"Have a good night Tish, see you tomorrow." Marley gave the receptionist a wave as she sauntered out of the third floor unit.
After pulling a double at work she was exhausted. Usually, she would be thrilled to be off and on her way home but lately the four walls she occupied felt nothing like the sort.
It had been almost two months since her world crashed down; Finding out about her husband's infidelity was the ultimate heartbreak and a day didn't pass that she wasn't reminded of it. That was what she hated the most. All her life she identified as a strong woman, one who wasn't privileged and had been through obstacles that made her resilient.
But this hurt felt different, and instead of it getting better, each day felt worse than the last.
The fact that she was pregnant definitely contributed to that. Her emotions were all over the place and this time she didn't have Ron for support, although he begged to be there.
Marley refused the idea; Ron had chosen the life he wanted to live and she would let him live it - without her.
"I swear, with the cravings you're giving me it will take forever to snap back." she said, looking down at her belly that finally began to show.
She wasn't usually a big lover of fast food, but baby number three had her making constant runs to any joint in town to grab anything on the menu that would satisfy her crave for salt. After running to Wendy's and grabbing dinner for her and the kids, Marley headed straight home.
She was happy to have her boys to look forward to at the end of a long work day since they always could bring a smile to her face, even though they were also missing their father. Breaking the news to them that daddy would no longer be living with them was a challenge, but after two months they were finally getting adjusted to it.
Micah on the other hand had the hardest transition, however Marley was just glad that he didn't begin fighting once more. His relationship with Ron was strained to say the least - he even quit boxing just so he didn't have to be around him. That alone kilt Ron, but he knew that there was nothing he could do or say to get him or Marley to forgive him at that point.
Pulling up to the house, she furrowed her brows at the sight of Ron's car parked in the driveway. Any happiness she was feeling quickly diminished as she hurried out of her car and to her front door.
"Me next, daddy!" Nile shouted, jumping up and down as Ron playfully swung Haji through the air.
"Aiight, come on. You two gon wear me...out." Ron looked up just as Marley entered the house - her expression speaking before she could, "Marley —"
"What are you doing here?" She rolled her eyes.
"I was in the neighborhood." He shrugged.
Marley placed her purse down along with the food, "Yeah well try to be in the neighborhood on your days only. Boys, go change into your pj's before dinner."
"Can daddy stay? Puhleasse." Haji whined.
"Yeah mom, just tonight." Nile instigated.
Marley frowned, hating the fact that her kids still didn't understand the concept of separation. Not only did they talk about Ron on the daily, any time he was around they hated when he had to go - putting a burden on Marley when she had to be the bad guy.
"I'll think about it" she lied, "Now hurry and get undressed."
The twins rushed upstairs to their bedrooms, leaving Marley and Ron alone.
"You're serious about me staying?" Ron raised his brow, definitely up for the offer.
"Nope, I just said that." Marley shook her head, "Hurry and go before they come back down. I don't know why Micah let you in in the first place." She said making her way to the kitchen with him on her heels.
"He didn't, I still have my key." he admitted.
"Noted, time to change the locks."
Ron kissed his teeth, "There's no need for that. Look, I'll only stay until their bedtime. Maybe afterwards we can talk —"
"Talk?" Marley scoffed, "Talk about what, you refusing to talk to the divorce lawyer?"
"We never talked after that night, we've just been on autopilot since. I moved out and did everything you've asked, gave you space and everything. It's been two months, Ley."
"What is there to tell? I saw what happened with my own two eyes. Remember?" Marley popped a fry in her mouth as she leaned against the counter, her hand over her belly.
Ron moved his eyes over her and let out a sigh.
"Craving salt huh, just like your first pregnancy." He said changing the subject, "Guess it's safe to say no to us getting our girl...remember that time you made me get up at 2am to get you a double stacker from checkers. And when I came home, you made me go all the way back cause —"
"You forgot my milkshake." She giggled.
"Yup, and cursed my ass out for it too." Ron chuckled.
Marley smiled at the memory. Ron moved closer to her, hesitantly palming her stomach as he wanted to feel his unborn child for the first time. This was the first time since that night that she gave him even half of a chance to talk to her. He missed her incredibly, and was reminded by everyone all the time how much he fucked up.
Marley's heart raced as she felt Ron's hand against her, his touch still having the ability to shoot sparks through her.
"We still have a chance...for a girl I mean" Marley smirked, "Sometimes I have sweets cravings too, and my skin went from dry to oily. So.."
Ron grinned, "Have you been thinking of any names?"
"Not really, probably not until we're sure —"
Hearing ruckus coming from the steps, Marley knew that the twins were making their way back down. Just as she requested they were dressed in their pajamas and ready for dinner, ecstatic to see that Ron still hadn't left.
She smiled slightly, deciding to let the kids have their way just for the night.
"I'm going to let you guys have some alone time." she said, deciding to head upstairs. She wanted to keep the visit strictly for the kids, especially now that her heart strings began to pull the longer she stayed around her estranged husband.
Passing Micah's door, Marley gave it two knocks.
"Yeah!?" Micah shouted from the other side.
"Boy, open this door or starve."
Micah cracked open the door moments later, "Ayee, wendy's. Thanks."
"Mhh hmm, and clean your room. I can see the mess from here." Marley shouted behind her as she headed to her room.
"Got it, Mom!" Micah snickered before closing the door.
..............
After staying to accompany the kids through dinner, Ron checked the time on his watch as he was sure Marley would be kicking him out soon. It was getting late and he didn't want to push his luck - especially since she surprisingly let him stay in the first place.
The two had come to terms with a schedule where Ron would get the kids three days out of the week, but couldn't help but to break the agreement whenever he got the urge to see his family. Living alone for the first time in years was miserable, mainly because he knew if he couldn't save his marriage within the next few months that would be his permanent circumstance.
"Are you staying the night too?" Nile asked wide eyed as Ron tucked him into bed.
"Not tonight, but I'll be back Friday to get you." Ron told him.
Nile nodded; Ron was relieved that he didn't ask any more questions because he honestly didn't have the answers. Ron turned off the light, leaving the boys alone and heading downstairs.
"Thanks for letting me stay, next time I'll call first." He said, bumping into Marley in the living room.
Marley looked up from her phone, "I'd appreciate it if you did...but I understand."
An awkward silence danced between them.
"Aiight, well call me if you need anything. Have a good night." Ron finally turned away.
Marley bit at her bottom lip, absolutely hating what she felt the urge to say. Whatever she was feeling had to be tied to her hormonal mood swings, due to the fact she always felt confident in her decisions until that moment.
Before he could make an exit, Marley parted her mouth to speak up, "We can...talk. If you want."
Ron turned to face her, "If you're not ready to, it's cool."
"I'm ready." Marley nodded.
The truth was that Marley had so many questions, and she figured it was now or never. She hated being vulnerable, but couldn't help that Ron brought that side out of her - he always had. Aside from that, she needed some type of closure to heal her heart.
Ron didn't know where to start now that he actually had the chance. He thought about what he wanted to say for weeks, but Marley's wandering eyes caused his mouth to dry.
"Whatever you want to know." He said, taking a seat across from her.
Marley brought her cup a tea to her mouth as she sat in thought.
"Where and when did you meet her?" she asked.
Ron cleared his throat, "A few days before that night, at that gym. She invited me and some of the guys to her birthday party at a club."
"Oh yeah, how old did she turn?"
"Ley, really? That doesn't have anything to do —"
"You said whatever I wanted to know." Marley interrupted him.
"Twenty one." He answered in a low tone.
Marley let out a laugh of disbelief, poking the inside of her cheek. Ron ran his hands over his face, the conversation becoming harder as each second passed and it had just begun.
"I'll admit, the whole time I was in L.A I partied. I wasn't focused on what I was out there to do, which was building my brand so I could secure more money for our future. I let the clubs, the lifestyle, all of it get to my head and make me forget about what's most important."
"So you expect me to believe that she was the only woman you dealt with while you were out there. Or what about anytime that you traveled? This could just be your first time getting caught." Marley argued.
"That's a fair question, but I'm telling you that she is...what else do you want to know?" Ron asked.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you do it? Were you just horny, or were you tired of me? What did I do, did I nag too much—"
"What, no?" Ron shook his head as Marley's tears began to fall, "It was nothing you did, babe - I mean Marley. You were the perfect wife, you did everything for me. I just got caught in the moment, like I said that whole night is a blur to me."
Marley sniffled and wiped away her tears as she had heard enough. While she thought the conversation would bring her peace, it did nothing of the sort.
"That's all I wanted to know, you can go now." She said standing to her feet.
"That's it? Are we going to talk about our future, if there even is one?"
"Ron this wasn't a conversation to talk about us getting back together, I just had questions about that night that I thought would help me. They don't. All I can think about is how you pretended everything was okay, you were never going to tell me."
"I was, I just couldn't find the words. All I could think about was you leaving me, and to no surprise you did. I can't lose you Marley." Ron replied adamantly.
Marley frowned, "I need a second." She said hurrying into the kitchen to refill her tea with hot water.
Her mind was spinning. The fact that she was actually at a crossroad was infuriating, she wanted so bad to hate him.
Ron could tell that she would probably never look at him the same, but he was prepared to be the man that he had failed to be months ago if it meant he had a chance to save his marriage. As he waited for Marley to return, he nervously played with his nail beds and stared into space.
Taking him out of his thoughts, Marley's phone chimed with a message. Ron checked his surroundings, and although he knew he had no right his curiosity got the best of him.
"What are you doing?" Marley startled him moments later, "Really, so you're creeping through my phone now?"
Ron furrowed his brows, letting out a scoff.
"So you're really trying to play this game?" He asked, standing to his feet.
Marley twisted her mouth at his angry expression, "What are you talking about?"
"You sitting here pretending to be so hurt, when all this time you've been dealing with this nigga Luca just like I thought. And now you have him picking up my kids from school?"
Marley snatched her phone out of his hand, looking down at the message of Luca asking did she need him to get the twins the next day.
"So you're quiet now" Ron snickered, "You ain't got shit to say."
"Because I'm not doing this with you. Get out." she scolded him.
"Not until you explain to me why the fuck he picking up the twins from school, what else he doing that I don't know about? Going to the appointments that you won't let me attend? That's his baby too?"
Marley slapped him across his face, "Don't you ever accuse me of doing anything like that. I asked him to pick them up a few times cause I had to do a double and it wasn't your day."
"My day my ass, they're my fucking kids!" Ron barked, "You got another man around them, you lost your mind Marley. Despite what's going on between us you don't do no shit like that."
"You know what, this whole thing was a mistake. Leave, now!"
"No problem," Ron clenched his jaw, burning Marley with his eyes, "I'm picking them up every day now, so tell ya boyfriend he ain't gotta worry about them and neither do you. Problem solved."
Marley watched as Ron stormed out of the house, and just that quick their talk had gone down hill. She rolled her eyes into her head as she had no idea why she even tried, although a part of her knew he would be angry if he ever found out she was getting closer with Luca.
Deciding to just end her night, she headed upstairs to finally get some rest. After a long day, all Ron did was make it even longer. As she got to the end of the hallway, she tripped on a pair of Micah's shoes.
"Really, this kid." She hissed, rolling her eyes.
She turned back around to head to his room, heading inside as the shower water told her that he wasn't in his room to answer.
"A mess, just like I thought." She said, looking around before dropping off the shoes, "What the?"
Her heart sped up as she spotted a box in the trash. Confirming her fears, she picked it up and read the words across it.
"A pregnancy test?"
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| sorry it isn't that long guys 😩 also excuse typo's I haven't edited it yet. Wanted to get it out. |
Only a few more chapters left, any predictions?