Bailey’s mouth tightened and Mortician cursed himself but decided to address the situation again.
“If you and Meggie cousins, I didn’t know. Neither K-P or Big Joe ever told me, Bailey. I wouldn’t keep shit like that from you.”
“That isn’t what Johnnie said.”
“Johnnie a motherfucking liar. I don’t give a fuck what he said. What the fuck is wrong with you? Since when does what that motherfuckersay matter to you more than what the fuck I say?”
“He made me feel like I mattered.”
“To get in your motherfucking head. You don’t fucking matter to that motherfucker.Kendallbarely matter to him—”
Anger flashed in her eyes.
“I’m not sleeping with Kendall. He told you that to fuck with you.”
She lifted her chin. “I see you know the entire story. You didn’t bring me here to reconnect. You brought me here out of pity. I asked CJ to help me and what does that arrogant little asshole do? Run to you.”
Mortician stared at her, his wife, the mother of his children, and a woman who’d lost her fucking mind. “You asked CJ to help you how?”
“I don’t know, Lucas! Harley had to have that motherfucker in there the night she told me about Nardo along with Meggie’s mini-me. Rebel’s a disrespectful bitch. Worse than that bitch I gave birth to.”
“Listen up, Bailey. I know you going through a lot. I left Harley, our daughter, a kid, to help you. But you not calling Harley, Rebel, or CJ out their names. Theyarekids and they don’t fucking deserve that.”
She opened her mouth, probably to blast him, but he held up his hand.
“Shut the fuck up,” he gritted.
“Or what? You’ll desert me and run to your precious daughter. She humiliated me. Of allthe girls,shehad to be the one to fuck and to get abused and to smoke pot. To disrespect me. Isn’t it bad enough that I have mid-tier beauty? A husband who has a roving eye for a woman with red hair and pale skin? Did I also have to have a daughter who’s a fucking miserable statistic? As the only African-American woman there!”
“Since fucking when?” Mortician snapped.
“You’re a fucking asshole.” She covered her face and sobbed.
As much as Mortician wanted to go to her, he couldn’t. Theyhadto face some hard truths.
“Bailey, you never claimed one side or the other—”
“That’s the same thing Johnnie said,” she wailed. “Is that why you’re fucking Kendall? Because you know what she is?”
“I’mnotfucking Kendall!”
“You should!” she screamed. “You fucking should. Maybe then you’d love me for me. You’d see me—”
“You want me to fuckingcheaton you?” He’d never been so fucking indignant in his fucking life. “You want me to break my fucking vows to you?”
“I want you to get Kendall out of your system. Johnnie told me everything. You went away with her and…and…I…tell me the truth! Why does Johnnie have to be the one to look out for me?”
“I took Kendall on a day trip as her friend. She needed…” Fuck.Medied on his fucking lips because it would sound so fucking wrong and play right into Johnnie’s fucking hands.
“She needed you, right, Lucas? Kendall needed you so you jumped to her rescue.”
“Bailey,” Mortician growled. “To me, it seem like you just throwing shit at me becauseyoudon’t want to be married tomeanymore. You know how much KendallandMeggie mean to me. I’m not sleeping with either one of them.”
“Then why was last night the first time in weeks you fucked me? Johnnie was more tender to me than you’ve been in months.”
“You fucked Johnnie?”
“No! I didn’t want to because I love you. Even after he told me…a-a-and he said I’d never measure up…”
