––––––––
The months seemed to come and go and Aleesha’s pregnancy didn’t start taking its full effect on her until she was about to be seven months along. She still hadn’t told Savage that the son she was carrying wasn’t his and it was beginning to stress her out, even though she tried not to show it.
While Savage was visiting, he could tell just by looking at his wife that something was wrong, especially when she began yelling at the twins. She never raised her voice or got mad at them but every little thing they did would agitate her, so Savage decided to give her a break. Since he was leaving to New Orleans that night, he was going to take the twins with him. Of course Aleesha was reluctant at first but he reassured her that it was for the better.
The next day, Aleesha didn’t have a clue in mind as to what to do. She felt like she really needed to talk to someone, so she called her mom and invited her over for some mother daughter time.
Renee arrived with plates of Mongolian barbeque and could instantly tell something wasn’t right with her daughter. She was walking around moping and wasn’t her usual happy self. They took a seat on the couch and Renee gave Aleesha a plate of food and a fork and kept the other one for herself. She opened the food container and as soon as she took a bite, Aleesha began talking.
“Mom, I messed up,” Aleesha said, setting her plate of food on the coffee table.
“What do you mean?” Renee asked once she finished chewing. She sat her plate on the coffee table and turned to face her daughter.
Aleesha looked away. “I messed up and I cheated on Savage.”
Renee was taken aback. She never knew her daughter had it in her. “Are you cheating on him or was it one time?”
Aleesha looked at her mom through the corners of her eyes. “Technically I’m still cheating on him because I’m sleeping with Sensi.”
“The girl that works for you?”
Aleesha looked her mom in the eyes and nodded her head. “Yeah. But he knows about that.”
“And he’s okay with it?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, my daughter’s a little freak,” Renee playfully said making them laugh. “So what’s the problem?”
Aleesha’s tone became serious again. “I cheated on him with Cali.”
Renee shook her head. “And?”
Aleesha looked down and closed her eyes. “I’m pregnant with his baby.”
“Aleesha!” Renee said, shocked.
“I know mom,” Aleesha said looking back up at her. “I know.”
“So I’m guessing you haven’t told your husband yet?” Renee asked, even though she already knew the answer.
“I don’t know how,” she said, her voice becoming faint. “I lied to him about it when it happened. What am I going to do mom?”
“You have to tell him Aleesha. One of the worst things you can do is have a man believing a child is his when it isn’t. Does Cali know?”
“Yeah, we had a blood test done.”
“How does Cali feel?”
“He’s thrilled about it. But he told me I better tell Savage by the time I go into labor because he’s going to be in the hospital when my son is born.”
“Aww baby,” Renee said, coddling Aleesha. “You have to tell your husband. If he’s not able to accept it then it wasn’t meant to be.”
“I love him though mom,” Aleesha whined on the verge of tears.
“I know, but you either still love Cali or you don’t love Savage as much as you keep saying you do.”
“I do love Savage, a whole lot.”
“Why?” Renee questioned.
“What do you mean why?” Aleesha asked, confused. “Because I do.”
“So tell me why you love him,” Renee demanded.
“Because he was my first everything and he taught me a lot. I love how motivated and funny he is and that’s really my partner in crime. We can party together and still handle business when it’s time to. He’s a great husband and an even better father, and he knows me. He knows what makes me happy, sad, excited, all that. He knows when something is on my mind, he knows when I don’t feel good. And I love the way he loves me. I don’t have to ask him for anything because he does everything. He loves my body and makes me feel beautiful every time he sees me. And now that we live in different states, every time he comes back or I go out there I get butterflies when I see him. I fall in love all over again every single time.”
“Then why is Cali still in your life?” Renee gravely asked.
“Because I still love him,” Aleesha admitted. “It’s like a different type of love though. He made sure somebody would never be able to hurt me again. I was able to sleep peacefully again.”
“Who hurt you?” Renee asked with confusion and concern in her voice. “And why weren’t you sleeping well?”
Aleesha had never told her mom about her being raped and she was getting emotional thinking about it now. She didn’t want to talk about it but she knew she couldn’t always run from it and pretend it didn’t happen. “I was raped and beaten when I was 19,” she started. She could hear her mom gasp but she continued. “He threatened to kill me if I told anyone but I ended up telling Cali and he did what he had to do to make sure the guy never had the chance to do anything else to me. But even after that I would still have bad nightmares and Cali helped me through it.”
“Oh my God Aleesha,” Renee sadly exclaimed putting her hand over her heart. “Baby, why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Mom, I couldn’t. I felt so ashamed that it happened,” Aleesha confessed. “I felt like I should have done something different that night to protect myself.”
“Never blame yourself for that,” Renee angrily advised. “There was no way you could have even known it would have happened.”
“But why me?” Aleesha sadly questioned.
“Somethings we will never know the answer to. Some people are really just sick in the head,” Renee fumed. “That’s nothing to ever feel ashamed about. You are a beautiful being that someone took advantage of. But I see now why you hold on to Cali so much,” she understandingly stated. “You feel like he’s always going to protect you.”
“Because he does,” Aleesha admitted. “No matter what we go through or no matter how bad me and Cali get into it, whenever I need him, he’s there. And I’m fearless when I’m around him. Like his whole vibe just reassures me that I’m okay.”
“I understand that, Aleesha, but Savage is your husband and your protector now. You have to let him be the man you need. You’re letting events of the past control your life and it’s bringing too many burdens on you. Give everything to God, tell Savage about the baby, and start taking the necessary steps to restore your marriage baby,” Renee instructed.
Aleesha began crying hysterically. She knew she couldn’t keep living her life with all those lies. She was scared of losing her husband, but her mom was right. If it was true love, they were going to stay together.
***
Aleesha forgot that she had a bi-weekly lunch date to go to, so after spending another hour talking to her mom, she got dressed and was headed out the door.
She arrived at Angelini Osteria in LA a little over an hour later. She already had a reservation so once she was inside she was shown to her table. She waited a little over ten minutes until she finally saw him walking through the door. He was led over to her table and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he sat down across from her.
“You lookin’ real good ma,” he complimented her as he gave her the once-over.
“Thank you Sincere,” she said, smiling from ear to ear. “How have you been holding up?”
“You know me, just taking it one day at a time,” he casually stated.
“That’s good to hear. How’s work, did you get that contract you were hoping for?” she excitedly asked.
“Yeah, we’re closing the deal Monday,” Sincere proudly stated. He was a contractor with his own construction company, and had just got a government contract to build a new prison.
“That’s amazing,” Aleesha replied in awe.
The two continued to make small talk until they ordered their meal. They talked about any and everything that was on their mind throughout the lunch. They made plans as to where their next lunch would be and after Sincere paid the bill, he left. He had to make sure he was back to work on time and he was almost running late. Aleesha finished her dessert before getting up to leave and as soon as she was walking out, she received a call from Cali.
She accepted the call and placed the phone on her shoulder, putting it up to her ear. “Yes?” she asked as she fished in her purse for her keys.
“Whatchu doin’ baby momma?” he playfully asked her.
She stopped what she was doing. “Cali, don’t call me that.”
“Nah for real though, what are you doin’?” he asked in a more serious tone. “I’m tryna do somethin’ special for my son.”
“That’s nice but your son isn’t here yet Cali,” Aleesha said grabbing her phone with her hand and holding it up to her ear while straightening her neck back up.
“Yeah but I still gotta make sure you straight. I gotta surprise for you.”
“What is it?”
“Come to the house,” he demanded.
“No,” she sternly replied. “I’m not about to be doing all that with you.”
“Please Leelee,” he begged.
“Why can’t you come to me?”
“Because the surprise is too big.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what it is over the phone?” she asked, becoming annoyed.
“Because that’s the point of it being a surprise,” he reminded her. “Aleesha, cuh just do it for my son.”
“I’m not your cuh Cali.”
“My bad,” he said, letting out a slight laugh.
“Okay, I’ll come just this once,” she said, finally giving in. “Don’t think you can use this excuse every time and expect me to jump,” she warned.
“I don’t,” he acknowledged, “but this is important.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in an hour.”