Chapter 59 Vincent
Vincent
Two days after Shemari evicted all my shit, I’m laid up at the Four Seasons trying to figure out my next move.
Benny’s words keep echoing in my head to the point where I’m starting to wonder if I fucked up.
I was lost. I didn’t think I’d even be coming home.
The only other person there to cling to, the only other person alive, was Ari, and we just so happened to give in to the attraction.
If that’s cheating, okay, I’ll take that L, but I legit didn’t see it like that.
I wasn’t trying to be sneaky. I was trying to fuckin’ survive.
That’s what I told myself, anyway.
Maybe it was always a lie.
My phone buzzes.
It’s Shemari calling.
Again.
I ignore it. Again.
Then I get a text from Ari.
My angel
Will you please tell your fiancée to leave me the fuck alone?
I sit straight up and grab the remote to turn the game off. I call Ari, but she sends me straight to voicemail.
Fuck.
Now I gotta call Shemari.
“Oh, now you wanna call me,” is her greeting.
“Yeah. What’s goin’ on?”
“Did she call you?”
I scrub a hand down my face. “What’s goin’ on, Mari? Fuck did you do?”
“I told the bitch the truth, that’s what I did.”
I sigh through my nose, shaking my head at the bullshit. “Lemme ask you something.”
“What?”
“Do you actually love me?”
She pauses, and it’s quiet long enough to give me my answer. Then she says, “I’m wearing your ring, ain’t I?”
“That don’t answer my question.”
“Bae, I love what we have together. And yes, I love you.”
“I don’t know if I believe that," I say. "If you loved me, I doubt you’d be tossing my shit all over the lawn.”
“I was mad.”
“Yeah, and you coulda just told me that instead of throwing a tantrum like a goddamn toddler. You act worse than JR.”
“Fuck you,” she spits. “Cuz last time I checked, you be right there with me actin’ a fool.”
“You right. But maybe I’m over that shit.”
“Nigga, you ain’t over shit. And the fact that we fight like this, that we get so passionate, that just means we love each other real bad.”
I take a deep breath, turning that over in my head. “Or maybe it means we piss each other off.”
“Whatever. Same difference. You don’t get mad when you don’t give a fuck. So that goes back to my original point.”
“Funny you say that. You notice I ain’t yellin’ and cussin’ you out? You notice how I went to a hotel and didn’t say shit to yo ass for two days?”
She’s quiet.
“I’m tired, Mari.” I blow out a heavy sigh. “I been through a lotta shit, and life’s too fuckin’ short to not be happy. I wanna be happy, and I don’t think I can be that with you. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t give a fuck about me,” she spits. “You never did. That’s why you could cheat so easily.”
“I do care about you, Mari. You deserve to be happy, too. You just ain’t gon’ find that with me.”
“But—“
“Think about what you missin’ out on by stayin’ with me for the money. It’s some nigga out there that’ll really love yo ass, that’ll really fuck with you on a deep level, but you ain’t with him cuz you with me. You sellin’ your own self short.”
Still nothing from her side of the phone.
Because she knows I’m right.
“You’ll always be the mother of my son, Mari. You’ll always be special to me for that. And I’m sorry for cheating. I felt like I could rationalize that shit, but if you feel like I cheated, then I must have cheated. So I’m sorry.”
“What happens now?”
“You can keep the house. And the car. And the ring. And we can share custody. I’ll have my lawyer write that shit up, you sign, and boom, we good. Cool?”
“Yeah.”
I sit back against the headboard. “Cool. I wanted to do that first so I wouldn’t make no decisions outta anger.”
“What do you mean?”
“What happens now is you ‘bout to tell me exactly what you did. Tell me in detail how you got Ari’s number, how many times you called her, and exactly what the fuck you said. And don’t leave nothin’ out, cuz if I find out you held back, it’s a whole lotta other shit my lawyer can do. Go.”
I can hear her swallow on the other end of the phone.
“Her whole name is on the blogs. I googled it and got her number from one of those people search sites. I only called her once. She picked right up, and I told her you were mine.”
“Say it to me exactly how you said it to her.”
She sighs. “I just said, ‘stay in your lane, bitch. He’s mine. You just the side bitch. You need to know your role.’”
“And what did she say?”
“Nothing. Bitch is weak.”
My jaws tightens. “Let that be the last fuckin' time, Mari. Ever. I mean that shit.”
A few beats pass before she speaks again. “You honestly think she loves you?”
“Yeah. On that island, I ain’t have shit. She loved me anyway.”
“Bullshit. You had good dick, and obviously, you was givin’ it.”
I chuckle. “Obviously.”
“You’re so fucking selfish,” she spits. “You only give a fuck about yourself.”
I know that’s the pain talking, so I let her cook.
“And you’re way too immature to date a grown ass woman.”
I shrug. “Maybe she brings out the man in me.”
She goes quiet again.
“I’m glad we had this talk,” I say. “We’ll co-parent, you’ll leave Ari the fuck alone, and hopefully you find a nigga that loves you like you deserve.”
“Whatever.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
I hang up, let out a long breath, and stare up at the ceiling. The chaos isn’t over, but I feel like I took a big step forward.
I text Ari.
I took care of it.
For the first time since I’ve been back, I sleep through the night.
I wake up to a million texts and emails.
Bash, my manager, is texting me about doing interviews. It has to be done, I just don’t feel like it right now. She gets ignored.
Sharif’s parents texted me a thank you for taking care of the homegoing. I respond to that one.
A gang of book agents want me to write about my time on the island. They get ignored.
The A&R rep from my label wants to have lunch. Them niggas see dollar signs already. That, too, has to be done, but not today.
Tiana, my attorney, reached out about suing Echelon. I don’t know how I feel about that yet.
And on and on. Everybody pulling. Everybody tugging. Everybody wants a piece.
I set my phone face down and start my day, feeling weighed down and stressed out already, and it ain’t even ten a.m. yet.
Ty texts me right when I’m packing up my shit.
Asst Ty
The Roundtable is talking about you
Wait. That’s kinda notable.
The Roundtable is the most popular podcast out right now. Hell, I been on that shit before. Sarai, Keenan, and Thor are good people.
Still, I’m lowkey nervous.
I go to their channel and see what’s good.
Keenan: “All I’m saying is, okay, if I’m stranded on a deserted fuckin’ island, and there’s a woman on that island who looks good as hell, I’m falling into the pussy sooner or later. Or hell, she ain't even gotta look good, to be honest."
Thor: "Any port in the storm."
Keenan: "Exactly. What man wouldn’t?”
Sarai: “Faithful men wouldn’t!”
Thor: “Well, first of all, black men don’t cheat.”
Sarai: “Here we go.”
Thor: “Second…stop laughing!…second, Villain wasn’t married yet. Matter of fact, he was headed to his bachelor party. In Brazil. That nigga was fuckin’ on somethin’ that weekend. It’s tradition. It’s the American way.”
Keenan: "How is that helping?"
Sarai: "Well, I think it was cheating. I’m sorry. He was engaged. Put it on an island, in the sea, in middle earth, on the fuckin' moon, I don't give a fuck. It's still wrong!"
Keenan: “And I say it wasn’t. It was survival. Thor, what you think?”
Thor: “Same. Real talk, all jokes aside. What that nigga went through was traumatic as fuck. Lost his friends and his family and didn't know if he'd ever come home. That woman held him down on that island. They found love with each other. That shit ain’t cheating, that’s a fuckin’ love story right there. "
Sarai: “You know what? I kinda see where you’re going with that.”
Thor: “Thank you!”
Keenan: “This nigga just brought a tear to my eye.”
Sarai: “Y’all so stupid. Anyway, I wanna let the listeners and viewers weigh in on this. Go to the ‘Gram and hit up our poll so we can decide.”
My fingers move quickly. The post is pinned at the top.
Did Villain Cheat on His Fiancée on the Island?
I vote NO for obvious reasons, then smile as I see the poll results. Seventy-six percent of the listeners voted with me.
America generally can’t vote for shit, but I think they got this one right.
Fuck that other twenty-four percent though.
I pick up my phone and dial my manager. She answers on the first ring.
“Hey, Bash.”
“Hey, baby. What do you need?”
“Call the people. Tell ‘em it’s a go.”