A Few Hours Later.....
Shantelle was still resting in bed and Joe was doing his best to make her happy and comfortable, but at the same time, trying to give her space. He mostly stayed in his office, but would periodically check on her and bring her food. Although she accepted the food, she remained silent and tearful—a complete opposite of her normal bubbly, cheerful demeanor, and it made Joe feel like a pile of shit.

A short while later, there was a knock at the door, when Joe answered it, he saw it was the twins and their wives.

"Hey y'all." Joe said softly.

"What's up Uce." Jonathan said.

"Hey Uce." Joshua said not looking Joe in the eye.

Trinity punched Joe hard in his arm and looked him up and down.

"Ow! Damn Trin! What was that for?" Joe asked holding his arm.

"Shut up!!!! You know what!" Trinity snapped back.

Takecia just rolled her eyes and shook her head and walked past him.

"Y'all told them?! I said I would explain when y'all got here!" Joe said sounding irritable.

"Yeah we kinda had to." Jonathan said sheepishly.

"Where is she Joe?!" Takecia demanded.

"She's in our bedroom on the second floor, first door on the right." Joe replied.

"Come on Trin, let's make sure she's ok!" Takecia said giving Joe a dirty look, as they went upstairs.

After the ladies went upstairs, Jonathan spoke up..

"Damn Uce, what happened?" He asked.

"I-I don't know....like I said I don't even know how I got home!" Joe said as he sat down and put his head in his hands.

"That's why I told you Uce not to give him no alcohol. You know he act a fool when he get drunk!" Jonathan said to Joshua.

"I was just trying to console him. You see how he was crying like a baby when he was at the house!" Joshua retorted.

"I get that but you KNOW whenever he drink whiskey, he shows his ass. Remember those five dudes that got they asses handed to them and we had to bail him out of jail? The police had to taze his ass just to get him in handcuffs? It got ugly. You remember?" Jonathan argued.

"Oh yeahhhh...I forgot about that." Joshua said shuddering as he reminisced about the incident. "Well...shit....I was just tryin' to help."

"I love her y'all. What am I gonna do?! I don't remember anything!!!! It's that damn fake ass Idris Elba's fault!! If he had just left her alone, I wouldn't have got upset  and I probably wouldn't have gotten got drunk!!" Joe explained.

"Yeah but if she said you raped her, then you probably did Uce. Especially if she's got bruises on her. I don't think Shantelle would lie on you, I mean it's not like she's some random ass female, she's your wife." Jonathan said.

"I can't lose her y'all, I just can't." Joe said, as he lifted his head with sadness in his eyes.

"Man.... I-I don't know what to tell you Uce. I guess maybe give her time. I mean what's done is done, so I guess just try to move forward and make it up to her somehow." Joshua advised.

"And don't yo' ass pick up not another drink!" Jonathan laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Meanwhile.........
Trinity and Takecia were in the master bedroom keeping Shantelle company. When they first came in the room, they saw her sitting on the loveseat with her head down looking very sad. She hadn't touched any of the food and was just sitting there.

"Hey Shan, how are you girl?" Trinity said softly.

"I-I'm here." Shantelle sighed, not giving eye contact.

"Girl, I could kick Joe's ass....like seriously." Takecia said angrily.

"Same." Trinity chimed in.

"So what happened?" Takecia asked as she and Trinity sat on the loveseat on either side of Shantelle.

After Shantelle explained everything that's happened from the incident with Nic all the way up to him raping her. Trinity and Takecia remained silent and shook their heads.

"Girl, I wouldn't blame you in the least if you left his crazy ass." Takecia snarled.

At that moment, Shantelle's head snapped up and her eyes were wide...

"N-no!!! I can't leave him! I won't leave him!!! Despite everything that's happened, I love him!!! Yes, I'm upset with him, but I'm not leaving him! Not ever!!" She said.

"Well if you not gonna leave him, then he needs to be punished!" Trinity said.

"Exactly!!" Takecia chimed in.

"H-How do I do that?" Shantelle asked.

"I don't know. That's for you to figure out. Maybe not give him none or make him spend a lot of money." Trinity shrugged.

"Hell...do both I say." Takecia added.

Shantelle just sighed. She was pissed off at Joe, but at the same time, he knew he was drunk and wasn't himself. Right now, she was at a crossroad. She decided to go downstairs and face her husband.

As she stood up, the fact that Shantelle winced in pain, was not lost on her cousins in law.....

"Girl, are you okay?" Trinity asked out of concern.

"Yeah just a little sore." She replied.

"It's because of Joe's ass, isn't it?!" Takecia snapped.

"'Kecia, it's ok...really." Shantelle said.

"No it's not! Oohh!!! I'm so pissed off with him!! Drunk or not, he should've known better!!" Takecia fussed.

Trinity was silent but shook her head in disgust.

"Where are you going?" Takecia asked.

"I'm going downstairs. I need to face Joe." Shantelle announced.

"Are you sure?" Trinity asked.

"Yes.... I'm sure....I have to eventually." Shantelle replied.

Meanwhile.........
The twins are sitting in the living room trying to console Joe when they hear the ladies coming downstairs and enter the living room. When Joe looked up and saw his wife, he rushed over to her and dropped to his knees.

"Baby...please....I'm so so sorry, I'm begging you on hands and knees, please forgive me." Joe begged wrapping his arms around her waist and looking up at her with tears brimming in his eyes and his lips quivering.

As Shantelle looked down at her husband, her anger melted away and the look on Joe's face broke her heart as tears fell from her eyes. She then wrapped her arms around his head and shoulders, as he buried his head in her abdomen and cried as if his heart would break. The fact that this big, strong dominant man was on his knees bawling like a baby was too much for her—she loved him and forgave him.

The twins and their wives were watching the exchange, it had a heart stirring effect on them. Trinity and Takecia dabbed away tears and Joshua kept his head down.

"Damn! Is somebody cutting up onions in here?" Jonathan asked wiping his eyes.

"Are y'all gonna be ok? We're gonna leave now." Trinity said to Shantelle.

"Yeah we'll be ok." She replied, holding a still crying Joe who was still on his knees.

"Ok, well call us if you need us." Takecia said as the group left the house, leaving the couple to mend their relationship.

TBC
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Next chapter: Instacart Ignorance