Chapter 2 One

Chapter 1

Nakia's pov

I was excited because today I was turning thirty and my man was surprising me, or so he thought it was a surprise, but I knew all about this party. I spent the day at the salon getting my nails done, and my hair looked picture-perfect. My man TRENT kept calling my best friend Layla to see what I liked for my party, so I pretty much planned the whole thing without him realizing it. My mama NOLA was with me at the salon telling me what nail polish to get, what make-up would make my eyes pop, and what hair would make me stand out.

Being so perfect was never easy. It took several hours to look this good. It felt like a full-time job just making my hair look the way it does, but beauty is pain, right? I was wearing the dress my mama picked out and said would slim me down. My mama was always trying to get me to lose some weight, but I loved all my curves and they got me a lot of attention. Of course, my mama would say that was the wrong kind of attention.

My mama thought to please a man you had to be a slim size five. So, me being a size twenty-two did not make her happy but that didn't matter because I loved who I am. My mama would never be caught dead in just a t-shirt and jeans. I have never once in all my thirty years seen my mama when she wasn't all done up. It was as if she just got out of bed looking perfect. She always told me that's how you kept a man, yet my daddy left them long ago.

I loved my man, but I didn't need him. I made my way instead of counting on any man to pay my bills. I went to college, got my education, found my career, then got a man much to her mother's dismay. She told me I didn't need to go to college or work and that I needed to find a rich man who would support me. My mama's way of thinking was not how I wanted to be, but I didn't dare go against my mama. She was scary when she was angry, so I just sucked it up and pretended to go along with everything.

Now here I was looking the way my mother wanted me to look for this party. I didn't care though because tonight my man was going to finally put a ring on it. I found a ring box in his coat pocket so that's why I'm taking the extra time to look so good. We have been together for four years now and living together for the last two. It was time to take the next step, and I was happy that he finally got the hint.

I made the mistake of telling my mama about the ring box and now she's telling me what I must do to make sure I keep this man happy and talking about how I am going to have to quit my job. There was no way I was doing that. I worked hard to get where I was at and Trent needed to respect that, or he wasn't the one for me.

Once they were done at the salon my mother took me home, so I could wait for Trent to pick me up. Finally, I had a chance to just sit down and be by myself. Once I had that ring on my finger there would be no peace. My mama would be in full-on wedding mode and would be on a whole other level with her craziness. After all, it won't be my wedding, it'll be all about her showing off. That's just the way my mama is. I loved her, but I just didn't know if I could live the life she wanted me to live.

I needed some music to calm me down before the party. It was my go-to thing that helped me deal with my mama and clear my head. I couldn't listen to the kind of music I liked around my mama and Trent because it wasn't proper. Well, they aren't around right now so Alexa, Play All About That Bass.

Nola's pov

Today was the day all my hard work was paying off. My daughter was finally going to bag her a rich lawyer. He had money and would be able to give her the kind of life I wanted for her. She was about to get that ring and have her man on lockdown. Trent had my approval. He was polished and liked the very best of everything. It was a good thing I taught my daughter how to be perfect.

She should be lucky that she has me to teach her these things and not have to go through the pain I have gone through growing up. I was what most people called an ugly child. I had a nappy mop of hair, and glasses, and was scrawny. My mom would tell me every day how disappointed she was in me. She would tell me how I would always be alone because I wasn't beautiful and that she should have just given me up.

The pain of hearing that every day has made me who I am today. It's what makes me strive to always be the best and have the best. I must always look perfect, so I never have to be that girl I once was. If that made me cold well it's the way I must be.

It must have worked because my daughter is perfect. She is beautiful and practically flawless. It took me a while to get her to realize that Mama knows best. Once she did everything came into place. Now I couldn't wait to plan her wedding. It was going to be a grand affair. One that everyone would be talking about for a long time to come.