Us.

Chapter 10.

"Not the only one in this marriage that needs to shelter some of this blame." -starksmonica

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Carmen.

It's been a month since Justin stormed into the house and left with his things and our son. Since then the only time we speak is when we're trading off the kids. This is so unfair to them and they're so confused. I just don't want to explain to them that Mommy made a mistake but Mommy didn't not have an affair. Isaiah is old enough to understand what's being talked about on television. He's starting to act out in school saying that the kids are picking on him and he of course chooses to fight back. In the beginning he didn't mind going back and forth between me and his father but now we have to force him to come stay with me. He says he'd rather stay with his father.

Not only does my child hate me. Justin has started dating again as if the ring that he wears on his left finger means absolutely nothing. They're blue eyed, blonds, with fake asses and fake breast. When I called him out on his fake bimbos he said that you don't need a fake ass and fake breast to be fake. He didn't say anything else about it and I know he meant all the shade that I felt.

"I quit my job and decided to open up my own office," I say to Crystal over FaceTime. "They've already started doing the renovations for my office space. I've lost most of my clients but that's a minor setback for a major comeback. I did some digging. Lance Gross was broke, his house was being taken by the bank, his wife's car was repossessed and not until he set me up did he come into a big deal of fortune."

"So what are you going to do," Crystal asks and takes a sip of her coffee, curled up in a blanket on her couch.

"I'm taking a flight to New York tonight. So watch me live on The Real tomorrow morning," I say and hangup before heading upstairs to my room to finish packing.

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"The queen is here to slay," Tamar Braxton states as I walk onto the stage. The crowd goes wild clapping for me.

"It's so good to see you sweetie I've been so worried about you," Adrienne Bailon admits hugging me with watery eyes.

"I'm here to put all the speculations to rest. I've turned down every interview for the last month but I'm tired of my name being spit on. It's time for the truth to be known. I, Carmen McNealy did NOT have an affair. I may have entertained Lance because I was lonely without having Justin around but never did I ever sleep with Lance. He's a liar. He and his wife set me up and got a lot of money from slandering my name," I explain and pull out my recorder from that day in my office. "He told me he needed a counselor and told me he'd pay me four hundred dollars which is double my asking price to stay after work and allow him to vent. I was doing my job. I use my recorder during every session to help me give my professional opinion to all of my patients. I didn't know until I went back to the office and got all my things that I unknowingly recorded that day." The entire audience goes silent as I play the tape through a couple of speakers. The entire session plays taking up forty-five minutes of the show. "Like I said I'm not innocent but never did I ever have an affair."

"I knew it. I knew it. I told all of y'all there was no doubt in my mind," Tamar states making me laugh. "Now if Lance was a fine white man with blond hair and blue eyes I would have raised a brow but in no way was Lance your type."