Shawnie's POV 

The next day, I was able to get in contact with Christina and Lexi and booked them rooms at my hotel as well, so they could watch the kids when I needed them to. I made sure they knew Aubrey and I weren't communicating right now and for them not to say anything about their whereabouts.

Last night was exhausting but fun at the same time. Chris and I barely got any sleep. We both took care of the kids when they woke up and we were completely out of it. Although we struggled because we were tired, it was refreshing. Taking care of the kids like a normal person was a glimpse of what I've always wanted. But I can't do that everyday. I think I'm more thankful for Christina and Lexi now. I'm sure the more I do it, the more I will get used to it. This goes to show how disconnected I am. I cant even take care of my kids by myself.

Mercedes was livid when she found out what happened. She got on the phone and started making calls but I had to explain to her that it wasn't that bad and that she needed to stand down. I love my cousin but she does not play when it comes to her family and she would do anything to make sure we're all safe and protected. I can't get mad at that but she still needs to understand the type of people we're dealing with. That's why i said it wasn't a big deal, she will really put a hit out on him.

Chris has been nothing but nice and a gentleman since last night. As I've said I'm grateful for him because if it wasn't for him I probably would still be in Calabasas pissed off at Aubrey. The fact that he stepped in at a time where I really needed him says a lot about our friendship and love he has for me. After last night, I see we can do this. We can be friends and coparent with no problems. I know it's only been a couple days but I feel strongly about that.

I haven't talked to Aubrey, of course he's been calling me and texting me. The text messages are pretty much down to the point. He knows he can't see my location, and he's pissed off about it. He keeps asking me where I am and I'm not telling him. I just knew I was followed, but I guess not. Aubrey is hurting, I understand that, but somebody needs to talk to him about his behavior. I know Chubbs doesn't know anything about what's going on because he would definitely say something to him but Aubrey keeps me so distant from everyone. Chubbs lives in the house with me and I don't even have his phone number. I have none of his people's numbers because he doesn't want them holding one on one conversations with me. I don't know what he's so scared of.

Chris, Trey, Dori, Mercedes and myself were all standing around in my suite, in the kitchen making drinks, smoking, and just enjoying each other's company, not thinking about anything that was going on. It was very nice to have people around me after everything that happened last night.

Trey, Dori, and Mercedes didn't get here until this morning and we've pretty much been chilling out all day. I have noticed they've been extra friendly with each other today. I wasn't going to say anything but Chris just had to say something.

"What the fuck is going on with y'all?" Chris asks

"What do you mean?" Mercedes asks

"Y'all being all touchy-feely. Y'all fucked didn't y'all?" He says

Trey laughs

"Yeah, y'all did." Chris says laughing

"OMG! Really?" I look at my cousin and she just smiles, "Ewww, Trey?"

"What? We had fun last night." He shrugs

"Aren't you still with your daughter's mom?" I ask

"No. I know you haven't been around in a while but we broke up like six months ago."

"Oh." I say

"So sorry I decided to have fun with your friend and your cousin." He says

"Both of them?" I was shocked. I look at both of them and they're just laughing.

"What's up with you two? You spent the night together. How was that?" Trey asks

"It was cool." We both say at the same time.

"Y'all banged?" Mercedes asks

"No. She won't let me." Chris looks at me and smiles. I hit him in his chest.

"I'm all for y'all getting back together, if that's what we're doing, if that's the route y'all wanna take. But you have to stop pushing his buttons and you have to stop trying her. Every time you piss him off you know exactly what buttons to press to make him act crazy and get himself in trouble. And you do shit knowing that she's going to forgive you. If y'all are going to make that decision to be together there's changes that have to be done on both ends, so you can come together and be the unit that y'all want to be. I know y'all got love for each other, y'all can't stay away from each other even when you try." Trey says

"Yeah she went and married his enemy." Mercedes says not looking up for her drink. "That still didn't work."

"Oh my God, what don't y'all understand? If Chris and I had broken up, I had no loyalty to him. I don't care what anybody has to say. If I fell in love and married who I did, I don't understand what the problem is." I say irritated.

"That's not what this conversation is about." Trey says. "All I'm saying is if you want to be together fuck all of the other situations y'all got going on with other people. Just be together."

"I want to love her but we can't just do that. It ain't that easy." Chris says

"It's really not. There's a lot of things you guys don't know about and I just can't walk away from my marriage because I'm simply not ready to. I love Chris, we all know that, but we're not getting back together and we're not trying to get back together." I say

"Yet." Mercedes says and I just look at her and roll my eyes. "I don't care how you feel about it, that man left in the middle of the night because you called him to come get you. He still loves you after all of the bullshit. You tried to put him in prison, I would throw your ass away. But he's still here. I honestly think you should have your marriage annulled and y'all should work this out because I believe wholeheartedly that you guys are going to end up back together. It's too much love." She shrugs

"I'm not there yet." I say

I look over at Chris and I can't read him. He looks as if he was thinking, then it looks like he's hurt, but then again it looks like he's not listening at all. He's just standing there, then he spoke.

"... Um. I told Shawnie I'm here for her, if she's with him or not. We're a part of each other's lives regardless and I'm content with that but if she doesn't want to be with me, she doesn't have to. Y'all aren't the first people to say we're gonna end up together and if that's true, great, but as of right now, that's not gonna happen and it doesn't matter what I say to her, she knows what I want. I don't want you guys to feel like she's stringing me along or anything because that's not what this is. I'm fine. I just feel that with her being the mother of my daughter, I have to look out for her and make sure she's good. I'm gonna do that until my last breath. I've always felt close to her and that's why I love being near her." He admits.

"But how is that fair to you?" Trey asks

"I don't know if it's fair or not, but I know how I feel and I move how I want. I don't have a problem with any of this. I'm doing me and she's doing her. She's married. Shit is fucked up right now with them but if she decides she wants to work things out with him, I can't say anything about it. So that's where we're at now. I'm here regardless."

"That's so sad." Dori says

"It's sad but it is what it is." Chris shrugs.

I feel bad. I feel like he's stuck and he really is waiting on me. I thought our situation was getting better but it's clear it's not. We've just learned to live with it.

"Have you talked to Drake?" Dori asks

I shake my head no.

"You haven't spoken to him at all? Like, nothing?" Mercedes asks

"Nope. He's called and texted a few times but I haven't responded."

"Wait. So no one tried to get in contact with you?" Mercedes asks

"No, not that I know of." I say

"He knows you're here." She says. "That motherfucker is a grade A stalker. Look me in my eyes and tell me that you really believe that he doesn't know where you are. I bet he's known since last night." She says

"He probably has known where I am and he just hasn't said anything, he's just playing a part." I say. "Honestly, I just get really bad anxiety when I think about this whole situation. I feel like I am trying to run and hide from my husband and I don't like it. Chris and I had a great night. It was fun, it was like old times and everything but I can't continue to live like this."

"You can't." Dori says

"Like, I don't know what to do." I say and Chris starts rubbing my back.

Just then there's a knock at the door.

"Oh my god." I say. I have a feeling, I know that's him. My anxiety shoots through the roof.

Trey walks over to the door. He looked through the peephole and he looked over at us. I knew it.

"Shit." I say freaking out.

Trey looks at Chris. And my heart drops because I told Chris not to do anything but Trey is not gonna be able to break them up if Chris decides to lose his shit.

Chris tells him to open the door.

Aubrey walks in with Oliver and Chubbs and he just stops when he sees me. He looks at Chris standing next to me, then back at me.

"Where's my son?" He asks

"With Christina." I say

He signals for me to come talk to him. I hesitate for a few seconds and he looks at me confused for a second. After a moment, I followed him into the bedroom.

Chris's POV

His two minions walked over to us. They spoke to Mercedes and Dori. They didn't say much to me but they talked to Trey.

"They aren't coming back." Oliver says, "He's going to apologize and so is she, and they are going to get wrapped up in each other again and at that point, nothing or no one else matters." Oliver says, shaking his head, as he walks over to the sofa and sits down.

"That's true." Dori says, "I think it's cute. I mean, they are married. They have no choice but to work things out."

"I've been there." I say

"Nah, it seems worst with them." Mercedes says, "I thought you guys were in your bubble and shut everyone out, but when they get in tune with each other and get in their bubble it is way worse. I went from talking to her at least three or four times a week, to maybe a couple times a month, and you know how weird that is."

"Really?" Chris says

"Yeah."

"Like I said, I've been there. It's easy to be consumed by the person you're in love with. I was once him." I say

"No offense, but you were kinda occupied when y'all were together. He don't fuck with nobody." Chubbs says, "She is the only thing on his mind."

I look at him like he's lost his damn mind.

"What you said is good at all, but if she's the only thing on his mind and his main focus is keeping her happy, why does she seem like she's not?" Chris says

"I don't have a comment on that." Chubbs says

Exactly. Shut up.

"To be honest, it seems like something is going on. I don't know what it could be but he talks on code. I think he has a lot to say but he doesn't wanna say it. He will sit and have conversations with her and they will talk for hours but when it comes to me, or anyone else, he doesn't really talk much. It's like all he does is work and come home to her. We could be halfway around the world and if he gets done with something early, he's making it a big deal to get home. Like any free time he has he wants to be home." Oliver says

"I mean obviously you guys know him better than I do but I think it's cute that he wants to be with his wife. They're married. He has a newborn son. Of course he wants to be home with his family. I personally don't see anything wrong with it." Dori says

"It's out of the ordinary when it comes to him. Before her, he was never home." Chubbs says

"Sounds a little bit like jealousy to me." Dori says with a smirk.

Chubbs laughs, "I'm not jealous because I'm around him a little bit more than Oliver is. I live there. She is like family, and he seems happy. That's the only thing that makes me be like whatever about it because that's his wife. He loves her, she loves him and they're making their relationship work. So if they want to go in a room and talk out their issues and not come back, I don't see anything wrong with it. I just find some things in their relationship a little weird, but that's really not for me to make a big deal about."

"Whatever." I say, lighting my blunt.

Fuck these fools.

Shawnie's POV

"I love you." He says, leaning his back against the door.

"I love you too." I say

"I'm sorry." He says

"I'm sorry too."

"I shouldn't have locked you in that closet. I had made plans for us to spend time together. I planned this whole date night and I was going to surprise you. You were trying to leave and taking off your engagement ring..I freaked out. I didn't know what else to do." He says

"Use your words. All you had to say was stay and I would have. You locked me in your closet for hours. I have two babies, and you locked your wife in a closet for hours. In your brain, how does that make sense? What were you thinking?" I ask, getting pissed off all over again.

"I don't know. I just lost it. I'm sorry."

"I don't know what you're going through in your head, well I do know, but that doesn't excuse your behavior these last couple of months. I know you got a lot on you. I know you're dealing with a lot when it comes to your family and of course your career, but don't take that out on me. I'm the closest person to you and I know you're stressed out. I know you're gonna say things that you might not necessarily mean at the time because you're upset, or going through something at the time, but doing what you did, and the things you've been doing to me is inexcusable. And I don't wanna hear nothing about mine and Chris's relationship. He has some mental issues going on and I can excuse some things when it comes to him, but with you, your brain functions just fine. I hold you accountable for everything that you do." I say

"I don't have anything else to say but I'm sorry." He says

"You've been saying a lot of that lately and now it really doesn't mean much."

He hangs his head.

"I know your feelings are hurt but I'm not just gonna forgive you because you said sorry. I know you're sorry, but after that closet incident, I'm gonna need you to do a little bit more. I'm gonna need you to prove to me how sorry you are."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Give me space." I say

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"You know I need to be around you. What about Atlas? I need to be around my family." He says

"What about him? I'm going to stay here for the remainder of the time that I'm in LA and I will have my kids here with me and you are going to continue doing what you've been doing, and that's working. Wherever that might be." I say

"No." He says

"What do you mean no?"

"I need to be here with you. I can't just go away knowing that you and I aren't good. I always come home to you every chance I get. Are you trying to divorce me?"

"I didn't say anything about a divorce. And that's not even on my mind."

"So why do you need your space? I give you space every time I leave. You have time to yourself, I got you nannies just so you can have your personal space. I don't want you to remove me from your life, because that's what it feels like you're doing." He says

"You are so dramatic." I say rolling my eyes. "You and I have been on two completely different pages lately and I don't know what's going on with us. We don't argue, we never have, and it seems like we're arguing so much lately. I don't like it and I don't like our relationship right now. I just need space, Aubrey."

"Space leads to separation." He says

"I'm just telling you to give me some fucking space. You're supposed to be flying out in the morning anyway. Just go home, take a nap and call me when you get on the plane." I snap

I know that came out wrong but I'm kind of tired of him right now. I'm sick of him doing all of this shit and then apologizing to me and I'm just supposed to be like whatever about it. No. He's not gonna make me feel like my feelings aren't valid. He did some fucked up shit to me and his feelings aren't the only feelings that matter. I always fold for him and he knows I do and that's all he's doing is trying to get me to go back on what I say.

"Just let me stay with you tonight..."

"Why, because you're nervous because Chris is here?"

"Why is he here?" He asks

"Because he was worried. He had to pick me and his daughter up in the middle of the night because you decided to lock me in a closet and leave the house for hours. Then came back when he got ready."

"So? Why is he still here, the next night?"

"Because he can be. He brought me here. He made sure I was safe and if he wants to be here to talk to hang out and my cousin, whom he has a relationship with, he can do that. You clearly didn't give a shit, you locked me in the closet."

"So it's just fuck what I want?"

"You want me locked so no one can talk to me and you can have me all to yourself. You don't want me to interact with anyone and you try to isolate me from my life outside of you. That's what you want, that's what you do. I can't live like that. I refuse to live my life locked up in your house in Toronto just so you don't feel insecure, and so you can feel secure about my relationship with my daughter's father, or for anyone for that matter. You can't be like that."

"I don't wanna share you with anybody, so you can't blame me if I feel like you might slip away." He says

"But if I slip away that's my decision. And it's something that you made me do. All of this stems from your guilty conscience because of the whole situation with Chris. You think he's going to do the same thing that you did. As soon as we get into an argument you think that he's just gonna weasel his way in but that was a different situation. He was constantly cheating on me and I did nothing about it. My way of acting out was talking to you. We're in a situation where you're too up my ass to even look at anyone else. You don't even want women in your videos anymore. So I get where the insecurities come from but you don't have to worry about that."

"But I do because every time you're alone with him it seems like he kisses you and you kiss him back."

"This conversation is turning into something that it's not supposed to be. This is not a Chris conversation. This conversation is about you and how you've been acting and more importantly what you've been doing." I say. He's not going to make this about Chris.

"You're right, I have issues but you have to give me some type of credit because you know everything that's going on and I'm trying. I'm trying hard as hell. I don't like having images of you and him in my head. I don't want anything to bother me, but a lot of shit is bothering me and I'm overwhelmed by a lot of shit and you know that and I try to keep that away from you. My insecurities are mine and mine to deal with and you're right, you shouldn't have to go through this. That's why I try to bottle them up but when I do that it's like a fucking explosion. I'm sorry for that, I am working on it but you can't keep hitting me over the head with my issues. I know I have them. I'm dealing with them and you removing yourself from your home is only making things worse for me. First you're out of the house, then next thing I know you're filing for divorce."

"But you know we're going to get through this. I'm just telling you I need time right now. I'm not saying I want a divorce, I'm not saying I want to separate, I just need space."

"And I can give you the space, but can I give it to you tomorrow?"

"No. Goodbye." I say

"Aight...I love you, Mami. I'll call you when I get to Vegas." he looks so disappointed.

"Yeah. I love you too, Aubrey." I say and take a seat on the bed.

He opens the door and leaves.

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