The House WE Built.

6.

Onika Maraj.

This basement was a war zone. Dust everywhere, random furniture tossed around like it owed somebody money, and boxes stacked up like they were in a union refusing to move.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was a mess," I said, stepping over a chair missing three legs and God knows what else.

"It's manageable," Beyoncé said, her tone so sharp I thought I might bleed.

I stopped, turning to her with raised eyebrows. "Manageable? You serious? This basement holding on by a prayer."

She didn't even look at me, pulling a box labeled Books toward the stairs with the energy of someone pretending this wasn't a disaster zone. Beyoncé's whole vibe screamed 'ignore it till it stops existing.'

I crouched by a random stack of boxes and ripped the tape off one. Inside, it was the usual; tangled Christmas lights, a snow globe that had seen better days, and a one-armed Santa figurine.

"Wow, so this is the vibe," I said, holding up the snow globe. "Festive as hell, huh? This your holiday aesthetic, Boss Lady?"

She glanced over with the driest look I'd ever seen. "Put that back."

" So lame," I muttered, dropping it back in the box.

Beyoncé was stacking books like she thought the Dewey Decimal System was her life's calling, moving like precision was her middle name. Meanwhile, I was choking on dust and trying not to get tetanus from the vibe down here.

I opened another box, and sitting right on top, bold as hell, was a bright pink dildo. I froze.

"Uh... Beyoncé?" I said, holding it up like a trophy.

Her head whipped toward me so fast I thought it might snap off.

"What are you doing?"

I grinned tilting my head teasingly holding the dildo in her direction. "Well definitely impeccable taste with the color and size. Bold and vibrant definitely a woman who knew what she wanted" I paused, holding her gaze "What about you Boss lady? Are you a fan of pink too?"

Her expression sharp but with the faintest twitch of a smirk tugging at her lips. "Put it back, Onika. And try not to get too comfortable—you're here to redesign, not dig through my sex life." Her voice is cool, controlled and low.

My smirk faltered, "Oh– You're right.. I apologize Boss Lady. I didn't mean to cross the line." I placed the dildo back in the box but as I did it the box spilled over, spilling its contents.

My eyes widened at the sight of a double headed dildo, handcuffs, and an assortment of vibrators.

"Damn, y'all were freaks"

Beyoncé freezes, her jaw tightening as her eyes flick over the scattered items. For a moment, she says nothing, the air heavy between them. Finally, she exhales slowly, her voice low and controlled.

"Onika, pick it up. All of it. And if you breathe one word of this outside this basement, I swear you'll be redesigning closets in a mall for the rest of your career."

Her voice was steady, sharp, and cutting, but her hands gave her away. They trembled slightly as she reached into the next box, her movements mechanical, almost frantic. She wasn't looking at me—she was too focused on avoiding my eyes, too focused on holding it together.

I crouched down, picking up the scattered toys and carefully placing them back into the box. My stomach twisted with something I wasn't used to—guilt. Sure, I'd pushed her buttons on purpose, but I hadn't expected this. Beyoncé's walls were damn near impenetrable, but this? I'd found a crack.