Silky nodded as he headed back in the direction of his office. “That’s probably what I’ll do. Thank you, SiSi. I’ll see you when I get home. Let me know what you want me to bring in for dinner.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Silky disconnected the call, wondering if he should look into counseling himself. At first, he felt like it wouldn’t be beneficial for him. As hypocritical as it may sound, having a degree in Psychology and Education made him feel as if there wouldn’t be anything a therapist could say that he didn’t already know. Now… Silky was willing to give it a try. It was one thing for his mental state to be affecting his marriage – Siara was a grown woman and understanding – but Herbert?
Herbert was an emotional, insecure, unstable, unseen teenager who needed his security.
When his issues started fucking that up… it was time for a change.
Siara had the scare of her life. Things had gone absolutely perfect at the baby shower her mother and Alexis threw for her. Instead of leaving with her father, her mother, Gloria, stayed behind to help clean up. While Silky was taking her home, Siara took a nasty fall down the stairs. She’d always been a little clumsy, but during her pregnancy, she’d tried to be as careful as possible.
So far, she’d only fallen once and tripped twice before tonight.
Their little girl didn’t care about being eight weeks early, she was ready to come now! After calling 911, Siara called Silky, and he told her he would meet her at the hospital since it was closer to her parents’ house. When Siara found out that she’d have to have an emergency C section, she became distraught.
This was the moment she’d been waiting for, and now she felt as if she couldn’t do one of the main things she was created to do. God had blessed her with the ability to create life within her womb, and their daughter’s early arrival was stressful enough without the burden of having to be cut open. It took Silky’s charm and love to calm her down, and when she was calm, their beautiful baby girl was delivered.
Their baby did need a blood transfusion, and since Siara was still weak and in need of time to rebuild her strength, Silky gladly volunteered. When her doctor gave the okay, Siara was able to hold their baby, and she fell head over heels in love immediately.
She looked just like Silky, which Siara had a brief jealous fit over. But the more she looked at her daughter, the less she cared. In fact, she loved the fact that Silia had her father’s dirty brown and black hair and his reddish, caramel skin.
“All I did was carry her for seven months, apparently. She looks just like you.”
Silky kissed her pout away, sitting on the side of her bed. “But she has your beautiful eyes and your lips. She actually is the perfect mix of us.”
“You think so?”
“Yea. I think her having my hair and skin tone makes you think she looks more like me, but she even has your pointy nose.”
Siara smiled as Silky’s thumb gently tapped Silia’s nose. Her eyes opened briefly, and her mouth opened before she closed them again, making them both laugh.
“God. I can’t believe she’s actually here.” Siara’s eyes watered as she looked over at Silky. “Thank you for her. I love you so much, Silk.”
Clenching his jaw, Silky rested his forehead on hers. “You trying to make me cry in front of our daughter?” Giggling quietly, Siara shook her head before pecking his lips. “I love you more, beautiful. I should be thanking you for her. She’s absolutely perfect. You both are.”
His left arm wrapped around Siara while he used his right to envelop Silia as she rested in her mother’s arms. They’d been through a lot over the past few months, but this moment… this moment made it all worth it.
Siara had been walking around on a cloud. It was the first day both she and Silia had been back home, and the transition was smooth because of Silky. He’d made sure everything was put together in Silia’s room and that the refrigerator was stocked with Siara’s favorite fruits. It worked out perfectly that that was what she’d been craving throughout her pregnancy and now since she was breastfeeding.
He’d even gone as far as to overnight her an order from Tropical Fruit Box to ensure her favorite mangoes, green coconuts, and pink guavas were there before she was. While Silia was asleep, Siara lit a few candles, got some music going, and showered. It was fucking with her to not be able to do much for herself. Hell, she couldn’t even lift her baby, but her gratefulness that her family was alive and well wouldn’t allow her to linger on that for too long.
After her shower, she headed to the kitchen to grab some fruit, stopping when she heard Silky’s hushed tone. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have listened in on his conversation, but he sounded upset… and Siara couldn’t resist eavesdropping. Although, when she heard him grit, “I don’t care how much it takes or what needs to happen… Get the shit done, now, or I’ll kill him, too,” she regretted that she did.
As quickly and quietly as she could, Siara scurried back upstairs and into their bedroom. Her hands trembled at her side as she inhaled short, choppy breaths. There had to be an explanation for what she’d heard… but did she want to know what it was? Maybe she was hearing things. Yea. Maybe she needed to rest. Her sleeping schedule was all off, so it made sense for her to be hearing things.
Siara was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Silky enter their room. As soon as he wrapped his arms around her and tried to kiss her neck, she jumped and tripped, almost falling into the bed had he not caught her.
But in his arms… that was the last place she wanted to be right now.
“What the hell is up with you? Are you trying to hurt yourself?” Silky slowly sat her down on the bed as she released a shaky breath.
“I—I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Clearly. Are you okay?”
“Umhm.” She nodded, scooting up towards the headboard. “I just… think I need to rest before Lia wakes up again.”
The skepticism didn’t last long in Silky’s gaze before he was nodding and walking away. “You’re right. Do you need anything before you go to sleep?”
“No. I’m good, thanks.”
“You sure?” He set the remote and her phone by her in the bed before placing a kiss to her forehead. One that made her body go rigid as her heart skipped a beat. “I can bring you some water and fruit if you’d like.”
Forcing a smile, Siara nodded. Whatever it took to make him leave.
“Sure, thanks.”
Siara watched as he left their room. Julia and Taylor immediately entered her mind. All this time, she was convinced Silky wasn’t responsible for Julia’s death, and she hadn’t even considered the possibility of him being responsible for Taylor’s. But the thought of him killing someone had her wondering what Silky was capable of. If she even knew him at all.
Who else had he killed, why didn’t she know, and who was his next target if what she’d heard was real?
Siara and Silia had been back home for a week, and Silky had taken a paternity leave to be with them as planned. Though now, she was wishing he’d gone to work. Every day, Siara was more and more afraid of her husband. He hadn’t said or done anything out of the norm, but the conversation she heard had been replaying in the back of her head.