Life With The Men I Love: Lies, Love and Pain

Chapter 25

*** TREY ***

It's been a long ass week and all I wanted to do was collapse in my bed.The whole week I had to be doing concerts, interviews and club appearances back to back to back.

As soon as Bully set my suitcases down, he clapped me on the back, his grin easy. "I'll see you later, man."

"Aight, man," I replied, dapping him up as he turned to leave. As soon as he stepped out, I let out a sigh, glad to be back from London. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard noises in the kitchen. I paused, frowning, and headed down the hall, my guard up. The last thing I expected to see was Sharon, standing by the stove, stirring something with a bright, forced smile plastered across her face.

"Hey, baby!" she chirped as if she'd just seen me yesterday, as if she still belonged here. "How was London?" She came over, kissed my cheek, and then went right back to the stove.

I took a step back, barely keeping my composure. "Sharon, what are you doing here?"

She looked at me, blinking innocently. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? I live here, remember?"

"No, Sharon. You lived here. I told you to get out." My voice was cold, each word cutting the air like ice.

"Oh, come on," she scoffed, waving her hand. "You were angry, but you're good now. I forgive you. Now, go take a bath—dinner'll be ready by the time you're done."

Forgive me? The audacity of it floored me. "What are you talking about, Sharon? You don't live here anymore."

"And where am I supposed to live?" She laughed, the sound hollow and grating. "I'm your wife, Trey. Married people live together."

I looked away, shaking my head. She'd been clinging to that title for far too long. "You became my wife by default, Sharon. It was a mistake. You weren't the one I was supposed to marry."

Her jaw clenched, a glint of anger flashing in her eyes. "Then who were you supposed to marry, huh? Her? That bitch?"

"Watch your tone." My voice dropped dangerously low. "And don't you ever call her that around me. If I remember right, you were the one flirting and pushing up on me, knowing I was engaged. You slept with me knowing I was taken, so if anyone's the 'bitch' here, it's you."

Her face flushed with rage, and she stepped toward me, her hands clenched into fists. "You did not just call me a bitch."

"I didn't have to. Your actions say it all."

"Oh, so you were helpless? Couldn't stop yourself from falling for me while you were engaged?" Her voice was biting, dripping with bitterness.

"I take responsibility for my mistakes, Sharon. I let myself get drawn into your web, but that doesn't make what you did any less manipulative."

She took a deep breath, composing herself, then pasted on a sickly-sweet smile. "Breathe, Trey. We'll work this out. Just go take a bath, and we can have a nice dinner, okay?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, barely able to contain my frustration. "Sharon, you don't cook. And the next time you try to fool someone, maybe throw away the Styrofoam boxes where no one can see them." I turned and strode out of the kitchen, unzipping one of my suitcases, rifling through until I found what I was looking for: an envelope.

Back in the kitchen, I tossed it onto the counter in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked, eyeing it warily.

"Open it and find out," I said, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

She opened the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers, her eyes widening as she read the word "Divorce" at the top.

"What the hell is this?" she gasped, looking up at me, shock and anger contorting her face.

"It's over, Sharon," I said, my tone steady, unwavering. "I loved you once, or thought I did. But maybe it was just lust. You put on that nice-girl act for a while, and I fell for it. But the real you showed up eventually, and it's not a woman I want in my life. I wasted too many years on you."

Her lips twisted in a sneer. "This is still about her, isn't it? News flash, Trey—she's married! And don't act like you haven't still been sneaking around with her."

"It might be so," I said, my voice deadly calm, "but she's more of a woman than you'll ever be." I took a long sip from my beer, staring her down. "And don't think I didn't know about your little five-year affair."

Her eyes widened, her confident facade cracking. She stumbled for words, reaching out to touch my arm. "Trey, baby..."

I jerked my arm back, disgust curdling in my stomach. "The saddest part? We've been married for four years, and you've been cheating on me for five. India warned me about you, and I should've listened." Finishing the beer, I placed the bottle on the counter and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Trey, please," she pleaded, her voice quivering as she grabbed my arm. "I'm sorry. We can fix this—just give us another chance."

I yanked my arm free, the finality of my words slicing through the air. "Sign those papers and get them back to me."

Her face twisted in a mix of rage and desperation. "I'll take everything, you hear me?"

I laughed, a bitter, humorless sound. "I know you'll try. You've been nothing but a gold digger all along, Sharon. Stupid of me to only see it now." I nodded toward the door. "Leave my keys on the counter and lock my door on your way out."

Her face contorted in fury as she stepped forward, fists clenched. "You think you can just throw me out? I'll take every damn thing you own if you do this to me."

I took a step closer, my gaze icy, barely able to contain my anger. "I see you for what you are, Sharon. You think you can scare me? You're nothing but a parasite, clinging to me, sucking the life out of what we once had. But that's over. So go ahead, try whatever you want."

Her jaw tightened, the realization of her failure setting in. She'd lost the power she thought she had, and she knew it.

"You'll regret this, Trey," she spat, her eyes blazing with venom. "You think you're going to end up happy with her, don't you? She'll never leave her husband for you!"

"Whether she does or doesn't is none of your business, Sharon. What matters is that you don't belong in my life anymore." I turned away, forcing myself not to look back, unwilling to give her the satisfaction of seeing me break, even for a second.

Her footsteps echoed down the hallway, each step a reminder of the years I'd wasted, of the mistakes I'd made. I heard the keys clatter onto the counter and the sound of the door slamming shut behind her. Silence fell over the house, thick and heavy, settling into the space she'd left behind.

For a moment, I simply stood there, the reality of it all sinking in. It was over. The lies, the deceit, the years I'd spent tangled in a web of manipulation. The relief washed over me in waves, and for the first time in a long time, I felt free.

But freedom didn't erase the scars, didn't undo the past. Sharon had left her mark on me, on my life, and it would take time to heal. The emptiness in the house felt like a fresh wound, raw and unyielding. But there was something else underneath, a flicker of hope. I was done with the lies, the pretense, the suffocating weight of a marriage built on manipulation.

For the first time in years, I could breathe. And this time, I wasn't breathing for anyone but myself.