Free Material Girl 2 by Keisha Ervin Page A

chick that she was neglecting the one person who needed her the most. It was like once Knox put a ring on her finger, she forgot that their relationship had to be worked on every second of the day. Instead, everything was all about her.
    She never asked how he was feeling or what his day was like. It was always, “I have to do this,” and “I have to be here,” or “the kids need this.” Life was never about the two of them. All he wanted was for her to take a moment to breathe and smell the roses, but until Billie realized that with each second of the day she was pushing her husband further and further away, Knox would keep his distance and bottle his feelings up inside until they exploded.
     
    “Yeah I like such and such yo a lot but the feeling’s not as strong.”
    Common, “I Want You”

6
    A glimpse of spring shined from the sky as the sun kissed the hood of Angel’s silver Porsche Panamera 4. But warm weather didn’t mean a thing to him. For several days Angel had been in a funk. News had broken that he and Milania were engaged to be married while his ex was pregnant with his baby. Every entertainment news show, blog, and magazine was covering the story. They had photos of Milania and Dylan’s heated confrontation, which resulted in Milania storming out in tears.
    Angel couldn’t go anywhere without seeing or hearing about the so-called scandal. All of the media attention was driving him nuts. It tore him up inside that he couldn’t even turn to his sister during this trying time. Billie was disgusted with him, and she had every right to be. Angel felt horrible for the way he treated Dylan. She was the mother of his unborn child. She didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. Angel just had to figure out a way to get things between them back cool again because it seemed like instead of bringing them closer together, her pregnancy was pulling them further apart.
    It all made no sense to him. This was supposed to be the most exciting time of his life. He was marrying one of the world’s most beautiful women and becoming a father, but Angel didn’t feel bliss. He felt stressed and confused. He wanted to do right by Milania and stick to his word and marry her, but every time he thought about taking that leap down the aisle, buried feelings for Dylan started to arise.
    Angel pulled up to the restaurant where he was meeting Milania for lunch, turned off the engine, and stepped out into the spring air. All eyes were on him but in a good way. St. Louisians loved their hometown hero and showed him nothing but love. Angel, in turn, showed them love by hosting and donating to various charities and giving back to his community. To Angel’s dismay as he activated the alarm on his car, ten paparazzi appeared and began taking his picture and asking him questions.
    “Angel, how does your fiancée feel knowing your ex is using her pregnancy to tear you two apart?” one photographer asked.
    “Angel, do you think your baby will be born half alien or half werewolf?” someone from TMZ asked.
    “Hey, Angel, are you a fan of Glee?” another photographer questioned.
    “Angel, do you think that boxing should have mandatory drug testing during training camp?”
    Instead of answering any of their questions or even acknowledging their presence, he held his head up high and entered the restaurant. After checking with the hostess, Angel was escorted to his table which was in the private dining section of the restaurant. To his surprise, he found Milania talking on the phone while sitting a table with two other people.
    “Miss Fairchild, the rest of your party has arrived,” the hostess said politely.
    “Hey, doll, he’s here. Let me call you back.” Milania hung up the phone.
    “Hi, honey,” she stood up to greet him, dressed casually chic in a white silk Elie Tahari blouse with an asymmetrical fold-over collar, black Helmut Lang shorts, and Camilla Skovgaard open-toe booties.
    Her hair was pulled back into a sleek