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C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y - N I N E

          Entering their bedroom, Ahmad rubbed his hand down his face and let out a sigh when he saw Cali sitting at the edge of the bed crying her eyes out. After their argument he had a long talk with his parents to calm himself down and he knew he had to go in and apologize for the things he was wrong in, and so they could talk and fix the issue between each other.

He was still beyond pissed at everything she had done, but like his mama said, he needed to give her a chance to explain herself first before blowing up like he did. But he couldn't help it, he hated Reggie and he knows Cali knows that he does so it was kinda hard for him to try and understand her reasoning behind spilling their personal business. But as a man who loved his wife and family more than anything, he was willing to put his anger aside and sit down with her and actually talk everything out to get an understanding.

He just hoped her reason was actually logical and reasonable, or else he wasn't sure how he was going to react.

Taking a seat beside her, he grabbed her hands that were covering her face and forced her to look at him. "Look, I'm sorry alright? I know I can go over board when I'm upset and I apologize for talking to you in that way and—"

"Ahma—"

Holding his hand up, he stopped her from talking. "Let me finish real quick, as your husband I know I need to do better with my choice of words and actions when I'm pissed off. Me pushing you up against walls isn't cool no matter what you do and I'm sorry. I know no parent is perfect and I don't expect you to be .. I just got so mad with the whole Marquette situation, and how Reggie disrespected our son I just snapped and lost my cool..but that's still no excuse either."

When he noticed she had looked away from him again, he grabbed her face gently so she could see his face. "I talked to my parents and they calmed me down, because at first I was questioning shit between us and questioning your loyalty towards me but I know you're the woman for me and I know we'll get through this shit and instead of me yelling at you, I'll let you explain your reason behind all of this. I know I tend to never let you get a word in when I'm upset and that's something I need to work on as well,"

Cali nodded, feeling the lump in her throat grow the more he talked. "So baby, do you forgive me? I don't want this to become a habit between us with us arguing and shit in front of the kids, they don't need to be around that and I don't like doing it especially with you. So before we move forward and talk everything out, are we good? I just need to know if everything between us is coo—"

"Ahmad.. I slept with Reggie," She blurted out, cutting him off.

"Yeah, so like I was saying, I just want to make sure everything between me and you is good," He stated ignoring her confession.

Looking at him, she grabbed his hands. "Did you hear me Ahmad? I said I slept with Reggie."

"I heard the dumb ass joke the first time you said it Cali, do you see me laughing tho?" He stated dryly, starting to get pissed off.

Feeling her eyes burn, she shook her head. "It-It wasn't a joke Ahmad, I'm sorry."

Standing up, he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Biting his fist, he paced the floor as his eyes started to water up with tears. "Don't play with me baby, please, tell me you didn't sleep with this nigga forreal right!? Tell me this is a joke Aubrey!"

Standing up, she reached out to touch him but he moved away from her. "I didn't mean for it to happen Ahmad, it just did and everyday I had to live with that guilt in my heart and I'm so sorry baby. I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened, but I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't want to hurt me? Too fucking late for that Cali, how could you do this to us man? I've loved you from the fucking beginning, I never cheated, I respected our relationship and I made you my wife because you were the one that I wanted to spend forever with, you promised me forever! How you think this shit makes me feel that the one person I actually trusted and opened up too hurt me the most. The pain I'm feeling right now doesn't even compare to all the hurt I have endured in my life, this by far is the biggest slap in the face cause I would have never thought you of all people would hurt me Cal." Walking from around her, he continued wiping his face even though his tears wouldn't stop falling.

To say he was hurt would be an understatment, he felt betrayed mostly. Just the thought of her sleeping with someone pained him and to know that she actually let a man have her in that way, was the biggest kick in the nuts he has ever recieved.

His body was starting to feel numb and he felt as if his world was spinning, one minute his life was good and he was happy with his wife and family amd now his life was shit and the one woman he loved and wanted to be with until the end of time, took his heart and crushed it into a million pieces.

Entering their closet, he grabbed his suitcase from the top shelf and began throwing his shit inside aggressively. The last thing he needed to do was stay here, cause he knew the longer he stayed that pain and hurt would start turning into anger and he would do something that he would regret.

Following behind him, Cali sniffled as she watched him pack his things. She knew sleeping with Reggie was the dumbest thing she could have ever done and she regretted it all, but it happened and she knew she had to face the music, but losing Ahmad was the last thing she wanted to happen.

"Ahmad, I'm sorry. I know I can't fix what I did and I'm so sorry for hurting you baby, just please don't leave." She begged while grabbing the clothes he had packed up and started taking them out.

Wiping his face covered in tears, he laughed. "Sorry? You're sorry Cali? How could you even allow yourself to even go there with that nigga? Like what tha fuck Cal, all that we been through, all the shit I've done for you .. you go and fuck this nigga behind my back!? I thought we was better than that, what about all that shit you said in your vows? Did you even mean that shit? The house, the marriage, the kids, is this all a joke to you? What is it? Tell me something Cali!"

"Of course I meant it, Ahmad, I love you. I love you so much and I can't lose you, tell me what I can do to fix this, just tell me what I need to do baby to make this right." She pleaded. "I'll do anything, you and the kids mean so much to me and I fucked up babe, I fucked up and if I could go back in time to fix this I would."

"Well you can't! So that saying means nothing, you fucked him and you lost out on me. I hope the shit was worth it Cal, I really do."

Moving her out the way since he knew with her being there in his way he wasn't gonna get anything packed. Walking out of the closet, he started pacing the room again, just trying to think before he went crazy and to figure out his next move.

He was trying to be strong, but it was never easy for anybody to find out they have been cheated on and how deeply in love he was with Cali only made this hurt worst.

She cheated, she fucking cheated, was all he could repeat in his mind and the longer he thought about Reggie touching her and pleasing her the way he does, hurt him. Being cheated on wasn't a new feeling for Ahmad, but this hurt worst than his heartbreak from Chanel. He loved Cali more than anything and everybody who knew him knew how crazy he was behind her and to know that she did something that they both vowed to never do, brought on a new type of pain.

He couldn't believe she would do this, after everything they have been through. He would have never expected this from Cali and to know that she gave up what belonged to him to another man that he hated, cut him deep and he wasn't sure if he could ever forgive.

Cali sat at the edge of the bed, watching him drive himself crazy as she continued to cry. "Ahmad—"

"Now you wanna sit here and cry, where was this guilt when you was fucking this nigga!?" Shaking his head in disbelief, he bit his fist. "I can't believe this shit."

Walking out of their room, he walked into the kids room where they were sitting and watchin tv together. "Come on y'all, we finna go see granny and pawpaw."

Immediately hopping up at the mention of their grandparents. Armoni ran into his arms for him to lift her up and rested her head on his shoulder. While, Adrian carefully grabbed his toys to make sure they did not fall and carried them out of the room. And being the amazing big brother that he is, Marquette grabbed his siblings shoes since they all forgot about them and followed Ahmad out of the room.

Running out of the room, Cali grabbed Ahmad by the shirt. "Ahmad, where are you going? Please just stay and talk with me .. we can work this out baby," She cried.

Scaring the kids from her outburst, he turned and pushed them behind him. "We not doing this shit in front of the kids Cali, I can't do this with you right now .. I need time to clear my head before I snap and do something that I will later regret and I'm doing this because I love you,"

Letting go of his shirt, she sniffled. "I'm sorry baby,"

Walking towards the door, he made sure each kid was out the door before turning to face her, "I'm sorry for trusting you too."

When he left out of the house, Cali dropped to her knees and cried out loudly knowing she fucked up big time and could have possibly lost her man and broke up her family for good and she knew she couldn't blame anybody but herself at this point.

Sitting on his parents porch steps, Ahmad held his hed down as tears of pain continued to fall from his eyes. Feeling an arm snake over his shoulder, he knew by the scent that it was his mother. Crying harder now, she hugged him tighter and continued to let him let his emotions out.

When he showed up with the kids and they saw his bloodshot red eyes, they weren't sure what to expect from him, but hearing that Cali stepped out on him with Reggie shocked them both.

"Talk to me baby, tell me what's going on in that head of yours." She stated soothingly causing him to sigh.

"I-I don't want to believe she cheated, this shit feels like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. I would never imagined Cali, my Cali out of all people to do me like this. I thought she was happy with me, and now she got me questioning everything, like where did I go wrong or what did I do to where she had to go to Reggie and sleep with him? I should have never trusted her, I knew this love shit was for the birds ma', I should have treated her just like every other girl that came in my life and I wouldn't be sitting here crying over her ass." He spat out angrily.

Laughing, she kissed his forehead. "You're so much like your dad its crazy, but baby despite what is going on now and despite the pain you're feeling at the moment, Cali was still a blessing that you needed in your life. She helped you get better emotionally and mentally, she made you a father and you're pretty good at it too might I add, and she made you a better person so despite this bullshit now, meeting her and loving her had its perks. Now, I am not excusing what she did, because what she did is wrong and I know it hurts getting cheated on by someone you love more than yourself, trust me I know."

Looking up at her, she nodded. "Yeah, your father .. he cheated too. I know we lied to you and your friends that day we were having discussions but that wasn't how we wanted you guys to find out about your father's mistake."

"When did this happen?" He asked curious.

Smiling small, she scooted closer to him and laid his head on her lap as she thought back to that memory. "It was around the time you were born, I say about six months after I had you. Things between me and you guys dad had been rocky for a while, we argued a lot and it just seemed as if things between us were never gonna get better and while I was at home being a full-time mom to my beautiful sons and a wife, your father was out confiding in another woman. He only told me when he found out that she could possibly be carrying his child, and of course I was hurt, I felt stupid, betrayed, everything you felt, I felt." She admitted.

In all his thirty years of living, finding out that his father actually cheated on his mama was news that he never wanted to hear or expected.

"What did you do when you found out? Because from what I remember as a kid, you guys have always been together."

"I left, I took you and your brother to my moms house and we stayed with her for almost three years. A small part of me thought him and I marriage was over, hell a part of me wanted it to be over, but I loved him too much to let him go. I was hurt yes, and my trust towards him was compeletly gon' but I knew me and your father where meant to be and after three years passed and he was still trying to win me back, I decided to give him another chance and I forgave him. And from that day on, he never once cheated again, his respect for me as his woman grew and I was able to fall back in love with the love of my life again. But not everybody is like that, some people deal with cheating differently and just want to be done with it all, but when the two of you share kids, it's kind of hard to just pack up and leave." She explained and he nodded understanding.

"I don't know what to do ma', I love Cali .. I love that woman so much mama, I just can't believe she would do this to us. This shit hurts like hell forreal." He sniffled feeling those tears coming back. "Every five seconds I'm crying, and thinking about her being intimate with this nigga .. should I divorce her? I don't know what to do ma', I didn't see this happening between me and Cali and now that it has .. I'm stuck."

"For now, you guys just need some time apart so you can figure out what it is that you want to do. Divorce is a big step and a big decision that could be a mistake in the end so before you make a choice, just take sometime to sit and think, because you guys have kids to think about too not just each other. But know that whatever decision you choose, I support and I'll be here every step of the way to help you."

Turning his body around, he hugged his mama tightly and silently cried into her shoulder. Wrapping her arms around him, she felt her eyes getting a little watery too since she hated the fact that ge was hurting, but she knew this was on the many possible things that can happen in a marriage.

Standing at the front door, Aaron smiled at his wife and son having a moment before turning on his heel to make a phonecall.

Pulling away from the hug, Ahmad stood to his feet and dusted off his pants. Wiping his face one last time, he sniffled. "Can me and the kids stay here just for tonight?"

She nodded, "Of course, your room is still the same way you left it and you all should be able to fit in the bed."

Giving his mama one last hug and a kiss, he walked back into the house and walked into the living where his kids where playing with their toys.

When they noticed him, they all jumped up and ran towards him. Lifting both Adrian and Armoni up, he grabbed Marquette's hand and lead them to his old room. Pushing the door open with his am, he stepped inside and sat his kids down on the bed and started taking off their shoes and clothes.

Removing just his shoes, he got in bed under the covers with them laying right in the center and smiled when they all snuggled up against him. Armoni laid directly on top of him while Marquette and Adrian laid on either side of him with his arms wrapped over them.

While they drifted off to sleep, Ahmad laid in the bed staring up at the ceiling with a million and one things running though his head. He wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen with his relationship with Cali, but he knew in the end he would always have each of his greatest blessings by his side and he would just continue to he a good father to them.

Feeling his emotions get the best of him again, he ended up crying himself to sleep to the thought of his marriage actually being over and having to let the love of his life go for good.

          Yawning lowly to himself, Shaun dragged his feet down the hall to answer the door to see who was knocking at his door this late in the night.

When he looked in the peep hole to see Cali, he frowned and opened the door immediately. "What's up Cal? Everything okay?"

Looking up so their eyes would meet, he frowned when he saw that she was crying. Not saying anything else, he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. "This is an Alisha problem to figure so I will go get her, make yourself at home."

Taking a seat on the couch, Cali leg shook uncontrollably as she waited for her friend to come out. Dropping her head into her hands, she started sobbing loudly which alerted Alisha who was half way down the hall.

When she finally reached the living room, she immediately walked over to her friend taking a seat next to her and wrapping her arms around her. "What's wrong Cali?"

Sniffling, Cali looked up and shook her head. "I fucked up and made the biggest mistake of my life, which caused me to lose the man I love deeply. I don't know what to do Lisha, he left earlier today with the kids and he won't return any of my calls .. I can't lose him Lisha, I can't."

Sitting there in confusion, Alisha looked down the hall to see Shaun peeking while hold Nolan who was half sleep. Turning her focus back to her distraught bestfriend, she sighed. "Cali, I'ma need you to rewind and tell me what exactly is going on, what did you do?"

Feeling that lump in her throat form, she looked away ashamed. "I slept with Reggie behind Ahmad's back."

Moving away from Cali, Alisha stood to her feet and looked down at her in disgust. "You what!? How could you even do that to Ahmad Cali? You my girl and all and I love you, but what was you even thinking when you fucked him?" She shouted.

Cali continued to cry, "I know, I wasn't thinking and I don't even know why I did it. Ahmad doesn't deserve this and I hurt him, the look of pain that flashed in his eyes when I said it nearly killed me, hurting him was the last thing I ever wanted to do."

Alisha, just stood there in disbelief. "I can't even believe this, so this explains why you've been defending his ass so much lately! What? Did he fuck you that good to where you lost your damn mind and had you going against your own husband Cali!? You did more than just hurt Ahmad, you broke him and I can't even imagine how he feels right now,"

"How do you think I feel Alisha? I feel horrible because I know I hurt him."

Pacing the floor, Alisha held her hands together in a praying motion, then scoffed, "Honestly Cal, fuck how you feel. As your bestfriend, I'ma give it to you straight and honest, what you did was beyond wrong and nothing excuses it either. You know what all that man has been through and you know how much he loves you, so what in your right mind made you go and have sex with Reggie? Please tell me something, because this makes no sense and it makes my respect towards you as a wife go down."

"It happened the day he kissed me," She admitted shamefully, "It started off with us just talking and laughing at old times, then we started venting to each other about our personal issues and that was when I told him about Ahmad and his dreams and how they really scare me, then I told him about Adrian possibly being autistic, I wasn't telling him this stuff to be messy, I just needed someone to vent too and he was there .. then somehow we ended up kissing and the kissing got deeper and lead into something else." She sniffled.

"I felt like shit afterwards because I knew this would have hurt Ahmad deeply, I wanted to tell him sooner but I couldn't and I've been mentally beating myself up about it. But what can I do to save my marriage? I don't want to lose him."

Alisha stood there completely silent, throwing her hands up, she shook her head and walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. "I can't even listen to this, I don't know what you're gonna do to fix this mess you made, but you gotta do something. I don't want you guys to break up, but every action as a consequence that we have to face and this is yours. As your friend, I love you and seeing you guys go through this breaks my heart, but I can't help you. I dislike Reggie and I don't respect what you guys did so therefore I can't have your back behind this, but I hope you and Ahmad can come to some type of agreement and possibly work things out, but that's all I can say because if Ahmad made the decision to divorce you, he has every right too and I would understand his reasoning. You fucked up Cal, you made that bed so lay your ass in it and own it."

Leaving her alone, Alisha walked back into her bedroom where Shaun was laying with Nolan on his chest. Shaking her head, a few tears fell from her eyes since she never imagined herself talking to Cali in that way, but she knew she needed to hear that.

She was very upset at Cali for doing whay she did, and she wanted that to be known. She was still her friend and was going to be there for her through everything, but her feelings towards the situation weren't gonna change.

Getting up from the couch, Cali wiped her face and let herself out of the house. Getting inside her rental car, she shut the door behind her then dropped her head on her steering wheel and cried to herself, mad at herself since she just ruined her happy home and she wasn't sure what to do on how to fix it or make things right.

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Hey beautiful people, I still love you guys .. remember that!

Thanks for the love & support!
- Denise 💋