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Shawnie's POV

"Aubrey...Wait." I say

"Your business phone must've fallen out of your pocket." I pick it up off of the bed and I hand it to him.

"Oh.... Thanks..." He slowly takes the phone. ".....I thought you might've come to your senses."

I smile. "No...still want the divorce."

He turns around to walk away, but he turns back to face me. "You know once this is over, it's over. I'm gonna go out and really fuck around. Ain't gonna be no hiding."

"Aubrey you were fucking around anyway. What's the difference?" I ask nonchalantly.

"This time, I'm trying to hurt you."

"You can play as many games as you want, but I'm not going to play with you. If you wanna go out and fuck everything, that's your reputation and image. Once this divorce is final, anything that I say or do should not affect you and the same goes for me. So if that's the move you wanna make, have at it." I say. "...and thank you for the dick."

He chuckles, "Thank you for the dick." He repeats. "You'll always have access to this dick, and I'll gladly give it to you, Mami." He smiles.

He waits for me to say something but I don't. I'm not engaging.

"Aight....but, just know you can always come home." He smiles, then leaves out.

I stand there for a couple of seconds processing what he just said. I can always come home... Really? Like I would really want to go back to him after all of this shit. Whatever. I cannot wait for this divorce to be final.

"Catch ya later Joey boy." I heard Aubrey say to Joe.

"She ain't protecting you no more, you can catch this fade right now." Joe says. I giggle to myself because I know Joe is so serious.

"Oh, fade? You been around us too long." Aubrey laughs, but I don't hear Joe say anything else.

I wait until I hear the door to the suite close then I grab my phone and my purse and I walk out into the living room. Joe was still sitting in the same spot that I left him in and he was staring intently at me. I guess he is still upset.

"What happened?" He asks

I smile. "Closure. We got a lot accomplished."

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Whatever. You ready to go?"

"Yup!"

************

A few days later it was Genesis's birthday. We had the party at Chris's house. He planned it all, I didn't have to do anything. He brought in a party planner, and while he was on tour, he communicated with her and came up with every detail. It was a zoo theme. The colors were brown and gold and he brought in animals. He had four different food trucks, entertainment, a Photo Booth and games. If you asked me, it was a bit much for a two-year-old's birthday party but it's what he wanted to do for his daughter, so I didn't say anything. After the whole cake incident with her first birthday, I just let him control all of this, because I knew if I said something, it was going to be an argument. Who knew Chris had a thing for party planning.

There was no sign of Jasmine. I didn't think it would be, but I honestly thought her and Chris would get back on the same page. I just would like for Chris to find someone to spend his time with. Pretty much all he really does is sit in a studio. Every now and then he'll go out to a club, or a party, And I'm sure he's fucking two or three women every night but I just want him to calm all of that down and find someone. I have been hearing some things about him, reconnecting with Lori Harvey, but those are just rumors from my understanding and I'm not gonna ask him about it. He will tell me when he needs to.

*****************

Shawnie's POV

A FEW WEEKS LATER

I had just got off the phone with the realtor. I was going to be meeting her tomorrow morning so I can look at the house that I was potentially purchasing. It had been two weeks since Aubrey and I met up and I hadn't really talked to him, which was okay with me. We texted here and there, but never had a phone conversation. Atlas has been with me all of this time because he's been traveling.

The house was gorgeous, but I almost didn't want to look at it because it only had five bedrooms. I figured I would at least look at it. It was 5 minutes from Aubrey's house and about 15 minutes from Chris. The location of the home was perfect for co parenting purposes, but I wasn't too fond of the fact it was so close to my soon to be ex-husband.

We finally talked our lawyers into not going to mediation and just getting this over with. Of course, myself and my lawyer were perfectly fine with it because we want to get this over with. We want this to happen as quickly as possible. I know he said that there were a couple of meetings on his end and they eventually stopped pushing for the mediation. So, now everything is on the move, and hopefully within the next couple of weeks, everything will be sorted out, and we will officially be divorced.

I was staying at the SLS hotel. That has become my residence when I come to LA. I refuse to stay anywhere else. I have the three usuals with me, Dori, Mercedes and Joe. I didn't tell Aubrey I was coming because I didn't think he needed to know. I wasn't coming for him, I was coming to a showing and that was it. However, I needed to get the remainder of my things from his house, but I was gonna have my cousin do that for me.

I was sitting at the island on my MacBook looking at houses in his area and Mercedes walked in.

"Good morning!" I say

"Good morning. Where's Joe?" She asks

"Running."

"I needed to ask him something."

"What?" I ask

"Is your name Joseph?"

I laugh. "My bad."

"Oh my God, look at this car. I ordered it a couple weeks ago and this is how it's looking." I say excitedly

"Damn, the car cost $400,000 Shawnie." She says surprised.

"And? I have an SUV to get the kids around. This car is only for me. This car has single Shawnie written all over it....And I can afford it." I say excitedly.

"Well, it is your money. You can do whatever you wanna do with it. I love the car. You deserve it." She smiles.

"I do. After dealing with Aubrey, I need something for me and this car is a start. I'm in love with it. Everything is custom down to the little details on the dash."

"So $400,000 is just the base price."

"Yup." I say

"I won't ask how much."

"Yeah, don't." I laugh.

"I should've known you would get Tiffany blue on a car." She says

I smile big. "My favorite color!"

"Blogs are getting wind of the thousands you've been dropping. I saw a story about the 3.5 million dollar house you were looking at." She says

"I don't understand why they care about what I'm doing. It's so annoying." I say squinting my face in disgust.

"Mama, regardless of how you feel, you're a celebrity. It's time you get used to it. It's been years." My cousin says.

"Yeah. Anyway, Have you talked to Trey? He asked me about you."

"We have been texting back-and-forth and I told him that we were back in town but I don't know if I'm going to see him. I told him I would but he just needs to pump the brakes a little bit."

"Why? I thought you two were a thing." I say

"We are, but I think he wants to make this thing official and I just thought it was a fling. So I've been trying to let him cool off."

"Well, I'm going to tell you what you told me and that is to talk to him. Communicate that you don't want anything serious right now and that you guys are just having fun. Plus, I don't want you having a boyfriend when I'm single." I laugh

"Yeah, speaking of you being single...is everything okay with you and Joe?" She asks, taking a seat next to me.

"Yeah. We're just keeping it friendly."

"Why is that, because of Chris?" She asks

"No. I just wanna be single and he wants me to have more experiences. I haven't been single since law school and when I was it was only for a few months. He doesn't think I'm ready and I don't think I am either. If we decide to see what's happening between us we both know it'll be serious, so we're just not trying to go down that path." I explain

"That's mature of you and him. Wow! You know, San Diego has really done some good."

"I know." I say

"But y'all not gonna fuck? I mean damn. I need you to get that so I can know how it is." She says

"You sound like Dorian."

"Not true. I told you a long ass time ago that you needed to get that dick. I KNOW it's good. When I walked in on y'all in Vegas, I thought you got it. I was so happy. I got excited for nothing."

"Yeah I was just sleeping in the bed together."

"So boring." She frowns her face up at me. "I'm gonna have a talk with him because this needs to happen." She says

"Nah. I did screw Chris though. Him and this bad ass chick."

He looks at me confused. "Really? I didn't think you would do him again."

"I didn't either but she was there so it was casual...until it wasn't. I looked up and she was gone and it was just us and he was fucking me good. I had to get out of there. He wanted me to come back to Arizona and stay for the rest of the tour with him. It was just too much. But anyway, yes, Joe has really helped with that." I say

"Along with therapy." She says

"Yeah, I have had a couple of sessions but you know my therapist is Aubrey's too."

"We need to change that asap." She says

"I talked to Dr. Jones about that and he agrees. I really liked him though. I don't want to let him go but I can't risk it."

"I mean, if you're doing FaceTime sessions, it's not like you'll see Drake there. If you like him that much and feel comfortable with him, then keep him and just stick to what you've been doing. Tell Drake he's not your therapist anymore so he won't get suspicious and try to buy information out of him." She says

"That's true. I can try that and see how that works." I say. "Speaking of Aubrey..."

"What now?" She rolls her eyes.

I laugh. "It's nothing like that. I need you to go to his house and get my things."

"Drake?"

"Yes." I laugh. "I'm going to Hidden Hills today to look at a house and while I'm there, I need for you to go get as many things that can fit in the truck. Joe will go with you."

"Maybe Dori should go because Drake ain't feeling me right now."

"Actually, you and Dori go. I forgot Joe punched him in the face. He's not going to let him in." I say. "At least Aubrey will talk to you. You don't have to go in there being friends with him. Just be nice so you can get my shit."

She laughs. "Fine, whatever. So back to Chris, he's really still trying to get back with you?"

"It seems that way. He said him and Jasmine aren't talking anymore. I really thought he liked her."

"I did too. Damn. I'm starting to feel sorry."

"Find someone for him." I suggest

"Who? I don't know anyone here.... But you do." She smiles. "Talk to Jasmine. Get them back together."

"That I can do. I have her number." I say

"Do it. And don't fuck him again.Try to move on, having sex isn't going to help, regardless if a bitch is there or not." She smiles sarcastically at me.

"But it was so fun." I laugh

"Call her." She says as Joe walks in. "Just the person I wanna see." she smiles

"What?" He says

"Come talk to me on the balcony." She says

Joe follows Mercedes outside and I call Jasmine.

I know I shouldn't get involved but I need her to forgive him for whatever he did so he doesn't come to me. All that's going to do is distract me from what I'm trying to do. Because I can't deny Chris all the time. Plus she and I have an okay relationship. We've talked a couple of times and maybe I can talk her into it.

"Hello?" She answers

"Hey, it's Shawnie."

"Oh, hey girl! I know why you're calling but you were right. It doesn't matter what I do he's gonna do what he wants to do and it doesn't matter how much of a stable thing he has he's still gonna cheat. I couldn't do it anymore." She confesses

"Jasmine, I told you it would be hard. Chris is a lot to deal with but he's worth it."

She scuffs. "He's worth it? How? If that's the case why aren't you with him? I'm not you, I know when to leave." She says and that kind of stings a little bit, but whatever. We all know I stayed too long, with him and Aubrey.

"I didn't want to give up on him. I could've but you're right you're not me. I didn't want to leave him when he needed me, so I stuck it out. And I know that didn't get me anywhere because he cheated with you, while I was pregnant with his daughter." I say

"Look, I'm sorry he didn't give you the respect when you needed him and you left. You did right. But he's caught up on you. You're the one he wants, not me. I'm just something he's passing the time with and I know you guys fucked in Vegas."

"We did but it was a threesome. It wasn't serious." There's no way around that it. That's the only thing I can say.

"Doesn't matter. He's fucking you, I'm sure with no condom, because y'all don't use them anyway, and that's not right. Fuck him and low key fuck you too. Why are you even calling me?" She asks

I was a little triggered at her comment, but she has every right to feel how she does and if I was her I would say fuck me too. But I don't need her to be upset. I need her to be sorry and forgive whatever he did..... but she can't talk to me like she doesn't know who the fuck I am.

"Let me just say this, you are part of the reason we broke up. Stop it. Y'all aren't even together and you're mad we had sex because you pissed him off and he came to me. I'm calling you to try to help you. I want you guys together."

"Please." She says disrespectfully.

I'm really trying to keep my composure right now because she is being way out of pocket and I can feel my attitude rising and I wasn't even calling her on my bullshit. I'm really trying to help them.

"What reason do you have to help me? You just want me to get back with him so he can leave you alone." She says

"That's not my reasoning, because let's be honest, he hasn't stopped messing with me yet. I'm trying to get you guys back talking because I believe that you guys can make it work."

"Bullshit. What I said is the truth. You're trying to be single and you're not trying to be tied down. And with him hanging around you people are gonna automatically assume that you guys are back together and you don't want that."

Damn, she's not wrong.

"Okay. Yeah... but I really do feel you guys should be together. I think you should just give him a little bit more time. He's coming around. He likes you. If he didn't care he wouldn't be upset about you guys. Give him another chance. You know you miss him." I say

"Whatever, I'll call him to see what he's talking about. But if he says some bullshit that I don't want to hear, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to deal with him."

I smile. "Okay. It was nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too." We end the call.

Oh my gosh I'm so happy that conversation didn't go left.

************

Mercedes POV

"What's up?" Joe says sitting down on one of the lounge chairs.

"I originally wanted to talk to you about this issue I had but now I wanna talk about you and my cousin. I may be meddling but I want to know what's going on with you guys."

"Nothing." He shrugs

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason. She just has other things that are important and I don't think I should be on that list."

"Why not? You care about her right?" I ask

"Yes, Mercedes, I care about your cousin...but she needs to be single."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yes." He says

"You're that secure in your position?"

"I'm a secure man. I know who I am, what I am and what I have. I'm not like this fools out here fighting over her. I just know that she's not ready and I'm not going to put that pressure on her." He says

I stare at him for a few seconds. He's hiding something. I just know he is. I'm determined to find out what it is.

"So she's single...you're single...neither one of you wants a commitment but you both have needs..."

He laughs

"I don't know how good of an idea that is when she is trying to work on herself. I don't want to distract her from that. When, or if we come around to that we'll talk but right now, it's all good." He says and I respect that.

"But it's there if you ever decide to take it."

"You think so?" He says

"I know so." I say. "Dori and I are going to Drake's house to pick up some of her things. It'll just be the two of you for a couple of hours..." I wink my eye and leave him with his thoughts.

**********

Later that day, Dori and I went to Drake's house. Shawnie texted him letting him know we would be by. He said okay and here we were. I was dreading going into this house. I didn't want to be bothered with anything that had to do with him. I just wanted to do this without anything popping off and knowing him he was itching to fuck with me.

"Hey!" I say to Eric as he lets us in.

"What's up!" He hugs me and Dori. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, he's in his office." He says. "I would get in and get out if I was you. He's been in a pissy mood."

"Fuck him." I say and he laughs.

"I'll try to keep him occupied."

"Does he know we're here?" I ask

"Yeah." He says

"I'll try to be quick."

Dori and I go into the bedroom and walk into the closet. It was a little weird because it looked as if she still lived there. Nothing looked like it was moved. Her side of the closet was perfect, while his was messy. Which is also weird because he has OCD and is very particular about messes. A vase of dead blue roses were on the island. I know it had been sitting there for a while not only because they were dead but because the water was gone as well. Kinda creepy. Why would he just leave it there?

I grab the roses and walk into the kitchen and throw them away.

"He is going to be pissed you threw those away." Nate says

"Look, that's disgusting. He will get over it." I say and walk back into the room.

Dori was pulling her clothes out of the closet and laying them on the bed neatly.

"I feel bad for him. I believe he really loved her but he just didn't know how." Dori says

"Maybe he didn't, but oh well. He should've learned." I say with a shrug. "I'll start taking these to the car." I picked up as many clothes on the hangers as I could, and I took them to the car. When I came back I heard Drake's voice. So I stand at the door and listen to him talk to Dori.

"..... Does she even miss me?" He asks

"She's just trying to move on. She says she's over you but I don't know. She doesn't really talk about you. I'm sure maybe she does but you didn't do your part. She tried to give you chances." Dori says

"I miss her. I tried to give her everything and she still left. I tried to offer her everything she asked for but postpone the divorce but she wouldn't even hear me out." He said

"She doesn't want material things from you." I say walking into the bedroom. "She loves a good bag, and Tiffany's, but all she wanted from you was to put her first."

"You think so?"

"I know so, and you know it too. She asked for you to take time off and you didn't."

"I tried." He says

"But it was too late. You know she's spoiled and wants what she wants right then and there. You could've started to make those moves, she would've been happy with that, but you didn't. You look your time." I say

"Do you think she'll talk to me?" He asks

"Face to face? Probably not." I say

"Can you talk to her for me? Tell her I miss her." He says and I just look at him. This is crazy how he is being right now.

"You're gonna have to attempt to do that on your own. I'm not getting in the middle of this." I say

"Is she seeing someone?" He asks

"It's been a few weeks since you last saw her. Chill." I say

"You gotta set something up for us to talk."

"How did that go the last time y'all talked?" I ask

"We fucked." He says

"Exactly. She's not going for your shit anymore."

"Mercedes, I know you don't like me...but please. Help me. I need to redeem myself somehow."

"Dude. The divorce will be final soon. Just take the L." I say. I'm so over him right now. He's pathetic.

He turns to Dori.

"Dorian, please." He says

"....I'm sorry, Drake. I wanna help but there isn't anything I can do. She's done. You have done so many things to make her look crazy in the media and you want her back? She's not going to forget or forgive that."

"I was hurt. I did stupid shit, but that doesn't take away the love I have for her. I love that woman to death."

"Aubrey," I say, cutting in. "I understand that's how you feel but again, she said she's done."

"You called me Aubrey..."

"That's your name isn't it?" I say rolling my eyes.

"Yeah but you always call me Drake." He says with a small smile.

"Okay... Look, she's seeing someone... just give it up." I say

"She's seeing someone? But you just—Who?" He asks

I could see his whole demeanor change.

"Someone. So please just leave her alone." I say

He just looks at me for a few seconds, "Aight." He says. "It's not over like this..." he walks out of the room.

Me and Dori share a look then continue getting her things out of there.

What did you run about this chapter??