Chapter 3
Three
Getting cheated on by a woman he professed his love to before God, his family, and friends was one of the most humiliating things Shyriq could’ve endured.
He wasn’t sure back then what may have caused Xena to stray, but as of right now, he didn’t care.
She made it her weekly duty to get on his nerves now that they weren’t together.
Shyriq would somewhat understand her need to piss him off had he been the one to ruin their marriage, but that wasn’t the case.
He figured since she cheated that she wanted nothing to do with him, yet she showed him more attention now than she had when they were a couple.
“Xena, I’m giving you another minute of my time on this phone and then hanging up,” Shyriq said.
She huffed into the receiver. “Well, look at that. An extra minute of your precious time. That’s more than I could’ve ever gotten when you still treated me like I was your wife.”
That was a lie, but Shyriq didn’t call her out. If he had, it would only turn into an argument. That’s all Xena wanted to do now, and he couldn’t help but wonder if her argumentative nature had always been hidden.
“Yeah, well, you forfeited that title. Now, get to the point of your call. Should my lawyer be on the line as well?”
He was pushing her buttons. Calling Dennis would’ve been doing too much, but he wasn’t above it.
“It’s not that serious. Had you agreed to give me spousal support from the jump, Dennis wouldn’t have had to get involved more than he has,” Xena explained.
“I should be the one asking for spousal support. You cheated on me, remember?”
Xena sighed as if she were annoyed with him stating facts.
For the life of him, Shyriq couldn’t understand how her brain worked.
Before they separated seven months ago, Xena wanted for nothing.
Shyriq had been raised to be a provider, and that’s exactly what he was during their five years of marriage and two years of dating.
She’d been with him before he reached millionaire status and long enough that Shyriq thought he knew her.
But she had become someone else and he didn’t want to believe it until it was right in his face.
A man of his caliber knew women wanted to be in his world.
They flocked to him because of his name and wealth, even with a woman carrying his last name.
When conversations about Xena supposedly being out of town with another man were brought to Shyriq through his assistant from a female employee, he didn’t feed into the gossip. Office talk and being in people’s business were beneath him. Yet, the whispers never stopped.
Xena was bold with her adultery, never once thinking Shyriq would find out and file for a divorce.
She was wrong. She immediately became defensive when he approached her about the spontaneous trips she claimed to be taking with her girls.
Shyriq understood why, giving her the benefit of the doubt because she was his wife.
His decision to leave her wasn’t set in stone .
. . until he went through her phone. Shyriq had never been an insecure man, nor would there be a day when he’d be a dumb one.
He felt that going through a woman’s phone, especially his wife’s, was an invasion of privacy, but he had to know.
Xena hadn’t even been discreet about her affair.
She left evidence in plain sight for Shyriq to see, and to this day, her excuse for stepping out on him didn’t make sense.
“You don’t have to keep reminding me, Riq,” she groaned.
Hearing the pet name she used to lovingly call him made his neck hot and his nostrils flare.
“I do because you somehow still believe that what you used to mean to me holds weight. It doesn’t,” he said uncaringly.
Xena dramatically gasped. “You’ve turned colder than you were during our marriage. And you have the nerve to wonder why I stepped out? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you were the problem?”
Shyriq almost laughed. “It hadn’t, but maybe I was. Does me taking accountability for your whorish ways make you feel any better?”
“Fuck you, Shyriq!”
“You weren’t, and that’s how we got here. Have a better day, Xena,” he replied and chuckled before hearing three beeps in his ear.
Sighing heavily, Shyriq rested his head against the driver’s seat headrest. He’d been parked outside his parents’ home long enough, and he knew his mama would be coming out to check on him any moment.
Getting into an argument with Xena always dampened his mood so much that he couldn’t quite shake it yet.
Then she had the nerve to accuse him of being the problem.
Shyriq shook his head at that and climbed out.
Entering his parents’ home, he navigated toward the sunroom where he knew they’d be. Immediately, Shyriq smelled the alluring aroma of ribs on the grill. He’d come over just in time.
“What’s going on, Mama? You out here keeping your man company?” Shyriq teased her.
Joyce smirked and tilted her head back to receive a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, baby. You know it. Where are you coming from?”
“A few meetings. Making sure production is running smoothly.”
“You know that’s what you have managers for, right?” Joyce asked.
Shyriq chuckled. He knew what she was getting at before she said it.
Glancing her way, he admired his mother’s beauty. She’d aged gracefully over the years, and her clear mahogany skin was a sure sign of no stress. Retirement came early for Joyce and her husband, who were now enjoying the fruits of their labor.
“Yes, I know, but I’m always going to be hands-on with production,” Shyriq explained.
“Just like your father.”
It was the truth. Had Kenny not injured himself right before handing part ownership over to Shyriq, he’d just be getting out of meetings as well.
There was always work to be done, and staying in the know kept the business thriving.
Kenny entered the screen door with an aluminum tray filled with barbecued ribs, brats, and turkey burgers. He placed the food under the warmer.
“What’s going on, son?” Kenny asked as they embraced.
“Not much. Came to see what y’all were up to.”
Kenny washed his hands at the sink and poured them two fingers of their signature whiskey.
“That’s all? You look stressed out,” he said as their heads dipped before guzzling the amber liquid.
Shyriq licked his lips. “It’s that obvious?”
“I didn’t want to say anything,” Joyce said, standing up. “Let me guess . . . It’s that wife of yours.”
“Soon-to-be ex-wife,” Shyriq said sternly. “She’s a crippling pain in my side.”
Kenny chuckled. “Would’ve been cheaper to keep her, huh?”
“Absolutely not,” Joyce voiced before her son could answer the question.
He ran a hand over his thickly waved hair and sighed. “She wants spousal support, and at this rate, I’m just going to give it to her or call this entire divorce thing off.”
“Oh no, you’re not,” Joyce fussed as she made her plate. “You’re willing to give up your sanity and money rather than fight this thing out? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“I’m tired of dealing with her, Mama. I’d understand if we had kids together, but we don’t, and she’s on me like I owe her.”
“And yet, you’re about to give in because you can’t take a little pressure,” she said, shaking her head.
Shyriq heard what she was saying but didn’t have a rebuttal.
Although Xena cheated, Shyriq didn’t lash out at her, threaten to hurt her, or any of the callous behavior one would expect from a wounded man.
His ego was bruised, of course. Outside of his slick remarks, Shyriq was still the perfect gentleman when he didn’t have to be.
Joyce was glad to know she and Kenny raised a great man, but he needed to put his foot down.
“Do y’all think I was a good husband?” Shyriq asked.
Somewhere between the time he got off the phone with Xena and making it inside their home, he found himself needing validation. Joyce didn’t want to be the one to speak first, feeling as though she’d spoken her mind enough, so she gave the floor to Kenny.
He cleared his throat. “Every marriage has room for improvement, son. I believe you were a damn good husband and a provider, but only you two know what went on in your home.”
“You’re making it sound like I did something to make Xena cheat,” Shyriq said.
Kenny shook his head. “I’m not saying that at all. I am saying that whatever Xena did was because she wanted to do it. You didn’t force her to step out, but she may have held some things in. Did she say something crazier?”
Shyriq didn’t want to tell them how she accused him of being a shitty, unavailable spouse, which made it okay for her to mess around.
“Nah. I was just wondering. Almost ten years of my life wasted.” He shook his head.
“Nothing in life is a waste, son. Situations end, and life continues. Maybe Xena wasn’t the woman for you,” Kenny said, licking BBQ sauce from the corner of his mouth.
Maybe she wasn’t, and every day, Shyriq wondered if not her, then who?
“You also wouldn’t look so stressed if you went out and enjoyed yourself. Get from behind that desk and interact with folks outside of work,” Joyce suggested. “Maybe you’ll meet a nice woman who appreciates you.”
Shyriq smirked. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”
She smiled. “Only if you do. Your father and I want to see you happy. A marriage ending doesn’t mean your life does too. You’re more than just a husband. Remember that.”
He nodded. Going out didn’t sound too bad. The thing was, Shyriq never went out unless he was invited somewhere, so he didn’t have the first clue of where to go to enjoy himself.
Was this how the single lifestyle would be?