Bodyguard (YN x Beyonce)

Later on, I was laying on the bed, trying to distract myself with anything—music, mindless scrolling, even cleaning my inbox—but nothing could keep my thoughts off of her. Off of them.

And then I saw it.

A notification from The Shade Room.

I clicked it without thinking.

The picture hit me like a punch.

Jay in her face. Real close. Too close.

His hand on her waist. Her body turned toward him. His lips this close to hers. The angle made it look like he was about to kiss her—or already had.

My heart dropped to my stomach.

I stared at it, blinking hard, as if it would change. As if it wasn't what it looked like. But I couldn't lie to myself. Not this time.

The caption read: "Jay & Bey looking real cozy in the islands."

She picked up on the second ring, like she'd been waiting.

"Hey, baby," she said, her voice soft and sweet.

"What the hell is that picture?"

A pause.

"What picture?"

"You already know what picture," I snapped. "The one plastered all over the damn internet. Him in your face like he's about to kiss you."

She went quiet.

"Beyoncé—did you kiss him?"

"No," she said instantly. "God, no. Baby, I swear to you—I didn't kiss him."

"Then what was it?"

"He tried to kiss me" she admitted. "He caught me off guard, but once I knew what he was trying to do I pushed him away."

I sat up, running a hand over my face.

"Do you know what it's like to keep defending this? To keep trusting that it's not what it looks like when everything keeps looking the same?"

"I know," she said softly. "I know how it looks. And I hate that it hurt you. But you have to believe me—nothing happened."

"I'm trying to believe you," I admitted, my voice cracking. "But this... this feels like too much."

"Why don't you trust me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Me, YN. Not the headlines. Not the camera angles. Not the narratives. Me."

The silence between us crackled like tension in the air before lightning.

"I do," I said quietly. "But it's hard to hold on to that trust when it feels like you're still half in that world with him."

"I'm not," she said, her voice rising with emotion. "I chose you. The moment I looked at you and saw peace. Saw a future. You think I'd risk that?"

I didn't know what to say. My emotions were everywhere—anger, hurt, love, fear.

"Baby—"

"Don't 'baby' me," I cut her off. "You said it was nothing. But that don't look like nothing."

"I didn't kiss him. I wouldn't—"

"I don't wanna hear it," I said sharply, voice cracking a little even though I was trying so hard to hold it together. "I don't want to hear about what it wasn't. I don't care what angle the picture was taken from. It's always some excuse. Some context I wasn't there for."