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SERENITY

I t had been two weeks since Vegas. Two weeks since I stood in a tiny chapel, laughing at an Elvis impersonator while exchanging vows with the love of my life.

Two weeks since I became Mrs. Creed Langston, the tattoo on my finger nearly fully healed.

And now, it was finally time to make it official in every sense of the word.

“I still can’t believe this is happening,” I muttered, watching as Maryann, my assistant, directed the movers carrying my boxes into the massive walk-in closet of Creed’s house—our house.

I wasn’t handling any of it myself. Maryann was a godsend, orchestrating every detail like this was just another project to tackle.

“Why?” she asked, setting down a list on the marble-topped island in the center of the closet. “You’ve been basically living here for weeks.”

I shot her a look, leaning against the doorway. “Because I never thought I’d be living in a house with Creed again.”

But here I was.

In his—our—home. The house we had walked through together. The house that he had put my name on from the start. When he told me, I thought I misheard him.

“You… already put my name on the deed?” I’d asked, blinking at him in disbelief.

Creed just shrugged, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Always knew we’d find our way back to each other,” he said simply. “I needed you to approve of the home I planned to share with you forever.”

Forever, that’s what this was. Not just moving in. Not just playing house. This was the rest of our lives.

I sighed, running a hand through my curls as I watched Maryann work. “How’s it looking in here?”

She nodded approvingly. “Your closet is coming together beautifully. You’re gonna be sick when you see how much stuff you actually have.”

I smirked. “I already know.” I gazed at Creed’s side already neatly organized, nothing out of place. “Probably not as much as him but enough.” Then, suddenly, my phone started blowing up. My group chat was going crazy.

Arielle: WTF Serenity??!!

Averi: Bitch I know you fuckin lyin

Egypt: OMG is this true?

Arielle: CHECK TEA & HONEY RIGHT NOW!

Arielle: Like, RIGHT NOW!!!

I frowned, clicking the link she sent, and the second it loaded, my stomach dropped as I viewed an Instagram post from Tea and Honey.

Sighing, I clicked the link taking me to the main post on their website.

NBA All-Star Creed Langston Secretly Married Actress Serenity Bradshaw in Vegas! Posted by Tea & Honey Staff | 3:24 PM PST

Well, well, well… looks like Mr. Langston is officially off the market!

Multiple sources have confirmed that NBA All-Star Creed Langston and Hollywood’s It Girl Serenity Bradshaw secretly tied the knot two weeks ago in Las Vegas.

That’s right, folks! The childhood besties turned lovers, turned co-parents, turned exes, turned lovers again, made things official in true Vegas fashion at the Blue Moon Wedding Chapel.

While neither of them has publicly commented on the marriage yet, let’s just say this tea is piping hot.

Fans are already losing their minds online, with some wondering why they kept it secret and others absolutely living for this full-circle moment.

Looks like it’s Mr. and Mrs. Langston from now on! No word on how Jailah Miller is taking it.

My stomach dropped. How the fuck did this get out?! The whole reason we did this in Vegas, in the dead of night, was so we could keep it quiet.

The entire world was obsessed with our relationship thanks to Jailah’s drama, and we wanted to have that moment to ourselves. Now, it was ruined.

My heart hammered in my chest as I quickly dialed Creed’s number. He answered after the third ring, his voice slightly breathless.

“What’s up Beautiful,” he said, voice calm—too calm for the way I was losing my shit right now.

“What’s up Beautiful? Have you not been looking at your phone?” I whisper-yelled, pacing around my half-organized closet. “The news is out! Somebody leaked it!”

He sighed, and I heard the sound of weights clanking in the background. “Serenity, chill. Yes, I saw, but ain’t nothing either of us can do about it right now. I’m in the middle of PT at the facility,” he said, voice even. “Breathe.”

“I can’t breathe! This was not supposed to happen yet! We haven’t even told the kids.”

“Shit, they see us go to the same room every night for the past two weeks since we got home. Our kids are smart baby, I think they know.” He chuckled and I could have slapped him. Why was he not freaking out the way I was?

I squeezed my eyes shut, running a hand down my face as I felt panic bubbling up in my chest. “You said we could keep this to ourselves—now it’s on the blogs?

! My phone is blowing up with texts! Ari just sent me the link, my manager is calling me back-to-back, and now we have to deal with this before we even had a chance to tell people ourselves! ”

I could hear movement on his end, a low grunt escaping him. “Alright, I’m coming home. We’ll talk about it.”

“I just don’t get it, Creed! How did this even happen?!” I started pacing again, mind racing a mile a minute.

“Baby, I don’t know,” he said, his voice still irritatingly calm. “But we’ll figure it out, okay? Just breathe.”

I opened my mouth to respond when I heard footsteps behind me. Turning quickly, I came face-to-face with Tasha standing in the doorway of the closet, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open in shock.

“Tell me it ain’t true,” she said, hands on her hips.

Fuck.

I froze, still holding the phone to my ear.

“Tell me you and my son didn’t run off and get married in some damn Vegas chapel without telling nobody,”she pressed, voice rising.

I swallowed hard, eyes darting to my phone screen, realizing that Creed could hear everything.

“Tasha, I?—”

“Answer the damn question, girl!” she snapped.

I inhaled sharply, then exhaled slowly, deciding not to evade or lie. I nodded, gripping my phone tightly. “Yes, it’s true.”

Tasha blinked, her lips parting slightly in shock. And then, to my absolute surprise, she let out a squeal, clapping her hands together. “Finally!”

I blinked, completely caught off guard as she suddenly rushed toward me, wrapping me in a hug. There was no way Tasha Langston was happy about this. Even though we let bygones be bygones for the sake of my daughter, we still weren’t particularly close.

“Oh my God—Serenity, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment!

” My eyebrow shot in the air at the omission, confused, shocked.

“I always knew you and my son were gonna end up together, but Lord knows y’all took the longest route to get here,” she said, pulling back to hold my arms. “Why the hell didn’t you just tell me?

I woulda helped y’all plan something nice instead of y’all running off like some damn kids. ”

I stared at her, still processing her reaction.

“I—what?”

She grinned, shaking her head. “Girl, I’m happy for y’all. I know we haven’t always been on the best of terms, but I know now how much my baby loves you and I’m just glad it wasn’t that triflin’ ass Jailah.”

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding as she pulled me in for another tight hug. On the phone, Creed chuckled. “Told you everything would be fine,” he said.

I rolled my eyes, even as a small smile pulled at my lips. Tasha pulled back, looking down at my phone, then snatched it out of my hand before I could react. “Boy, why the hell didn’t you tell your mama you got married?!” she snapped into the phone.

I laughed, finally relaxing a little as I listened to Tasha chew Creed out over the phone. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Later that night, my parents and Sevyn came over for dinner. We barely got the words out before my mom sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, at least we didn’t have to hear about it from the blogs,” she muttered sarcastically, giving me a pointed look.

I winced. “I’m sorry Mommy. It wasn’t supposed to come out yet.”

Sevyn barked out a laugh, clapping Creed on the shoulder. “Damn, man. Y’all couldn’t even tell us first?”

“We wanted to,” Creed admitted. “We just…wanted to be in our own world for a little while.”

“I get that,” My daddy said, nodding. “And I’m happy for you two. But, as your father,” He cleared his throat, expression serious. “I think we need to discuss a post-nup.”

I froze. A what? Creed sighed, already knowing how I’d react. “Baby?—”

“No.” I shook my head firmly. “I don’t like the idea of prenups or post-nups. It feels like putting an expiration date on our marriage.”

“Serenity, that’s not?—”

“It is.” My voice was sharper than I intended.

Sienna, surprisingly, stayed quiet, just watching me.

Lenox, on the other hand, was unwavering.

“Baby girl, listen to me,” he said. “This isn’t about assuming your marriage won’t last. This is about protecting you.

Both of you. Let’s be honest, you’re worth a lot of money. I need to protect that at all costs.”

“My son is worth quite a bit as well.” Tasha commented.

“This isn’t about who has more money.” Sienna finally stepped in.

“It’s not a pissing contest Tasha, Jesus.

But let’s be honest, Serenity is an heiress to a billion-dollar company.

Not to mention the wealth she and her brother will gain from me when I’m gone.

We get Creed is successful. We’re not trying to take that away from him, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking marriages last forever. ”