"who shot ya?
separate the weak from the obsolete
hard to creep them brooklyn streets
it's on nigga, fuck all that bickering beef
I can hear sweat tricklin down your cheek".

as the band procession played wind beneath my wings, the bearers walked into the frank e. campbell funeral chapel carrying in paul's casket. everyone rose and looked amongst the casket as they saw that their fallen friend, colleague, boss, and family member was in there. their fallen person was gone.

tears were flowing in the chapel and emotions were running high. paul's death came so unexpectedly that no one would've even thought that they would even have to be here for him. out of all of the people, why did God have to take paul from the world?

better yet, why did roman have to take paul from the world?

roman was at the funeral though, with iman by his side. he was sitting in a pue with jimmy, jey, naomi, and takecia who came as plus ones. shiny with the stripper jazmyn and terrence were sitting behind them. he had no emotions towards this, none at all. he was just here to play his part and to act like he didn't do anything to him, he just came here to look sad but be happy about it later.

moments after the bearers brought paul's casket in, linda arrived in the chapel. she was surrounded by her and paul's two children, and she was wearing a black veiled hat and dark black sunglasses, along with a black armani dress and heels. even though no one could see her face due to the hat and glasses, it was clear that she was in much distress. losing the love of her life and having to find him at the same time was all too much for the woman. it was all too much and it made so many feel for her, including iman.

"iman.... are you crying?" roman asked her as he looked over and saw her with tears in her eyes.

"I feel so bad for linda" iman sighed. "I couldn't imagine losing someone that's been the love of your life for so long, and having to find him dead at that. she didn't deserve for this to happen to her, and neither did paul".

"oh yes he did" roman mumbled under his breath.

"what?!" iman exclaimed at what he just said, she heard him. she didn't like what she just heard from him, at all.

and it was also starting to have her think..... just to remind, iman doesn't know that roman killed paul. she doesn't know at all, but this was definitely having her think.

linda and her two children brought themselves up to the casket and the minute she saw it, she immediately began to break down. she fell to the ground and began to sob loudly and uncontrollably. the children held her as she was mourning her husband, and many other people came up to get linda and to console her so that the two who were also mourning wouldn't have to deal with all of that weight and pain.

as all of this was happening, roman was just looking at it. no emotions, no feelings, and of course no regret. he didn't care that linda was crying her eyes out for her husband, or that paul's children lost their father. his mentality was that it would've never happened if paul didn't lie and fuck with him, now everyone gotta deal with the consequences of paul's actions and no one else's. he put it all on paul, and not himself. he didn't give not one fuck, he came to someone's funeral to be completely dismissive and to have no sympathy for those that lost someone close to them.

and he didn't give not one fuck.

the service began once they were able to calm linda down and it went smoothly. family and friends went up to speak and remember paul and musicians came in and sung paul's favorite songs, it was a beautiful service. we were on to one more speech, and it was going to come from linda.

linda walked up to the stand in the middle of the church and brought a piece of paper with her to recite her speech.

"um.... hello everyone" linda first said. "I just wanna say... thank you, thank you so much for coming out today for paul. me and my sons truly appreciate it, it means so much to me that paul has touched so many people. family, friends, colleagues, employees, everyone, just thank you".

"paul was my everything. we were together for over twenty years, basically majority of my life. he gave me love, a family, a lifestyle, acceptance, honesty, and happiness. he gave me so... much... happiness".

linda started to get choked up again, tears beginning to flow down her eyes. she took out a tissue and wiped her eyes as she wanted to get through this speech for the sake of everyone and for the sake of her kids.

"just the feeling of waking up one day and not having your significant other next to you and knowing the reason why haunts me. knowing that someone was laying right next to you one day and now the next they aren't is so scary, no one should ever have to go through that. I don't wish that on any person. it just breaks my heart that.... someone just wished it on me and now.... now the love of my life is gone".

roman was looking around the chapel and saw one of the strippers named yelena was here. he also saw that the girl was pregnant, the girl was sobbing crying for paul and she was pregnant. this was the same girl that roman first saw when he had his first meeting with paul at the club the first night they sold. paul got this girl pregnant and now he was dead, meanwhile linda was crying for the "love of her life", the same love that cheated on her.

this was the man everyone was so hung up over?! he could laugh right now.

meanwhile iman started to cry again because those words were hitting way too close to home. she's always had those thoughts when it came to roman, and it scared her so much to the point of tears and anxiety. she just couldn't bear for that to happen to him. however, when she looked up at roman to try and console her, he was still looking expressionless. he was looking like he didn't even care that this man that he was working with was dead. yes roman was known to not really care for things anyways unless it revolved around him, but this? this man was giving him money daily and they were just together literally the day before he died....

why didn't he care?!

after linda finished her speech, the funeral ended and now everyone will proceeded to the cemetery for the burial ceremony. roman was standing outside with the twins, shiny, and terrence as they waited for their ladies to get out of the bathroom of the chapel. roman was speaking to them until he got a tap on the shoulder from someone, it happened to be one of paul's children, his son jacob.

"are you roman anoa'i?" jacob asked him.

"yes..." roman said as he was very confused as to why paul's children were approaching him.

"i'm paul's son jacob and my mother said that you were the last person to formally do business with my father" he told him.

roman wanted to laugh so bad at this blatant lie, but all it told him was that paul wasn't telling linda about his business ties. now he had to act and put on a front for his kid.

"my mother asked for you to speak at the burial ceremony, just to say some words about him" he continued to explain. "she says that you were always a good guy and very respectful to her and him".

to them he was, but if only they knew. good thing they wouldn't. roman didn't really want to say anything good about paul because he HAD nothing good to say about paul, if he did have something good to say paul would be alive right now instead of in a casket about to be buried. however, he knew he had to put up a front, hence why he was even at this funeral so he had no choice but to speak for him.

"okay... i'll do it, for you guys" roman said. "paul was a great guy, a good businessman as well". lying so out of his ass.

"thank you so much" jacob said as he shook roman's hands and walked way. roman turned back around to the twins, shiny, and terrence and chuckled a bit.

"you're about to lie at a funeral..." jimmy said.

"same way paul lied to me, just paying tribute is all i'm doing" roman shrugged, and laughed right after.

once the ladies got out of the bathroom and out of the building, they all went to their cars to drive to trinity church cemetery for the burial service.

"they're making me speak at the cemetery" roman told iman.

"making? you sound like you don't wanna do it" iman said, her suspicion radar was going off right now.

"I mean..... I just didn't plan on speaking at someone's funeral today. I wish it was planned and I knew ahead of time instead of learning minutes before I gotta say something" roman explained.

"just do it for linda, if you were asked just do it and don't whine about it" iman told him.

"no one was whining iman I was just telling you how unplanned this was" he groaned. "and i'll keep doing it until I know exactly what i'm gonna say".

"your compassion has been ugly today" she scoffed.

"iman.... don't piss me off before I have to speak for this man okay? don't start with this shit" roman told her.

iman sunk down in the seat of the bentley and loudly groaned at roman's attitude. now she truly saw that roman didn't give a shit about paul's death, and it was still so strange to her.

but now that he just had this outburst, she was realizing something. the night that paul was found murdered, roman was out. he was out for a while too, didn't come home until almost five in the morning. also jey was at the house to tell him something "important" and at that point roman and jey weren't even on speaking terms. now suddenly roman, jimmy, and jey were all cool again and while that was great, what made them become cool so quickly? roman's never been this way before, he would've never forgive them so fast, or anyone. iman didn't want to actually come to this conclusion but her suspicion was at an all time high...

"what if roman had something to do with paul's death?" she thought to herself.

they arrived at the cemetery and got out of the car to walk to where paul would be buried. everyone was making their way there as well and they walked up to see the casket on top of the plot in the handles to go down and linda sitting besides the casket with azalea and jacob, the kids.

"roman..." linda said as she walked up to him. "thank you so much for wanting to speak today, paul appreciated you so much".

"sorry for your loss" roman said, lying of course. he wasn't sorry at all.

"thank you" she cried. "it's been rough, very rough. but.... i'm gonna make it through for the sake of him, he wouldn't want me being sad".

roman gave her a fake smile and walked away to sit down, sitting next to jimmy and jey.

"do you know what you're going to say?" jimmy asked him.

"no but i'll make some shit up" roman chuckled. he then looked over at iman who was giving him a death glare. roman rolled his eyes and assumed that she was still mad about their little argument in the car, however that was really not the case.

but he was about to be mad himself in a minute, because a certain person that roman hated more than anyone else in the world had just arrived. he started to get tense and his whole attitude and demeanor changed in a millisecond.

victor marshall had just arrived.

"trying so hard not to lose my shit here" roman mumbled under his breath. "of course this motherfucker is here".

"well.... just remember why you had to do what you had to do" jey told him as he was looking at victor, referring to the main reason why paul is about to go in the dirt.

".... I guess you're right" roman smirked, chuckling a little bit.

"iman are you okay? you've been staring at roman with a death glare for a minute now" naomi asked her, they were peeping her fury through her eyes.

"just thinking about something, that's all" iman said, putting her saint laurent sunglasses on to cover her eyes.

it was time for roman to say his speech for paul. he wasn't an actor but in this scenario, he had to put the acting pants on to act like he truly gave a shit about paul when he didn't and when he's the one that killed him. he walked up to the podium to speak, facing everyone that was here. victor marshall was right off to the right side, with a smirk on his face as he saw his enemy. roman wanted to attack him so bad but knew he couldn't, and it drove him crazy. this was exactly why paul was gone now, but he had to act like he didn't know why paul was gone, and he had to act like paul was such a good person even when roman didn't think that.

"I wanna say thank you to paul's gracious family for asking me to speak today, it means a lot and I am honored" roman said, he didn't even want to say these words but y'know... acting right?

"paul was one of my partners, I was one of his last partners before his passing and he..... he was good. we had some good business moments and I appreciate what we had. it's such a shame that a good guy had to get taken out the way that he did. my heart breaks for linda, azalea, and jacob, my prayers go to them" he continued to say.

"so sad how the best have to go so soon. rest in peace paul, i'll never forget you" he ended off, ending off the speech with no emotion or feeling at all. he came down from the podium and walked back to his seat.

victor kept staring at roman and roman did the same thing. they had so much tension but neither man could really do something, however victor was truly enjoying how pissed roman was at his presence. he lived for making the young man mad, and roman wanted nothing more than to kill this man. both of his foes could've been in the dirt, and maybe victor could've been buried in that double plot that paul was being buried in.

after the burial ceremony, roman got back in the car to drive home. iman also got in, and she was not happy with him. at first roman just thought it was because of the little spat they got into earlier in the car, but it was actually for a different reason, and iman was about to let it be known. roman drove off from the cemetery and onto the road.

"so.... what did you think of my speech?" roman asked her.

in response to that question and because of how angry she was with roman at the moment, she did something that she would normally never do.

she slapped him.

iman slapped roman hard in his face to the point where he swerved and pulled over to the side of the road. he was holding his cheek in agony and iman was giving him a death glare, she was pissed, and so was he now that iman put her hands on him.

"WHAT THE FUCK IMAN?!" roman yelled at her, he was livid himself.

"you killed him didn't you?" she asked him.

"what the fuck are you talking about?! first you slap me and now you asking me dumbass questions?!" she exclaimed.

"roman i'm not dumb, you may think i'm dumb but i'm not. don't lie to me...." she said sternly.

"I don't know if these are your hormones speaking but you need to chill the fuck out, I don't know what's gotten into you today but you've been on some slick bullshit and the last person you're gonna be slick with is me because you know out of everyone that i'm not one to be fucked with" roman told her. "so watch yourself iman".

"I know what you did roman..... it's all adding up" she said.

"what are you on?! seriously, what the fuck is your deal?!" roman exclaimed again, becoming more and more aggravated with his wife.

"let's see, you were out of the house the day that paul was found dead and didn't come back until almost five in the morning and the fact that jey, after months of you two hating each other suddenly comes back to tell you something "important", that "something important" was probably what led you into killing paul.... I know it all roman, i'm not dumb" iman explained.

roman didn't say a word, he thought iman was out of her damn mind. for one how did she even figure all of that out, and why is she so concerned to begin with to the point where she had to slap him in the face?! she didn't even know paul like that outside of two interactions, like what was the deal?!

"you're not even saying anything..... I knew it, I fucking knew it!" iman exclaimed. "why would you do that roman?! WHY?!".

"he got what he deserved" he simply said.

"HOW?! how is killing someone getting what "they deserved"?! you always have to go the extra mile with shit" iman said.

"no I didn't, that fat fuck got everything that he deserved. that's what he gets for fucking with me, my money, everything I ever worked for, AND working with my biggest enemy. that's why his ass is in the dirt now, oh fucking well" roman scoffed.

"you're so vile.... just killing people so reckless and for what? don't you know how powerful paul is around new york?! this isn't no little dealer that you be killing for fun, that was the real deal and you killed him because your irrational ass couldn't handle shit" iman ranted.

"i've been killing people before AND after you iman, don't think that shit is gonna stop just because you're mad about something that you've known about FOR YEARS!" roman exclaimed. "FIVE YEARS YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS AND YOU DIDN'T CARE THEN SO DON'T CARE NOW!".

"you benefit off of me killing people, everything I fucking do you benefit off of. that chanel bag you got with you right now? cause of me. you riding around in this bentley and that maserati I bought you? CAUSE OF ME! everything that you fucking own from those bags to those clothes to the fucking money in your account because you haven't worked a day in your life in five years?! CAUSE. OF ME. so don't you fucking dare try to berate me for what I do because if it wasn't for me coming into your life, you'd still be working at dirty bars wearing boutique clothes so don't even act like you better than this cause you aren't".

"go to hell" iman spat at him, now she was even more livid and she was also upset that he even said this shit to her.

"excuse me?!" roman said, giving her a look.

"go to hell!" she said again.

".... i'll save you a seat when I get there baby" roman chuckled, and began to drive again to go back home.

the ride home was silent and tense. both parties were mad and infuriated at each other, didn't even give each other eye contact. roman was still mad at the slap and iman once again berating him about what he does and iman was mad that he killed someone and his constant irrational state of mind. they couldn't stand each other right now, and it was like they were back in the times where they would argue and fight all the time.

they arrived home and roman pulled into the parking garage. roman had decided that he was going to blow some of his anger and steam and go to the warehouse and probably a bar later so he was going to drop iman off and leave. right when iman was about to get out of the car, roman grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. he had a grip on her and the look in his eyes screamed fury. iman was not getting away with that little slap so easily.

"next time you put your hands on me, we're gonna have a problem okay?" he warned, the grip on her wrist getting tighter the more angry he got. iman didn't even care, she just gave him a glare and kept her head high, something that she never really does.

"fuck you" iman said to him, and when she turned around to leave again, roman pulled her down in the seat and grabbed her chin with a firm grip, staring her down in his eyes which were raging at this point. he was full of rage.

"girl don't play with me please..... NEXT TIME YOU PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM! OKAY?!" roman yelled in her face.

"you heard what I said the last time..... FUCK YOU!" iman exclaimed, giving him the finger and getting out of the car. she slammed the door hard and made her way into the penthouse.

roman wanted to break something at this point. iman was playing way too many games with him and it was leaving him furious. he needed a drink, a cigar, shit even some weed. he needed something to ease this anger cause he was livid right now. this whole day was long and exhausting and he was over it. he drove out of the parking garage and started to drive to harlem to the warehouse, he needed an escape and he needed it now.

roman was sitting up in his office very relaxed, with his eyes red and room smelling like reefer. yes, roman was high as hell right now as he just finished smoking a blunt.

"goddamn roman.... you smoking?" jimmy asked him as him and jey walked into the room.

"yes" roman simply said. "and I feel goddamn good too".

"you only smoke when you're irritated to the point of no simple return, what happened?" jimmy wondered.

"not trying to kill my buzz so i'm not telling you" roman told him.

"was it iman?" jey guessed, and roman let out a loud groan.

"there you killing my buzz but yes, it was her" he said.

"damn.... iman making you smoke? the fuck did she do?" jey chuckled.

"for one she fucking slapped me, like she had the audacity to slap me in my face. I swear if she wasn't my wife or a woman....." roman sighed. "and then she started to nag me and tried to berate and attack me for what I did to paul, acting like she's so above me killing even though me killing is why she's living the lifestyle she's been in for years".

"how does she know about paul?!" jimmy asked.

"she "connected the dots" I guess, shit is pointless though" roman said. "connected the dots to berate me cause she would never rat me out".

"and how do you know that for sure? she just might be sick of your ass this time" jey said.

"jey she gets upset anytime she even thinks about something happening to me, whether it's me going to jail or me dying. iman would never be the same if anything bad were to happen to me, she's not gonna fuck up her life by fucking with mine" roman explained.

"damn.... the hold that you have on her is crazy" jey said again. roman just shrugged it off.

"she acts like I was wrong for killing paul anyways, he'd still be alive right now if nobody gassed him up" roman said. "so oh fucking well, he got what he deserved".

"but guys.... you wanna join me in smoking these heyman runtz?".

"you're going to hell man" jimmy chuckled.

"like I told iman earlier, i'll save you a seat when I get there!" roman laughed. "now, would you two like to join in with me in smoking some nice ass weed?".

".... sure, I just gotta wash up before I get in the house. naomi gonna flip if I come in smelling like that shit" jimmy said.

"same" jey added, and the twins sat down so they can roll up blunts and smoke with their cousin.

meanwhile in buffalo, victor was back after traveling to manhattan for paul's funeral. he was sad at his colleague's death but something that happened at the burial ceremony intrigued him even more. roman, he had a very sneaky suspicion about roman.

because of this suspicion, victor sent someone out to do some digging yet again. he sent someone to stalk, and despite what happened the last time victor sent someone to stalk roman, he still sent someone. however, this person was able to get some information, some good info at that.

remember iman and roman's argument in the car? victor's guy was walking past where roman parked his car while they were arguing and he heard a certain part, specifically the part where iman was talking about how she knew roman killed paul, listing down everything. his guy heard it and reported right back.

now victor was livid. roman's always talking about how people fuck with his business and money and yet here he was, doing it by killing the man that he was about to open a strip club with and expand business with. now the same way roman would get his "revenge" by getting those that fuck with him, victor would have to do the same. the only difference is that he wasn't gonna be as quick and irrational with it like roman is.

victor was a strategic man, and everything that he did was for a reason. everything that he planned was for a reason, so in order to get his revenge he would have to plan this out the best way he could.

this revenge was about to be the sweetest one he's ever done, roman won't know what hit him. if he ever even knows....

after spending some hours smoking and drinking with jimmy and jey, roman went back home. when he walked through the door, iman and julianne were in the kitchen as iman was finishing up eating her dinner. once they realized that roman was in the kitchen, iman gave him a dirty look. she also got up to put her plate in the sink and leave the kitchen, wanting nothing to do with roman.

"you're not gonna have any ice cream anymore?" julianne asked iman.

"just lost my appetite" iman said, glaring at roman and walking out of the kitchen.

"right when I come home from having a nice buzz, here she go ruining it" roman scoffed.

"she's not happy with you roman" julianne sighed.

"boo fucking hoo, she's mad cause I told her the truth" he groaned.

"well can you try to make her feel better? she's your wife, y'all can't be living like that being nasty towards each other" julianne told him.

"she's the one that came at me first, putting her hands on me at that. she's always trying to make it seem like i'm wrong in everything despite the fact that she benefits off of everything. i'm sure me doing what I do wasn't a problem when I was buying her cars and purses now was it?" roman ranted.

"take out an extra pillow and blanket for me, i'll stay on the sofa tonight".

"really...." julianne sighed.

"don't question it just do what I just asked for you to do!" he exclaimed, and julianne rolled her eyes and proceeded to go to the closet to take roman out a comforter and a pillow so he can sleep on the sofa.

he went into the bedroom to take out pajamas to sleep in. he didn't make eye contact with iman at all and she didn't do the same. he then went into the bathroom to take a shower and change and left as soon as he was done, once again not speaking to his wife.

this wasn't the first time that they've been mad at each other like this, it used to constantly happen months ago but for some reason this time was a bit different. roman didn't even want to fuck her out of her feelings which was usually his go to, he was pissed at her and she was pissed at him. they both hurt each other in a way and considering that both of them are stubborn, who knows when they'll be on good terms again.

hopefully it's soon, because if not.... things are going to be changed forever.