ᴏɴɪᴋᴀ ᴍᴀʀᴀᴊ
Later that night, after putting Omari to bed, I realized Kevin still wasn't home. Not that I minded. I actually preferred it that way. I poured myself a glass of wine and curled up in bed, watching the latest episode of *Power*. The night felt peaceful, with the new episode pulling me in, but my thoughts kept circling back to the drama from earlier.
I decided to FaceTime my girls, Rylee and China, to spill the tea about what had gone down at the party. Sophie, being the drama queen she is, had tried to check me over Aubrey.
"Ouuu, I wish I was there," China said, sounding hyped up as usual. "I would've choked that bitch up."
Me and Rylee couldn't help but burst into laughter. China was always about that life, and we knew she wasn't joking.
"I just can't believe she had the audacity to do that. Did you tell Aubrey?" Rylee asked, her voice filled with concern.
"No," I admitted. "I didn't even bother. I left right after she tried to gang up on me with her friends. Like, why is she making a scene at her daughter's birthday party? She should be focused on Ava, not me."
We all shook our heads, knowing how petty Sophie could be. But as much as it annoyed me, I wasn't about to let her ruin my night—or my wine.
"Oh no, girl, she's just being territorial for no reason," Rylee said, trying to brush it off.
I sighed, setting my wine glass down. "No, it wasn't calm at all. I went to the concession stand to get a drink, and she came up with straight attitude, trying to check me. She pulled up on me like she was ready to start something."
China leaned in closer to the screen, eyes wide. "Wait, what? So she came at you like that?"
I nodded, feeling the tension from that moment all over again. "Yeah, she didn't even try to hide it. The first thing she said was, 'So what's up with you and Aubrey?' all hostile, like she was trying to catch me off guard."
Rylee's jaw dropped. "She really came at you like that? No small talk, just straight to it?"
"Yup," I said, shaking my head. "She was ready for a confrontation, and she wasn't trying to be polite. I told her straight up that there's nothing going on, but she wasn't hearing it. She was like, 'I've seen the way he looks at you. Don't act like you don't know.'"
China laughed. "Girl, she's pressed! That's pure insecurity right there."
"That's what I was thinking!" I said, getting more animated. "I told her me and aubrey only text about the kids from time to time, but she was already convinced something was going on. She kept accusing me, saying I needed to back off."
Rylee rolled her eyes. "She's got it all twisted. She's coming at you like Aubrey is sneaking behind her back, but you're not even interested like that."
"I'm not!" I said. "And I told her that, but she wasn't trying to listen. She was all up in my face, talking about how I need to stay away from her man. I couldn't believe it. At a kid's birthday party, too? It's really funny how's she really tried to check me about Aubrey when he told me he has never been with her."
China shook her head. "She's really doing too much. But girl, don't let her get to you. Sophie's just threatened because she sees you as competition. That's all this is."
"I know," I said, taking a deep breath. "But I wasn't about to argue with her. I told her there's nothing to worry about and walked away. I wasn't about to let her drag me into a scene."
"Good for you," Rylee said.
We kept talking, but Sophie's confrontation stuck in my mind. She came at me hard, and it was clear she wasn't going to let this go easily.
