Bodyguard My Heart (The Bodyguard #2)

Chapter 3

3

S amara

Two months. That’s how long it had been since I last saw Demetrius. I mean, I had seen him, but it was always in passing, like him visiting Ro at work or us having to be at the same gatherings. His phone calls to me and his random pop-ups had stopped. He was finally giving me exactly what I’d been asking him for, and a bitch was sick. I was so sick that I’d called an emergency girls’ night. I used the excuse of bonding with my new sister-in-law, but really, I just needed to soak up some positive energy.

“Samara! Go open the door!” Rebecca called, interrupting my thoughts and bringing me back to reality. Standing, I strutted to the door in my silk-short pajama set. I didn't even check the peephole before opening the door.

“Samara!” my favorite cousin, Aliza, shouted. My eyes widened at the sight of her. It’d been nearly a month since I’d seen her last. She’d been in Cuba helping her mom, my aunt Vanesa, with her restaurant, and I had been too busy dealing with life.

“Aliza!” I returned the excitement. Grabbing her up into a hug, I pulled her inside my condo. “You look so good!”

I closed the door behind her before turning and admiring her tall, thin frame in the unicorn pajama onesie she wore. She gave me a twirl in dramatic Aliza fashion as we proceeded with our childhood secret handshake. Aliza and I were close, largely due to her mom raising me after mine had passed. The years we’d spent conjoined at the hip made most strangers confuse us for twins. I saw the resemblance, but Aliza had always been slightly shorter and thinner than me. Not to mention, she was light skinned, and I was slightly darker. I was of average height, and my weight fell between skinny and thick. I liked to say I was a midsized queen.

“Me! Girl, you! Who got your hips spreading out like this?” She moved her hands in an hourglass shape down my body. I dropped my head. I couldn’t do anything but giggle. I was becoming curvier, and it was probably due to the way Demetrius had been knocking the Mario coins out of my pussy the last couple of years.

“I am one honey bun away from thick as fuck, though, huh?” I joked. My hips swung from left to right.

“Um huh!” she replied. “Must be getting some good dick!”

I shook my head at her crazy ass. “I wish.”

“This was tucked in your door.”

Aliza handed me a plain white envelope with my name on it. I recognized the envelope and Demetrius’s handwriting as soon as she handed it to me. It was the same envelope I’d put in Demetrius’s door months ago. My heart dropped as I stared down at the envelope.

“You okay?

“Um… yeah!” I lied. “Everybody in the living room.” I waved my hand toward where Monroe, Contessa, and Rebecca camped. We were having a girls’ night in since everyone was finally in the same city at the same time. Plus, I’d only gotten to hang with Monroe twice since Royale had introduced her.

“Let’s get this party started!” Aliza screamed, heading toward the living room. I didn’t move. My feet remained still as I fondled the letter in my hands.

“Are you sure you’re good, Samara?” She turned to question me. Her eyes jumped from me to the envelope.

“Um… Yeah, I just need to use the bathroom. I’ll be in there in a minute.”

I turned and hurried down the hallway toward my bedroom, leaving Aliza standing there. She’d see me fall apart if I didn’t escape her soon. My heart ached. I couldn’t believe what I had in my hands. I closed my door and tore the envelope open, revealing the thick stack of folded papers. My eyes immediately found the bottom of the page. Sure enough, Demetrius’s name was sketched on the signature line. Tears immediately slid down my face. I’d been waiting for this, but I didn’t feel happy.

I stared at the divorce papers for what seemed like forever. This was his way of saying he was done, and though that was what I wanted, it was bittersweet. Our six-year marriage had run its course. I wanted to pull out my phone and call him, but what would I say? Did he want to hear from me? Tears drained from my body as I sat on my bed, crying uncontrollably. In a perfect world, Demetrius and I could work, but this wasn’t perfect, and I wasn’t cut out to be a kingpin’s wife forever. Still, my heart didn’t hurt any less.

“Samara! Would you come on?” My room door flew open, and my eyes bounced to Monroe. I tried to wipe my face and hide my tears, but it was too late—she’d seen me.

“Samara, what’s going on? Are you crying?” She neared me, but I was at a loss for words.

“What are you looking at?”

Before realizing what I was doing, I handed her the divorce papers. Her eyes roamed the documents, and I just watched. This was a good time to finally air out my big secret.

“Samara, these are divorce papers.” Her face was glazed with confusion. Monroe and I had only hung out a few times, but we talked a lot. She knew enough about me to know I wasn’t supposed to be a married woman.

“Yep,” I said through my sobs. Monroe’s eyes fell back to the papers.

“I’m confused. Who the hell is married? Who is Demetri…” Her words trailed off, and her hand immediately flew to her mouth.

“No, it’s not! Meechie! Samara, are these papers saying that you and Meechie are married?”

“Was married!” I corrected her. “We’re getting a divorce.”

Monroe stared at me momentarily before she handed the papers back to me and walked away.

“Nope! I’m not in this! Forget I walked in here. I just came here for drinks and book talk, that’s it.”

“Too late, you’re involved,” I called behind her, causing her feet to stop moving. She sighed and turned to face me, moving back in my direction.

“What the hell, Samara? I know your brother does not know about this. When did y’all get married? Please explain.”

I stared at Monroe as she joined me on the bed. I tried my best to reel in my emotions and control my breathing, but I couldn’t get a grip. I’d been keeping everything about Demetrius and me inside for so long. Nobody knew. Not even Rebecca and I considered her my closest friend. I’d only given her bits and pieces of the truth. She had no clue I had been venting to her about Meechie or that we were married.

“It’s a lot.” I didn’t even know where to start.

“Start at the beginning.”

I stood from the bed and walked to my nightstand to retrieve my wedding ring. I didn’t wear it often, usually only when we were conducting cartel business, but for some reason, I was being called to it. I glared at my five-carat, white gold diamond ring, and more tears streamed from my eyes.

“Ro doesn’t know,” I said, placing the ring in my left hand. I walked over to the bed. Monroe nodded and kept her eyes on me, letting me know I had her undivided attention.

“For Demetrius to take over the cartel, he had to marry into the family. I was the only option,” I blurted. Monroe’s mouth dropped.

“You’ve been in an arranged marriage with Demetrius for what…” She counted in her head. “The past six years?”

I nodded. Monroe had experience with arranged marriages, having been in one herself before meeting Royale. So I could see why she would label this as one, but I didn’t see it that way.

“Royale said y’all family didn’t do arranged marriages.”

“We don’t. My marriage to Demetrius was more of an agreement than an arrangement. We both wanted Royale to go to college and become a doctor. My father was trying to push him back into the cartel. This was the only way we could think of to free him.” I sat on the bed and opened my hand to show her my ring. Nobody close to us had seen it. Monroe stared at it, and a smile appeared on her face.

“Meechie got this for you?” she questioned.

I nodded my head. “On the day we got married. I told him I didn’t need one, but he wouldn’t let me go without it.”

“You couldn’t tell your brother because he would have stepped in and took over.”

“Yes, and we couldn’t let him do that. Royale needed to become a doctor. His future was so much greater than being Capo. I did it for him.” I sobbed.

“Samara, this is heavy. Does anybody else know about this?”

“We know.”

My head turned toward the doorway as Aliza, Rebecca, and Contessa rushed into the room. I didn’t know how long they’d been standing there or how much they heard, but relief swept over me. I felt free, knowing that I didn’t have to keep this secret.

“Samara is married to Meechie!” Monroe shouted as everyone joined us on the bed. Their arms wrapped around my body, embracing me in a group hug. My body melted into them as I let out a few more tears.

“Was married,” I corrected her again.

“Is married. Divorces aren’t final until you submit the paperwork,” Aliza added.

“How much did you all hear?” I was curious. My secret was finally out.

“Everything, and I can't believe you kept this from me.” Rebecca slapped me on my shoulder. “So the guy you’ve been on and off dating, the one that has been stalking you, that’s Meechie?”

“Um huh.” I nodded. Everyone stared at me dumbfounded with their mouths on the floors.

“How?” Rebecca mumbled.

“I know how to keep a secret.” I took pride in the fact that I had managed to hide things with Demetrius for so long. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, yet somehow, I’d done it.

“When did you two fall in love? And why are you getting a divorce?” Monroe’s questions caught me off guard. She was diving right into my business. I hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. I’d gone back and forth on my position when it came to loving him. I didn’t know when I had fallen.

“If I’m being honest, I fell for Demetrius early on in our agreement. He is so rugged but sweet. Always cracking a damn joke.” The girls’ head all nodded.

“The second we got married, he took over all my living expenses. After the first time we slept together, I knew I loved him.”

“I know that dick was good!” Aliza shouted, causing me to laugh. “No disrespect, cousin, but Meechie’s big ass gives off the best big dick energy.”

I shook my head at Aliza as Monroe pushed her, warning her to tread lightly. I didn’t mind Aliza’s comment because I knew she didn’t mean any harm by it. Demetrius did give off big dick energy and had since we were teenagers.

“I don’t mean to pry, but if you love him so much, why not explore a real relationship?” Contessa questioned. She was only asking the question everyone probably wanted the answer to.

“I can’t love him, okay? I can’t. He’s everything my father was. This marriage was for Ro, and that’s it.”

Everyone stared at me. They all wanted to say something, but I was glad they’d chosen silence. Admitting my love for Demetrius was hard, and judgment was the last thing I needed. I allowed my tears to coat my cheeks as the reality of everything set in.

“It’s over!” I sobbed. “I can’t believe it’s over. I love him so much.” I broke down. All six years of hidden emotions poured out. Nobody said a word. They just embraced me as I fell apart. My phone rang in the pocket of my nightgown, and I almost broke my neck retrieving the phone. As emotional as I was, I was hoping it was Demetrius. I needed it to be Demetrius. I felt disappointed when I recognized the number of the hospital where I worked part-time on the weekends. They probably wanted me to come in. Swiping the green button, I connected the call just as Monroe’s phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Hello, this is Nurse Practitioner Janson calling from Miami Memorial Hospital. I’m looking for Mrs. Samara Augustine. It’s an urgent matter.”

The blood immediately drained from my face. She’d called me by Demetrius’s last name. My last name wasn’t Augustine. I knew at that moment something was wrong. My eyes traveled to Monroe. She had moved from the bed to the corner of the room. Her chocolate face had no color, and tears were welling up in her eyes. She knew the horrible news I was destined to receive. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I pressed the phone up against my face.

“This is her,” I said through a shaky voice. Contessa ran to Monroe, who was now crying uncontrollably. Whatever was going on was heavy. I could feel it in my chest.

“This is Samara Augustine,” I repeated. I needed to know what was going on.

“Miss, your husband, Demetrius Augustine, was rushed here with life-threatening injuries from a car accident. He is in the intensive care unit—” The phone fell from my hand before she could finish her sentence. My chest tightened, and I would be on the floor if I wasn’t already sitting. I couldn’t breathe. All the air had been sucked from my body.

“Demetrius!” I screamed, placing my hands over my face.

“What’s going on? What happened?” Aliza called out. Her hand wrapped around my back.

“Somebody tried to kill Meechie!” Monroe shouted. I watched as Rebecca picked up the phone and continued speaking with the nurse. I couldn’t make out what she was saying because the sound had drained from the room. Everything was moving in slow motion. The girls were all running in and out of the room.

“Put these on!” Aliza tossed me some tennis shoes. When I didn’t move, she put them on me herself.

“We have to get to the hospital. They need you to sign-off on care.”

My eyes shot to Rebecca as my mind traveled to the worst-case scenario.

“Is he breathing?” I questioned, just above a whisper. He had to be breathing.

“Yes, but we got to go now!” Aliza demanded. I nodded my head and climbed out of the bed. Tears still rolled down my face. This was the nightmare I’d dreamed of often. The man I loved was being ripped away from me without warning. It was the main reason I didn’t want to commit to Demetrius. My heart couldn’t take it.

“God, please watch over Demetrius.” I cried as I moved down the hallway and out the door of my apartment. I hoped God was listening because I didn’t know if I could recover from this.