Page 136 of Treason's Temptation
“Look at them!” Josephine exclaimed, clasping her hands together.
“Good, because after you win this election, the next one will be around the corner,” Russell Sr. reminded Treason, turning the conversation into a political TED talk.
“Alright, take that boring business talk inside,” Josephine ordered, shooing them off the terrace.
Treason kissed my cheek, reminding me to play nice before the men disappeared. Yassah signaled the waiter for another bottle of wine, sharing her unfiltered thoughts on the latest Madison Pointe gossip. The tension was thick enough that none of them needed more alcohol, but the waiter delivered it anyway.
Sadly, I was comfortable in a room full of women judging other people. Sloane lived for infiltrating their circles, like it somehow validated the trauma she never talked about. This wasTreason’s life now, which made it a part of mine, so I pretended to care.
Unless.
I wasn’t sure if Treason would still look at me the same if I got rid of it. One decision could end both my pregnancy and my relationship. It made making one that much harder.
“I’ve been seeing your face all over Madison Pointe. The city loves you,” Josephine boasted.
“I don’t know about all that.”
“Don’t be so modest. Surely you expected it, being with a man like Tre,” Michelle replied. “How come you guys didn’t attend the gala together?”
“The gala was business, not a date. We wanted to keep things low-key,” I lied.
“I thought we weren’t in court. What’s with the interrogation?” Sloane asked, tired of sitting quietly.
“Treason, doing anythinglow-key,” Yassah laughed, harder than she meant to, but the wine made her tipsy. “How did you do it? Get Tre all handsy and in love?”
Sloane sipped her wine, wondering if I’d remember what she always told me.
Keep the recipe to yourself. You hand out ingredients, don’t be surprised when another woman’s cooking your dish.
“Be myself,” I half shrugged, catching Sloane’s smile from my peripheral, “A man who wants to will.”
Yassah clapped her hands like I’d just delivered the sermon of the century.
“I have to admit I’m shocked. All of Madison Pointe thought Tre and Dani would be married with kids by now,” Michelle spat, sticking the proverbial knife in deeper.
“Now you’re just being messy bitch,” Yassah scolded.
“Everybody thought it,” Michelle claimed, waving Yassah off, “It’s not personal, but I know how social climbers can be.Looking to score their next big fish, and because my man is aLangston, he’s automatically on the list.”
“That’s not why your husband is on the list,” Sloane mumbled, sipping her wine.
“You know all aboutlists, don’t you?” Michelle asked, wearing a mischievous grin, not realizing she walked into a trap.
Sloane’s razor-sharp lips added another point, “So does your husband!”
“Let’s go! Right fuckin’ now!” Michelle jumped out of her seat, rolling her shoulders while Sloane laughed, calling Jaleb to get hiswife.
“Chelle calm down!” Yassah reasoned.
“She’s been coming for me all night. I tried to do the right thing, but-.”
Sloane’s manicured hand scoffed at the idea, “You wouldn’t knowthe right thingto do if it put its dick in your mouth. That’s how your husband ended up in my bed.”
Jaleb almost fell, running to Michelle as she sprang to her feet. Wherever the line was drawn, Sloane’s comment crossed it. She reveled in watching Jaleb hold Michelle back while she twirled her ankle.
“If tonight is about your daughter, act like it!” Josephine scolded Sloane before turning to Michelle with a strict gaze.
No words were spoken, but the message was received loud and clear. Jaleb and Michelle were two sides of the same coin, married to the image more than each other. There was nothing she could say to hurt my feelings because I didn’t want anything she had. Yassah’s bubbly personality steered the conversation far beyond Michelle and Sloane’s beef, rambling about everybody’s business and how she hated the Women’s League.
