What Lucious Doesn't Understand

Chapter Eight

Seeing Lola in front of her, Shia could not help the sinking in her heart. If this girl wasn't a Lyon already then she definitely would be from the look on all the others staring down at her and the woman who had come to see Jamal.

She took a step back cradling her hand against her own belly filled with the seed of a Lyon.

If Jamal had a baby already then what was she doing? Why was she giving her all to this man if-

Shia rolled her eyes at how stupid she sounded in her head. This child, four or five in age, was innocent and from a whole other life that Jamal had before her. Why was she stressing on that simple fact? Did she really want to be one of those jealous stepmothers that hated their husband's children from a previous relationship?

The answer was NO.

"Lola, sing the song," the woman wearing a faux fur coat pressured the child into singing 'Keep Your Money'.

Lola was super cute and seemed so sweet and shy that it brought a smile to Shia's face.

"She wanted to meet her daddy," Olivia, the mystery ex-wife, spoke up once she finished letting Lola sing.

Jamal just looked around with his fake smile on his face before Cookie stepped up.

"How do you know that this is my son's baby? She's precious, yes she is. But you could be lying."

"Excuse me, Miss Lyon but this is between Jamal and I."

"Ma, let me handle this," Jamal redirected Cookie before she could lay hands on the woman. Shia just watched as it all unfolded in front of her. She caught the look that Hakeem sent to her but she didn't do anything but shake her head with a fake smile.

After a long discussion, Jamal finally got Olivia to get a hotel for the week until she figured out what she wanted to do.

"Am I forgiven?", Jamal asked as he placed a container of Blue Bunny ice cream in front of his wife. "I really had no idea about Lola or that Olivia was even pregnant."

"She's here now. She's beautiful and I hope that you both do the right thing by her."

"But--"

"There are no buts. I can't be a good woman if I try to keep you all to myself and don't give you a chance to build a relationship with your daughter."

"If she's my daughter," Jamal stressed.

She shook her head knowing that man didn't believe that Lola wasn't his. After the day that they had, she knew he felt something when he looked at Lola. If it wasn't love, it was a sense of protecting.

"I love you, Shy."

"I haven't forgotten," she lifted her ring finger. "We can make this work. When I first heard the news, I wanted to be mad at you and at her but there is no one to blame here. That child deserves a chance at a proper family. Something we never really had growing up. Even with the bond you and your mom have, your dad was always there to place a black cloud over that. Don't be that guy," Shy lifted her feet and waited for Jamal to start massaging them before digging into her ice cream.

They sat like that until Shy got tired and fell asleep with the spoon still in her mouth.

Jamal laughed pulling it out and picking her up to take her to bed noticing how big she was getting in her stomach area and in how heavy she was.

The next day, Jamal went to work but was stopped at the security desk who had a certain someone in their care.

"Lola?"

Olivia was nowhere to be seen but Lola had her pink suitcase and her bear in hand. The security guard shrugged and relayed the message that Olivia had left Lola behind in his care.

"Come on, sweetie."

He took her down to the studio where Becky was and asked her for a favor before calling up Shy to tell her what was happening.

It was a total mess.