She lowered her daughter to the padded play area and she crawled toward Avi while Shiya sat down beside me. “How old is Avi?”
“Eight months.”
“Oh okay, Zaya just turned seven months on Sunday.”
I watched Zaya reach for one of Avi’s toys and my baby just blinked and grabbed a different one.
“Is she in daycare?”
“No, why?”
“Zaya doesn’t share. Your baby is so calm and unbothered. Zaya would have had a whole meltdown if someone wanted to share her toys. My sister was telling me I need to put Zaya in daycare but I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“Avi’s pretty chill but she’s never around other kids so don’t give her too much credit. She doesn’t really know what sharing is yet and is trying to decide if she likes Zaya touching her things.”
Shiya grinned. “Well at least she didn’t snatch it back.”
“True.”
She turned to me. “I guess you already figured out I know who you are, obviously. The entire team pretty much knows at this point but I saw you and wanted to introduce myself. Dedric told me Omiri had a house out here and I was hoping to run into you.”
“Why?” I frowned and she flashed me a smile.
“You’re the outcast and I know what that feels like. Our situations aren’t exactly the same but they’re close. I was a model who popped up pregnant from a Sharks Super Bowl afterparty but, it wasn’t a one night stand and I didn’t hide my pregnancy. Dedric also purposely got me pregnant because I’d just signed a big contract that was going to have me in Europe for a two-year run and he didn’t want me to leave.”
“Wait, he purposely got you pregnant?”
“Sure did.”
“And you married him?”
She lifted her hand and showed me a very impressive square cut diamond. “I sure did. I was pissed when I found out he lied about using a condom. We both drank a lot that night. I really didn’t remember and he eventually fessed up when I told him I was pregnant. He begged me to keep it and I did because I wanted the baby and him but was too stubborn to admit my feelings.”
“Well damn.”
She grinned. “I was running, he was chasing and adamant about being the one who forced my hand. We’re happy. I love him more than I was willing to admit at the time so I’m not complaining. He was dead ass wrong for how he handled things but it worked.”
“That’s…”
“A lot. I know.”
I smiled and nodded, watching Avi handing a toy to Zaya. “But it’s also nothing like my situation.”
“True but they came for my whole life when it was leaked that I was pregnant. He had a crazy ex that everyone loved. They were the so-called it couple. She’s actually the one who leaked that I was pregnant and made sure to spin the narrative that I was a homewrecker when they weren’t even together. The world believed her because she cried on camera and I became the gold digging villain who stole her man. I was so stressed I lost the baby.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine how devastating that was.” My eyes went right to Avi.
She sighed. “Thank you. It was hard but I have Zaya now. It was a whole thing so I get it, trust me. I understand how crazy your life has been. I wanted to reach out but Dedric told me to mind my business but now here we are.”
“So his ex is crazy?”
“Very and still doing dumb shit but I got the baby and the man and she has a headline every couple months about how I ruined her life. No comparison.” She shrugged and checked on Avi and Zaya before she turned to me. “Have you met any of the other girlfriends or wives yet?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Get ready then. The season will be starting soon.”
“Is it that bad?”
