"Okay."

"Dior, be strong. I love you don't ever doubt that."

"I love you too, baby."

That night I dreamed about getting out and being with Dior again. I promised myself that I would never take her for granted or make her feel that my love for her wasn't real. Going through this bulls.h.i.t made me realize what was truly important. I had so much and was this close to losing it all because of bad decisions. But I had no doubt I would beat the case and be back home to Dior.

The next day, the first opportunity I got I called Dior. I told her I would and I knew she was already feeling insecure about our relationship. I didn't want to put anymore doubt in her head.

"Hi, Lorenzo, I was hoping you would call."

"Who is this?" the woman's voice sounded so muzzled I couldn't recognize it.

"Courtney."

"Oh hey, Courtney. Can I speak to Dior?"

"Dior isn't here."

"She stepped out, when will she be back?"

"She's not coming back. Dior died last night."

"What did you just say?"

"Dior died of a drug overdose last night. When I came over early this morning, I found her body." There was a long pause and I could hear Courtney crying. "I'm sorry. I've been trying to hold it together. I've been crying off and on for hours and I thought I was done. But telling you..." her voice trailed off and I heard more sobbing. While she was crying it was hard for me to process what I was hearing. I had just seen Dior's beautiful face yesterday and now she was gone. What Courtney was saying seemed surreal to me. "Lorenzo, are you still there?"

"Yes." Was the only word I was able to say.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. I know you loved her and so did I. She was everything I wanted to be. But now I don't want this anymore. I'm going back to school because I want a regular life. Fame killed her, Lorenzo. Without you being here she couldn't handle it."

I couldn't listen anymore to what Courtney was saying. My mind was blown and my heart felt like it stopped beating and I had died. I fell to the floor and just cried. I remembered as a child, when my mother left me I'd promised myself, I would never cry over another woman again. I guess that's why they tell you, never say never because I knew for the rest of my life I would shed many more tears over losing Dior.

The End Dear Readers: What's up everybody! I'm super excited about the release of b.i.t.c.h A New Beginning which will officially drop in July. I know some of my readers might've been confused with how all of my books intertwine. In Trife Life To Lavish part 2, I brought all the characters together to prepare you for the new chapter of my b.i.t.c.h Series. So in case you haven't read everything, I've put the first chapter of Trife Life To Lavish part 2 in here with the Epilogue for Aaliyah. Hopefully this will allow readers to somewhat get caught up as we prepare for b.i.t.c.h A New Beginning! If it doesn't help, you still have time to go out and read all the books. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait for you to find out what Aaliyah has gotten herself into. Until then, SMOOCHES!!.

IN STORES NOW.

Trife Life To Lavish

Eye On The Prize

Chapter 1.

Arnez stood in the impressive penthouse suite, gazing out the 34th floor view of Times Square. He extracted a Zino Platinum Crown Series Rocket from the sleek metal tube, and then trimmed the end before firing it up with a palm-sized blowtorch lighter covered in silver reptile skin. He exhaled a cloud of smoke as a smile crept across his face.

"It is so lovely to see you again Genevieve," Arnez smirked, admiring the ma.s.sive billboard she graced in the heart of Times Square. "We have so much catching up to do, since the last time I saw you."

Arnez walked over to the plush white couch in the center of the exotic wood floor and sat down before lifting up his gla.s.s of Sa.s.sicaia, the great Italian wine off the coffee table and taking a sip. He let out a deep sigh placing his wine gla.s.s down and then picked up the manila folder off the table. He opened it up and stared at the pictures of Genevieve that the private investigator he hired had given him earlier in the week. For the first time in months Arnez had a tangible lead on his prized target and he had no intentions of letting her slip through his fingers.

"Yes, Genevieve, I believe our reunion is long overdue," Arnez said, before depositing his ashes across her face.

"Genesis, if we don't leave shortly we're going to miss our flight."

"I understand that, but I have to wait here for this delivery. Maybe it's best you go ahead without me. I can take a flight out tonight or tomorrow morning."

"I don't want to take the flight without you. We'll wait together." Coco turned away from Genesis as she huffed, not wanting him to see her disdain.

"Finally!" Genesis said when he heard the doorbell. He anxiously made his way to the front door. The FedEx carrier greeted him with a smile and a pen as Genesis signed for the priority overnight envelope. He had practically ripped open the package before the door had completely closed.

"What is that?" CoCo was beyond curious to know what had Genesis' attention so occupied. And for that very reason he either ignored CoCo's question or just didn't hear it because whatever papers he was looking over had his interest on lock.

"This is it! I was expecting so much more...f.u.c.k!" Genesis roared, tossing the papers to the floor.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" CoCo asked, trying to quickly pick up the papers just in case Genesis decided he immediately wanted them back.

"This private investigator I hired to find my sister and mother said he came across some great information for me. I'm thinking he was close to finding their whereabouts but all this information is from over ten years ago, when they were living in Charlotte, North Carolina. This ain't no recent s.h.i.t!"

"Wait, Genesis, did you see this?"

"See what?"

"Look," CoCo reached her hand out to Genesis. "When I was putting the papers back in the envelope I noticed this picture, it was kinda stuck in the corner."

"A picture, I was pulling the papers out so fast I must've overlooked it." Genesis took the picture out of CoCo's hand and was silent for a few minutes. He examined every inch of the picture and then turned it over and the names, 'Kevon, Genevieve and Teresa' were written on the back.

"Genesis are you okay?"

"This is my mother and sister. It's an old picture but it's them. Genevieve can't be no more than six or seven, and my mother," Genesis said with a slight whisper to his voice as his finger traced over her face. This must be the man she married," he reasoned, sizing up Kevon.

Genesis sat down on the sofa, clutching the picture. It was the first image he had seen of his family since the last time his mother came to see him at the juvenile facility when Genevieve was only a baby. Having something concrete in his hands once again brought Genesis hope that one day soon he would be reunited with his family and he wouldn't give up until that happened.

"Supreme, we really need to go."

"What...we're gonna miss the flight," he sulked sarcastically. "It's a private jet, they leave when we get there, we ain't on n.o.bodies time but ours."

"They've been waiting for over two hours."

"A little longer isn't gonna hurt."

"Do you not want to go, is that it?"

"Precious, if I didn't want to go, I wouldn't f.u.c.kin' go."

"Well that's how you're acting."

"Do you really think I'ma miss Aaliyah's birthday party? Get the f.u.c.k outta here!"

"You making it hard to tell by delaying the time we're supposed to be leaving."

"Whatever, I have some s.h.i.t I need to take care of."

"Fine, you take care of your s.h.i.t and let me know when you're ready," Precious barked back, walking out their bedroom. She was tempted to pick up the crystal vase off the dresser and throw it at Supreme, on her way out but decided against it. Those sorts of volatile feelings had become the norm for Precious in recent months.

Ever since Aaliyah needed a blood transfusion and DNA test proved Nico was her father, it seemed to be war of the roses between her and Supreme. Precious knew that Supreme still loved Aaliyah like she was his own, the problem was she wasn't and Nico made that very clear. When Aaliyah was recovering from her surgery, Nico never left her side. He demanded to play a full-time role in her life and d.a.m.n near seemed like he wanted to move into the Mills' home or at the very least be their next door neighbor. So Precious had no choice but to come up with a fair and reasonable visitation arrangement that would bring some sort of peace in what had turned into a beyond chaotic environment. With them living on the West Coast and Nico residing on the East Coast it wasn't an easy task but somehow they made it work. Well, Precious and Nico made it work, Supreme was an entirely different story. Precious couldn't fault Nico for wanting to play an active role in his daughter's life but she could also understand Supreme's pain and anger over the entire situation. So she went out of her way to try and appease him. But no matter how hard Precious tried, Supreme seemed determined not to forgive her.

"I still can't believe it's me on that billboard." Nich.e.l.le stared in awe.

"Well it is. I said it would happen. I never make a promise I can't keep."

"I'll never doubt you again, that's for sure," Nich.e.l.le smiled. Akil walked up behind her and gently ma.s.saged Nich.e.l.le's shoulders as they both looked out the ma.s.sive window from his loft apartment.

"I'm so proud of you. I knew I saw something special in you, but I wasn't sure you would allow me to help you bring it out for the world to see but you have."

"I think you're giving me way too much credit."

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. And trust me, this is only the beginning. You're a star, Nich.e.l.le. If seeing your billboard plastered in the middle of Times Square doesn't make you a believer then I think what I'm about to tell you now will."

Nich.e.l.le turned around and faced Akil with a puzzled look across her face.

"Have you ever heard of T-Roc?"

"Of course, who hasn't? He's a mogul legend in New York."

"You're right. I actually got my start as an intern for T-Roc. He taught me everything I know and then some. He's much more than a legend in New York. His business savvy expands across the world. So when T-Roc reached out to me and said he wanted you to be the face of the new women's fragrance line he's launching, I felt pleased that someone I admire sees the same winner in you that I do."

"Wait, press rewind for a second, did I hear you correctly?" Nich.e.l.le's mouth dropped back open waiting for Akil's response.

"Yes, you did. T-Roc wants you to represent his perfume line. Forget about just billboards. We're talking commercials, magazine ads, and national coverage. He's prepared to dedicate a huge campaign budget so this perfume can compete with anybody in this market."

"And he wants me, why? I'm not exactly what you would call polished. Real talk, at the end of the day; I'm just a project girl."

"No, Nich.e.l.le, you're so much more than that. But being from the projects, and being able to still exude an innocence although I know you've faced so many obstacles, makes your story that much more powerful. You can inspire so many young girls."

Nich.e.l.le shook her head in disbelief with all the good fortune that seemed to be coming her way, virtually overnight. "I don't know Akil. I still can't believe that with all the beautiful women in the world, that T-Roc actually wants me."

"Well, maybe this contract will make you a believer," Akil said, opening up his briefcase. "I reviewed it and to me it's more than fair, as a matter of fact it's very generous. But have your attorney look over it. I believe she will agree." Akil handed Nich.e.l.le the papers and her mind instantly began having flashbacks to what her life had been like for the last several months.

It seemed like only yesterday she was running for her life, trying to escape death at the hands of her exboyfriend's cousin Arnez. Now she was sitting in Akil's loft, holding a contract worth more money than she ever imagined. No, it wasn't going to make her a millionaire but Nich.e.l.le's biggest dream was to one day get a job making fifty thousand dollars a year with benefits.

So much had changed in her life but a lot more had stayed the same. Instead of running, Nich.e.l.le was now plastered on a billboard in Times Square which would make most people feel on top of the world. But, Nich.e.l.le was miserable and was suffering deep depression. She was doing a wonderful job of hiding it from people but at night she cried herself to sleep. Nich.e.l.le still had no clue what happened to her best friend Tierra. The nightmares continued to haunt her, which consisted of hearing gunshots and watching Tierra fall to the ground. Nich.e.l.le didn't know if Tierra was dead or alive.

Every time she thought about it, guilt flooded her body. Nich.e.l.le felt that she should've done more to help her friend. But in reality there was nothing she could've done. Her desire to go back wouldn't have stopped a bullet from piercing through Tierra. Nich.e.l.le did what her best friend screamed out for her to do and that was to run. Nich.e.l.le ran through dark alleys and the grimy streets she used to call home. She ran until running out of breath and d.a.m.n near pa.s.sing out on the side of the street. That night remained crystal clear in her mind but a lot of what happened next seemed like a blur. That was due to the constant heartache of not only losing her best friend Tierra but also Renny, who she was still in love with. After all this time he hadn't reached out to her and she purposely kept her cell number the same in hopes that one day she would pick up and it would be his voice on the other end of the line.

With all that being said, Nich.e.l.le's biggest pain came from the death of her mother and the realization that she had a brother she yearned to reunite with. All Nich.e.l.le knew was his name was Genesis and no matter what it took, she would find him.

Epilogue.

The Future

Aaliyah

Ring...ring...ring "h.e.l.lo." "Mommy, it's me, Aaliyah." Precious glanced over at the clock to see what time it was. "Where are you and why are you calling so late?"

Precious wanted to know trying to snap out of her sleep. "I've gotten myself in a bit of a situation." "What sort of situation? And where are Amir and Justina? I thought you were supposed to be with them tonight?" "I am...I mean I was but something came up." "Cut the bulls.h.i.t, Aaliyah. What the h.e.l.l is going on?" "I'm in jail and I need you to come get me out." "Jail!" Precious screamed it out so loud that it awoke Supreme from his sleep. "You're in jail!"

"Yes. And could you please not yell. I already have a migraine headache as it is."

"Aaliyah, what are they charging you with?" Precious asked. She gripped the phone trying to stop herself from wanting to reach through it and s.n.a.t.c.h her daughter up.

"First Degree Murder."

b.i.t.c.h...

A New Beginning COMING SOON.