C H A P T E R
F O R T Y - F O U R

"Ahmad, what are you doing here?" Cali questioned while trying her best to remain calm even though in the inside she was mentally panicking.

Standing there in the doorway, Ahmad smiled back at Cali who stood there with her eyes bucked still in shock that he of all people was here right now. "I know I'm early, but I really wanted to see Mariah and since its my off day I decided to come get the kids and take em to school for you and you know to talk." He explained and Cali only nodded not being able to muster up any words at the moment.

With Chauncey only being a few feet away in their bedroom, she knew if Ahmad saw him all hell would break loose and that alone scared her. Here she was suppose to be fighting to fix her marriage, but instead she was still fucking up and she knew if Ahmad knew about this her chances of getting him back would be over.

Slowly moving out the way, she felt her heart beat drop as she watched him make his way inside the house. "You alright? You acting like I'ma ghost or some shit." He joked.

"I'm fine, um just wasn't expecting you that's all. I look a mess right now." She shrugged as she glanced around the house. Noticing her clothes on the living room floor her eyes went wide and Ahmad peeped her actions now really concerned as to what was up with her.

"Cali, you look fine. Acting like I ain't never seen you first thing in the morning, but are you sure everything is okay? I ain't never seen you act like this before." He pointed out.

"I'm just really tired, but hey um actually the kids aren't actually here. I forgot they went with my dad so you know you can always come back later." She stated seeing this as her only way to get him to leave before he sees Chauncey.

"That's fine I'll wait, but right now I'ma spend some time with my babygirl."

Letting out a low sigh, she watched as he walked down the hallway and into Mariah's room. Soon as she heard the door close she took off towards the living room and quickly grabbed both Chauncey and her clothes.

Speed walking down the hallway she quickly threw the clothes inside and looked up at Chauncey who was giving her a confused look. "Just stay a few more minutes, Ahmad is here and if he sees you things are not gonna end good." She whispered.

Scrunching up his face, Chauncey stood up. "I gotta get to work, I ain't got time for this highschool shit Cali. Like you really got me hiding out in a room because this nigga here? You got fifteen minutes or I'm walking out."

"Okay okay, I'll see what I can do. Just please don't come out until I say you can."

Leaving out the room she clutched her chest when she bumped into Ahmad who stood there with a confused expression on his face. "Who was you just talking to?"

"Nobody, um my daddy called telling me he was on the way." She quickly stated not once making eye contact.

Nodding his head, he eyed her for a moment before laughing to himself and walking away.

Walking towards the living room with Mariah in his arms kissing her small head ever so often. Ahmad lifted her up so she could see her face as she made spit bubbles with her mouth. "Your mama must really think I'm stupid huh?" He whispered to her before attacking her with more kisses making her laugh.

          Laid out on the couch with Mariah in his arms, Cali paced the kitchen still trying to figure out a way on how to sneak Chauncey out without Ahmad seeing him. Ahmad had been there over thirty minutes and majority of the time it was spent with Mariah as he waited for Cali's dad to show up with the kids.

But as time passed she knew Chauncey was getting more irritated and would eventually come out and make his prescence known and she was hoping he at least had a heart and would wait.

Placing her hands on her head, she sighed. "Think Cali," She told herself growing frustrated.

Looking over towards the living room, she smiled as she watched Ahmad lift Mariah up and down in the air giving her kisses everytime he brought her close to his face, which made Mariah smile so big.

This was one sight she loved to see with Ahmad, he loved his kids so much and the way he loved and cared for them always warmed her heart.

Feeling her phone vibrate, she looked away then picked it up and sighed when she saw it was Chauncey. Sliding the bar to unlock her phone, she read over his message.

From Chauncey♥️ :
What's the hollup? I gotta get home to get ready for work bruh.
- Received at 7:50 am

When she went to reply she jumped slightly when Ahmad called out her name. "Yes baby?" She replied but soon regretted it since she knew she most likely lost those privledges to call him that and if Chauncey heard her, she knew he probably felt some type of way.

"Uh, I'm finna change Mariah and put her back in her crib since she starting to get sleepy and so we can talk." She heard him say after a brief moment of silence.

"Okay, that's fine."

Watching get up from the couch she watched him walk towards Mariah's room and shut the door behind him and as soon as she heard the door close, she sprinted towards their bedroom. Seeing this as her only chance to get rid of Chauncey.

But just when her feet made it to the hallway, Ahmad was already walking out of her room startling her. "You been acting weird all day, tha hell is up with you Cali?"

"Ahmad, I'm fine. Why do you keep asking me that?" She questioned as they walked towards the kitchen together.

"Because you keep lying like I don't know you, but I'm not finna force out of you either. I asked three times and its other things that need to be discussed anyways." He stated before taking a seat at the bar two seats down from her.

Cali was lowkey shocked by his response since the old Ahmad would have basically begged for her to tell him what was really wrong and at this point it was like he didn't really care that much anymore.

Glancing over at him she was finally able to really just get a good look at him and something seemed different about him. She couldn't quit put her finger on it, but it was indeed something about him that wasn't quit the same.

He looked healthier and a lot happier and she was proud to see that, but also sad that she knew she wasn't the cause of any it. Actually, thelonger she sat and pondered with her own thoughts the more she picked up on what this talk was actually gonna be about.

"What's up?" She questioned just ready to get this over with, she knew the outcome at this point.

"Cali, you know I love you from the bottom of my heart and would literally do anything for you right?" He asked and she nodded slowly not expecting that to be the first thing he was gonna say. "I've been doing so much thinking here lately just about everything, my life, our kids lives, your life, the past, the present and even the future. And a lot of times I just sometimes wonder like where did I go wrong to end up here, ya know?" He asked but wasn't expecting an answer.

"So I did a lot of self-reflecting and used this time apart from you to better myself. I met up with Derek a lot to express my emotions and feelings, I started back working out, even been going to church and really tryna seek the help I thought I really didn't need anymore. I never realized how much I put on you in the past and that was lowkey selfish of me to do so." He expressed, but Cali was lowkey still confused as to what he meant and he smiled once he saw her facial expression. "What I mean by that is I depended on you to make me happy and to make me love myself when I couldn't even do that on my own and that was selfish of me."

"Ahmad—"

Holding his hand up, he stopped her. "Let me finish, during our time apart I realized my wrong doings during our relationship and I'm here to face them now and apologize for the part I played in. I've always been totally honest with you since the very beginning, but the one thing I was never truly honest about was me being happy. I was happy with you, I was happy with our beautiful family we created and I don't regret a single thing that has happened, but I was still battling issues of being happy within' myself first."

"I sometimes even felt you settled with being with me," He laughed as he thought back to the thoughts he used to have. "My mind used to trick me a lot of times and always had me thinking the worst that possibly one day you would just get tired of me and all my baggage and just leave me for good. But I knew all those thoughts were back by the insecurities I faced within' myself and I never spoke on these feelings because apart of me didn't believe it, but I should have. I should have communicated more about my feelings and thoughts and should have considered your thoughts and feelings more as well."

Cali sat there in utter shock not expecting none of this whatsoever, but she did feel this talk was needed and hearing him admit to the wrong doings that she never really paid much attention to made her sorta reflect on herself as well.

"So right now I just want to clear the air between us, I forgive you for what happened between you and Reggie. Yeah it still hurts like hell just to think about it, but I can't continue to hold resentment towards you because in the end that will only hurt me." He started, "And since I want to be able to clear the air, I'm giving you the chance to finally open up and come clean about whatever secret or emotion you have kept from me out of fear. I deserve to know whatever truth there is."

When he asked this question this was basically gonna determine everything for him and he was anxious to see what she had to say.

Cali felt a lump grow in her throat and apart of her wanted to spill all the secrets she kept from him, but seeing him so happy right now she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I-I don't have anything to say, but I will say I never settled when it came to you. I love you Ahmad, but I fucked up so bad. Despite how you may feel, but you were an amazing husband, an amazing friend, an amazing father and I simply took you for granted." She expressed.

Feeling his eyes start to burn as he stared at her, he sniffled. "So you have nothing to say or admit to Cal?"

Slowly nodding her head, she looked down when she saw a tear fall from his eyes before he quickly reached his hand up and wiped it away. "I love you Cali and it lowkey kills me to say this for the sake of our kids, but I can't continue to be with someone who I can't trust enough to tell me the actually truth. I want a divorce."

When that last sentence left his mouth Cali's heart broke and the longer she stared at him she knew he meant it. "Ahmad—"

"I gave you the chance to finally open up Cali and tell the truth, but you didn't. I know more went down between you and Reggie than what you lead on, I'm not some dumb ass nigga and its funny how you continue to treat me as such. It's like you feel you can feed me little quick lies and I just have to accept it, like now I know you got a whole nigga in that bedroom and this whole time I been tryna keep my cool, but I'm actually pissed." He stated as he stood up.

Cali grew completely silent as he basically just read her life like a good ole book and she couldn't say anything to defend herself.

"I don't give a fuck about whatchu do on your own time since I've been doing my own thing, but doing that shit with my fucking child under the same roof is where I gotta draw that line. I don't know this nigga and out of respect of me you shouldn't have him anywhere near my child without checking with me first." He spat. "I would never bring another woman around our kids without consulting you first, because despite what all we been through my respect for you has never decreased and still doesn't."

"But see clearly the respect I have towards you and the respect you have towards me is completely different. Over these past few months you have disrespected me and this relationship on many accounts and even then I was still willing to move on and give you a second chance, but I see now you haven't changed Cali. You always keep a lot of shit to yourself to save your ass instead of just coming clean and I would have respected that more if you would have just been honest from jump about everything, like I always have been with you." He expressed.

"So gon' head and tell that nigga to come out, you ain't gotta hide his ass no more." He chuckled bitterly.

"Baby—"

"Go get him Cali," He stated sternly.

Slowly walking towards the back to get Chauncey, Cali felt her hands start to sweat from how scared she was. She wasn't sure if Ahmad was about to beat Chauncey ass or what, she just hoped this all didn't esculate into more.

Stepping into her room, Chauncey was sitting on the edge of the bed watching whatever was on tv before looking over towards her and hopping up. "I'm good to go now?"

"He knows you're here." She stated barely above a whisper.

Letting out a sigh, Chauncey adjusted his pants before walking towards the door. He hoped like hell Ahmad wasn't one of those niggas who didn't want their baby mamas to ever move on and would beat up on every new nigga that came into their life.

He did not have the time for that and was hoping that whatever was about to happen would go smoothly.

Coming towards the front, Ahmad looked towards him and smirked to himself while shaking his head in disbelief. "Look, I honestly could give two shits and fuck about what you and Cali got going on. At the end of the day I want her happy, but man to man bruh keep that shit away from my child. I don't know you, never even heard of you, and I don't know how long you been around or the amount of times you been around my kid but as a man didn't you ever think to ask Cali if it was cool with me to be around my kid?"

"It wasn't even like that—"

Ahmad cut him off. "Then what exactly was it like then? As a man, I would never be around another man's kid without making sure its cool on both ends. That's just some shit you don't do, and I'm not even so much pissed at you more so pissed at Cali since she allowed you to come around my child."

"No disrespect man, but this tone you got towards me gon' have to simmer down and this cutting me off while I'm tryna explain myself gotta stop as well. I ain't ya child so don't talk to me as if I am one." Chauncey stated rudely. "Plus you sitting here acting as if I'm some perverted ass nigga around your child or something. Cali didn't mind me being around so I didn't see the issue."

"Muthafucka I don't know you at the end of the day, and I don't want muthafucka's I don't know around any of my kids period." Ahmad stated. "And due to you being such a bitch, you can't even handle me coming to you as a man without getting offended. Me talking to you as a child would be me telling your ass to get the fuck up out my house that I pay the bills in and to keep it pushing. But see nah, I came to you respectful and just wished you could have done the same towards me." Ahmad stepped forward.

When Cali sensed something was about to pop off, she stood right in the middle of the two and placed her hand on Ahmad's chest pushing him back some. "He's not worth it Ahmad, calm down."

Smacking his teeth, Chauncey rolled his eyes. "Man fuck all of this, Cali you constantly came crying to me about this nigga and in all honesty I never really ever gave a fuck. I was just tryna hit and in the end I got what I wanted, I ain't sign up for no damn baby daddy drama. Fuck you and this nigga."

Ahmad was starting to get more pissed off the longer he stood there, he didn't know who this nigga was but he knew just from this first impression this nigga was a whole clown. He couldn't even believe Cali even stooped this low and let a nigga like this actually fuck.

When Chauncey started to walk around Cali to leave, Ahmad charged at him pushing Cali out the way and the fight between the two men begun.

Ahmad didn't care what was going on between him and Cali, but he wasn't about to sit here and let this nigga or anybody else in general disrespect her in his face.

As Cali watched Ahmad beat up on Chauncey, she knew she had to stop this. Mariah was a deep sleeper so she knew this wasn't gonna wake her up, but she knew her dad and the kids would soon be here and she didn't want them to witness any of this.

Pulling Ahmad off of Chauncey, she held him back as he continued yelling and cussing towards Chauncey who was slowly standing to his feet. "You just gon' let this nigga do all of this after everything Cali? Delete my number, don't try talking to me again." Chauncey stated.

"Chauncey just go."

Smacking his teeth, he walked out the door slamming it behind him. Causing Cali to sigh in relief and let go of Ahmad.

Shaking his head, Ahmad stepped back from Cali who held a sympathetic look on her face. "Why can't I ever get the same respect I give you from you!?" He questioned. "Over here bashing me to that nigga when I never once let anybody disrespect you or your name."

Cali sniffled, "I just never wanted to hurt you Ahmad, and I know that's a bullshit excuse but its the truth. I couldn't bring myself to tell you about what went down between me and Reggie because I knew it would have killed you inside and I didn't want you to know about Chauncey in fear of losing you. I've already caused you enough pain Ahmad, I couldn't cause you anymore and I'm so sorry baby, I promise you I am."

"You always say you never want to hurt me, but don't you ever sit and think that lying does? You killed every ounce of trust I ever had towards you all because you can't truly face what has happened and be true to yourself for once. I love you Cali, but I know this isn't you or who you used to be. I'm not even sure what exactly your facing mentally or going through since you won't open up but I do just hope eventually you get it together for the sake of yourself and our kids." He told her just when there was a knock at the front door.

"Even if I need to take the kids to help you get things in order for a while I will, because at the end of the day I want to see you do and be better than the person you are right now." He said as he walked over towards the door to open it for her dad when he saw that's who it was through the peep hole.

Putting on a fake face so his kids wouldn't see him upset, he cleared his throat before turning the locks.

When he opened the door, he grinned big as day when he was bum rushed by Armoni the moment she saw him. "I knew that your car." She greeted super excited to see her daddy.

Lifting her up, he moved out the way to let Cali's dad in who was carrying both Marquette and Adrian who was asleep. The moment her dad stepped foot into the house he felt the tension between the two and could only imagine what exactly he just walked in on.

He could see it on their faces that something just happened and he hoped with their kids being here that it at least lightened the mood.

"These two boys bout wore me out, but they were actually all good though. They weren't any trouble at all." He stated as he laid the boys down on the couch.

"That's good, we appreciate you watching them for us. Did you need any gas money for the drive over here though?" Ahmad offered.

Quickly declining, he stopped Ahmad from reaching into his pocket. "No no, I'm good but I'ma gon' head and get out of you guys hair. I got a few errands to run."

"Give papa some sugar," He teased as he walked towards Armoni with his