Page 77 of Intentional Foul
I rested in the leather seats of the jet Malcolm chartered for us and smiled. My dreams were coming true with the label, but the real catch was my husband. He was my everything. Since we made it back from St. Thomas, we’d been in the honeymoon phase. I wished I could wholeheartedly enjoy it, but the Anissa cloud hung above my head. Malcolm has pushed me to tell her. . . he even named itTell Day,but I just couldn’t do it.
“I can reach out to some old connections at Midwest,” I said.
“Are you sure about that? When I reached out to them for the rest of your publishing information, they sent me directly to MC. I don’t know what Malcolm did, but they don’t want any dealings with you,” he said.
I cackled at his comment until my phone vibrated.
Anissa
Okay, Jhae, something is going on.
Changing Anissa’s name was the only way I could return her text. The name bestie no longer applied to us.
Anissa
Your niece hasn’t seen you in weeks. Did I do something wrong?
I flipped the phone over as tears welled in my eyes. My heart ached to connect with my friend again, but I couldn’t stomach the guilt. With my head resting on the tan leather headrest, I allowed myself to grieve the coming loss.
“Jhae, are you okay?” Tyrus asked, but I didn’t answer.
He moved next to me and secured my hand, squeezing it to comfort me. “You can’t continue to move in the shadows. Tell her so you both can heal from this. This isn’t fair to you or Anissa,” he said.
With blurred vision and a panting chest, he pulled me in for a hug. Everyone in my circle continued to give me the same advice. What they failed to realize was that I was the one hurting a person who meant the world to me. Life had its way of rewarding but punishing me on the same pathway. I get to love an amazing man but break the heart of a person we both value.
“I can’t, Tyrus. I just can’t,” I wailed into his shoulder.
“She will forgive you but prolonging this isn’t making it better. Give Anissa the benefit of the doubt.”
I wished I could believe it but I knew Anissa almost better than Kahili. She won’t forgive easily, if at all.
Malcolm
I stepped into the bathroom to find my wife in a pair of pink silk pj bottoms and my t-shirt. The white box with the red unraveled ribbon rested on the bed with the lid flipped off. Earlier today I had a dress, shoes, and makeup team sent to Jhae to get her ready. She touched down from Houston yesterday and I wanted to take her out.
My eyes darted from the bed to my woman standing near the sectional.
“Jhae, we’re going to be late. I have a surprise planned for you.”
She tangled with her fingers, alerting me an argument was heading my way. I moved closer but still allowed her space to speak freely.
“I’m not going. We are not going.” she said.
Since returning to L.A., Jhae has handcuffed us to this condo. She refused to go anywhere with me alone. If Marquise wasn’t involved, she wasn’t getting in the car. It’s her way of protecting herself from my mother. Things don’t look suspicious if we were all in attendance. I made it very clear on the card that he wasn’t going.
“Jhae, I want to take my wife out to a nice dinner.”
She placed her hands on her hips as she stared at me. “We can have a nice dinner at home.”
“Bullshit, you’re hiding from my mother the same way you’re ducking her calls,” I said.
She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed small circles.
“So what if I am. My life is the one that’s going to change, not yours, Malcolm. I don’t want her finding out from some damn gossip blog,” Jhae voice elevated.
This Anissa argument was the only spot of tension in my marriage. It’s keeping me and Jhae from fully living.
“You wouldn’t let me tell her,” I hit back.
