22. Kim
KIM
Ishould’ve hated Deuce after everything he said to me and the way he grabbed me.
The way he stood in my living room and basically told me I was good enough to be the mother of his kids but not good enough to love, hurt me to the core.
But yet and still I spent the next couple weeks checking my phone like a damn fool.
Waiting and hoping while making excuses. Every day that passed without hearing from him made me angrier. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized Deuce had played in my face.
He knew how I felt about him. He knew I wanted a family and that selfish bastard used every bit of it when it benefited him. Then tossed me to the side like yesterday’s trash. I was sitting inside my condo scrolling social media when I saw a post on Alisha’s Instagram.
At first, I almost kept scrolling, then something caught my eye.
A pregnant woman standing in front of a balloon arch on a flyer.
I backed up and looked again, and it was Shante.
The flyer looked professionally done with pink and blue colors.
bottles. My eyes moved across the flyer then landed on the words.
Baby Shower Honoring Shante Carter & Her Twins.
How the hell did they go plan a whole baby shower and not invite me? That shit irritated me because nobody told me anything. I zoomed in on the flyer and then I zoomed in again. There Shante was smiling and holding her stomach looking happy and loved.
Meanwhile I was sitting alone trying to piece together information about children that belonged to me. The flyer said the event was being hosted by Alisha, which made me sit straight up. I stared at the screen then looked closer and the location was listed.
“Oh.” A slow smile spread across my face. “Oh okay.”
If they wanted to keep me out of the loop, fine I’ll put my damn self back in it. I called Deuce and it went straight to voicemail. I called again and got the voicemail again. I threw my phone across the couch.
“Motherfucker.”
The fact he was still ignoring me only made me more determined. Because at this point it wasn’t even about love anymore, it was about respect. And I was tired of being treated like I didn’t matter.
I opened our text thread and the messages looked pathetic.
Mostly because they were, every damn one came from me.
Can we talk? Please call me, I miss you.
Can we meet? Are you okay? Not one response.
Looking at it laid out like that made me realize something I looked desperate.
And I hated looking desperate, especially over a man.
The more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got. Because while I was sitting around crying over him, everybody else was moving forward.
Meanwhile I was being treated like some crazy stalker. When none of this would’ve happened if Deuce would’ve kept his damn pants zipped. I stood up and walked toward my bedroom. If they wanted to play family, fine let’s play family.
Three hours later I looked in the mirror hair perfect, makeup flawless.
I wore a black bodycon dress and diamond earrings.
Expensive perfume and enough attitude to burn the entire city down.
I placed an order from Walmart home delivery while I got dressed and it arrived right on time.
I had so much stuff that I had to use two huge gift bags, one pink and one blue.
If I was about to blow up their little celebration, I was gone do it in style.
I grabbed the bags and loaded them in my truck and hopped in.
The drive felt longer than it really was.
The closer I got, the harder my heart pounded.
Not from nerves, but from anticipation. I knew exactly what I was about to do.
Part of me knew it was messy, toxic and petty, but I didn't give a damn. By the time I pulled up, cars lined the street. Music blasted outside and people laughed. Living in complete ignorance. I grabbed the gifts and stepped out and headed toward the venue.
The second I walked through the doors, heads started turning. Not all at once but one by one. Then I saw the decorations pink, blue and gold. They were beautiful, too bad I was about to ruin the moment.
Then I saw Shante standing near the center of the room. Her stomach was huge and she was surrounded by her family and friends. Suddenly my jealousy came rushing back because those were my babies, not hers but mine.
Then I spotted Alisha smiling and laughing playing hostess.
My eyes drifted farther and landed on Deuce standing near the back talking to somebody.
The second he saw me his entire face changed.
Good, I wanted him uncomfortable. The same way he’d been making me uncomfortable for months.
Alisha noticed me a few seconds later and immediately her smile disappeared.
She walked toward me slowly. “What are you doing here?”
The room wasn’t quiet yet, but it was getting there. I smiled politely holding up the gift bags. “I brought gifts.”
Her eyebrows pulled together. “For who?”
I looked around the room past the balloons and decorations and past the guests, until my eyes landed directly on Shante. Finally, I looked back at Alisha still smiling and holding those bags.
“For me and Deuce’s twins.”
Everything stopped the music and the conversations.
Shante looked like she had seen a ghost. Alisha blinked several times trying to process what she just heard.
And Deuce looked ready to kill me. I loved every second of it.
Then I shifted my attention directly toward him.
Letting everybody in that room follow my gaze. “Ain’t that right, baby daddy?”
To Be Continued….
Go To Next Page For Author’s Note.