The Black Diamond Trilogy

by Brittani Williams

  “No, you don’t have to leave. Really, I want you to stay. Who knows what the hell is in this letter. I want you here as a shoulder to cry on if I need one.” She laughed.

  “Well, let’s do it,” Alisha replied with a smile.

  Lucky took a deep breath before flipping the envelope over to the back and tearing it open. She was anxious but nervous at the same time. She pulled out a single sheet of paper with a handwritten note that read:

  Dear Lucky,

  If you’re reading this, it’s most likely because I am no longer here to tell you how I feel. When I came home from prison I looked forward to returning to my life the way that it was. My home, my business, my child, and my wife were all that kept me going while I was away. When I came home and realized that nothing was the same it was a hard pill to swallow. I didn’t know how to handle it. All I could think about was getting back on top, getting my life back, minus the conniving woman I married. I had no intention of jumping into a relationship but then I met you. You were truly a breath of fresh air and I can honestly admit for the first time in my life, I was head over heels for a woman. When I met you, I vowed to take you away from the life that you lived. I wanted to see you blossom into the woman you were meant to be. I know how much you care for me and I know that it’s breaking your heart right now to be without me. I want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for any pain that this will cause you because one thing that I never planned to do is hurt you.

  I’m sitting here now writing this letter knowing that what I am about to do could lead to my death in the end but I need to gather the things that belong to me. I want to get the things that I need to give you the life that I want to provide. One thing that I want you to know, which, if you’re reading this, you probably already know, is that you never have to worry about money or a place to live because everything that I have is yours. I know that none of what I am saying will ever take the place of me being there with you but I want you to know that I am sorry. I never wanted to cause you any pain and regardless of how things may seem I love you. I want you to make sure that you finish school and use the money that Romeo provides wisely. I know you’re a smart girl so I trust that you will.

  Well, I’m going to end this letter with this. If things had turned out different, I’d be asking you to marry me and become the mother of my child. I love you, Lucky, with all of my heart.

  Reed

  Tears flowed out of her eyes as she took the letter and neatly placed it back inside of the envelope.

  “How could you?” she said aloud. “If you loved me why would you leave me here alone? Why would you leave us alone?” she said, rubbing her stomach. She had a lot to figure out and there wasn’t any amount of money that could take the place of a father. She hated the fact that she was going to have to raise their child alone. Her child would never know the amazing man she fell in love with.

  The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She wanted to know who the culprit was. She needed to know just like she needed air to breath. She wanted them to pay for what they’d done and taking Romeo’s word wasn’t going to be enough. Their heads on a platter would be the only things that could suffice for the pain that she felt.

  Alisha sat next to Lucky, silent. She knew that her friend would never be the same. She didn’t know anything that she could say at that moment that could make her feel any better.

  Finally, after a few minutes more of crying, Lucky wiped her face and looked at Alisha. “I need you to get Romeo on the phone,” she said with a sharp, even tone.

  “Okay,” Alisha replied, knowing that she meant business. Alisha pulled her cell phone out of her bag and dialed the number that Romeo gave her. The phone rang twice before a deep male voice boomed through the receiver.

  “What’s wrong?” he said, wondering if things with Lucky had suddenly turned bad.

  “Lucky wants to speak to you,” she replied before passing Lucky the phone.

  “I read the letter and I just want you to know that I appreciate all that you have done and will do for me, however, it doesn’t change the fact that my child will now be born without a father. I need them to pay, Romeo. Do you hear me? I need their family to feel the pain that I’m feeling at this very moment.”

  “I got you, Lucky. I have everything under control, okay? If you know anything about Chance you know that he wouldn’t trust me with his assets if he didn’t think that I would do the right thing. Trust me, okay? He was like my brother, I told you this. Just worry about you and that baby getting well and I will see you when you get home.”

  She paused before responding, hoping that he was as trustworthy as he appeared. “Okay, I will see you soon,” she replied.

  “What did he say?” Alisha asked anxiously.

  “He says that he has it all under control.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “What other choice do I have, Alisha?”

  “Well, I guess you’re right. Well, I’m going to go and let you rest. I will see you first thing in the morning okay?”

  “Okay. Thanks for coming, girl,” Lucky replied before reaching out to hug Alisha.

  “No problem,” she said before leaving the room.

  Lucky leaned back on the bed and turned her head toward the window. With the letter still in her hand she placed it close to her chest and hugged it tightly. The scent of his cologne could still be smelled on the outside of the envelope and the scent was just enough to soothe her until she could fall asleep, confident that his soul was with her and that everything would truly be okay.

  “I love you too,” she whispered before drifting off to sleep.

  Chapter Seventy-eight

  Finale

  “I have a gift for you,” Romeo said, walking into the living room as Lucky sat on the sofa, watching TV.

  Six months had passed since she was released from the hospital and her due date was approaching quickly. She hadn’t been outside much as she didn’t feel comfortable with her present shape and situation. Luckily, Romeo had stepped up and been there for her just as promised.

  “A gift for me? Why do you keep spoiling me, Romeo?” She smiled.

  “I’m trying to cheer you up. I don’t want you sitting around here all miserable and shit. It’s a lot out there that you can be doing you know. I told you I took care of everything so you don’t have to ever worry about those niggas in the street. I’ll be damned if I’d let any muthafucker hurt someone I care about,” he said, holding a small box behind his back.

  “You care about? You care about me?” she asked, surprised by the last comment.

  “Come on now, you know I care about you. Why else would I be here every day?”

  “Because you promised Chance,” she replied.

  “No, I promised him that I’d see to it that you were taken care of. I didn’t promise to be here with you every day.” He laughed.

  “Well, I guess that I care about you too, Romeo.”

  “You guess? Well shit, I might as well walk back out with my gift then, shit.” He began to back away toward the door.

  “I’m just joking.” She laughed. Up until this point she never knew how he felt about her so she hadn’t really thought about revealing her own feelings for him. Naturally, when you spend time with someone you gain feelings, especially when they bend over backward to make sure that you’re happy. She could see why he and Chance had been such good friends, because he resembled him. He reminded her of the things in Chance that she fell in love with. “Now can I have my gift already?” She laughed while holding her hand out.

  “You still haven’t said that you care about me, Lucky.” He stood still.

  “Yes, Romeo, I care about you and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

  He smiled, showing all of his pearly whites before walking over to the sofa and sitting down. “All right, here,” he said, putting the small box into her open hand.

  The small white box was decorated with a teal-blue bow. She gently untied the bow
and lifted the top off of it to find a small ring box inside. She looked up at him, confused.

  “What?” he asked.

  “What is this, Romeo?”

  “Just open it and see,” he replied with a smile.

  She pulled the ring box out of the box and slowly opened it, revealing a platinum ring with a huge five-karat pink diamond in the center.

  “Before you say anything let me tell you what it’s for. Before Reed died, around the same time that he gave me that letter for you, he gave me this ring to hold. He told me that if anything happened to him to wait until this day and give it to you. He was going to ask you to marry him with this ring, on this day, his mother’s birthday. Now, he truly believed that on this day, I would care about you and he also told me that he wouldn’t want or trust any man to be with you except me. At first, I was confused, believe me. I looked at him like he’d lost his mind. At the time, I thought for sure he was talking crazy and he would be here to give it to you himself. I also thought in the event that he wasn’t here, I’d never be comfortable loving the same woman he did, even with his blessing. However, regardless of the way I felt that day, I do care about you and I do love you, Lucky. This ring is his blessing. It’s his way of letting you know that it’s okay to care about me, and it’s okay to love me. I’m not asking you to marry me, Lucky, but what I am asking is that you let your guard down and let me in. I promise that I will be here for you and the baby. The baby will never want for a father because I will be all the father he needs.” He paused to wipe the tears from her face. “Can you do that for me?”

  She sat there stunned and relieved at the same time. She never wanted to do anything that would disrespect his memory. Knowing that he wanted her to move on and be happy relaxed her mind and made her heart smile. She looked down at the ring and looked back at Romeo, who was sitting silent, waiting for her to respond. She wasn’t going to fight any longer. She wanted to be happy and she truly believed that Romeo was more than capable of keeping her that way.

  “Can you help me put it on?” she asked, breaking the silence.

  He smiled and grabbed the ring box before pulling the ring off the holder and placing it on her finger. As he slid the ring on, she grabbed his hands and moved in and kissed him. He gently grabbed both sides of her face and took control of the kiss, doing what he’d wanted to do for so long. After a few seconds they separated and stared at each other.

  “So what does this mean?” he asked.

  “I guess this is your lucky day because I’m going to give you the chance that you’re asking for.” She smiled and looked down at the ring that glistened on her finger.

  “You’ve just made me a very happy man,” he replied before leaning in to kiss her again.

  The two got comfortable on the sofa as she lay in his arms and continued watching television. This evening, both of them had a lot to look forward to, with the blessing of Chance. Finally, she could look forward to her future and a happily-ever-after. Even if that wasn’t possible she was going to look forward to it.

  Chapter Seventy-nine

  Life After Black

  “Do you, Thomas, take Diamond to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?” Reverend Brooks asked, holding his Bible in his hand.

  “I do.” Tommy smiled.

  “And do you, Diamond, take Thomas to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?”

  “I do,” Diamond spoke loudly.

  “By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”

  Tommy moved close and planted a kiss on Diamond’s lips.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jones.”

  The guests in attendance all stood up from their seats and began to clap. Diamond and Tommy smiled as they began their walk up the aisle and out of the church. At that moment Diamond couldn’t imagine her life being any different. Looking back, she wondered why things had turned out the way that they had but at this moment, she was the happiest woman in the world. She had a loving husband and a bun in the oven. Her baby Dior would never be replaced, nor would the love that she had for Black; however, her new family was making life worth living. She’d wanted to give up more times than she could count, but she realized that things happened for a reason and if it were meant for her to die she’d be dead by this point.

  “Can you believe it? We’re married. Wow. I never thought I’d be standing here,” Tommy said with a huge smile on his face as he held Diamond close.

  “I never would’ve imagined this would be my life but I’m glad that it is. I love you, Tommy, more than you’ll ever know.”

  “Well, you’ll have the rest of our lives to show me,” he replied.

  The two made their way over to the reception hall after taking photos with their wedding party. Things couldn’t be more perfect. The evening went off without a hitch and Diamond was smiling from ear to ear. Once the evening was over they retreated to their house to gather their things and prepare for their honeymoon.

  “Where did this come from?” Diamond asked, noticing a small envelope on their coffee table.

  “I don’t know, maybe one of the guests. Open it and see,” he said as he walked out of the living room, into the kitchen.

  Diamond grabbed the envelope and sat down on the sofa before flipping it over and ripping it open. Inside was a card, which read “Congrats to the bride and groom” on the front. Once opened, she closed her eyes and hoped that what she read was somehow totally different than what was really written. Tears flowed from her eyes as she tried to figure out what she’d done to be in this position yet again.

  Tommy entered the room after hearing her sobbing. “What’s wrong, babe? What is it?” he asked, sitting down on the side of her.

  “It says, ‘you took everything from me. Don’t think you’ll live happily ever after.’”

  Tommy snatched the card from her and read it again. Anger filled his veins as he’d covered all ends to make sure that this night would be perfect. Now, instead of ending the night on a high note he had to figure out who the hell sent the card and what the hell they had planned. He grabbed his wife and cradled her in his arms. He wanted to make her feel safe just like she had in the past.

  “Don’t worry about anything. Whoever sent this is going to be taken care of. You hear me?” he asked.

  “Yes, Tommy, I hear you,” she replied. She wasn’t sure if she believed him but she didn’t have any other choice but to depend on his protection. She looked down at her round belly and began to rub it. Since Tommy had gone to great lengths in the past to save her she hoped that he’d go even further to protect his seed. She closed her eyes and rested in his arms while saying a silent prayer that things would be okay.