A Hustla’s Paradise

by Na'Cole

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

Reign’s life seems perfect if you’re on the outside looking in, but the reality is far from it. She is full of secrets. As they begin to reveal themselves, she is abruptly separated from her family.

Reign was born into a life of chaos. When she loses her drug-addicted mother during her birth, her father, Montae Jackson, a well-known drug dealer in Chicago, takes her in. Reign and her siblings are being raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where she meets her long-time boyfriend, Mikal, and her two best friends, Jayla and Marie.

Demarco “Sno” Wright, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, is a kingpin in the making. His life has always been perfect as one of eight children of the infamous King Nate Wright. His father takes him, his brother, Moe, and his best friend, Blu, under his wing and molds them to be kings of the South.

It was written in stone and inevitable that Reign and Sno’s lives would one day collide. Their trials and tribulations are numerous, but their friendship and love is something special.
 

Release date: April 29, 2025

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

July 4th, 1984

Iyana stood on the corner of Sacramento and Harrison, trying to cop a fix from the local D boys. She was jonesin’ badly; she needed her daily meal. She scratched herself all over, trying to get rid of the invisible insects that crawled on her body. Fuck a monkey, Iyana had a gorilla named King Kong on her back. She needed a fix, and she needed it in a hurry as her knees wobbled around in a dope fiend lean.

“A yo, what up, Auntie?” one of the pack workers yelled out to Iyana. She wasn’t much older than the young pack worker, but because she looked so old in the face from her years of drug abuse, the guys on the block had given her the nickname “Auntie,” and it just stuck with her.

“What’s up, baby? Let me hold something,” Iyana said as she scratched the side of her face.

Iyana was seven months pregnant with her first child, and it was still impossible for her to put down the drugs. She didn’t give a damn about herself, nor did she care about the unborn baby growing inside her womb. At this point, Iyana had never gotten a prenatal check-up. She didn’t give a fuck about anything. This baby growing inside of her was a trick baby; nothing more, nothing less.

Iyana was antsy and coming down off her high. At this point, she desperately needed to get herself back right. Although Iyana’s drug of choice was heroin, anything would do.

“Hell naw, man! Yo’ ass at least eight months pregnant and you still out here tryna get high? Get the fuck outta here before I go get Montae on yo’ ass.”

“Now, baby, you don’t have to do that. I’ll suck yo’ little dick if you just help me out.”

Seven months earlier, she’d given Montae the same proposition, and like a charm, it worked. Iyana sucked Montae’s dick so good as he lay back and smoked his weed. Montae felt like the man as he puffed on his blunt with one hand and held Iyana’s head down with the other. He was in absolute bliss as she bobbed her head up and down on his meat. After she was done sucking him off, Montae put his blunt out and proceeded to dig her out. He ran up in Iyana raw, not caring about the consequences that might follow. It was just his luck that Iyana would end up pregnant. Now, she was walking around with his seed growing inside of her. Instead of being a man and taking care of his responsibilities, Montae kicked her out of the high-rise buildings and told her she wasn’t allowed back in. He was a married man, and he was ultimately embarrassed by his mistake.

“What? You’ll do what?” The young dude chastised Iyana. He raised his hand and slapped fire from her. “What the fuck I look like to you? You basehead–ass bitch,” he said, punching Iyana in the face and calling her every demeaning name he could think of.

Although things like this were common in the hood, a hype fucking and sucking a D boy to get her drug of choice, this youngin’ just wasn’t beat for the bullshit at all. His friends ran up and tried to grab him. They tried to calm the young boy down and hold him back from literally beating the life out of Iyana. In the meantime, a crowd began to form around them.

“Calm down, man. It ain’t that serious, bro.”

“Man, fuck that.” He broke away and ran up to Iyana, stomping, kicking, and spitting on her. He was determined to make sure she would never want another taste of drugs ever again.

It wasn’t so much about her doing drugs because he couldn’t care less. He made his money from selling the shit, but how dare this dopehead bitch ask him for sex? He didn’t get down like that.

Iyana lay on the ground helpless, curled up into a fetal position. Blood began to leak from between her legs as the life of her unborn baby threatened to escape her body.

Hearing all the commotion, Montae ran from the buildings and down the street toward Sacramento and Harrison. He fired a gunshot into the air and pushed his way through the crowd.

“Grab that bitch-ass nigga!” Montae ordered two of his henchmen.

Montae’s boys ran up on the young boy and hemmed him up. Montae watched intently, feeling his anger begin to boil over. He walked over and punched the young pack worker in his stomach.

“You out here hitting on women, li’l nigga? Hold his bitch ass up,” Montae said while putting a blade between his fingers. Montae raised his hand and went across the young nigga’s face, slitting him from his ear to his mouth. Montae didn’t play any games. He was known in the streets as the nigga who painted the city red. Although he wasn’t fucking with Iyana on any level, she was pregnant and carrying his seed.

The young pack worker screamed out in agony, feeling his bottom lip and jaw droop.

“Drag his bitch ass to the building before the police come, and take his ass down to the basement. Tie him up. I’ll be there shortly,” Montae ordered. They obliged and pulled him away kicking and screaming.

Montae walked over to where Iyana was lying motionless on the ground. He picked her up, carried her to his Cadillac Deville, and sped off en route to Cook County Hospital. Any other nigga would’ve left her lying on the ground, but Montae knew that she was pregnant with his baby, and that was the sole reason for him reacting the way he did.

“Just hold on, Iyana. I got you,” Montae said, trying his best to soothe her as she winced in pain. From the blood he saw seeping through her shorts, Montae was more than sure she was having a miscarriage. He tried to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Montae pulled into the hospital’s emergency entranceway with only minutes to spare. He pulled onto the curb, promptly exited, and got Iyana from the back. He walked her through the emergency room doors and to the reception desk.

“I need help!” Montae yelled.

“Sir, what’s the problem?”

“She’s pregnant, and she’s bleeding!” Montae yelled.

“Sir, calm down,” the receptionist said as Montae banged on the desk.

“Get somebody down here to help her right fucking now!” he demanded.

“If you don’t calm down, sir, we will have to call security and have you escorted out of the building,” the receptionist said.

Montae was vexed and hysterical. His unborn seed was bleeding out right before his eyes.

“I’m not going nowhere without her, so do whatever it is you got to do. In the meantime, get some help down here,” Montae said.

He was upset but calmer at this point. The nurses soon obliged. They rushed Iyana to the operating room to deliver her baby via C-section, and although Montae wanted to leave the hospital, he stayed by her side. He couldn’t miss the birth of his child. It didn’t matter to him that the mother of his baby was addicted to heroin.

Montae sat beside Iyana and held her limp hand. He watched as tears flowed from the crack of her eyes.

“It’s okay, Yana,” Montae said, calling Iyana by her other nickname. “The baby is almost here,” he whispered into her ear as the doctors began to cut her open.

Right away, he said a silent prayer. Montae prayed for his baby, especially after seeing all the blood flowing from Iyana. He just had a feeling in his gut that either the baby wasn’t going to make it, or Iyana wasn’t.

God, if you get my seed here safely, I will be forever indebted to you. My Sundays will forever be dedicated to you. I need this one favor. Please, I beg you.

Amid his silent prayer, Montae heard the cries of a newborn baby.

“It’s a girl!” the doctor announced.

“Thank you, Jesus,” Montae said with a big smile.

On July 4, 1984, at 10:57 p.m., Reign Alexia Martinez was born into this cruel world. She was a tiny baby, weighing only 3 pounds and 2 ounces. Reign was born addicted to drugs, but she was perfect in Montae’s eyes.

On that very same day, at 11 p.m., Iyana Martinez was pronounced deceased. She’d died right there on the operating table as doctors worked on her to stop the excessive bleeding. They’d done all they could, but it was too late. Iyana was gone, and Reign was left without her mother. She would have grown up without the love and guidance that Iyana could have given her if she had straightened out her own life and gotten off drugs. But that would have been a tough change for her to make, and because of this, Reign’s life would inevitably spiral out of control.

“Lexy, get up for school,” Reign’s stepmother yelled, calling her by her middle name.

Using her middle name was something familiar and endearing. No one called her by her real name, except for people she didn’t know well. When Montae gave his only daughter the name Reign Alexia, her middle name stuck out more, and it became like second nature.

“I’m up already,” she yelled with a hint of irritation. Reign was a spoiled brat by every meaning of the word, and she hated being awakened from her beauty rest.

“Okay, you better be up for real. I don’t want to come back up these stairs to get you. I need you to drop your brothers off at school today, so get up now,” LeAnn continued to yell as she stood in Reign’s doorway.

“Okay, Ma.” Reign sighed. Throwing the blanket off herself, she sat up and stretched.

It was the end of Reign’s senior year in high school, and she was more than ready to get school out of the way. Plus, her eighteenth birthday was right around the corner. She was walking from childhood and into adulthood with a vengeance.

Reign had a lot to prove to herself. She’d planned to shut shit down at prom with a long, flowing, elegant, custom-made black dress and a pair of all-black, peep-toe pumps from Marshall Fields. Then, she planned to graduate at the top of her senior class with a 4.0 GPA. Next, she would celebrate her eighteenth birthday at Lounge Escobar. Montae had rented the space every single year since Reign’s fourteenth birthday. Lastly, she had plans to travel and see the entire world on her father’s dime.

Reign was just one of four children on her father’s side, but she felt so entitled. With her being the middle child and the only girl, Reign was the apple of her father’s eye. Anything she wanted, she received. She never had to ask twice because Reign knew her father would oblige.

Reign had an older brother, MJ, short for Montae Jackson Jr. He was four years older than Reign and a spitting image of their father. Reign and MJ weren’t very far apart in age, and from the outside looking in, many thought they had a close-knit relationship. However, Reign hated MJ, and she had her reasons. Reign’s two younger, identical twin brothers, Byron Jackson and Bryson Jackson, also resembled Montae. At the tender age of 10, Reign often referred to them as her babies.

Reign always got her way at home, even school, and everyone knew it. She’d often gotten into scuffles with females who were jealous of her, but Reign loved the attention. She was with all the bullshit. Reign was like her father—a hothead but classy and mellow. Most times, bitches took that as a weakness, and most times, Reign had to prove just how gangsta she could be.

After preparing for the day, she descended the stairs, looking like a black goddess. Her skin glowed as her hair hung down past her shoulders in a wavy pattern. With her being half black and half Puerto Rican, Reign looked like a mixed breed, something foreign or maybe even exotic. She was dressed to kill in a Tommy Hilfiger sundress that showed off all her womanly curves and a pair of Tommy Hilfiger sling-back shoes that showed off her perfectly pedicured toes.

Reign walked into the kitchen, smelling like a million bucks. Her Dior perfume seeped from her pores, making her almost irresistible. She stood and watched for a second as her stepmother prepared Byron and Bryson’s school lunches. Smiling, Reign stood behind LeAnn, looking over her shoulder, watching her every move as she put the finishing touches on the twins’ ham and cheese sandwiches.

“Good morning, Ma,” Reign said, dragging her words. “You got it smelling good in here.”

“Good morning, baby,” LeAnn said, turning around and kissing Reign on the cheek. “I’m getting dinner prepared now because I might not be home when you kids get out of school. I have a lot of running around to do today.”

“Come on, Lexy. We want to play outside for a little while before the bell rings,” Bryson said, running into the kitchen.

“I’m coming. Calm down, little boy,” Reign said.

Bryson grabbed his and Byron’s lunches from the countertop and ran out the door that led to the garage. “See you later, Mama,” he yelled before the door closed completely.

“They are such a handful, Ma. What would you do without me?” Reign asked. Before making her way out the door, she grabbed her car keys and her purse. “Don’t forget to pick up my dress, Ma.”

“I won’t, baby. See you later,” LeAnn said with one hand on her hip.

She watched as Reign opened the door and stepped out. As soon as Reign closed the door, LeAnn finished her daily duties.

“Montae better be lucky I love him.” She sighed.

From Reign’s knowledge, she and her stepmother had the perfect relationship, but LeAnn’s feelings differed slightly. She maintained a mother/daughter relationship on behalf of her husband, Montae. If it were left up to LeAnn, Reign would’ve spent her life traveling through the system. LeAnn’s feelings toward her stepdaughter were strictly to appease—nothing more, nothing less—and poor Reign was oblivious.

Reign drove from their long driveway in Park Ridge, Illinois, doing 50 miles per hour. She drove with a bit of urgency as her music drowned out the morning’s traffic. She felt for the volume button on her steering wheel and turned it up to the max. Her car speakers rattled, and her radio crooned out the sounds of “Get This Money” by Jay-Z and R. Kelly. Reign’s twin brothers sat in the backseat, bobbing their heads along with her, and they all loudly recited the lyrics.

“You got what I want. I got what you need. Let’s put it together and get this money.”

Reign felt Kell’s lyrics down in her soul. The bass from the radio had Reign’s entire car shaking and her body moving from side to side.

It took them ten minutes to reach their destination, and when they did, Reign pulled in front of the twins’ school and turned down the music.

“All right, boys. We are here. I’ll see y’all later,” Reign said, unlocking the back doors.

“See you later, Lexy,” they both said while jumping from her Malibu.

Fifteen minutes later, Reign walked into her school. She walked to her locker and quickly opened it. Reign was running late for her first class, and she cursed as she looked for her calculus book. She was rushing to get to her class, causing her to overlook her book several times.

“Where the fuck is my shit?” Reign exclaimed. “Think, Reign, think.” She put her hand to her forehead as if that would help jog her memory, and it seemed to work. Reign picked up her book and threw it across her forearm.

“Reign, what’s up, chick?”

She heard a familiar voice behind her. Reign turned around and watched as her best friend, Marie, strutted toward her.

“What’s up, boo?” Reign said. They held hands and air-kissed each other. “Girl, I’m running late for class, but I’ma catch up with you in third period.” Reign wasn’t trying to be rude, but she was on a mission. It was bad enough that she was going to class unprepared. The least she could do was be on time.

“Okay, I’ll see you later,” Marie said.

Reign had spent the last two years trying to fit in at Maine South, the only high school in Park Ridge. Her father had abruptly moved her, her brothers, and her stepmother from the city to the suburbs after her brother, MJ, got into some trouble with the local gangs. That meant she had to leave the school she’d felt comfortable in. During that ordeal, she also had to leave her best friend, Jayla.

Although she’d left the city and her old school, she and Jayla kept in touch. Jayla stayed at Reign’s house every other weekend, and they continued building their bond. As soon as Reign met Marie, she introduced the two girls, and they’d been the three amigas ever since.

The first and second periods couldn’t end quickly enough. Reign was so over school, and she was stressed beyond measure about prom. True enough, she had her wardrobe picked out and a date, but she still went back and forth about how the day would turn out. When the bell announcing the third period rang out, Reign quickly jumped from her seat and went down the hallway to meet with Marie. She smiled as she met Marie at her classroom door. Reign was ready to chill out and gossip with her bestie.

“So, what’s for lunch today?” Marie asked. They walked down the hall toward the cafeteria, hand in hand. Marie and Reign had been connected at the waist ever since they met.

“I don’t know, girl. Let’s just go to the cafeteria,” Reign said. She didn’t have much appetite because their lunch break was so early, and Reign never ate before 1 p.m.

“Can you believe in a couple of weeks we will be up out this bitch?” Marie asked.

“I know, right? It’s been a great couple of years, though. The best part was when I met you,” Reign said as she pinched Marie’s cheek.

“Aaaawwww, you’re so corny.” They both laughed and took a seat in the cafeteria.

Reign started her questioning. “So, Justin has his shit together for prom?” Reign asked Marie, being her usual nosey self.

“He claims he does, but he hasn’t shown me anything except for the tux he’s wearing. He only showed me that because I went with him to pick it out.” They both laughed.

“No, but seriously, if he doesn’t have his stuff together then, I will be going to prom alone.”

“I heard that, girl. Mikal has his things, but I think I’m going to break up with him after graduation. I plan on going into adulthood as a single woman. I might let him hit on prom night, but that’s it,” Reign said.

She had been dating Mikal for about two years now after meeting him on her first day at Maine South. Their story was somewhat typical for a high school romance. Reign had been searching for her first class when she bumped right into him. Literally. Reign bumped into Mikal so hard that she almost fell backward. Mikal’s body had to be made of steel because the way her body fell to the floor, Reign might’ve sworn she’d bumped into a brick wall.

Mikal Bell was the captain of the school’s football team and a senior. He stood six feet tall with dark chocolate skin. He wore a small fro on the top of his head and held the perfect smile across his face at all times. At the time, Reign was just like the other girls—her popularity had yet to be discovered. Still, Mikal saw something in her. The sparkle in her eyes had him hooked, and he wanted to put Reign on his team. After he helped Reign up from the floor, they shared a few stares and laughs. Mikal was older than Reign, mentally and physically, so he put his mack game down on her effortlessly. That very day, they exchanged phone numbers, and the rest was history.

Mikal graduated high school two years earlier, and Reign absolutely hated not being able to walk the halls with her man by her side. She had grown accustomed to the attention they drew when walking arm in arm, making all the heaux frown because of her presence. Before Mikal graduated, Reign and Mikal had been like two peas in a pod. They were glued at the hip, and she knew Mikal was probably not going to be a faithful man while he was away in college. Mikal was going to be free. He wasn’t going to have Reign in his face, checking up on him every second of the day.

Now, high school was a thing of the past, and Reign was ready to get her real life on and popping. These last couple of weeks, she planned to just get by without any mishaps.

Prom night was everything Reign thought it would be. She stepped in on Mikal’s arm and could feel the envy and jealousy as the other girls grabbed their dates just a little bit tighter. Meanwhile, Reign was laughing on the inside. She didn’t want any of those little boys. She had her mind on bigger and better things. She had a grown-ass, twenty-year-old college man on her arm, a man who played for the best college football team. Reign knew soon enough she would become a football wife.

Mikal was all the man Reign needed, and she was sure the stares and tightened grips weren’t directed toward her. Reign knew that the girls at her high school were insecure. Of course, their men were looking, but Reign was not paying them any attention. She couldn’t imagine what she would do with a teenage boy.

Reign danced the night away with her best friend, Marie, her man, Mikal, and Marie’s man, Justin. Prom was perfect. Reign was later announced as the prom queen, and afterward, she got a room at the Marriott Hotel in Rosemont with Mikal. As promised, she decided to give Mikal all of her. Reign was about to be eighteen, and although she should’ve probably continued to save herself for marriage, she felt as if Mikal was the one. Everyone else was fucking, and Reign knew that one day, she was going to be Mrs. Bell anyway. So, she gave him her sex, and that was a decision she soon regretted.

Reign’s first time with Mikal was the worst pain she’d ever felt. Soon after, he broke up with her. She was confused and heartbroken. Although she had wanted to go into adulthood as a single woman, she wanted to be the one breaking his heart, not the other way around. Soon after, Mikal began spreading rumors about her. Now, imagine that. A grown-ass man spreading rumors about a girl he claimed to have love for.

What took the cake was the day Marie sat chilling with Justin on his porch. She was in shock, hearing a conversation between Justin and Mikal. Marie listened with open ears and a wide-open mouth as Mikal went on and on about how much of a bust-down Reign had to be.

“That bitch pussy was loose as hell. I know I’m not the first nigga to hit that,” Mikal said honestly.

“From what I know, she was a virgin, but you know how heaux be lying, brah. She made a nigga wait for years, and that li’l coochie still wasn’t hitting on shit. She need to be slapped. She played you, dog,” Justin said.

Around campus, it was a known fact that Reign was a virgin, and she had Mikal waiting until she was ready to give it up. At this point, they’d been together for two years before she’d even given Mikal a whiff of her sex.

Marie smacked her lips. “No the fuck you’re not gonna sit there and talk about my friend in my face, Justin.”

“Let me call you back, bro. This girl trippin,” Justin said and quickly hung up the phone. Marie’s voice was loud, and he knew that in a matter of minutes, she would become belligerent.

“I’m telling her what his stupid ass said,” Marie said.

“Marie, stay out their business. That shit doesn’t have anything to do with us,” he said, then stood, stretching his arms.

“You clearly got me fucked up, Justin. I’m telling her. As a matter of fact, take me home.”

Marie was disgusted. The fact that Justin sat and entertained the bullshit had her tight.

July 4, 2002

“Happy birthday, baby,” Montae said to an eighteen-year-old Reign. He walked into her room with eighteen balloons, eighteen hundred-dollar bills, a diamond necklace, and diamond earrings.

“Aaahhhh!” Reign screamed out in excitement. “Thank you, Daddy,” she said as she reached over and kissed him on the cheek.

Reign had been with her father since the day she was born, and every birthday, he gave her a balloon and a hundred-dollar bill for each year. Reign was spoiled rotten. Montae promised Iyana eighteen years ago that he would step up to the plate and be a father to their daughter. Here they were, eighteen years later, and that promise had yet to be broken.

“So, what’s the plans for today, girl?” Montae flicked his wrist and acted as if he were one of Reign’s girlfriends. They were both silly together, and their bond was out of this world. They laughed aloud as he joked around with his birthday girl.

“Well, first, I must go visit Mother, and then it’s off to the mall. I have to be fly tonight for my big birthday bash.”

“Big birthday bash? Who’s giving you a party?” Montae said with a serious, puzzled look on his face.

“Really, Daddy? You’re not giving me a party this year?” she asked in a whiny tone.

“Naw, baby, I told you last year that we weren’t doing nothing spectacular for your eighteenth birthday. I mean, I spent over fifty thousand dollars on your Sweet 16, and you’re an adult now,” he said while handing Reign her robe. There was no doubt Montae had something up his sleeve, but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise he had in store for her. “When you’re ready, come downstairs so we can eat breakfast.” He pinched her cheek and walked out of her room.

Reign frowned. She was at a loss for words. She threw her small, decorative pillow at the door and folded her arms as tears began to pour down her face. She hated to hear the word no, and she planned on giving her father a piece of her mind as soon as she made her way to the kitchen table.

“Happy birthday!” the twins shouted. Reign walked into the kitchen with a mug on her face, still in her feelings about her father’s decision to play her on her birthday.

“Thank you, my babies,” she said, smiling as she kissed them both on their cheeks. Her baby brothers always knew how to put a smile on her face. She took a seat at the island and waited to be served breakfast. LeAnn prepared breakfast every single morning, but on this occasion of Reign’s birthday, LeAnn served them the works: pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, and grits.

“Everyone, make your way into the dining room. Breakfast is almost done,” LeAnn said.

“Yeah, I think I’ma just eat my breakfast in here. I’m not in the mood to deal with my father right now.” Reign pouted.

“Boys, let me talk to your sister for a minute.”

The twins walked from the kitchen, and LeAnn began. “What’s the problem, Lexy?” LeAnn asked. Lately, she’d found herself being the mediator between Reign and Montae.

“Where do I start, Ma?” Reign asked rhetorically. Sighing, she let it all out. “Well, first of all, Daddy has been tripping lately. He’s always questioning me about college and my future. I know my GPA was good enough to get me into any school I wanted to go to, but that’s not the route I wanna go. I wanna live life freely.”

“Reign, sweetie, that’s normal. Your father is just concerned about you, baby. You’re lucky to have your father in your life, and you should be happy that he actually cares about you. The fact that he took you in when he didn’t have to should tell you a lot,” LeAnn said.

“I am happy, Ma, and even though I sound ungrateful, I appreciate everything he does for me. I guess I’m just in my feelings about him telling me he’s not giving me a party for my birthday this year. I sent out invites and everything.”

“Maybe you should’ve consulted with your father first. You know he’s the one who usually does all the leg work. I mean, did you even ask why he’s not giving you a party?”

“No, I didn’t ask, but he did tell me that I am an adult now and that I don’t need a party.”

“I agree with him, Reign. You don’t need a party. It’s your eighteenth birthday. You need to find a new tradition and rock with that. Here, grab the pancakes and waffles. Let’s go eat,” LeAnn said as she ended the conversation.

They walked into the dining room, and Reign quickly apologized to Montae. “I’m sorry for being ungrateful,” she said while pulling her seat up to the table.

LeAnn set the grits and eggs down and stood next to Montae. He stood from his seat and put his arm on LeAnn’s shoulder. “I understand you being upset, Lexy. Trust me, I do. I know we have spoiled you rotten. We made it a tradition to celebrate your birthday a certain way every year. LeAnn and I have been discussing your birthday for a couple of months now.” Montae reached into his back pocket. “We wanted to surprise you with three round-trip tickets to Atlanta. You and your friends will be gone for seven days and six nights. Your flight leaves next Friday. Tonight, we’re just going to barbecue and chill out.”

Reign jumped up from her seat in excitement. “I can’t believe this.” She ran over to hug her father and her stepmother. “I love you guys soooo much. I have to go call Jayla and Marie.”

Reign was so excited that she skipped breakfast. She called her girls, giving them the good news. Afterward, she drove to the cemetery. Reign sat with her mother for hours, sharing a few things she’d been going through. Although Iyana was no longer there in body, Reign knew she was there in spirit.

“Guess what, Ma?” Reign said as she sat by her mother’s headstone. “Daddy is sending me and my friends on a trip. I am so excited. I get to party without his overprotective self.” Reign lay down in the grass on top of Iyana’s grave and immediately felt like her mother was holding her. “I love you, Ma. I have to get ready and go, but don’t worry. I will be back soon.” Reign stayed wrapped up in what felt like her mother’s arms for a little while longer. She’d never met Iyana before, but every time she visited her grave, Reign had a hard time pulling herself away.

Sighing, she stood and dusted the dandelions from the top of her mother’s headstone. She kissed her fingers, placed them on Iyana’s name, and left the cemetery.

Reign had to s