Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Eli
Later that Evening . . .
I couldn’t focus during my recording session.
Apparently, Isaac followed Justin and his baby mama from his burner account.
While Justin claimed he was at his daughter’s party, his baby mama posted a video of her and baby girl traveling and enjoying the day of love together.
I went to her page, and sure enough, there were pictures and videos documenting their trip to New York.
Apparently, Aniya was a theater girlie and wanted to see a play for her birthday.
Her mom decided to set the bar high, taking the five-year-old to see her first Broadway play this weekend.
While I found the gesture cute and loved that Aniya was being treated with experiencing Broadway for her birthday, I couldn’t understand why Justin had lied to me about his plans for tonight, unless he was up to no good.
As I drove home, I decided to call him and give him a chance to come clean.
If he didn’t, I was going to pull up on him and break up with him in person.
It took what felt like forever before Justin answered the phone with, “Hey, bae. You good?”
“Hey. Yeah, I’m good. Where you at?”
Justin cleared his throat and didn’t respond right away. “Still at work, bae. I got about another hour before I leave to get Aniya and take her shopping before the party.”
Holding my chuckle in, I shook my head and sighed.
“Can I come see you real quick? It’s Valentine’s Day. It feels weird not seeing you at all.”
“Uh . . . I-I . . . How about I come see you at the studio after I leave? I don’t have your gifts here with me, but I can grab them and bring them to you.”
As I turned onto my street, the sight of Justin’s car in my driveway caught me off guard. Instantly, I felt horrible for losing faith in him. Clearly, he was trying to surprise me.
“Actually, whatever you had planned is fine, babe,” I surrendered, pulling into the driveway.
“You sure? You can wait until tomorrow?”
Giggling, I nodded and parked. “Yes. I can wait. Enjoy your time with Aniya.”
“I love you, L. Thank you for being so understanding.”
“I love you too.”
I was so excited, I disconnected the call, cut my car off, and quickly made my way to the front door.
Since I didn’t want him to know I was early, I decided not to go through the garage.
A part of me wanted to wait and see what he was up to when it was ready, but I’d told him it would be another three or four hours before I left the studio, and I couldn’t wait that long.
Even if all I saw was what he was setting up right now, that was more than okay with me.
I quietly made my way down the hall, and the sound of Natasha laughing and moaning had my feet freezing like they were being surrounded by concrete.
My head jerked and tilted, refusing to believe what I was hearing.
We were supposed to be celebrating Galentine’s Day since she was single, and seeing as there was only one car in the driveway, I refused to believe she was entertaining a man.
If she was, he would have had to park in the driveway next to her car, because I refused to believe she was with my man.
Rounding the corner, I gasped and covered my mouth.
Eyes widening, they focused on the sight before me—Natasha smiling and moaning in ecstasy, head tossed back while Justin made his way between her legs .
. . toward her pussy. The second his mouth latched around her, I growled.
Tossing my bag and phone down, I charged toward the bed.
I wasn’t dumb enough to believe I could fight Justin, regardless of how many boxing lessons my father made me take.
I did, however, plan to beat Natasha’s ass.
She shrieked and hopped out of bed, knowing exactly what I was capable of.
While I was shy, kind, and usually the type to steer clear of drama, this kind of betrayal and disrespect demanded a reaction, and I was going to give it to both of them.
First, by beating up the bitch who thought it was smart to sleep with my man, in my home, and second, by having that same man beat up by my brother.
I chased her out of the room, down the hall, and outside, not giving a fuck that she was naked. She stumbled on a rock, slowing down enough for me to grab her hair and toss her across the driveway. Staggering, Natasha stood and lifted her hands in surrender, but that did nothing to sway me.
“Please, Eli!” She sobbed, but those crocodile tears only made me laugh. They were just as fake as she was.
“How long?” I asked, squaring up and circling her while Justin rushed outside behind us. He’d taken the time to slip into his boxers and shoes.
“Eli, plea—”
“How long!” I yelled, popping her in the center of her face.
Not sure why I asked her a question because I knew the chance of her being able to respond would be extremely low.
Not bothering to wait, I hit her again, and she crumbled onto the concrete.
Before I could kick her in her face, Justin grabbed my arm and yanked.
“Get the fuck off me!” I roared, punching him in his nose and neck.
“Argh!” he yelled, grabbing both and stumbling back.
Straddling Natasha, I punched her six more times before Justin had regained himself and picked me up.
He carried me to my car and put me inside before carrying an unconscious Natasha into the house.
It took a lot to get me mad, but when I was mad, it took even more to calm me down.
I hopped out of the car, prepared to go and do more damage, when I realized a few of our neighbors were outside recording me.
That was the only thing that started to calm me down.
Regardless of how much I didn’t want to be famous, . . . I was. I had a reputation—a brand. I was a lover girl. What would my fans think if they saw me beating the hell out of my best friend, regardless of the reason?
My chest heaved as I stared at them, unable to move.
“Get in the car,” Justin commanded through gritted teeth, shoving me toward the car. “I fucked up. We fucked up, but don’t let us fuck your career up. Go somewhere and calm down, Eli. We’ll talk later.”
He leaned forward and started my car, then tossed my purse onto the passenger seat.
For a while, all I could do was stare at him.
While a part of me wanted to appreciate him caring about my image and career, the other part of me couldn’t get the image of him eating Natasha’s pussy out of my head.
Before I could stop myself, I smacked him three times and tried to hop out of the car, not realizing he’d fastened my seat belt around me.
With a cocky smile, Justin took steps back as his mouth started to bleed. He pointed toward me, as if there was more he wanted to do or say, then walked away.
With haste, I reversed and pulled out of the driveway.
For a second, I had no clear destination in mind as I drove with tears pouring from my eyes.
Then, it hit me. There was only one person who could make this day better—my brother.
I made my way to his home and planned to stay there.
He was coming home tomorrow, and the day couldn’t end fast enough.
My heart was pounding out of my chest, and it got to a point where I felt like I could barely breathe. Pulling over on the side of the road, I lifted my hands and placed them on top of my head. As I took in short, choppy breaths, I sobbed.
This could not be my fucking life.