Chapter one— The Lie that broke us

“Hey babe, good morning sleepyhead.” Mike said softly, handing Rose a tray of her favorite meal and cocktail as she stretched in bed.

“Breakfast in bed today? So thoughtful of you” Rose responded, rubbing her eyes.

“Happy three-year anniversary to us, even if you did forget,” Mike said, kissing her softly. 

“Damn, today is February 16?” Rose gasped. “Babe, I’m sorry, okay. You know I’m terrible with dates.” She smiled apologetically and added, “ But this is so cute of you. What would I do without you?”

After finishing her macaroni and cheese,  Mike moved closer, holding her hands.

“Thank you for being the best girlfriend in the world. Loving you has been one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I look forward to spending many more years with you, I love you always.”

Rose couldn’t hide her smile any longer. “Thank you baby, I love you too, Happy anniversary to us.” 

She sighed “oh damn I’ve got a morning shift today, I wish I could spend the whole day with you. But don’t worry, I'll be back before evening so we can N*****x and chill.”

“If you remembered it was our anniversary, you could have asked for a day off earlier, like I did,” Mike said, raising an eyebrow.

“Babe, I’m sorry. Don't be petty,” Rose said, cupping his cheeks playfully. “I promise to make it to you.”

Mike gave a soft, almost shy smile.

Rose got up and dressed quickly, in her work dungarees, helmet and boots. She worked at a cement factory. A job that paid little, but kept her afloat. 

Rose was an only child who lost her parents in a fatal accident during her college years, leaving her with no family and financial support. Since then, life hadn’t been easy for her and she’d been forced to drop out of school and take on menial jobs to survive. 

While at work, wiping sweat from her brow. A text message popped up on her phone:

“Ma’am, I’m at the front of Cemex Victorville cement plant. Your delivery is right here.”

 Excited, Rose hurried to the gate to collect her package.

“Ma’am, please write your name and sign here” the delivery man said, handing Rose a pen and a register. “Please rate my service on the app. Thank you and have a nice day” the delivery man said.

“You deserve a 10/10 boy,” Rose said, grinning playfully. “I love your service”

The package was beautifully wrapped in aesthetic paper rolls. Rose kept it in the locker room and returned to work.

That evening, after her shift, Rose stopped by a restaurant to grab some food. She was exhausted and impatient. “Can you explain to me why my order is taking so long?” she snapped at the waitress.

 “I’m sorry ma’am, Here’s your order,” the waitress said, handing over a box of pizza. 

Rose walked out balancing the pizza in one hand, her dirty work clothes in a plastic bag and the wrapped package in the other.

She managed to get a cab to her tiny apartment. After a shower at her own place, she dressed up and made her way to Mike’s apartment.

Rose knocked on the door, holding the pizza in one hand and the package on the other hand. 

“Surprise,” she said softly as Mike opened the door.

Mike’s face lit up immediately. “Wait, don’t tell me you were lying when you called and said you couldn’t make it to my place tonight because of work” He grinned. “God, I hate you so much,” he added playfully, grabbing the package Rose handed over to him. 

“Happy anniversary to us,” Rose smiled. “That’s for you” Mike hurriedly tore the wrapping roll. His eyes widened. “A Sony headset ?! Babe, you didn’t have to. You don’t earn much, this must’ve cost a lot.” He hugged her tightly, kissing her on her forehead. “Thank you, I need this headset like a motherfucker.” He immediately connected it to his phone to test the sound. “I love it, thank you Rose” 

Rose placed the Pizza on the bed and hurriedly removed her clothes, and snuggled under the blanket.

“Babe, please pass the remote. Let’s watch that new Tyler Perry show.”

“Baby, give me a minute. I’ll grab the wine,” Mike said heading to the fridge.

He joined her in bed, covering them both with the blanket. Rose rested her head on his chest as they ate, drank and watched the show. Mike rubbed her face gently as she relaxed into him.

Thirty minutes in, Mike was already fast asleep.

His phone buzzed with three new notifications, Rose knowing his passcode like he knew hers, picked up the phone out of curiosity.

It was his sister, she replied to his story. The only story Mike had posted that day were pictures and videos, wishing them a happy anniversary, and this made her more curious.

The message read: 

“Have you told her you’re also AS and your genotype isn’t a good match with hers?

It could affect your future together Mike. 

“Well, you're an adult and I believe you know the repercussions of what you’re doing. Happy anniversary to you both, lol.”

Rose’s heart sank.

Her eyes widened as the weight of the words hit her. she sat up slowly, and stared at Mike for a second before tapping his shoulder, shaking him awake. 

“How could you fucking lie to me?” she asked coldly

“What do you mean? I don’t hide anything from you, Mike muttered, confused.

“Oh really? Check the message from your sister.”

 Mike picked up his phone, read the message and froze. 

Before he could speak, Rose snapped.

“Can you explain what this is all about?”

 “How the fuck could you lie about your genotype when it could literally destroy our future?! We’ve been having sex, Mike. What if I got pregnant?”

“Babe I'm…” Mike began.

Rose cut him off. 

“I told you I was AS from the very start. And you decided to lie and say you were AA? To what end Mike?”

“Babe, I was so in love with you from day one,” Mike confessed “I didn’t want to lose you. that’s why I lied. I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared.”

“You were only  thinking about yourself, Mike.” 

“I trusted you! We’ve been dating for 3 years now, Mike! What else have you lied about?” She snapped. 

“What if we weren’t using protection? You wanna risk having a child with sickle cell disease?”

She hissed, disgusted. “I’m so disappointed in you.”

Mike pulled out a chair. “ Babe, please sit. Let’s talk.”

“I just wanna…” Rose started.

Mike interrupted, “I know I messed up really bad, but I think we can talk about this calmly. Today is special and I don’t want anything to ruin it.”

“Ruin?” Rose shot back. “You wanna talk about ruin?” 

“Babe, calm down. Want a drink?” He said, pouring the wine in the glass.

 Rose exploded. “Nigga, are you even listening to me at all?! I don’t need any goddam drink, I just wanna end this relationship!”

 Mike reached for her hand and dropped to his knees, “Rose, please forgive me” He begged.

Rose shook her head. “Don’t call me. Don’t text me. We’re done.” She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.