Tessa's P.O.V:
I pull the blanket closer to my face as I watch one of my mom's maids walk around the back garden with Jameson in her arms and Milo following behind her. I hear the door to my guest room open followed by footsteps. I don't say anything when Alexander sits down on the couch as he looks out the window and then back at me.
"Iris and Ryder are with mom." He tells me, making me nod slowly. "Everything alright?" He asks after a long pause, making me nod again. "It's not easy going through a divorce." He says. I close my eyes before I sink down in the leather chair.
Everyone knows about the divorce. It's only rumors yet to the media and fans but everyones talking about it. Our kids know and our family know. All everyone does anymore is talk about the divorce which happened last week, a couple of days after we came back from Greece.
We went to court to settle everything. Nick was my lawyer since he was part of the contract and to my suprise, our mangers let us keep the kids. We both have joint custody to all four of the children. I brought a house only ten minutes away from where Marshalls place is. If it was up to me, I would move back to California but the judge ordered for me to stay here for the kids.
Iris and Ryder are all over the place. They found out about the divorce when Marshall and I had an argument whilst they were asleep. They heard everything and walked in on us so we had to tell them everything.
Alll Marshall and I do is argue. We never get along anymore. He still blames me for the divorce even though I told him a million times that what i'm doing is a good thing. The arguments are driving me insane so I had to get away.
I had to get away from Marshall and all his friend and family who always seem to be at his place. Kim's always there just like Marshall's mom and I can't stand it when they keep asking me and begging me to stay with Marshall. Can't they see that the divorce not only hurting Marshall but me too?
Without telling Marshall, I packed up my bags three nights ago along with the kids bags and flew to California. I couldn't stay at my own place since all it did was remind me of Karla and Chris so i've been staying at my moms. All my brothers have been very supportive even though they don't know the full story.
I wish Karla and Chris were here, I feel like they're the only two people I can talk to now that Marshall and are divorced. I can't even talk to Nicklaus because he flew back to New York. As soon as court was over, he had lunch with the kids and went back home to his wife.
I'm on my own now. Just me now.
"You called Marshall back yet?" Alexander asks, making me shake my head.
"No. I'm going to go crazy if I get into another argument with him." I croak. My throats dry and it's hurting due to all the crying. Alexander nods slowly before he stands up.
"Well come on. Get up." He says.
"I'm too tired, Alex." I mumble.
"Tessa. I am not going to let you sit here all depressed and sad when you have kids to take care off." He pulls the blanket off me. "Come on, get up." He says, making me shake my head. I watch him as he sighs and crutches down infront of me.
"I get it, Tess. It's hard for you and it was for me too." He shrugs. "You can't just sit here all depressed for the rest of your life. You gotta move on. You can't let your kids see you like this." He says. "Come on, get up." He offers me his hand.
I slowly place my feet onto the furry carpet before I stand up. I walk past Alexander and towards the king sized bed. I hear him let out a sigh when I crawl under the duvet and pull it over my head. He curses under his breath in Spanish before he walks out of the room, making me close my eyes slowly.
***
I quickly close my eyes when the door to the spare bedroom opens. Milo and Jameson are sleeping right next to me and Ryder and Iris would never wake up this early, espically on Saturday so I know it's one of my brothers who's come here to try to 'motivate me to get out of this slump' as they would say.
"Tess. Get up." Leonardo nudges me. "Come on, up. There's someone on the phone." He adds.
"Tell them i'm asleep." I mumble.
"Well you're not so get up." He says, making me sigh.
"Lie to them then." I shrug.
"I don't lie." He says, making me roll my eyes before I sit up and snatch the phone off him.
"You're a fucking lawyer. Lying is your job." I hiss, making him chuckle lightly.
"Watch your tone otherwise I will carve that tongue out and feed it to the guard dog." He says as he points at me. I ignore him and sink down in bed before I place the phone next to my ear.
"Tessa Black." I mumble into the phone.
"Good Morning, It's Louie." Nick's friend says, making me roll my eyes. Nick was my lawyer, he helped me with the divorce. We didn't talk much but he had his little minion besides me who would tell me whatever Nick would tell him to say.
"Louie. Hi." I sigh lightly.
"I didn't wake you up did I?" He asks. Cut to chit-chat, Louie. "Only, I tried the number you gave me but there was no answer so Nick gave me this number." He explains.
"No not at all." I say. I look back at Leonardo who's listening to every word i'm saying. "I'm not 14 anymore. A little bit of privacy would be nice." I say.
"No chance. I'm on Tessa duty today." He says as he takes a seat in the rocking chair by the bed.
"I'm aware that you and the children are not in Detroit anymore, Mrs Mathers." He says, making me talk over him.
"Miss not Mrs. It's back Miss Black again." I say, making him clear his throat.
"Right, Miss Black." He corrects himself. "Mr Mathers has got in touch with his lawyer, Miss Black." He says.
"Well his manager is also his lawyer. They talk everyday." I shrug.
"Yes but....It's regarding the kids being away from home for more than a week." He states.
"They're with me." I state.
"Yes but...They're kids. We want them to be safe-" He starts, making me talk over him.
"My kids are perfectly safe with me!" I say, getting irrtated by the second. "I would never put them in any kind of harm!" I raise my voice slightly.
"Yes but your unstable. It's unsafe for the kids to be alone with you in your condition and-" Louis carries on but gets cut off by Nicklaus.
"Oh for fuck sakes!" I hear Nick snap before the phone gets passed around. "Hello? Tessa?" Nick says. Wow, first time he's spoken in to me in what feels like fucking years.
"Nick." I say, making Leonardo glance at me and back at the window.
"Go back to Detroit." He orders, making me sit up.
"No." I scouff.
Who does he think he is talking to me like that?
"Go home, Tessa. Go back to Detroit and take the fucking kids with you." He says, making me shake my head lightly.
"I already said no." I say.
"Quit acting like a damn child. This is kidnapping." He says.
"It's not when they're my kids!" I snap.
"Yes but you have joint custody with Marshall. Do you know what joint custody means or do you want me to pull out a fucking dictionary?" He raises his voice, making me curse at him under my breath. "If Marshall goes back to court then you can say goodbye to all four of your children." He adds.
"Marshall would never take them away from him." I state.
"But Paul will." Nick says quickly. "You still have the contract between you. It's not over yet." He adds.
"I just needed a break. Away from Marshall." I lean back into my bed. I hear him exhale slowly before he nods slowly.
"I know but you gotta take them back, Tessa. They're his kids too. If you don't take them back by tomorrow, you might just lose custody of them." He says. "You know what to do." He adds before he hangs up the phone. I let out a heavy sigh as I place the phone on the bedside table.
"What's up?" Leonardo asks.
"I have to go back to Detroit." I state. "Could you wake Iris and Ryder up." I add as I stand up.
"You sure you'll be alright going back on your own?" He asks.
"I'll be fine." I mumble.
Marshall's P.O.V:
I watch Tessa as she walks onto the red carpet. Her face stays blank as she turns to face the papparazi whilst her assistant fixes her navy coloured gown that hits the floor. She place her hand on her hip before she looks up at the cameras.
"Em. I'm from E news." I ignore the reporter as he holds the mic towards me. "There's rumors going around about you and Tessa being divorced. Is that true?" He asks.
I stay quiet as I keep my eyes fixed on my wife-My ex wife. She looks sad. I can see it in her eyes and in her smile. She hasn't been the same since we came back from Greece. I can tell she's hurting and I want to fix it. I want to take her pain away but what the hell am I supposed to do when i'm hurting myself?
I barley sleep or eat anymore knowing that shes hurting and that she'll be gone any day now. I try to be happy for the kids but even they know we're going through a hard time and they're letting us have a little time off which i'm grateful for. They took the divorce hard. Iris wouldn't stop crying and Ryders been staying with Nathan at my mom's before Tessa took them away from me and took them to California.
We both needed time away from eachother. I came home to find a simple note on my bedside table from Tessa telling me about how she's taken the kids to California for two days. Her two days turned into two weeks and Paul noticed so he threatened to take the kids away from Tessa which is the last thing I want but before I could do anything, he called Nick who then called Tessa and told her to come home.
Tessa's eyes land on my own. I try to turn away but can't. Her lips slowly part as if she's about to say something to me but then she forces them together again. There's no point in trying with her anymore when that's the last thing she's doing.
"Marshall. The ceremony. Come on." Paul nudges me. I take a step back before I look away from Tessa. I walk towards the corridor that leads to hall. From the corner of my eye I see Tessa look away from me and at the cameras.
"How long do I have to stay?" I ask Paul as I walk into the corridor. He pushes the door open, revealing the thousands of seats that are full up with celebs.
"You stay here until the things finished. I'll be back here with Leroy when it's over." He tells me. I walk towards the middle of the empty row of seats until I see my name, right between Tessa and Ne-Yo. "I'll see you at the after party." He touches my shoulder.
"The what?" I turn to face him just when i'm about to take a seat.
"The after party." He states.
"I can't stay for that. Iris and-" I start and get cut off.
"Proofs with them. They'll be fine." He shrugs. "Remember...You're divorced." He whispers. "The world doesn't need to know that just yet but don't talk to your....ex too much." He slaps my shoulder before he walks away.
I take a seat and tap my feet on the floor impatiently as the rows start to slowly fill up. Ne-Yo and I talk quietly about the awards show as we wait for it to begin. We're seated near the front and all the main cameras are on us. Tessa appears at the end of the row with her manager. I stand up along with the rest of the celebrities and producers to give her way.
I keep my gaze fixed on the stage as everyone greets her like she's royalty. Her smile fades away slowly when she catches a glimpse of me but quickly recovers when Ne-Yo goes into kiss her cheek. I push my legs against the my seat to let her walk past me. I sigh slowly when I get a good sniff of her perfume.
Control yourself, Marshall.
"You okay?" I ask her quietly.
"No." She states. I stay quiet as I help her with her dress before she sits down. I ignore the cameras as I sit back down next to her. She pulls at her dress and pushes her hair out of her way as she fans herself with her hand. "There's too many people. They're all watching us...I think i'm going to have a panic attack." She whispers. I look around us to find everyone watching us. They're probably wondering if the rumors about our divorce are true or now.
Award shows and live tv was never her thing.
"You'll be alright." I say, making her shake her head. I watch her move around in her seat as she taps her shaky hands against her lap. I grab a hold of her hand, making her stop moving. The lights go off just when I lock our fingers together ontop of her lap before I left her hand up and kiss it. "You'll be fine, baby." I whisper. I don't see her nod or hear her say anything as the stage lights up and the host walks out onto the stage. "Relax. Let them look." I add quietly and give her hand a tight squeeze. I let out a small sigh when I feel Tessa squeeze my hand back.
***
"Drink up, drink up!" Curtis shouts as he holds up his glass. Tessa sits up and picks up her glass as she stays seated across me. Instead of going to the after party in New York we ended up coming back to Detroit where G-Unit also were.
I don't hear what Curtis is drinking to due to all the loud music but click my glasses with them all anyone as they cheer and shout. I down the cold liquid and place the glass down before Lloyd Banks fills up all our glasses again. Tessa leans foward to pick up her glass before she carries on her conversation with one of Curtis' lady friends. We all click our glasses together before we place them down on the table for a refill.
"Where you goin', we're celebrating you winning an award." Lloyd say to Tessa when she stands up and stumbles a little back.
She's wasted. We both are.
"I need to freshen up." She says with a wave of her hands.
"Mind if I tag along?" Obie shouts after her, making the others laugh as Tessa sticks her finger up whilst she walks away.
"Alright. Who wants more?" I say, trying to take their attention away from my wife, I mean ex wife. The guys all turn to face me as I reach for the new bottle.
"So, Em. Those rumors true then?" Lloyd asks.
"What rumors?" I ask, pretending like I don't know what he's talking about.
"Rumors about you and Tessa man? You divorced?" Another guy that tagged along with 50 asks. "Cause if yes, man....I would love to hit that sexy thang." He smirks, making me clench my jaw lightly.
"Not before I do, bro. She hoooot!" Some white dude nudges him.
"Shut the fuck up about my wife." I look up at the two drunken assholes.
"Chill slim. They're just messin' with you." Fifty nudges me.
"Whatever man. I'm outta here." I stand up from my spot.
"Come on Em, we're just playing." The white dude shrugs.
"You probably was but not me. Man i'm gonna be fucking her all night when they announce their divorce-" The first gut speaks again but doesn't get to finish. That's all he really had to stay to get punched from me. Lloyd and fifty stand up and pull me back just when I hit the fucker in the face, making him fall back into his seat. I clench and uncleanch my fist as I watch him wipe the blood away from his face as the other guys around us stand up and try to push me away.
"Man, get the fuck off me!" I push fifty away. "Don't be bringin' punks like him with you again!" I shout as I grab my jacket and walk away. I pick up Tessa's clutch and coat from where she was sitting before I walk off towards the ladies.
I ignore the stares from the men and woman around me as I make my way towards the ladies to see if Tessa's there. I sstop some red haired chick and ask her if Tessa's in there. She shakes her head and tells me that there's no one in there before she walks off.
I walk away from the toilets and towards the bar. I ask around for Tessa but no one's seen her anywhere. Getting scared and frustrated by the second, I walk towards the dance floor. I stop one of the waiters and ask him if he's seen Tessa, he points towards the corner of the dance floor, making me nod before I walk away.
"Excuse me." I push through the dancing bodies as I clutch onto our belongings. I walk towards the corner the man pointed at and spot my wife-My ex wife. My eyebrows slowly knit together as my eyes fall ontop of the man who has her pressed against the wall.
I feel my heart beat faster and faster as he kisses her before he trails his lips against her jaw and onto her neck. Tessa lets go of the man's wrist and places her hands on his shoulder as his hands go onto her waist and down her bare leg. She turns to her left as he keeps her pinned against the wall with his body pressed against hers.
Tessa's eyes go wide when she notices me stand there with my fist and jaw clenched. She pushes the man back, making him stumble back a little before he pushes her back against the wall and carries on doing what he was doing. I push myself through the crowd and push the man back. Tessa's screams get mixed with the guys painful moans and the crowds yelling as I repeatedly punch the man who is now on the ground.
♤♤♤
I'm really sorry for the late update. Life has been nothing but hell for me lately but i'm still trying my best to upload the final few chapters. Thank you for being patient for those who are still reading. Sorry for the boring chapter x