Page 51 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

He stepped in looking fresh like always, suit crisp, chain tucked just right, and that signature smirk he always wore when he was proud of somebody.

“Okay, Stormi, we’ll meet you there,” Ari said as she hugged me tight. “Since RJ’s walking you down, y’all ride together.”

I side-eyed her. “Y’all really acting like we can’t all ride up the street together? It’s a ceremony, not a top-secret mission.”

“Girl, hush, just enjoy it,” she laughed, already halfway out the door with Jo and Ms. Serena.

The room emptied, and RJ sat down next to me. He let out a low breath like he’d been holding it all day.

“How you feel?”

I looked at him. My lashes were still heavy with makeup, but my eyes didn’t feel weighed down anymore. “Like I can finally breathe. Like I can finally relax… and just be happy.”

He nodded slow. “I’m happy for you, Stormi. Really.”

I reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “I am mad at you though. Got Ari over here talkin’ ‘bout babies and rings. Said if you can do it, what she waitin’ on?”

I laughed loud the first real laugh since I zipped that dress up. “Could you see yourself marrying her and having babies though?”

He looked out the window, but that little smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, I could.”

I leaned back on the bed and smiled. “Remember when we used to lay in my room, just talkin’ ‘bout how life was gonna look? You said you wanted peace. I said I wanted a real kind of love.”

He nodded, eyes soft now. “And look at us. Out here really living the lives we used to pray for.”

I looked over at him. “I love you, RJ. You’ve always been my peace when everything else was loud.”

“I love you too, Stormi. Always got you. Always.”

We hugged that kind of hug where you know it’s real, where you don’t gotta say too much. We let go, and I took a deep breath as we headed down to the car.

The drive was chill at first. But when we passed the fifth church in less than ten minutes, my eyes narrowed.

“RJ…” I said, side-eyeing him. “Why we passin’ all the wedding chapels? Ain’t the ceremony supposed to be”

He grinned and tapped the side of the door. “Ask your husband.”

My heart skipped, just like that. We pulled up to the beach.

And it hit me the soft music, the white rose petals leading down a sand aisle, the arch of flowers blowing in the breeze, fairy lights twinkling like they came straight outta a dream.

Our family stood waiting, smiles wide, cameras out.

S3 was standing next to Seth in a little white suit, grinning like he knew a secret.

“What is this?” I whispered, stunned, staring out the window.

“This is your real wedding,” RJ said, opening the door and offering his hand. “You ain’t think Seth was gon’ let his wife get married in no ‘hole-in-the-wall’ chapel, did you?”

I blinked back tears, pressing a hand to my chest. Of course Seth couldn’t do anything small.

This man moved mountains just to see me smile. He always did. And now he’d given me a memory I’d never forget not because it was perfect, but because it felt like home. I stepped out the car slowly, the ocean breeze tugging gently at the bottom of my dress, and all I could think was:

This is love. This is my forever.

The moment I stepped out of the car, S3 came sprinting up to me, little suit jacket flapping behind him like he was on a mission. He handed me a bouquet of white and blue roses, his grin wide and proud.

“Here, Stormi!” Then he turned and took off running down the aisle screaming,

‘The bride is coming! The bride is coming!’ while ringin’ that little silver bell like he was announcing royalty. I laughed, one hand over my belly, the other holding the bouquet close to my chest. My heart thudded hard. That kind of happy nervous you only get once in a lifetime.

Chrisette Michele’s “A Couple of Forevers” floated through the speakers, and that was it my knees damn near buckled. The lyrics hit me straight in the chest. Because that was us. That was him A couple of forevers that’s all I wanted. That’s all I ever needed.

RJ stepped beside me and offered his arm. “You ready?” he whispered.

I nodded, but my voice cracked when I spoke. “Yeah, I’ve never been more ready.”

We turned the corner, and there he was.

Seth.

My man. My home. My whole heart. Standing tall in a tailored tan suit that hugged every inch of his broad frame.

His shirt was open just enough to tease that chest I laid on every night, and the second our eyes met he licked his lips slow, like he was tasting the future.

And if I wasn’t seven months pregnant , I swear I would’ve run into his arms without a second thought.

Instead, I breathed deep every step down that aisle feeling like I was shedding a layer of who I used to be.

Every foot forward whispered: Goodbye to fear. Goodbye to doubt.

Goodbye to toxic love, to silent tears, to the old versions of me that didn’t know how to be loved right.

This man in front of me. He loved me loud.

Loved me soft. Loved me whole. And standing here, belly full of our son, heart full of our truth I felt it in every part of my body that I was walking into my peace.

When I got to the altar, Seth reached for my hands without saying a word. Our fingers laced like they always belonged that way. He looked at me not through me, not past me at me. Right in my soul. And then he smiled. That smile. The one that made me melt the first time he ever called me his.

In that moment, time just paused. Like the world decided we were the only two people that mattered. I couldn’t hear the waves. I couldn’t hear our family cheering or the music anymore. All I could hear was my heartbeat. And the way it said, ‘you’re home’.

I listened to Seth speak his vows, and it was like the whole world held its breath with me. His voice cracked halfway through, and Rich reached out, handing him a tissue with one hand and wiping his own face with the other.

“You good?” Rich mumbled, trying to keep it together himself. Seth didn’t answer just nodded through the tears and finished every word like he’d been holding them in since the day we met.

By the time he slipped the ring onto my finger, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Not even the tough ones Southside, RJ, even my brother Noah looked like they were blinking too much.

I grabbed his hand and placed it gently on my belly.

“Feel him?” I whispered.

Seth looked down just as our son kicked hard like he knew it was his moment too. He smiled through the tears and kept his hand right there, on his son, on our future.

And that’s when I started to speak.

“I always wondered how I would heal the little girl in me” My voice trembled.

My throat tightened. But I kept going. “I thought about love a lot what it should feel like. Not the kind that only takes from you, but the kind that gives back . Gives peace. Gives safety. Gives truth.” I looked right at Seth and only Seth like there was nobody else standing around us on that beach.

“That’s the love I found with you. You ain’t just show up, Seth you stayed .

You listened. You loved the parts of me I used to hide.

We shared our past, and now we’re writing a brand-new future.

” My voice cracked again, and I saw Seth’s jaw flex like he was trying not to break down again.

“I gave you my body, and we created life. I gave you my heart, and you, you put it back together piece by piece, every part that was shattered. Every part that I thought nobody could fix.”

My hands shook as I reached for the ring Rich passed me.

“You’ve never missed a day showing up for me.

Never made me question my worth. You gave me the kind of love I prayed for.

” I slid the ring onto his finger, slow and steady.

“And I vow to love you, respect you, honor you and stand beside you, no matter what life throws our way. You gave me love. You gave me a home. You gave me family.” Tears were flowing now, and I didn’t care.

I couldn’t even wait for the officiant to say anything before Seth leaned forward and kissed me hard, soft, everything in between.

Like he couldn’t hold it in one more second.

And I swear, our hearts locked in place right there.

Sealed in something deeper than a promise.

“I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Green,” the officiant finally said with a smile.

Then this man my husband scooped me up bridal style like he’d been waiting his whole life for this moment and jumped the broom.

We didn’t walk we floated down that aisle while our people cheered, throwing rose petals like confetti.

Jennifer Hudson’s “Giving Myself” played behind us, and I clutched Seth tighter as the lyrics sank into my bones.

“I’ve given myself… over to you.”

And I meant that, all of me. Forever.

The limo pulled off smooth, the “Just Married” sign swinging behind us like something straight out of a fairytale. Except this wasn’t a dream this was mine. My man. My baby. My last name just changed for good.

“Vegas wedding, huh?” I asked, leaning into him as the glittering lights of the strip passed by outside the tinted windows.

“You know I had to make it special for you,” he said, brushing his fingers along my jaw, the way he always does when he’s being soft.

“I love you, Seth.”

“I love you more, Mrs. Green,” he said, grinning wide like he just scored the biggest win of his life.

That name Mrs. Green hit me different. It wrapped around me like a warm blanket. It sounded like peace. Like forever.

“It sounds really nice, doesn’t it?” I whispered, still half in disbelief.

“It does,” he said, moving closer. His lips brushed against mine, slow and tender, like he was memorizing the moment.

Then he leaned down and placed his hand on my belly. “You can come now, baby boy,” he said.

“Says who?” I looked at him wide-eyed. “Don’t rush that part. We already married today I ain’t ready for no contractions too.”

We both laughed, but deep down I was scared. Excited, but scared. I wanted to meet him, but I didn’t want to feel like my whole body was breaking in half to do it.

“What you thinking about, Stormi?”

Seth’s voice was low, almost lazy, but I could hear the curiosity laced with warmth.

I turned my head just slightly, letting my lips curve into a small smile. “My husband being inside of me,” I said, my voice unapologetically honest.

The way his eyes darkened, just a little, told me I had his full attention.

I stood up slowly, never breaking eye contact, and reached for his hand. “Come with me.”

He didn’t ask questions. He never needed to. His fingers slid into mine like he’d been waiting on this moment all day.

When we got to the room, I paused, giving him that look… the one he swears makes him forget how to breathe. He stepped closer, his hands moving to the buttons of my dress with a tenderness that made my chest ache.

Click. Click. Click. The dress slipped off my shoulders and slid down my body like it knew it was time to surrender. I stood there, bare, raw, and fully seen. Seth took a slow breath, his gaze tracing every curve, every mark, every new story my body was telling.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful” he whispered.

Then his lips were on me. First my neck, then my collarbone, and lower, all the way down.

He lingered on the stretch marks that had started to bloom across my hips like lightning bolts.

His kisses there weren’t quick they were reverent.

Like he knew exactly what they meant to me.

I remembered the first day I noticed them.

Two small lines, like my skin had cracked under the pressure of becoming something more.

I screamed. Full-volume, hormonal, pregnant-woman scream.

And Seth, he wrapped me up in his arms and said, “They’re love lines, baby.

The universe leaving its mark for how powerful you are. ”

He always knew what to say. But it wasn’t just the words. It was the way he made me feel worshipped, even in my mess. Especially in my mess.