Page 22 of Blake University HBCU Chronicles: Nuri & Silas

"No need," Ali told Nuri. "I hired a driver so we can all ride together in the limo. I can't even begin to understand how you and your mother survived the hell Boyd put y'all through,” he continued, the depth in his tone weighing heavy between them. “I feel like I owe you both an apology for not being here. For not protecting y’all like I should’ve. I apologize to you for his poor example of what a real man looks like and what real men do. I hate that he ever made you think you deserved anything less than royalty. If you give me a chance, Nuri... I’ll start from scratch. I’ll do the work.

Earn your love, your respect, your trust, and loyalty.

Today, I just want to celebrate with you. Is that alright?"

"Yes, I'd love that." Nuri approved, while her mother stood back and beamed. This day would mark more than just her degree. It would mark the beginning of everything she had prayed for finally meeting her halfway.

Two Hours Later…

The day had a pulse of its own. The sun stretched out over Blake University, warm and golden, like it had been saving its best light for this very moment. Nuri stood at the edge of everything—past, pain, promise—and watched the world move gently around her.

Magnetic

Electric.

Silas stood in the parking lot like a quiet storm.

Draped in all-white designer linen threads, his presence was something to pause for.

The type of man who carried answers without questions, stillness without silence.

His white gold chain shimmered like a whisper against his skin, but it was the way he looked at her that spoke words only her spirit could comprehend.

Ali stepped out first, then offered his hand to assist Nova in getting out, then Nuri. Nuri stepped out of the black car with grace that didn’t ask for permission. Ali’s hand had guided her gently, but when her eyes met Silas’—time folded.

They didn’t say anything. Didn’t need to. They had the kind of connection that was soul-deep, bone-rooted, and didn’t beg to be noticed. It just existed. Loud in its silence. Soft in its certainty.

Nuri threw caution to the wind, and found her way into Silas' arms. She didn't care who didn't like it, they could close their eyes.

She wasn't looking for approval. She'd found real love.

Real love that didn't give a damn about the thirteen-year age gap between them.

Silas was her person, her protector... her teacher, and her lover.

The world needed to see and know that shit because she was all in, and coming ten toes down behind her man.

Silas welcomed her into his strong arms without hesitation. He'd already let Ali know what it was when it came to Nuri, and though he hadn't spoken to Nova; she knew what time it was.

“You lookin’ good as hell in this lil’ ass dress, Ms. Sinclair,” Silas murmured, voice low and laced with smirk.

“Marciano,” Ali corrected from behind them. “She’s a part of me.”

Silas nodded his acknowledgment. He knew what Ali meant, but he also knew he was going to change that too in due time.

They moved into the building slowly, the world moving around them like background music. Ali and Nova made their way to their seats while Silas walked Nuri to her designated space. There was no rush. No pressure. Just them.

“Hey, sis!” Bre lit up as soon as Nuri slid into the seat beside her. “You ready to make history?”

Nuri smiled, heart steady. “Been ready.”

The ceremony began. Names were called. Faces lit up. But when the announcer’s voice wrapped around her name like a velvet ribbon.

“ Nuri Nicole Marciano… Magna Cum Laude!”

It was like the entire world stood still just to hear it. The auditorium broke open with cheers. It wasn’t noise—it was joy.

Loud. Free. Belonging only to her.

Ali rose first, hands clapping like thunder.

Nova, seconds later, a hand to her chest and tears softly carving tracks down her cheeks.

Silas stayed seated for one heartbeat longer, just long enough to memorize the moment, then stood slowly.

He pressed two fingers to his lips and sent the kiss her way.

That was her man.

Nuri moved across the stage with the confidence of a woman who knew her worth, and walked in her divine purpose.

Because she did. This wasn’t about a degree.

This was about evolving. Becoming. The grace she carried.

The grief she’d buried. The woman she’d sculpted from everything that tried to break her.

She accepted her degree with calm eyes and quiet strength. Her smile didn’t beg for attention—it demanded it.

When she returned to her seat, Bre didn’t even try to hold back the tears.

“You did that,” she whispered, voice barely a thing.

Nuri looked at her, nodding slow. “We did that. All of us.”

“Breyana Lavelle Bleu — Magna Cum Laude!” The announcer called, and the auditorium cheered loudly again as Bre made her way to the stage to retrieve her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre.

The rest of the ceremony blurred by in that kind of haze only joy can cause. But once the last name was read, and the tassels flipped, and the caps hit the air—it was like a veil had lifted.

Nuri and her sorors got together at the end, and performed one last step for the year, and once they were done she was greeted by her tribe.

Silas pulled her close again, whispering against the shell of her ear. “Ain’t nothin’ in this world more beautiful than you in this moment. I’m proud of you, baby. For real.”

Ali embraced her with the kind of love that made up for lost years. “Welcome to the next phase of life, baby girl.”

Nova wrapped both arms around her baby, eyes glistening. “You did exactly what I always knew you would.”

“What’s that?” Nuri asked with a smile.

“You beat the odds, and now there’s no limit,” Nova told her, hugging her tight again.

Nuri wasn’t the same girl who had arrived four years ago—wide-eyed and searching.

She was wiser now. While in places she once believed would never heal.

The heartbreaks, the betrayals, the buried truths—they didn’t break her.

They became her foundation. Every storm had refined her.

Every lesson had shaped her. And in the reflection of her own smile, she finally saw what everyone else had always seen.

A woman who’d bloomed in spite of it all. A force. Unapologetic. Free.

As she walked away from the ceremony and into her next chapter, Nuri felt the rhythm of possibility humming at her heels.

Her steps were slow but sure, steady like she carried the blessing of every woman who’d ever been silenced and rose anyway.

The four years she spent at Blake had given her more than a degree.

They gave her clarity. And the most valuable lesson of all—that she was, in every sense of the word, unstoppable.

The world hadn’t seen the last of Nuri Marciano. She was just getting started.