Page 132 of A King’s Obsession

Tonight, I didn’t feel like I had to choose between loving him and loving myself.

“I love you, Jru,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

I smiled, closing my eyes. “I love you too, Ezra.”

And for the first time in a long time, saying those words didn’t feel like surrendering myself.

It felt like choosing what I wanted.

And this time, the choice was mine.

CHAPTER 27

Three Weeks Later

Having my wife back home was supposed to mean I could finally relax. Instead, I was sitting in my office staring at my bare left hand like the shit had personally offended me.

Jru had finally agreed to quit her job in Briarwood and move back to Westhaven. It took some convincing, but she’d made it clear that coming home didn’t mean she was giving up her independence. She was already making plans to help with the restaurant once the baby arrived, and I wasn’t about to argue with her. I’d learned my lesson about making decisions for that woman.

For the first time in months, my house felt like a home again. Her clothes were back in my closet, baby shit was arriving almost daily, and every morning I woke up with my wife beside me. I had everything I’d been fighting to get back, yet something still bothered me.

Neither one of us had a wedding ring.

I picked up my phone and called Malachi. He answered on the third ring, sounding distracted by whatever was happening around him.

“What’s good, E? Everything straight?” he asked.

“Yeah, everything good. Let me ask you something.” I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my thumb over the empty space on my ring finger. “Jru ain’t never asked me for a ring. Even after we worked everything out, she ain’t brought it up. But it feels weird as fuck being married and neither one of us wearing one. You think I should get her something?”

The silence on the other end lasted about two seconds before Malachi started laughing. I could picture the stupid grin on his face without even seeing him.

“Nigga, you calling me to ask if you should buy your wife a wedding ring?” he asked, sounding entirely too entertained by my situation.

“I’m asking your opinion, smartass. I ain’t trying to fuck this shit up again.” I turned my chair toward the windows overlooking the backyard. “Every time I think about bringing it up, I wonder if she’ll think I’m trying to pull some more sneaky shit.”

Malachi laughed harder, and I heard him moving around before he finally answered. “Man, you a whole billionaire scared to buy your own wife a ring. That little woman done turned your brain into mashed potatoes.”

“Fuck you, Chi.” I shook my head, already regretting asking his ass anything.

Before he could respond, I heard Ashlynn questioning him in the background. Malachi tried brushing her off, but that only made her more suspicious. The moment she heard my name, I knew the conversation was about to become everybody’s business.

“Hold on. Is that Ezra?” she demanded, her voice growing louder as she apparently moved closer to the phone. “What the hell y’all talking about?”

“Baby, we handling some business,” Malachi told her, sounding like he was already tired.

“What business? Because I just heard something about Jru and a wedding ring.” There was a brief struggle over the phone before Ashlynn’s voice came through loud and clear. “EZRA KING!”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Why the fuck you hollering, Ashlynn? I can hear you.”

“Good! Because apparently somebody needs to explain how marriage works to your grown ass.” She didn’t even give me a chance to respond before continuing. “Nigga, you tricked my best friend into signing marriage papers, stressed her the fuck out, got her pregnant, and now you sitting around wondering if she deserves a ring?”

“That’s not what the fuck I said.” I sat forward, already feeling my blood pressure rising. “I said I was thinking about getting her one. Damn, woman, let somebody finish a sentence.”

Malachi was laughing in the background, which only irritated me more. I could hear Ashlynn telling him to shut up before she turned her attention back to me.

“Listen, Ezra. My friend deserves a big-ass rock and a bomb-ass proposal after everything you put her through. And don’t you dare go buy her some little ring, hand it to her over dinner, and think that’s enough. You got billionaire money. I expect billionaire behavior.”

I couldn’t help laughing at that last part. “Woman, who said anything about buying her a little ring? You think I’m about to put some bullshit on my wife’s finger?”