Page 1 of Wifey
Book I
One
You know that moment when shit just got real?
Everyone has it. It might be your first job and you see how much they really took out of your paycheck. It might be when you bought a new car and trying to figure out if you really need all that insurance coverage. It might be you finessed your way through an interview only to arrive on the first day and you have no idea what the hell you’re doing.
My ‘shit just got real moment’ is staring back at me in a big way. I hate that my heart is having a spectacular show of fireworks while my brain is firmly shaking her head in an IKYFL type of way.
“You honestly think staring at it is going to make it go away?”
If I were being completely honest, the answer was yes. Staring at this overpriced luxury car in my garage is going to make it go away.
Holding a cup of coffee, I’m wondering where in the hell did I go wrong in my life? I have a college degree. Great friends. A supportive family. The coffee business I inherited from my father is doing perfectly.
So, of course, my drug lord ex-boyfriend came back into the picture.
As I stand in my garage, looking at the new, fully loaded BMW with all of the gifts in the backseat, I wonder if looking the other way is worth it. It’s not like infidelity or some othernot as badcrime.
Cameron has killed people to protect his interests. His senator father is well aware of it and doesn’t care one bit.
This is different from other women who stay with a man because he stepped out or has other women on the side. She can ignore him leaving to go to the other room or glancing down at his phone. Can I really ignore Cameron coming home knowing he probably just tortured a man, hours before?
“There’s something he’s not telling me,” I blow on my cup of hazelnut coffee. Ever since Cameron dropped off the car – or had someone do it for him – I haven’t driven it at all. I asked Meadow to park inside the garage for me and leave everything intact, including all of the designer bags filling up the backseat.
“I don’t know what else he’s hiding,” Meadow shrugs. She’s one of my ride or die chicks from college. She’s not a part of the hood lifestyle by any means and she’s studying to be a doctor. She’s also engaged to a nice guy named Jamal, who’s also in med school. She leads the nice and quiet boring life I envy. “He laid all of his cards out on the table for you, Pooh.”
“No, that’s not it.” I can’t help but to stare at the car a bit longer. I know it cost a pretty penny and it was above ‘the car in the lot’ price range. Everything about the car was customized, even down to the leather seats.
I don’t know if Cameron wants me to shut up or if he’s truly remorseful. It might be both, but I don’t know which one is leaning harder. He tells me just enough, but never the full story.
That is also my fault; I never really want to know everything. “There’s more to this.”
“How much more?” Meadow asks. She’s dark-skinned and thick. She always looks like she carries a glam squad with her at all times because baby girl never misses a step with her looks. “He’s a drug lord with connections all over. He killed two people in front of you. How much more do you want to know about him?”
When Meadow puts it like that, I don’t want to know anything. Ignorance is bliss. “Why me?”
“He loves you,” she shrugs, “sometimes, it can really be that simple.”
“But it’s not that simple,” I reply. “Nothing about Cameron screams simple. He’s more complicated than he wants to admit.”
“He laid out all of his cards, Tay. You met the parents. You “met” his brother and sister-in-law. You know what he does.” Meadow sighs. “And he’s supporting you.”
“He’snotsupporting me.” I correct her and she shrugs again. I can feel Meadow threatening to do eye rolls but she’s being gracious. “He’s not.”
It’s a bald-faced lie and we both know it. I received a text this morning from Gabe inquiring about the security system that’d been implemented. He was excited about the changes and ranted about how he tried to get my Daddy to do the same for years.
It would be outright stupid to think Cameron wasn’t making improvements in my life on a professional level. I don’t have to worry about firing anyone or cutting back someone’s hours. The mess called my personal life, however, still needs to be cleaned up.
I hate I thought I forgot about that fool. I know I haven’t. I stalked his IG page more than I wanted to admit. I was shocked to see he still followed me. I was stunned to see no evidence of another woman during the time we were split.
Stillsplit. This is not a reconciliation.
“Things at the shop are easier now than they were a year ago. Hell, things are easier than they were even a few weeks ago.” Meadow replies. “Cam’s money helped regardless of how you feel.”
“It’s blood money,” I reply before a sip. “Someone died for that.”
“People die every day for wars sanctioned by powerful men,” Meadow quietly replies, “no one blinks an eye.”
