Her attitude was off-putting, but he deserved every ounce of it. She had endured enough of his attitude and seesaw emotions.
“So, that’s it? You wanna break up?”
She nodded, giving him an arched brow. The austerity of her face disclosed how serious she was about leaving him.
“There’s no way I can change your mind?”
“No.”
Bria stood, taking his mangled heart with her and stalked toward the elevator. Before she pressed the button, she spun on her heels and walked back toward him.
“You know, if it wasn’t for me, your brother would’ve been killed. I risked my life to make sure he wasn’t hit. The thanks I got from you were you trying to throw me under the bus in front of my family. You’re a piece of shit, Lo. That’s why I won’t give you the time of day. Now stay the fuck outta my life.”
Bria’s words cut him like a machete. He bled out on the inside, wishing he could rewind the moments in his life and choose his words carefully. His rage and selfish nature didn’t allow him to realize Meco was alive because of her. Lo was ashamed of his actions. Fear had him in a head lock because he’d never seen Bria so incensed. She stormed away, leaving him to sulk alone. He watched her in pure agony as she boarded the elevator without looking back.
“Damn,” he whispered, not sure of what to do next. He didn’t deem Bria as weak, but he was certain his apology would melt the iciness she possessed. It had been wishful thinking. Bria wasn’t fucking with him and although his pride told him to grant her request, this time, Lo wouldn’t listen to it. He had to give this marriage all that he had before he let her get away for good.
Open Up
Most of the night, Bria tossed and turned, feeling so disgruntled with herself. Seeing Lo had been an unwelcome surprise. Only because deep down, underneath her resentment, she missed him badly. Only the good parts of him though. The rest of his makeup, she could deal without. There was something different about Lo last night. A pleading that resided in his eyes. It tugged on Bria’s heartstrings. She wanted to pull him to her bosom, and assure that their marriage would survive, but she couldn’t lie to him.
Bria couldn’t envision herself being tied to someone who was not only emotionally unstable but emotionally absent as well. There were way too many highs and lows within their relationship, and they hadn’t even reached a full year of marriage. It pained her to walk away from him. Each step was like walking away from her heart. The weak side of Bria wished she could open her heart to him, but he had said too much to her.
When her phone rang, she noticed it was Cali, so she answered.
“Hello?” She placed the call on speakerphone while putting on mascara.
“Hey.” Cali’s tone alerted her that something was off.
“What’s wrong?”
There was a slight hesitation before Cali revealed, “I really hate to call you with this news but… Dough was found dead at his house.”
Within an instant, Bria’s mouth gaped as her mind processed what Cali had just told her. Her eyes gathered water before they were pushed from her lids. Guilt rested on her shoulders as they quivered with each sob. This was heartbreaking news, but Bria wasn’t surprised. She’d inserted him into a beef with Lo that ultimately ended his life. Granted, Dough had made terrible choices further complicating the situation, but Bria felt it was her doing.
“I’m sorry, sis. I know you cared about him.” Cali sighed.
“It’s my fault.” She shook her head. “I should’ve never stepped out on Lo and caused this.”
“Listen, I’m not about to be that person who tells you that it’s going to be okay and not to blame yourself. Maybe you did play a part in it, but Dough also knew what he was doing when he continued to deal with you.”
“I just… I just wish I would’ve left him alone. This is all on me. What are people saying?”
“Well, not much. Even Rio is tight-lipped about it.”
“Damn.” She sat on the edge of the tub, trying to make sense of this.
Truthfully, there was no sort of logic in this scenario. A life had been lost because of bad decisions on both of their parts. Bria was remorseful. She wished she could edit the part of her life that decided to keep creeping with Dough.
“What should I do? Should I go to the funeral?”
“Absolutely not. Going to his funeral will set so many people off, including your husband. I know you two are beefin’ right now, but you don't want to make the situation between you two worse. Just mourn by yourself, Bria.”
“Yeah, you're right.”
Every ounce of Bria wanted to pay her respects to Dough, but it would’ve set a blaze of more problems.
“Just keep your head up and stay low for now. I’ll call you later to check on you.”
