[Prospering || Book 3]

14°

»"i mean, how could he not know..."

"Ugh!" Paris gasped loudly, a look of horror taking over her face.

"Paris, calm down." Sierra said, following her around the condo, "Look on the bright side, now y'all are even."

"Look at the way he's touching her and kissing her..." She covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.

The heart sank to the pit of her stomach and she suddenly had the urge to puke. She hadn't felt this hurt since high school, before she and Bryson were even together.

Feeling like Bryson was cheating and seeing it with her own two eyes were no where near each other on the scale of pain.

At this point, she was so lost. She still had to break the news about his mother to him, but she didn't feel like she could even face him, it hurt too bad.

"Paris, pull yourself together. You have to tell this man that his mother has just died. I know you're hurting, but there's something much more important at hand." Sierra said making Paris look at her in her face.

"You're right." Paris said taking a deep breath. She wiped the tears from her face and packed to meet him in Louisville. It was their original plan that she would go and see the hometown show, now she only wanted to let Bryson know about his mother, console him, and stay as far away from him as possible.

"You can do this. You also need to come clean about Jason. If everything's just being thrown out there, throw yours, too."

Paris was starting to feel like all of this was a sign that her and Bryson weren't suppose to be together, despite all the previous signs that they were.

She packed her and the girls things and her and Sierra rode together, but separated so Sierra could fly back to North Carolina.

"Ready to go to Kentucky?" Paris asked the girls as they sat waiting to board the plane.

"Yes! I miss daddy!" Daphne said, admiring the sparkles on her shirt.

"Mhm." Paris nodded and smiled, piercing her lips together.

>>>>>

When Hattie called Bryson to say that Paris and the girls were at her house, he was surprised. He hadn't spoken to Paris since the video surfaced and honestly terrified to.

After firing DJ and kicking Reign to the curb, he postponed his hometown show and locked himself in his hotel room, writing to get everything off of his chest.

Bryson entered the house slowly and scanned the room. The entire house had a peaceful aura that Bryson just knew was about to be disrupted.

"Hey, where's everybody at?" He called, making his way to the staircase. Harley and Daphne immediately came running, screaming and giggling, to the top of the stairs.

"I missed y'all so much." He said kissing them both on the cheek and tickling them, "Where's mommy and Hattie?"

"Hattie gone." Harley said.

"Mommy's over there. Come on, daddy!" Daphne grabbed his finger and pulled him toward a guest bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Hey..." He sighed, standing in the doorway.

"Hey." She replied in the same tone.

"Paris, I'm so sorry. I—"

"Bryson, sit down...please." She said as a tear escaped her eye. Bryson fully came into the room and sat down on the bed.

Paris took a deep breath, grabbed his hands and interlocked her fingers with his. Bryson was confused, but waited for her to speak.

"Um, your mom... She passed away two nights ago. She was sick..."

As Paris stood in front of him, she felt his grip become tighter and she was suddenly struggling to hold him up as he sobbed into her shirt.

"Paris..." He weeped quietly

"I know. It's going to be ok." She told him, rubbing his back gently. She knew guilty he must've felt for his lack of communication with his mother. She just wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

>>>>>

"I'm going to make a big dinner. I don't cook much anymore but for y'all, I'll go all out." Hattie spoke happily, taking pots out to cook with.

"That means a lot. Don't get my girls hooked on your cooking, tho. I can't cook like you." Paris joked.

"Paris, can I talk to you?" Bryson asked after jogging down the stairs.

"Sure. Excuse me, aunt Hattie." She said before leaving the kitchen behind Bryson.

After finding out the news about his mom, Bryson took a long walk. He came back and spent time with Harley and Daphne until they fell asleep. Now, it was time to talk about what everyone else in the media was talking about.

"I know you probably hate m—"

"I'm not mad about the video, Bryson. I'm not mad at you." She said closing her eyes. Butterflies began to fill her stomach as the true came closer to the light.

"I mean, I hurt you and—"

"Bryson, You didn't," she lied, "Cause, your not the only one who hasn't been faithful in this marriage."

All the color drained from Bryson's face. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost.

Paris sighed deeply, "I didn't want you to find out at such a horrible time but I didn't want to keep lying to you and I didn't want you to find out from Twitter or Instagram, either..."

"But, I-I don't, I don't understand."

"I have a boyfriend, Bryson."

"A boyfriend?" He repeated, a lump now stuck in his throat.

"His name is Jason and we've been seeing each other for a while now. I'm sorry I asked you about Daphne, I'm sorry I asked you about Reign. I'm a hypocrite and I don't deserve you." She let a tear roll down her face and she turned to leave.

"Wait, Paris!" Bryson tried to grab her hand but she twisted out of his grasp.

He was left standing there, with a pain in his chest that he had never felt before. Paris' words had ripped his heart out of his body and now he was lost.