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Blurb:
A Christian, African American, pregnancy, billionaire romance story. Imani, a devout Christian, faces a devastating betrayal when her boyfriend Andre confesses to dating her cousin, leaving Imani in the dust. Instead of planning her own nuptials, she’s now forced to attend their wedding, drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
As she awakens in an unfamiliar hotel room, a wave of regret and bewilderment washes over her, her mind racing to reconstruct the events of the previous night… In a whirlwind of events, she soon discovers she’s expecting a child, setting her on a path filled with the disapproval of her deeply religious community! But fate takes an unexpected turn when Michael, the baby’s father, reappears in her life…
And Imani begins to entertain the possibility that things might have a chance to work out between them. But can she find the strength to open her heart to love again? Or will Michael walk away, leaving her to navigate the challenges of parenthood on her own? Discover now in this Christian romance novel by Faith Clarke.
Chapter 1
“Congratulations, you may kiss the bride.”
Imani watched as Andre obeyed Pastor Jacob’s instructions and bent his head to capture the lips of his new bride in a long kiss as the guests erupted in loud cheers. All she could do was watch, no sound escaping from her tightly closed lips. This wedding would be the talk of the church for some time to come and that bold show of emotion as they stared at each other as if no one else existed after their passionate lip-lock. Only she should have been the one with her lips sealed with Andre’s – this should have been her dream wedding. Instead, she was only an invited guest as she was replaced as bride by Andrea, her cousin.
“Why are you doing this Andre?” Imani asked as the tears streamed down her face in blackened streaks as the mascara she wore intermingled with the salty water running from her tear ducts.
“I’m sorry Imani; I truly didn’t mean to hurt you.”
As she looked at him through glossy eyes, she could see the look of remorse that plagued his features but it was not enough to have stopped him from making his revelation and effectively hurting her.
“I love Andrea. I have for a while now.”
“But you told me that you loved me too Andre, what could have changed?” she sobbed as she continued to stare at him, demanding an honest answer.
Sighing, he ran his hand over his bald head before he replied, “At the time I said it, I meant it but when she came into the picture, I confess the feelings I had for her went even deeper than the ones I had for you and suddenly I couldn’t deny them anymore.”
They were still a few meters away from each other and even though she felt the urge to cross the ravine he created by remaining by the front door of her apartment and to just raise her hand to deliver a stinging blow to his face for hurting her so, she remained rooted to where she stood waiting for him to finish twisting the knife that was in her heart.
“I prayed about the decision I had to make, long and hard and when I got the answer, I acted on it.”
Laughing bitterly, she pierced him with a scornful stare. “Oh, so you prayed and God gave you the answer huh?” She shook her head in a disbelieving motion before she continued, “It must make you feel real good that God answered your prayer and told you that dating two women at the same time without their knowledge was a big man move so long as you chose the right one.”
“Well,” he said in a suspiciously guilty tone.
It suddenly dawned on her, Andrea knew. “Oh so I was the one that was kept in the dark.” Refusing to shed anymore tears as the situation became clearer to her she muttered, “Unbelievable.”
“Bab…”
“Don’t!” she screeched as she looked at him through amber eyes that had suddenly become calm. “You don’t get to call me that anymore Andre. I am no longer your baby. You made your decision when you decided to sneak behind my back and date my cousin.” She had come to understand the level of deception that had gone undetected for many months during their relationship.
“You’re right, I’m sorry for that Imani.”
“Two years,” she looked at him seriously. “I gave up two years of my life for you. I thought we would spend our whole lives together. Instead you betray me and then you apologize. You know what Andre? Please leave.”
She didn’t bother to wait to see if he would comply as she turned down the hall and entered her bedroom closing the door behind her. As the weight of the whole day came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks, her feet gave up on her and she crumpled against the door as she clutched her hands over her burning chest as the tears began to flow freely once more.
A month later she received a wedding invitation from none other than her cousin Andrea and her Ex, Andre.
‘You are cordially invited to celebrate this glorious moment in the lives of Andrea Sharpe and Andre Richards.’
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She could not read any further as the hole in her chest that was very slowly healing threatened to rip out the stitches and open into a festering pool of hurt. She placed her keys on the small coffee table of the apartment as she took off her heels and curled up on the threadbare sofa. She decided to read further and the date that caught her eyes was February 28 – her birthday and the day she had confessed to Andre would be the perfect day for their wedding if he ever decided to propose. Fresh tears spilled through her closed eyes, wetting her long lashes before cascading down the counters of her face to land in small splashes against her chest.
She sat there for a while, willing herself to come out of the state of depression she had so easily been drawn back into. Finally when she felt a little better, she went and took a shower and then headed for bed. Never forgetting God and the role He played in her life, she offered up a little prayer but it wasn’t as heartfelt as it had been before that fateful night Andre had visited her apartment as the bearer of bad news.
She decided that she would attend their wedding if only to show them that she had moved on and wasn’t at home crying over Andre and what they had. That was the picture she wanted to create but deep down she was far from it.
“Hey girl, how are you holding up?” asked Lauren, Imani’s closest and only friend.
Turning to face her, she plastered a smile on her face in an attempt to dissuade her concern. “I’m fine, Lauren trust me.”