Fate Will Twist the Both of You

Chapter 5 - Silent Observations

8 days later

It was one of those situations where you're willing your body to move, but you find yourself rooted in place, unable to take your eyes off what's happening in front of you.

Anika was sitting on the chaise in the living room of Lucious' mansion, taking in the scene unfolding in the corner of the room. Cookie was seated on the bench in front of the piano, and Lucious was standing in front of her. Anika watched as Cookie swiped at her cheeks, her head bent mournfully towards her lap. She took in the way Lucious' chest rose and fell before he began to say something, encouraging Cookie to look up at him. Anika wished he would speak a little louder so that she could hear him.

The entire Lyon family was at the mansion; Lucious and Vernon had given them the news about Bunkie a few minutes ago. Andre and Jamal seemed to handle it well enough, stunned, yet outwardly composed. Unlike his brothers, Hakeem's hurt was palpable. Cookie had tried to comfort him, but Hakeem had moved away from her touch like it had singed him and left the room in a frenzy, his brothers right on his tail.

Anika couldn't control the spark of joy that shot through her in knowing that she wasn't the only person there who hated Cookie Lyon in one way or another. Anika found Cookie rude and unseemly. Even so, Anika couldn't help feeling sorry for Cookie. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to have a child you had spent years dreaming about reuniting with only to have them dismiss you. Anika was certain most of Cookie's tears were due to Hakeem's continuous rejection of her, rather than the death of her cousin.

Anika's eyes narrowed when Lucious motioned for Cookie to scoot over and made himself comfortable beside her. Cookie angled her body so that she could face him, and when Lucious leaned in and cupped Cookie's face in his hands, wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs; Anika tightened her lips and flared her nostrils without conscious volition. Lucious began to speak again, and Anika wondered if he even realized how close his face was to Cookie's. The bench is small, but there's no excuse for his face to be that close to hers, Anika thought. She was certain they were sharing the same breath at that point.

Anika wondered if they had forgotten she was there. Sure, she was sitting quietly at the back of the room and it had been a while since either of them looked in that direction, but still, she wasn't invisible. Anika hated when they did that: behave as though they're the only people in a room and everything else is background noise. It hurt more than infuriated her. Anika felt Lucious pulling away from her, felt it since the day Cookie waltzed into his office. Hard as she had tried, she couldn't get Lucious to come to bed that night.

But if Anika were to truly be honest with herself, she would admit that she had always felt like she never really had him. Like there was a part of him that he wasn't allowing her to access. Like he was in love with someone else. Anika's mother had noticed, though. "Why do you want to be with him, knowing that he doesn't love you as much as you love him?" Her mother had asked her. Anika never responded, but she had considered saying, "I love him enough for both of us."

There had been so many women, so many apologies over the course of their five-year relationship. She had often asked herself what he could possibly be searching for when she was right in front of him, loving him with everything she had. As Anika examined the look on Lucious' face as he listened to Cookie speak, the way his eyes remained so intensely focused on hers as though his next breath relied on what she was saying; Anika found her answer.

Anika adjusted her body in the chaise and glanced briefly to her right, temporarily distracted from the pair before her by Vernon's return. She figured he had gone to make a few calls to try and gather more information about the investigation. Anika had overheard him and Lucious discussing it earlier; Vernon had been reading the investigative summary of the autopsy report. Based on what she had heard, Anika had been able to piece together that after being shot in the head, Bunkie's body ended up in the Hudson (she wasn't exactly sure how) where it remained lodged between mud and rocks on the river's floor for weeks before the rocks loosened, causing his body to float to the surface. The thought of Bunkie's body rotting in that water made her skin crawl.

Anika stole another glance at Vernon, who was also watching Cookie and Lucious. And as though he had sensed her eyes on him, Vernon turned to face her and gave her a sympathetic smile, which made Anika wonder if he knew something she didn't. The rich, melodic sound of Cookie's laughter prompted Anika to redirect her attention, the sound dispelling all her macabre musings. Whatever Lucious had said to cheer her up had certainly done the trick; Cookie was positively glowing. It reminded Anika of the glow Lucious had come home with a couple of nights ago. It had been so late, and she had asked him where he had been, and he didn't even think twice before giving her an answer. I went to see Cookie, he had told her. It wasn't the truth that had bothered Anika, it was the fact that he didn't lie.

It was that thought that caused Anika to recall another piece of information. A few days after Lucious' late night, she had stumbled across a little blue box that she was sure she wasn't supposed to find. The memory of that settled Anika's nerves, led her to believe that she was foolishly exaggerating everything she thought she had seen between Cookie and Lucious. She had obviously been sitting there too long, which caused her to perceive and think things that weren't really true. Anika straightened her back and crossed her legs, a smile making its way across her face. Lucious was about to show her just how much he loved her; he was going to ask her to marry him.