Chapter 16 #3
Cali hung on tightly to Rio’s hand as he helped her out of the car.
Pulling down her bandage dress, she grabbed her purse and followed him inside the lounge.
Rio had planned this elaborate date night that consisted of dinner along the ocean with a five-course meal that had her ready to burst from her dress.
Not wanting the night to end so soon, he drove them to a lounge that had just opened a month prior.
The couple walked inside, hand in hand, as smoke danced in the atmosphere. Rio ushered them toward an open booth and took a seat.
“You look so fucking good, baby.” Rio peered at her with his lustful eyes. “I can’t wait to bend you over later on.”
Cali shuddered at the thought of him entering her.
This feeling was so unfamiliar to her, but she welcomed it, hoping it would never leave.
This time around, Cali felt like a real wife.
One that wanted to invest in her marriage.
The shades that had shielded her eyes were finally snatched away.
She suddenly realized the beauty in Rio.
Removing all the distractions caused her to see that this man before her was her person.
“Thank you.” She blushed. “You look good too.”
Rio donned a white-collar shirt, black slacks, and designer Oxfords. A diamond Cuban link chain rested against his collarbone, and a Breitling watch was on his wrist. The accident seemed to make him look even better.
“Only ‘cause you on my arm.” He smiled. “What you want to drink?”
“I’ll take a Mai Tai.”
“A’ight, I’ll be back.”
Rio slid out the booth and walked over toward the bar.
She smirked at how he was stopped by a man that he knew.
That seemed to be the theme these days. Everyone always came up to him when they were out to say how glad they were that he had made it through.
Cali didn’t mind the interruptions since she appreciated seeing how people loved on him.
Bopping to the music, Cali grabbed her phone from her clutch. Noticing an unknown number text her, she opened it and grimaced immediately.
555-9311: I tried getting over you, Calia, but you stuck in my fucking head.
Her gaze went over toward the bar where Rio was still engaged in his conversation. Cali had done her best to block Braye from her life. She’d restricted his number and even blocked him on her social media accounts. She looked at the screen just as another text came through.
555-9311: It’s fucked up how you get to ride off in the sunset with that nigga while you left me with a broken heart. You really ain't shit for that.
Cali had gone through the motions of feeling her guilt for the part she played in the demise of her and Braye’s relationship.
She’d virtually pounded herself into a pulp because of her actions.
There was no remedy for Braye. She couldn’t extend anymore apologies because it wouldn’t soothed the broken part of him.
Did she feel bad? Of course, but she had to move on, and she wished he would do the same.
“Here,” Rio said, startling her. “I ain't even have to pay.”
She simpered while sliding her phone inside her bag. “‘Cause you're the hometown hero, right?”
His brows furrowed, making her snicker. “You hating?”
“No, I’m just saying. These people act like you were the president around here.”
“That’s ‘cause I am.” He took a sip of his D’usse. “You wanna dance?”
“Dance?” she repeated. “Babe, you don't dance.”
“You right, I didn’t, but when you almost die, you start doing a lot of shit that you never did.”
Cali ruminated over his words. “Well, since you put it that way, sure.”
Grabbing her hand, Rio helped her out of the booth.
He led them to the middle of the dance floor where the two faced each other.
Cali wrapped her arms around his neck while his hand settled on the top of her ass.
They swayed in perfect sync to Daniel Caesar’s Get You.
The moment was impeccable as they became adrift in each other’s eyes.
Cali wanted more of this intimacy where it increased moment by moment until they were completely filled on each other’s love.
“Can I tell you something that I never told you before?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, she replied, “Sure.”
“When your pops approached me about marrying one of his daughters, I thought I was gon’ marry Enya.”
As soon as Cali’s head jerked back, Rio began laughing.
“How the hell did you think that?”
“Because Doug’s ass said it was her at first. I ain’t gon’ lie, I was salty about that shit ‘cause Enya cool but she wasn’t my type.”
“So, when did you find out it was going to be me?”
“When we met up. You came into the club, and I was relieved like a mothafucka.”
“Is that why you kept asking me if I was the right one?”
Rio chortled. “Yeah, ‘cause Doug’s slow ass said Enya.”
Jokingly, she slapped his shoulder. “Don't talk about my daddy.”
“You know that nigga a lil’ slow… but yeah, you came in, and I was locked in.”
Twisting her lips in doubt, she challenged him, “Then, how come it took so long for us to get on the same page? Do you remember how awkward our first six months of marriage was?”
Initially, their marriage was nothing like it was in the present day. They barely spent any time together and when they did, it was so uneasy that they both avoided each other.
“Well, for me, I felt like you were too good for me. You intimidated me, and I didn’t know how to handle you. So, a nigga had to build up some more confidence to be the man you needed me to be.”
A sudden ache appeared in Cali’s throat. She swallowed hard, hoping her trigger wouldn’t surface on her face. It dawned on her that Rio had been counting himself out during the entire marriage. He never felt like he was good enough for Cali and she didn’t assure him that he was.
She cleared her throat while withholding the emotion that threatened to spill from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
For everything, Rio…
“I just wasn’t that easy going in the beginning. I didn’t want to get married, and I made sure everyone knew it including you.”
“I wasn’t either, baby. You don't gotta apologize. We both made mistakes.”
No, my mistakes are egregious…
“All that matters is that we’re here.” He kissed her lips. “And I love you more now than I’ve ever did. My perspective changed. What I thought was important don't mean shit. The only thing that matters is you, baby.”
Cali wasn’t sure if it was Braye’s text or Rio’s admittance to how their marriage started off rocky, but she felt guilty again.
The feeling had been missing for months, permitting Cali to relax.
However, it was back, and she could barely look Rio in his eyes.
There was love that dwelled inside of his irises.
The kind that she thought she shared with Braye.
Meanwhile, remorse resided in her lenses.
How would she make this up to Rio without him knowing the depths of her sin?
She thought this was a do over, but she wasn’t certain if she would be allowed to part ways with her regret.
“I love you, Calia.”
She had worked so hard to put her heart back together only for his declaration to crack it again.
“I love you, too.” Feeling as if she would cry, Cali took a step back. “I need to use the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”
“A’ight.”
Cali walked over to the booth and grabbed her clutch before making a beeline to the bathroom.
When she entered the stall, she inhaled a deep breath and tipped her head backwards.
She never thought she would be so overwhelmed by Rio’s love, but she felt as if she was drowning.
Literally, grasping for something to hold onto because her guilt kept sinking her further and further in the sea of disgrace.
Cali pulled out her phone and noticed more messages from Braye.
“What the fuck?” she whispered.
555-9311: You need to call me.
Cali was tired of the back and forth. They had gone months without contact and now that he had seen her out with Rio, he wanted to continue harassing her.
Cali: Fuck you and leave me the hell alone!
555-9311: If you don't call, I’ma hit yo’ husband up. Ain't his number 555-3559
Cali gasped when she realized that was Rio’s number. Without giving it much thought, she quickly called him.
“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention,” he taunted her in a voice that made her squirm.
“What the fuck do you want?” she hissed in a low tone.
“Why you tried me like that at the restaurant? You really think I’m some sucka-ass nigga you can toy with, huh?”
“Excuse me? You were the one that came up to my table fucking with me. Don't get mad because I hit your ass where it hurt. You really got some fucking nerve, Braye.”
“I got some nerve?” he repeated. “Yo’ you really be on bullshit, Calia. You fucked me over, remember?”
“Yes, I did. I own up to how I did you, but we have to move on.”
“So, it’s fuck me? You was about to leave that motherfucka before he got put in the hospital. Now all of a sudden, you treating me like me and you ain't make plans. What kind of heartless-ass bitch are you, Calia? How come you just switched up on me like that?”
While Cali struggled with her guilt of playing Rio, she had dealt with the accountability of hurting Braye. She regretted everything about how she had led him on, but she couldn’t dwell on it. Her heart wouldn’t let her when Rio had taken it over.
“I don't know what you want me to say.” It was a shitty thing to say to someone who she had hurt but she was done apologizing to him.
“It’s crazy.” He chuckled. “I went through lengths for us to be together and that shit blew up in my face. I don't know why my dumb ass thought you would really choose me.”
“What lengths?” she snarled. “I had more to lose than you and if you're talking about that girl you were seeing, then she don't count. If she did, you wouldn’t be on my line begging me to call you.”
He snorted a chuckle. “You talking big shit… at first, I regretted what I did but now I don't. All I wish is that that nigga would’ve died so you can feel how I feel.”
Cali’s mouth parted while his words processed inside her mind. “What you did? What are you talking about?”
“You ever wondered how he got into the accident? Well…I cut that nigga brake line.”
Cali’s eyes centered into the stall as she stood frozen. After a few moments of ruminating on Braye’s confession, her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the scream that was set to blare. Words had escaped her. The only sounds she heard was her elevated heart rate and drowned out music.
“Calia?” he called her name.
But Cali was speechless. Stunned to silence. She held her breath, hoping Braye would say it was a prank. Somehow, she wished that her mind was playing tricks on her and that she had traveled to the land of imagination.
“Calia?”
“Braye…” She gulped, trying to find her bearings. “Am I trippin’? You didn’t just say that, right?”
“No, you ain't trippin’.”
“I have to be.” She shook her head, pacing back and forth inside the small stall. “What you just said ain't real.”
“I did it for us.”
“Are you fucking stupid?” she gritted between clenched teeth. Cali’s reality was confirmed. His words had processed completely. Braye had done something preposterous. An act that she could never forgive.
“You said you wanted to be with me, so I made that shit happen.”
“By trying to kill my fucking husband? You think I wanted him dead, you got damn idiot?”
“No, but I wanted him gone for good. I knew your ass was cappin’ about wanting me. You had been taking your precious time leaving him, so I helped you get rid of him.”
“No, what you did was draw me closer to him,” she hissed. “Now look at your pathetic, stupid ass. You over there heartbroken while I’m basking in love.”
There was no more sparing Braye. Cali had to give it to him raw with no chaser. He would never hear another endearing word from her.
“Bitch, ain't shit blissful about that weak-ass marriage. You the one who said you weren’t happy with him. Don't try to put up this front now.”
What Braye wasn’t aware of was how he had pulled Cali and Rio closer.
With Rio being on the verge of death, Braye was unknowingly able to eliminate himself.
Life had a way of snatching the blinders off and that’s what happened to Cali.
She was able to see how much love she and Rio possessed without her infidelity in the way.
“You're definitely going to jail!”
“Yeah, I doubt it. Me getting locked up would mean I would have to expose our affair. I know you ain't ready for that man to learn how much of a hoe you truly are.”
Cali covered her eyes, not realizing his exposure would mean hers too.
Rio couldn’t find this out. None of it. She had to hide this part of her life from him since she didn’t know what he was capable of doing.
Cheating and putting him in harm’s way would be an unforgivable offense.
She would never be able to come back from that.
“Fuck you and never call my phone again!”
Cali ended the call and immediately dropped to the floor.
Tears leaked from her eyes as she pondered the mess that surrounded her.
Deceit, corruption, and attempted murder were chaos she wouldn’t be able to clean up.
This kind of job would require more than an apology.
Rio would want to see blood. Blood for blood was his motto.
She would quickly transform from his doting wife to his number one enemy.
Cali wept for a few minutes until she remembered she was inside the bathroom at the lounge.
She had taken too much time away and figured Rio would come looking for her.
Escaping the stall, she walked over to the mirror and noticed her smeared eye liner.
Swiftly, she grabbed a paper towel and cleaned her face up before exiting the bathroom.
Just like she figured, Rio was at the end of the hallway, waiting for her.
“You good?”
“No, I think that food at the restaurant messed with my stomach. Can we go home?”
He nodded, showing concern with his deep stare. “Yeah, I got you. Let’s go.”
Cali refused to carry on as if she didn’t learn her ex-lover tried to kill her husband. She wasn’t up for that kind of role playing and needed to go wallow in her regret to ever engage with Braye.