Marcus Lee had spent most of his adult life chasing deadlines instead of relationships. At 43, he was settled, successful, and respected, a man who had climbed his way up to becoming a producer at a local West Coast news station, starting fresh out of college and never looking back. Fifteen years in the same grind had a way of narrowing your focus. Kids? Never crossed his mind. Love? Optional. Work had always been loyal—people, not so much.
So when Marcus finally got Super Bowl Sunday off for the first time in years, he treated it like a national holiday.
Mount Faulkner was buzzing that night. The party was loud, wings were flying, drinks were flowing, and Marcus was posted up on the couch laughing harder than he had in a long time. That’s when he noticed her.
Nina Davis didn’t make an entrance—she arrived. Quiet, confident, no need for attention, yet somehow everyone gravitated toward her. She hugged folks hello, laughed easily, and when she talked sports, men leaned in like students.
Marcus found himself staring a little too long.
“Don’t be creepy,” he muttered to himself, grabbing another drink.
But fate didn’t care.
They ended up standing next to each other during halftime, both reaching for the same plate of nachos.
“You can have the last one,” Marcus said, smiling.
Nina raised an eyebrow. “I was gonna say the same thing but I don’t believe in lying.”
He laughed. A real one. The kind that surprised him.
Conversation flowed like they’d known each other for years. She was sharp, funny, warm. An attorney who had just opened her own law firm a year ago and was already making waves in the courtroom. Marcus told her about his career in news, the chaos, the long hours. She listened. Really listened.
By the end of the night, numbers were exchanged and plans were made.
Their first official date? Perfect.
Marcus showed up early, dressed right, reservations made, no last-minute scrambling. Nina noticed everything. The way he opened doors, the way he asked questions and waited for answers, the way he didn’t try too hard. Seven months flew by in laughter, late nights, inside jokes, and an ease neither of them had felt in years.
It was good. Solid. Real.
Until Kim came back to town.
Kim was history an old love, a chapter Marcus had closed long ago. When she reached out, Marcus didn’t hide anything. He told her plainly: he was dating someone seriously, and he was happy.
Kim smiled through the phone.
She wasn’t worried.
In her mind, Marcus had always been her soft spot.
Marcus stayed firm. Loyal. Clear.
So Kim decided to change the game.
One quiet afternoon, Nina’s assistant buzzed her office.
“There’s a walk-in requesting you specifically. Says she won’t speak to anyone else.”
Nina frowned but agreed.
Kim walked in calm, polished, and intentional.
Halfway through the “consultation,” Nina realized exactly who was sitting across from her.
The air shifted.
Kim leaned forward, voice low and smug.
“I’m not really here for legal help,” she said. “I’m here because Marcus is mine… and I want him back.”
Nina’s face stayed composed, but her heart pounded.
Then Kim dropped the bomb.
“And he has a child. My child. One he doesn’t even know about.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Nina stared at her, mind racing, pulse steady—but barely.
Outside, the city kept moving.
Inside, everything had just cracked wide open.
To be continued…
Simply Reesi 