Did It All Wrong.
It had been three weeks since Yana's murder and no one had heard from Lucious. He didn't pick up the phone to his sons, not even Cookie. His family had to get updates from Juanita until he'd sent her away on paid leave. Cookie had been forced to temporarily step back into her position as CEO at Empire, so their stock didn't tank, and business stayed afloat.
However, enough was enough. Cookie had found herself jumping into her car and driving up the mansion. Lucious was going to let her in today. She'd bust through the doors if she had to. She hadn't thought for one moment that he loved Yana. Better yet, loved her enough to fall into such a long, depressive episode and it might've been selfish for Cookie to admit, but that realisation angered and hurt her feelings. He wasn't supposed to move on so damn quickly. She was still in love with him, damn it, and he's sat at home broken-hearted over another woman.
The realisation suffocated her.
As she pulled up outside the mansion, Cookie glanced at the house and noticed each curtain drawn. She shook her head and sighed. Slipping out of the car, she approached the front door and banged loudly. She'd given Lucious a heads up that she was coming to check on him, which of course, had gone unanswered. Her eyes rolled skyward when the door remained close.
Again, Cookie banged her hand against the wooden door. "Lucious!" she shouted. "I know you're in there. Don't make me break down this goddamn door!" For extra measure, Cookie kicked the door also, just to make sure she was being heard considering it was such a large house, but the smallest noises echoed throughout.
The door was abruptly swung open and Cookie's heavy hand accidentally slapped down onto Lucious' chest. She took a step back and observed her ex-husband underneath a shocked gaze. He looked like a shell of the hardcore, confident gangsta she knew and loved with deep bags hung underneath his eyes and a disdainful frown etched onto his lips. The strong, choking smell of hard liquor and B.O wrapped around him and the filthy looking clothes hanging on his body, telling Cookie that Lucious wasn't looking after himself and it was a good job that she'd come around to knock some sense into him.
"What you want?" he questioned with a grunt.
"For you to end this pity party," she retorted, ignoring his attitude as pushing past him and into the mansion submerged in darkness.
"Look, leave me be, Cook." He snapped, slamming the door shut.
"Leave you be?" she repeated with an incredulous scoff. "Look around, man," she gestured to the food wrappers, empty bottles of whiskey and overall stink of the home causing her eyes to water and sting. Her ex-husband had entered the sunken place. "You need some sunlight," she proclaimed as she went around the living room, pulling open the curtains and letting the bright light pour into the room. "Some proper food after you wash your ass because you stink."
Lucious smacked his teeth and fell onto the couch. "Cook, man, I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself."
She hiked a hand on her hip. "Well, you're doing a bang-up job." She inhaled, sharply, before crouching down on her knees in front of him. Maybe tough love wasn't going to work today. "Look, baby," she murmured, immediately catching his attention. "I know you loved Yana and I'm sorry she's gone, but the way you're handling it," she peered up into his sullen hazel eyes. "It can't go on anymore. Your sons are worried about you. I'm worried about you."
He tipped his head back. "You know the last thing she said to me?" Cookie shook her head. "That she didn't want to hate me."
Her eyebrows drew together. "Why would she hate you?"
