Page 27 of The Cancer I Chose (BLP Signs of Love #4)

When my eyes blinked open, the light in the room was blinding me. It took a minute to adjust, but I was able to see Mama Que in the corner reading a devotional book. Jiah was standing by the window, staring out at the view. I could tell there was a lot on her mind by how hard she was staring.

My body felt so heavy that, for a moment, it was hard to move. I felt something piercing my skin when I tried to move, causing me to groan in agony. There was a gasp before something clattered to the floor.

“You’re awake,” Mama Que uttered in shock.

For the next half hour, everything was a blur.

She rushed over to the bed while Jiah went to get the doctor.

They asked me about what had happened, but I kept quiet.

It wasn’t fully clear. After checking me over, they said I seemed perfectly fine.

They weren’t too worried about my remembering the shooting because it was traumatic.

When they left, my attention turned to Jiah. “Where’s Sekai? Is he okay?”

Her gaze flicked to her mother, then back to me.

“He’s fine. A lot has been going on this week, and he had to step away to handle some things.

I’m going to call him and let him know you’re awake.

He is going to be so relieved. We all are.

” She reached for my hand and firmly squeezed it, then left the room.

Mama Que came around the side of the bed and began straightening up my pillows to try to make me more comfortable. She always had motherly energy, and it warmed my heart that she accepted me with open arms. She told me that she was perfectly fine with having another daughter.

“How is Kai really?” I asked her, wanting the truth.

She sighed. “Not himself without you. I am so happy you’re awake.”

I wanted to ask her to elaborate, but Jiah came back into the room. “He said to let you know he was on his way.”

I sighed, but I still felt uneasy. It was so crazy that he was the first person I looked for.

The boundaries of our fake marriage were so blurred that this shit was more real than fake.

My eyes began to feel heavy. I kept blinking, trying to keep them open but failed miserably.

I heard Jiah giggling as I continued trying to fight off my restlessness.

“Get some sleep, pretty. Don’t worry, we’ll wake you when your husband gets here.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled before submitting to the darkness.

I felt soft kisses on my forehead. Relief filled my body when I smelled his amber cologne. It was so warm that it felt like a hug in its own way. My eyes fluttered open to find Sekai staring down at me with love in his eyes.

“Kai,” I whispered.

“Wassup, Nuri Symone. You had a nice nap?” he teased, making me smile.

I shook my head. “Not really because you weren’t next to me when I woke up.”

His facial expression turned serious, as if my words had flipped on a switch. My eyes roamed across his hardened features. Even without him opening his mouth to say anything, I knew what he’d done. I could feel it in my bones.

“I apologize for not being here. When you come home, I’ll never let you wake up alone again. I’ll always be there.”

I gulped, then reached for his hand. His grip gave me the strength to ask the question. “Ry ... He-he-he,” I began to stutter, unable to get it out.

“Is dead,” Kai confirmed with finality. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and pressed our joined hands to his lips. “Please tell me you don’t hate me for it.”

Against my will, tears welled in my eyes. I sniffled, allowing my eyes to drop but only for a moment. “I could never hate you. Thank you for keeping your promise.”

“You remember?”

I nodded slowly. When I was asleep, I replayed the shooting in my dream. If Kai hadn’t interrupted, I probably would’ve woken up kicking and screaming with fear. However, now that I knew Ry was gone, I felt lighter in a way.

“I will always keep my promises to you, Nuri.” He scowled. “I wish I could rewind the hands of time, go back and kill that nigga a second time for what he did. He t-tr-tried...”

I could see him getting worked up. The veins were protruding from his neck, his eyes were crazed, and he started breathing like a raging bull.

“Baby...” Kai immediately turned to look at me. “It’s okay. That man wasn’t my brother. The Rylas I grew up with would’ve never tried to harm me.”

Kai nodded. “They burned down the big house too.”

I tried to sit up and hissed. Kai hopped to his feet, helping me to lie back down.

“You can’t do too much, baby. You’re still healing,” he fussed.

I nodded and released a shaky breath when the pain began to subside a little. “What?” I finally croaked out. “Did anyone get hurt?”

He shook his head while taking a seat beside me. I melted into his presence as he began to stroke the side of my face. “No, we were all here waiting to get updates on you.”

“So, me being shot was a blessing?”

Kai looked at me like I was crazy. “Never a blessing, but it worked in our favor as all things do for children of the Most High.” His chin dropped to his chest. “I raised hell, Nuri Symone. I want you to know that I will do anything for you. I am not a saint, so when people press me, I start to feel boxed in like that four-year-old little boy forced to sleep in the closet of the trap house. The only thing I know how to do is strike back. You might not like the way I will handle things, but know I will always spin ’bout you, Legacy. ”

I nodded as tears streamed down my face.

I understood exactly what he was telling me, and I was honestly okay with that.

After the way people tried to come after me, it felt good to know I had a man who was going to ride for me.

If people didn’t fuck with us, he had no reason to go psycho on them in the first place. Simple enough in my eyes.

“Can I lie with you?” he asked after a beat of silence. I nodded before sliding over to make room for him. It was funny watching his large frame try to take up as little space as possible. I turned so that my head was resting on his chest. His arms went around me as he pulled me closer to him.

The rhythm of Kai’s heartbeat sedated me.

Even the way he stroked his fingers through my hair settled me into a place of peace.

For some reason, as I laid there with the man who’d slain my blood brother for harming me, all I could do was feel loved.

It stung a little to know I no longer had any close blood relatives, but I was okay with the Walker family.

Because I knew without a doubt, they would be there for me as if I were a blood relative.

I began to hum ”Ready for Love,” and Kai chuckled. “I’m ready for love, too. You are my world, Nuri Symone.”

“I know,” I replied. Glancing up at him, I said, “You are mine too.”

He leaned down to place a sweet kiss on my lips that set my soul on fire. If I knew I could move without being overtaken by pain, I would’ve straddled his lap and fucked him right here in this hospital bed. Thankfully, everyone started to shuffle into the room with balloons, flowers, and cards.

Jah came forward first. “Man, don’t ever scare me like that again, baby mama.

” One look from Kai had him retracting his statement.

“You know what... with the way this nigga just went ape shit behind you, let me shut the fuck up. Ain’t shit even funny right now.

” He straightened up. “I’m happy you’re okay, sis.

” He was quick to get out of Kai’s line of vision, making us all laugh.

As they all began to speak, I settled into where I was grounded on Kai’s chest. He couldn’t stop touching me. He seemed afraid that if he did, I would disappear.

Glancing up at him, I assured him. “I’m here, baby.”

He nodded once. “Right where you belong.” That was true.

“I love you with all my heart, Nuri Symone.”

I wasn’t familiar with the hand symbol and hadn’t noticed him do it before. “What does that mean?”

Kai placed a kiss on my forehead and smiled. He spoke while doing the motions with his hands. “I love you with all my heart, Nuri Symone.”

Tears came to my eyes. “And that’s the symbol for my name?”

With his right hand, he’d taken his open palm and lifted it from his heart into the air slightly upward, then he wiggled his fingers.

“I love it,” I said before mimicking him. “How do I say your name?”

I watched him make a K with his fingers, place it over his heart, and then flick it forward from his mouth without touching it. I mimicked his doing it, and he nodded.

“I love you with all my heart, Sekai.”

The biggest grin on his face appeared before he kissed me on the forehead again.

Even though the noise of the room returned, I allowed my eyes to drift closed.

I felt nothing but love surrounding me despite the circumstances of being here, so much love that I felt safe enough to drift back off to sleep.