Page 32 of Daddy’s Favorite Girl

Don’t get me wrong. We had good times too. It was how we made it down the aisle and so many years after that. Aniya wasn’t all bad. Not at first, anyway, but when I looked at her now, all I saw was the damn devil.

“You don’t ever wish we could go back there?” I guessed the finality of the situation finally settled in. I didn’t regret anything at all, but I did want to know if the Aniya I had once loved was still in there somewhere.

She smacked her lips. “Back to the hood? Back to not being able to afford a designer purse? Not even.”

I frowned. “I asked about us, Niya. Not money. Not material shit.”

She shrugged. “We weren’t really anything before the money.”

That response blew the fuck out of me. Money. That was all I was to her.

I chuckled and turned on the music.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, aside from when I pulled through the McDonald’s drive-through.

I loved that Yara’s little ass was so simple, but I hoped she knew she could ask me to get her a burger from Popeyes at six in the morning, and I would gladly get it for her. It wouldn’t matter that Popeyes wasn’t open yet, or that they didn’t sell burgers. If that was what she wanted, she could have it. If she wanted a damn lobster tail from a steakhouse, she could have that too. She didn’t have to limit herself to McDonald’s unless that was truly what her heart desired.

I mentally added that to the long list of things I wanted to tell Yara. I wanted her to know everything about me, and I wanted to lay everything at her feet. There wasn’t a thing I didn’t want to know about her. It was that real for me, and I couldn’t wait to really dive into those conversations.

First, I had to get rid of this annoying gnat sitting to the right of me. I side-eyed her with disgust. At that very moment, she caught my eye, and she frowned. “What? What’s wrong? I got something on my face?”

She flipped the visor down and snapped open the mirror.

I ignored her and ordered Yara’s food before we set off toward her doomsday.

When we pulled up to the building I had bought out of the kindness of my heart for the woman I thought loved me, my nerves danced happily within me. This was it.

Aniya hopped out of the car and toward the front doors, not even waiting for me.

I grabbed Yara’s food and got out of the truck. Inside, I noticed that Aniya didn’t even hold the elevator for me. I laughed again as I ran a hand down my face.

“This b⁠—”

“Gino.” Her soft voice instantly pulled me out of my irritation.

I turned and saw Yara walking toward me from the front doors, where she’d just entered. She looked around, probably for Aniya.

I scooped her into my arms and nuzzled her neck. She smelled so good and looked even better in her pencil skirt and pink dress shirt.

“My baby,” I mumbled as I took her in. I was seconds away from losing my shit on Aniya, but just the sound of Yara’s voice melted all the extra bullshit away.

“Where’s Aniya?” she asked. I didn’t miss the apprehension in her tone.

I nodded my head up just as the elevator doors opened. “Already upstairs.”

We stepped on, and I kept my hands on her. I no longer cared who saw us, but I could tell she did, so it didn’t surprise me when her little hands pushed against my chest. “Gino⁠—”

“Daddy,” I corrected her.

She peered up at me. “Even at work?”

“Even in front of your father, the fuck?”

She giggled. “And you’re so serious right now, aren’t you?”

“Deadass serious.”

She sighed. “Fine, daddy. Should you really be on my like this?”