Free Always Unique by Nikki Turner

one’s conscience bit by bit. If one wasn’t careful they could consume one’s entire life. One secret oftentimes led to another, then another, multiplying like rabbits.
    Unique couldn’t take it: her mind was made up, she couldn’t hold water anymore. She made a promise to herself as she rinsed off the luxurious shower gel that she was going to tell Kennard everything. Every single sordid detail of her past—well, at least the Fat Tee and Took episodes. So just as Eve had done with Adam, she would practically hand-feed him the forbidden fruit. Let the core fall where it may, because she would leave no seed unplanted. She’d tell him it all … well, maybe not every shiesty detail.
    She’d talk about the robberies she and Took pulled off together. She would even share how while they were supposedly on a romantic vacation, Took had drugged her and then sold her to a whorehouse in Mexico for a key of cocaine and a chicken, leaving her with no passport but wanted by the law in the United States. He didn’t do it because he needed the drugs, and he sure as hell wasn’t hungry. He did it because he had a warped sense of humor and no sense of forgiveness. The funny thing, Unique thought, as her mind conjured up vivid memories of the past like a blooper reel of her life, was that although she was pissed to the highest level of pissitivity for what Took had done, she knew, deep down, that she deserved his treachery. She had crossed that invisible but very tangible line of trust first. She, too, had convinced herself that his actions were only a reaction to her action.
    If Kennard wasn’t run off by then, she would also finally come clean about Fat Tee. How she and Took robbed him back in the day. How Fat Tee found her by seeing her on ESPN. Leaving the note on her Benz, following her, breaking into their house, raping and then blackmailing her. The stolen diamonds to get Fat Tee off her back, which obviously didn’t work.
    She would leave no stone unturned. No more secrets. If Kennard left her, which he probably would if he had any sense, so be it. At least she would be at peace with herself. And if he stayed, which was a long shot, but if he did, their relationship would be stronger for it. They could truly be a family—him, her, and the baby growing inside her stomach.
    Knowing that there was no perfect time to confess something as complex and of this magnitude, she decided to do it after the fight tomorrow night. No need to destroy the man’s mood before one the biggest milestones in his professional career.
    One more day to pretend, but right now all she could do was get herself together, put her game face on, and focus on the here and now. Turning the volume on the shower radio up—tuned to Hot 97—she closed her eyes and let the water cascade over her face and the rest of her body.
    The built-in steamer inside the shower melted away some of the stress she felt. The weigh-in for the fight was this evening, and Unique had agreed to meet Kennard downstairs at 6 P.M. for photos. In another hour her makeup team would arrive, and thirty minutes later, Tyeedah would be knocking on the door.
    Unique had chosen a stunning custom-made dress for tonight, a prelude to the eye-popping, body-hugging peek-a-boo she planned to debut tomorrow. She rubbed the soapy sponge across her flat stomach, which was hard and toned. She worked diligently in the gym to keep her body in tip-top shape. The fight would probably be her last stage to flaunt it before she started showing a baby bump.
    She planned to make the most of it.
    Entertainment Tonight, Extra, and Inside Edition had already asked Kennard for interviews, and Unique wanted to look her best in case they flashed the camera on her. Unless there was a crime against being drop-dead fabulous, she had no worries about being criticized by any of the glorified tabloids’ in-house fashion police.
    Just as Unique was finishing her shower, the lights went out, blanketing the bathroom