Page 23 of Torch

In time, Brittney would see I was nothing like Julian or Myron. I would never use my money to control her. I would only use it to assist and make her life easier. I loved that she didn’t want to just take, and she wanted to be completely independent. If she ever wanted to stay home and focus on being a wife, I would be down for that too.

I watched my father my entire life give my mother the world. She never asked for a thing. She was content with just her husband and children. I knew if I ever settled down, I wanted a love like theirs. My father could lose it all tomorrow, and my mother would be right there by his side.

I was fortunate to witness what genuine love looked like. I didn’t know if I had that with Brittney. Only time would tell. The one thing I did know was that she was proving to be everything I wanted in a wife.

Chapter Eight

BRITTNEY

Iwas reeling with excitement as I did the dancers’ makeup. They were all so friendly and lively. The level of respect they had for Christian and Blade told me they were treated well.

Speaking of Christian, I couldn’t get his words out of my head.

This isn’t me throwing my money around. This is me as your man. I saw a need, and I provided. Simple. There will never be a time when you tell me about your worries and I don’t try to lighten your load.

It reminded me of the last conversation I had with my grandfather last year before he passed away. I had just gotten into a heated argument with Julian. In that exchange, he was quick to remind me of my place and how he was the provider. I was fed up. I knew I couldn’t go to my parents. They would only side with Julian. So, I went to my grandparents’ and revealed how unhappy I had been.

“Brittney, talk to us, sweetie. That sparkle in your eyes has been dimmed for too long.” My grandfather spoke as soon as I sat on the couch.

I took a deep breath, ready to tell my truth. “I’m not happy, Grandpa. I haven’t been since I started dating him.”

His face morphed into a scowl. “Then why have you been with him so long, Brit-Brat?” he asked, referring to me by the nickname he gave me.

“Because Mama says love will come. Julian can provide me with a great life.”

He smacked his teeth. “I don’t know where I went wrong with your mama. Money can’t buy happiness, Brit. You’ll be sitting in a seat of luxury, completely miserable thinking like that.”

“I know that. I’ve tried breaking up with him so many times, but they won’t let me.”

“What do you mean they won’t let you?!” he snarled. “Gavin! Go grab my shotgun!” He shouted for my grandmother’s brother, who lived with them.

He came out of one of the back rooms looking pissed. “Who are we about to go kill? Somebody messing with Brit-Brat?”

My grandmother sat up in her recliner. “Will you two stop it? While I’m just as angry, killing isn’t going to solve anything. Brit has to be ready to walk away. She has to learn to stand up and fight for her happiness.” My grandfather and Uncle Gavin both folded their arms, grumbling.

“I still don’t like it,” Grandpa fussed.

She palmed his cheek, pecking his lips. Instantly he was smiling like a loon. “And you’re not supposed to, sweetie,” she said and then turned to face me. “What happened to bring you here tonight? You’ve been with Julian for four years, and this is the first time we’ve heard about you being unhappy.”

I twiddled my fingers. “I didn’t want to cause any family drama, so I figured I would handle it on my own. But over the years, Julian's treatment has gotten worse. He belittles me. He makes me feel like I don’t have a say in anything. And he constantly throws in my face how his money takes care of me. But I never asked for any of the things he’s given me.”

My grandfather's face had morphed back into anger. “Brit, let me tell you something. A real man doesn’t throw his money in his woman’s face. He provides for his own pleasure. Because that’s our job as men. He won’t walk around telling the world what he’s done. He’ll just quietly bask in the joy of knowing that when there was a need, he provided. Your grandmother has never asked anything from me but my love, and for that I gave her everything.”

I nodded, letting his words sink in. In my heart, I knew the man he just described was not Julian. He loved to brag and boast. He loved trying to prove to others that he was the better man.

“I hear you, Grandpa. I will find a way to end things once and for all.”

Uncle Gavin cocked his head to the side. “You just tell that boy if he can’t let you go, your Uncle Gavin and Grandpa got a shotgun and a bullet for his ass.”

We all laughed as I felt a little lighter. One way or another, I was going to break things off with Julian for good.

The time to end things with Julian got put on the back burner when my grandfather died of a stroke a week later. He was the heart of our family, and we were gutted. I couldn’t focus on my failed relationship. Everyone had to rally behind my grandmother as she struggled with his sudden death. There were days I would go to check on her, and she hadn’t even gotten out of her bed.

After a year, she was a little better, but she still had bad days. Truthfully, Julian's proposal reminded me that things between us were supposed to be over. I had just been going with the flow, wasting more time when tomorrow was not promised. My grandfather’s death showed me that.

Now, here I was a month after our breakup, married to another man who my grandfather described to me the last time I spoke to him. Christian sparked feelings in me that I had never felt before.

When I told him about my business and that I couldn't take clients because I didn’t have my equipment, I didn’t expect him to do all that he had done. But, as he and my grandfather said, when a man sees a need, he provides it without seeking praise.