust me when I say, run while you can before you end up like me. Two kids by a complete ghost." She laughed at herself.

I knew deep down inside that shit was no laughing matter and it must have hurt her so much to not have someone to help her with the kids. I was knocking on thirty and desperately wanted to have children but definitely not with someone like Amir. Gods timing was never wrong and I trusted that in due time he will send me someone who also craved the same kind of love.

Until then I was focusing on me, becoming a better woman and healing from all the trauma. Got myself a gym membership m, purchased some used books from my local goodwill and even found free yoga classes in the park. This new season was about me getting everything I deserved and it was going to be just about that, nothing else mattered.

Maya was getting her life back.

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