“Is that all you care about? Making sure I’m not pregnant so you can run after Cali?”
Yep…
“Why you keep avoiding the question? Stop being so childish and answer.”
“No, I’m not pregnant!” she hollered. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Then why you post that sonogram? What was that for?”
Rozalin leaned on the desk while looking at her French manicure. “It’s my cousin. She is pregnant, and I was celebrating that. I didn’t know I needed permission to post a sonogram picture.”
There was so much Rio had to hold back. Rozalin was being messy. She posted that without context, knowing people would assume it was her. He didn’t feel like walking into that territory so he let it go.
“Fuck, I can’t believe you. You really aren’t the guy I thought you were.”
Rio was so relieved that her dig didn’t offend him. Getting Rozalin pregnant would’ve ended his quest to get Cali back in his life.
“You made me feel like we had something special,” Rozalin sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I thought I could be the woman you needed. Someone who’s loyal and wouldn’t dog you out like Cali did. You led me to believe that we could achieve that and now you're distant.”
“Do you not remember the last time we were together?” he shot back. “You said you were done and now you're acting like I dogged you out. That’s not fair, Roz.”
“No.” She pointed at him, shooting bullets with her eyes. “Don't talk to me about fair because you don't know shit about it. What’s not fair is that you sold me this dream only to switch up on me. What does Cali have that I don't? Why can’t you get over her? She betrayed you. You almost got killed and you're still not over her.”
Rio didn’t have an answer to her question. Not even he could understand why he hadn’t moved on from Cali. She had done the unthinkable, yet life without her sounded worse than when he was in that coma. Rozalin wasn’t aware of the pain he’d caused Cali either. He’d cheated during their marriage and chose her to indulge in an illicit sex affair with. There were blemishes on both of their parts, not just Cali’s.
Rio stood in front of Rozalin. There was some guilt for how he’d handled her. Her tears did penetrate him. Grabbing a Kleenex off her desk, he wiped her face.
“Stop crying,” he mumbled.
“No, I can’t. You hurt me, and I didn’t deserve it.”
No one deserved pain but somehow it happened. Life was filled with agony and no one could escape it.
“You probably won’t believe me when I say this but I never intended on hurting you. I was trying to hurt Cali, but I should've used better discernment with you. I’m sorry for not handling you correctly. I fucked up, okay?”
Rozalin sniffled and nodded. “Now what? Where do we go from here?”
“It’s best if we go our separate ways.”
Her eyes squeezed shut as she shook her head. She was hurt, and Rio understood it, but he couldn’t keep playing with her feelings. Despite the sayinghurt people, hurt people, he couldn’t inflict anymore pain on her.
“You still want her, don't you?” she asked bitterly.
He nodded, finding no shame in his honesty.
Rozalin scoffed, taking a step back. “Then go. Don't come back when she decides to cheat again. I won’t be available to you. You deserve everything that Cali did to you, even the accident.”
Rio tipped his head, understanding that whatever he said would fall on ears that were too hurt to process his perspective. Willingly, he gave her one more look and made his way out of Rozalin’s life for good.
Sixteen
2018
It had been such a dreary day with thunder crashing in the sky. Rain fell by the gallons as Irish laid in her bed. Ever since her miscarriage, she hadn’t found any reason to leave her bedroom. All she could think about was the life that once grew in her stomach. It had been a painful loss, and the worst part of it all, she had no one to confide in.
Irish got up and walked inside her bathroom. Her oncoming tears were on the way and she preferred to cry inside the shower. Thirty minutes of boohooing had drained her. How would she move on? What would happiness feel like again? Would she ever be able to experience motherhood in the future?
After showering, she wrapped her body in a towel and went back into the room.
