One More Smile

7.

Manhattan, New York
Friday, Sep. 6

The incessant buzzing of Onika's cellphone pulled her attention away from the document she had been reading for the past hour on her laptop. Fridays were strictly 'work-from-home' days for the beautiful businesswoman, serving as the only day of productive relaxation in her weekly routine. She let out a sigh of annoyance and leaned over on the large sectional couch, grabbing the phone. Almost immediately, she was met with a plethora of notifications ranging from text messages to social media alerts. Furrowing her eyebrows, she sat up a bit, opening Robyn's text message first.

My Sweet Rih: Just wanted to give you a heads up before you see or hear it anywhere else... rumors of Draya and Aaron being engaged are circulating everywhere. It would be wise to stay off of social media. Pls call me when you can. I love you.
Received: 8:03pm

"The fuck?" Onika voiced out loud.

A deep frowned settled onto her face and she immediately went to Instagram, where most of the other notifications were from. Onika wasn't extremely active on social media. She only used her accounts to promote programs, scholarships, and events for her nonprofits, and she'd post a selfie or two occasionally if she wanted to grace her 830k followers with her beauty. As soon as she opened the app, she was met with a headline in bold black writing that made her stomach turn.

NEW YORK YANKEE'S OUTFIELDER, AARON JUDGE, ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT TO MEDIA PERSONALITY, DRAYA MICHELE

Attached was a photo of Aaron and Draya smiling widely beside one another. Onika zoomed in on the photo, noticing the familiar diamond ring that sat on Draya's left hand. It was almost as if the entire thing was a sick joke. Here was Onika's ex-fiancé proposing to her ex-girlfriend with the same engagement ring he'd given her years ago. The same engagement ring she'd thrown back at him after finding out about his rampant infidelity. Anger settled deep into her gut and she turned her phone off, laughing bitterly to herself.

"Those two are fucking made for each other," she mumbled, moving her laptop aside.

She stood to her feet and moved toward the kitchen, in search of her favorite wine. Onika couldn't understand why anger still coursed through her veins at the thought of her past relationships. She'd been wronged many times by plenty of people in her life and line of work, and those situations were easy to move past. However, there was something so sinister about being wronged by the only two people she'd ever been romantically involved with. Aaron had been her first everything, and the love she felt for him during their relationship was strong. Although her relationship with Draya wasn't nearly as long as her time with Aaron, she still harbored deep feelings for the woman during their relationship.
Onika oftentimes blamed herself for ignoring the red flags in their personalities. Aaron and Draya had both been extremely selfish lovers, but she hoped that the love they shared would trump the negative aspects of the relationships.

She found an opened bottle of red wine and grabbed a glass, filling it to the brim. She hoped that the wine would numb the anger and hurt that she felt, and eventually put her to sleep. Downing half of the drink in one swig, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sauntered back over to the couch where her phone was vibrating once again. She was in no mood to talk, but the sight of Beyoncé Knowles flashing across the screen worried her. Beyoncé wasn't much of a communicator when it came to phones. She replied to messages, but rarely sent them first, and she definitely didn't call. Onika placed her glass on the coffee table and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Um.. hi. Sorry to bother you so late at night, but I'm trying to set this laptop up, and I don't really know what I'm doing," Beyoncé shy voice rang through the receiver.