Warnings: Hardcore Angst, Gaslighting & Mentions of Cheating

Pairings: Toxic!Wife!Riri x Black!Wife!Reader, Mom!Reader x Daughter!Anathi x Mama!Riri

Summary: In which, [Name] is tired of Riri's open-ended promises and gains the courage to leave her toxic marriage alongside their daughter, Anathi.

Word Count: 2.3k+

Author's Note: Well, I tried toxic!riri but it kinda feels like she's abusive, but oh well, please leave the feedback.

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After your daughter was soundly asleep, your wife tended to sneak out of the palace without announcing it. As usual, she didn't leave a message nor informed any of the Dora Milaje of her whereabouts. She just upped and left, having no regard for your concern.

But enough was enough, you were tired of trying to manage your marriage with the Williams girl. You went above and beyond trying to revive your marriage for the sake of your daughter, Anathi, but it seems like she wasn't sufficient for Riri.

You went to couple's therapy, it transformed into an epic failure due to Riri's resistance and incapability to reveal her vulnerability to the therapist.

Unfortunately, you didn't want to but were ultimately forced to a conclusion that night. You knew her schedule like the back of your hand and knew that she would be drunk off her ass by this time of night.

Packing your bags ahead of time and hiding them in the guest room so Riri wouldn't get suspicious.

She brought this upon herself, if she truly loved her family, she shouldn't have been so neglectful and disloyal.

There were great memories that you shared with Riri before your sparking love died out, a time when your smile wasn't plastered on and the shared kisses with Riri weren't just a front for your daughter. Your proposal, the wedding day, the honeymoon, discussing about creating a family, your pregnancy months, the duration of giving birth, and celebrating your daughter's milestone together as a family should.

Since she can leave why can't you? Maybe, that was easier said than done.

Although your mind was persistent with moving on, your heart was refusing to let go of the amount of love that you held for your soon-to-be ex-wife.

She didn't deserve your time. She didn't deserve your love or effort to maintain your failing/broken relationship.

Your mind reckoned that Riri's love for you was completely toxic, no matter how hard your heart tried to push the pain down. Her love for you wasn't natural, it wasn't healthy to contain inside your heart.

Because if you truly loved someone, it shouldn't have hurt this much.

After discovering that she was out cheating, your tears turned numb and instead devoted extra time to your daughter. Someone had to do it, and it definitely wasn't going to be Riri.

With a shaky exhale, you slipped your wedding ring off your finger and placed the tiny, yet, very expensive jewelry on the bedside.

Releasing a tiny sniffle in the peaceful atmosphere as your eyes drift from the ring to the photo-frame on the bedside. It was the three of you with big radiant smiles being delighted in each other's embrace at Disneyworld.

Oh, where did the glorious years go by?

"Where are we going, mommy?" The familiar voice caused you to quickly erase your tears away before looking at your daughter.

"Oh...sweetie, we're just going on a family bonding trip. Just me and you, how does that sound?"

She quickly made her way to you, sitting on the bed. "What about mama?" Her voice was genuine, her beautiful beady brown eyes bouncing up at you. Your heart became consumed with guilt, knowing that you have to come clean.

"Mama's not coming with us." Wrapping an arm around her small physique as you looked down on her.

"Why not?"

"We're going to Haiti for a while," you informed your daughter, placing a few braids behind her ear. "Don't you wanna see aunt Nakia, aunt Shuri, and cousin Touissant?"

Her eyes spark up at her familial mentions as she nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I do."

You smile, caressing her cheek. "That's my girl,"

As long as you had Anathi, you were rewarded with a lifetime of happiness without a doubt.

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It was nearing nightfall and you were about to fly out to Haiti with no signs of interruption, meaning that Riri wasn't home yet. The floor to the quinjet was still open, the cool autumn breeze softly flowing inside. Anathi was safely buckled in her seat playing on her tablet while two guards guarded the vehicle.

Perhaps there was a drop of an ounce in you that wished Riri would have pulled her head out of her ass for once, and at least try to fix her mistakes.

Luckily you had arranged to have a familiar face with you for the journey.

"Aneke, can you watch her?"

"Of course, your majesty." She slightly bowed in respect.

"Thanks, I'll be right back." You left the quinjet and headed toward the palace. Sauntering back into your old bedroom with a wide grin, deep in thought about reuniting Anathi with her family back in Haiti.

"So you think you slick now, huh?" She taunted adamantly and your grin disappears as a pit formed in your stomach. Only the bedside lamp illuminated the dark bedroom making her figure look ghastly, her shadow overlooking the room.

That sickening feeling returns as your mind is fogged up with horrible possibilities of how this interaction with Riri will go.

"When did you arrive home?" You hesitantly asked.

"A few minutes ago, but that's not the main subject here." She finally looked up at you, gritting her teeth. "Where are you and Anathi's belongings?!...and don't goddamn lie to me."

Kissing your teeth as you thought of a plausible lie to get out of this sticky situation, "I'm going to visit my family in Haiti."

A low chuckle rose from her, immediately aware that you were lying but decided to play along. "Oh yeah, for how long?" She clicked her tongue, not waiting on a response, getting up from the bed. "No-no, the better question yet, who the fuck you gonna be meeting there?" Her defensive tone erupted into a loud shout.

"Keep your voice down, Anathi could hear you."

"I ain't give a shit, right now, [name]. I have questions and what I want now is reasonable answers."

Everything seemed off with her: her posture, her hard stares, and that sharp tongue of hers. That sharp tongue of hers was always the main root of self-destruction.

"Fine, if you must know...I'm divorcing you and preparing to take full custody of Anathi."

"You not going anywhere and you damn well not taking my child with you." Perhaps it was the strictness in her tone which made you backtrack on your next few words.

"Yes, I can and yes, I will."

Strutting confidently towards you, her hands wrapped around your waist, her eyes boring into yours. "Come on ma, don't be like that." Instead of having a list of stringed apologies working in your favor, she decided on another solution for your forgiveness.

Her lips were instantly attached to your neck, peppering sloppy kisses there. "I always make it up to you, don't I?" Remaining silent, giving Riri the tiny confirmation as she started to suck harder on your neck creating hickeys.

"No, you can't do this, Riri." You explained, pushing her off of you, watching her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "You can't have sex with me and expect me to fall into this ridiculous cycle with you again. You run off somewhere, smell like some other bitch, and expect me to be fine with it but that shit hurts like hell. I've been with you through thick and thin and I don't even know what I did to deserve this treatment from you."

Tears were threatening to spill out of your eyes but regretfully you held them back. By unleashing your vulnerability, it would coax her easy access into enticing her back into her arms.

You weren't going to be defenseless anymore....at least not against her. "But the truth is, you still haven't changed. God, you don't even have to change for me, at least change for our daughter."

Not replying in words, her solemn features were an answer in itself. For once, she actually felt guilty for her wrongdoings and that gave very little joy.

"I'm leaving and that's final." You headed for the door.

She sobered up very quickly, once she realized that you are extremely serious, and rushed towards you, stopping you by your forearm. Tears quickly brim her eyes, finding her arms back on your waist, gripping tightly. "Ma, please don't leave me, I'm so lost without you. I'm nothing without Anathi, I'm nothing without you."

Reconciling with you was the last option right now, so Riri prayed that a few sweet words would do the trick.

"Please don't make this harder than it already is," You mumbled, caressing her face and drying her tears away with the pad of your thumb. "I'm not sorry, Riri. The only time that I'll see you is when you come to visit Anathi."

"Did you ever truly love me, because I loved you? We both know that those other girls meant nothing to me, you are my world...you and Anathi are my universe." Riri studied your love languages and knew that words of affection always made you fold.

Breaking out of her hold fueled by sudden astonishment at her foolish tricks. "Don't play the love me card because we both know that I loved the hardest. I've fought the hardest to make this family work."

"[Name] think of Anathi, our daughter." That was a definite low blow. She couldn't even believe her own words, being appalled at her style of speech.

Never once in her life, she didn't even think that she would resort to using her daughter as the last ultimatum
in the conversation, and Riri knew that you were gullible when it surrounds your daughter.

Although she was scared of your reaction, she continued, dragging herself deeper into the blazing fire. "How do you think Anathi will feel once she realizes that we aren't together anymore, [name]?"

She was downright determined by continuing to trap you in this matrimony.

"You don't think that I thought about our daughter during this whole time?" your voice raised in an octave, fury rising in your chest.

As much as you loved your wife, she wasn't going to have the triumph of making you out to be a horrible wife and mother. Oh no, you were going to remain victorious throughout the whole process of this divorce.

"Every night, you were out doing god knows who, I was here with her. Do you have any idea how it felt when I have to cover up your toxicity from her? How I had to lie whenever she gets suspicious about the company that you sleep around with?" You strode slowly towards her, each word covered in hostility. "Hmmm...do you have any idea what that felt like?"

How ironic that when she wasn't initiating the argument, she immediately cowered in fear.

"Fight back, Riri!" You yelled, pushing her back with your uttermost strength. You couldn't figure out the reason for your anger, whether how Riri wasn't defending herself or that she still wasn't remorseful for her mistakes. "Fucking fight back!!"

Once you realized that releasing your rage upon her wasn't the way to go about the situation, you calmed your senses. Deep intakes and outtakes of breaths as you balled your fists into a ball, struggling with the temptation to slap her.

Being too shameful to look you in the eye was the most cowardly thing that Riri Williams could have ever done.

"I think that she's starting to realize that we're falling out of love and is desperately trying to spend quality time with us. She shouldn't be the one struggling to keep our marriage together. We should be the ones fixing our marriage to focus on each other, not her, not our daughter. It should be us, and only us."

"If you love me, don't leave me." Riri's voice came out in a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Riri, but you're toxic and we both know this is best so that you don't pass it on to our daughter."

Rather than another broken plea to stay, she connected her lips with yours. At first, you resisted, trying to disconnect your lips but she enamored you into returning the kiss. Your hands caress her face as she softly deepens the kiss, your tongues gently dancing with each other.

If this was truly the last time spent you, she wanted to at least end it off with a good note that her mind will remember it by. You swore to never experience this bittersweet sentiment with her anymore, Riri perceived that as well so she meant to put her might and soul into this one.

"I'll try, I promise, I'll try." They were the first words that fell from her lips once she pulled away from the meaningful kiss.

"I don't need your promises, ri. You need to sort your shit out by yourself and once you do that, just sign the damn papers." And with that, you left the palace, your heart vowing to never return to the swindling woman named Riri Williams.

It was just better this way, whether Riri agreed to it or not. You deserved real love and you weren't going to rekindle it with the past anymore. Riri Williams was now a name of a past that you'd rather forget, seeking to live in the present from here on then.

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© letitiaslcverr, 2023. please do not plagiarize any of my works.