A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER #2
Candy's heart immediately dropped. Now where is this nigga going?
The sight of his vehicle erased every thought of going home. Without hesitation, she eased her car into traffic and fell in behind him. She made sure to keep enough distance between them so he wouldn't notice her, but she never allowed him to leave her view.
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as she followed him through several intersections. The farther he drove, the harder her heart pounded. She desperately wanted to believe she was overreacting. She wanted to believe there was a logical explanation for everything.
Unfortunately, her intuition wasn't buying it.
And his words on that call didn’t help.
A few minutes later, Monty turned into one of Augusta's newer developments located only a short distance from Bank's Realty.
The upscale community sat along the edge of the lake, lined with luxury condominiums, manicured landscaping, decorative streetlamps, and the kind of quiet that came with expensive mortgages and gated entrances.
Candy's grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
Monty continued through the entrance without hesitation.
She immediately slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder just outside the gate, keeping enough distance between them to avoid being noticed.
There was only one way into the neighborhood and one way out.
If Monty left, she would see him.
She checked the time and told herself she would wait ten minutes.
Eight minutes was all she lasted.
Every second that passed felt like torture. Her imagination was running wild, and sitting there wasn't helping. Finally, she drove into the neighborhood.
It didn't take long for her to spot Monty's Tahoe.
The oversized twenty-six-inch rims practically gave it away.
Her stomach immediately sank.
As she looked toward the driveway, another vehicle caught her attention.
Something about it seemed familiar, but her nerves were so bad that she couldn't place it.
Her pulse was pounding loudly in her ears, making it difficult to focus on anything other than the fact that Monty's truck was parked outside of an expensive condo that she knew nothing about.
Candy parked across the street and stared at the home. Her hands trembled as she debated what to do next. For a brief moment, she considered calling him. She even pulled out her phone and dialed his number.
The call rang once.
Then she hung up.
"No," she said while shaking her head. "Fuck that."
Calling him would only give him time to prepare a lie. It would give him time to come outside with an excuse already prepared. If she wanted the truth, she needed to catch him off guard.
Candy got out of the car and slowly made her way toward the house. Every step felt heavier than the last. By the time she reached the front door, her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Then she froze.
Completely froze.
Candy's eyes widened as realization suddenly crashed into her.
The car parked beside Monty's Tahoe wasn't unfamiliar at all.
In fact, she knew exactly where she had seen it before.
It was the same damn car she'd seen sitting outside Bank's Realty the day she caught Monty alone in his office with Zuri.
The air rushed from her lungs, and her knees nearly buckled beneath her weight. For several seconds she stood frozen on the sidewalk, unable to move as her mind struggled to process what was right in front of her.
The tears she'd been fighting finally spilled over because every excuse she'd made for Monty instantly fell apart. Every benefit of the doubt she'd given him and every ounce of trust she'd desperately tried to hold onto shattered right there in that moment.
He wasn't meeting with a client. He wasn't handling business. He wasn't showing a property or working a deal. He was standing inside another bitch's house, and not just any bitch.
He was inside Zuri's house. The same bird who had been a problem in their relationship for months. The same chicken who always seemed to be lingering somewhere in the background whenever Monty started acting funny.
A wave of heartbreak swept through Candy so violently that it almost knocked the breath out of her again. However, the sadness didn't gloom for long. It quickly transformed into something hotter and far more dangerous.
Anger surged through her body, replacing the hurt with a rage so intense that she could barely think straight.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Candy knocked on the door. When nobody answered, she immediately pressed the doorbell and waited. The chime sounded inside, but still no one came to the door.
Candy's breathing became heavier with every passing second, as humiliation continued to build inside her. When the door remained closed, she slammed her fist against it again, this time hard enough to make the frame rattle.
"Open this fucking door!" she screamed.
She pounded again and then again, refusing to stop. At this point, she didn't care what explanation Monty had or what lie he planned to tell. The only thing she knew for certain was that she wasn't leaving until somebody answered that damn door.
A COUPLE MINUTES EARLIER
Monty glanced over at Zuri from his spot on the sofa when the doorbell rang for what felt like the third time in less than a minute.
"I thought your sister changed her mind about coming over," he said.
Zuri rolled her eyes as she stood up. "She did. Unless whoever she had over there left as fast as they came."
The doorbell rang again.
Then came another series of hard knocks.
Monty frowned. "Damn, sound like she’s mad.”
“If she is it’s definitely because you’re here.”
He shrugged with a shake of his head. “You ain’t puttin’ on no clothes first?”
Zuri laughed as she headed toward the front door wearing nothing but one of Monty's oversized work shirts, the cursive Banks Realty logo stretched across the front, with a pair of panties underneath.
“Please, I’m grown," she tossed over her shoulder. "That's my sister. She done seen me naked before.”
Another knock rattled the door.
Louder this time.
More impatient.
More aggressive.
Zuri frowned.
“I know you fuckin’ lyin! Dream, you done lost your damn mind!" Zuri yelled.
She unlocked the door and pulled it open.
The moment she did, both women froze.
Candy stood on the porch. Just seconds ago, she'd been fueled by anger, determination, and a thousand questions she intended to ask.
Now she couldn't seem to find a single one. Her eyes dropped to the shirt.
Banks Realty.
Candy knew that shirt.
Monty had only had a handful of them made for him, Rico and Maurice.
But seeing Zuri wearing it like it belonged to her—hit differently.
A lot differently.
Across the doorway, Zuri stared back at her.
For the first time since this whole thing started, neither woman looked away.
Neither woman needed an explanation.
The answer was standing right there between them.
The silence stretched.
Long.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then Zuri swallowed and stepped back slightly.
Without taking her eyes off Candy, she called into the house.
"Monty."
The sound of his name seemed to settle over the porch.
"Somebody here to see you."
From deeper inside the condo, Candy heard movement.
Her pulse didn't speed up. If anything, it slowed. Everything slowed.
Then Monty appeared.
At first, he couldn't see around Zuri.
Then she moved.
And everything changed.
The second his eyes landed on Candy; all the color drained from his face.
Just gone.
Like somebody had pulled the plug on him.
Candy watched it happen. Watched the realization hit him. Watched the panic. Watched the guilt. Watched him understand exactly what she was seeing.
And in that moment, she didn't need a confession, because innocent men didn't look like that.
Monty's mouth parted slightly like he wanted to say something. But whatever words he went looking for never made it out.
Smack!
Candy’s hand connected with his face so hard the sound cracked across the porch.
Monty's head snapped sideways. Before he could recover, she hit him again.
Then again.
"Damn!"
The shout finally broke the silence.
But by then it was already too late.
He immediately reached for her wrists.
Candy had completely lost control.
Every emotion she had buried, ignored, and attempted to rationalize suddenly surfaced as she continued swinging on Monty with everything she had.
He stumbled backward into the house while trying to shield himself from the blows, but Candy remained attached to his shirt as though she intended to tear him apart with her bare hands.
"Baby, please!" Monty shouted as he tried to stop her. "Please calm down!"
"Calm down?!" Candy screamed through tears. "You got me fucked up!"
She landed another slap across his face before striking him again.
"You lyin’ ass nigga!"
Wap!
"You cheating ass nigga!"
Smack! Wap!
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she continued attacking him. The pain was overwhelming. The betrayal was overwhelming. At that moment, violence felt like the only language her broken heart knew how to speak.
Realizing the situation was quickly spiraling out of control, Zuri rushed forward and grabbed Monty's arm in an attempt to pull him farther inside the house.
Unfortunately, her involvement only made things worse.
As Candy swung again, her fist connected squarely with Zuri's face.
The room instantly fell silent.
For one dangerous moment.
Zuri slowly turned her head before looking directly at Candy. The expression on her face immediately changed.
"You bitch."
Candy wiped at her tears and stepped forward without hesitation.
"And what?"
Before Monty could react, Zuri threw a punch.
From that point forward, all hell broke loose.
The two women collided in the middle of the living room as months of hostility finally erupted into a full-blown fight.
Fists flew, hair was pulled, and furniture shifted across the floor as neither women showed any interest in backing down.
Everything they had been holding inside finally came pouring out.