Chapter 1

Although she tried to convince herself otherwise, Shay knew, deep down in her soul, that something was not right. For quite some time, things had changed between her and Tony. She had recognized the warning signs from her past relationships. Standing at the front door, butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, as her hand shook when she inserted the key. As she turned the lock, she tensed up, wishing away any sounds made by the turning lock. Quietly, she pushed open the door, looked around and stepped inside. For a moment, she did not recognize the place she called home. Feeling like a stranger intruding, she looked up the staircase in front of her and gently slipped off her shoes, allowing them to dangle from her fingertips, yet careful not to let them drop to the floor. As the ball of her right foot pressed against the bottom step, she inhaled deeply. Having taken those steps many times before, she never noticed them creaking, although she never paid much attention either. When she reached the top landing, she heard muffled moans and groans of passion coming from the bedroom. Her bedroom. Her stomach twisted into a tight ball of muscle as she slightly lost her composure. Be strong, Shay, she thought. She inhaled deeply, squared her shoulders, and the beginning of a wicked smile tipped the corners of her mouth, as she slightly turned her head toward the lustful sounds calling out to her. Out of nowhere came a muster of courage from deep within.

Standing before the closed bedroom door, she softly gripped the doorknob. Without warning, tears quickly fell down her cheeks as she heard the voice of another woman calling out the name of the man she loved, shattering her already broken heart into a million little pieces. Ignoring the heaviness in her feet, she slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. A lump lodged in her throat, words escaping her, feeling like she would choke any minute now. The vision before her pierced her heart, almost like a best friend driving a rusty dagger in her back, viciously twisting and turning the blade.

Never the type of person to lose control in stressful situations, Shay was on the verge of making an exception. She had seen enough of the spectacle, taking place before her. She closed her eyes, and from deep within, she was able to dislodge the words that practically choked the life out of her.  

“Get out right now,” Shay spoke, her words calming, as Tony and some woman were in her bed, frozen with petrified looks on their faces. 

The woman’s mouth dropped at the sight of Shay, while Tony stuttered some pathetic attempt at an explanation. 

Anger boiled in her and she was not sure how much more of this gruesome crime scene she could take.  “I want you out of my house, now.” Still calm and composed, she raised her right wrist and looked at her watch. “You have exactly from the time I go down to the kitchen, until I come back.” Turning, her eyes still affixed on his, she stalked out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen. 

Tony quickly snatched up his pants and shirt from the bedroom floor and followed behind Shay, stumbling.  “Please, Shay, let me explain!  Oh, my God…I’m so sorry!  I don’t know what to say.” 

Halting, she whisked around and, with all of her might, she gave him a severe open-handed smack to the side of his face that echoed throughout the house. She had never felt so much relief in her life.  That slap she dealt Tony’s face was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Stunned, pressing his hand against the hot imprint she left on his cheek, Tony was silent. What could he say? He had messed up and he knew it.

Tony’s part-time lover flew down the stairs, took a quick glance in Shay and Tony’s direction, and scurried out of the house. Obviously terrified, she never looked back before disappearing a ways down the road. 

“Well it looks like your little girlfriend is leaving you.” An irresistible devastating grin formed, pouting her lips. “You better catch up. You need somewhere else to live.” Shay couldn’t believe that after two years, with a man who couldn’t keep a job, Tony would betray her in her own house. “Get out of my house right now, Tony.  You would want to do this as soon as possible because my mental state is liable to change at any moment now,” she warned. 

Her words had finally fallen on good ground.  Tony hung his head and turned around to leave.  Looking over his shoulder, grimly he said, “I’ll call you later, Shay. Please answer.  We have so much to talk about and I know you’re really upset right now but—” he began to explain once again before she cut him off. 

“Save it, Tony!” Folding her arms across her chest, she smirked, not believing the words that were coming out of his mouth.  She pointed her index finger towards the door. “Just get out of my house.  Just go!  Now!”

Out of hurt and anger, tears welled in her eyes, as she watched him walk out the door.  When it closed, Shay exhaled a sigh of relief.  Reality was starting to set in and she needed the peace and quiet to clear her mind. 

Normally, she would have been at work, but had decided to take this day off to come home without warning.  Cheating was exactly what she had suspected of Tony. There were all the red flags that contributed to her growing suspicion as of lately.  For the past three months, he had withdrawn from her—the sex had slowed down, hanging with the boys more often, claiming to be looking for employment—followed by the tell tale sign of the late night phone calls to his cell phone that he had started powering off before bed each night. Prior to Tony, she had spent five years of her life with another cheating man.  She had even watched her father run around town with random women her entire childhood, so she knew all the little tricks of the trade. Beyond disappointed, she truly thought Tony was different. 

Her co-worker, Lana, told her months ago that he could not be trusted.  She had so many stories about Tony that Shay found it hard to keep up.  Never being one to believe gossip without proof, she never confronted Tony with the allegations.  She wanted to keep as much peace between her friends and Tony because they all seemed to dislike one another, and she didn’t want to let any of them go.  Her friends were there before Tony and she was sure they’d be there afterwards.  However, she never thought about how she would feel if the allegations proved to be true.  Lana may have run her mouth a little too much, but she had her good qualities and she had become one of Shay’s closest friends in and outside of work.  She could always count on Lana to thoroughly dissect a situation and provide a better resolution.  Lana suggested that Shay plan an unannounced trip home to check up on Tony’s happenings.  Lana coached Shay on how to handle the situation if it turned out Tony was in fact cheating, which was why Shay was able to keep her cool after discovering Tony’s betrayal.  There was no way she could’ve prepared herself completely for the worst, but she maintained her composure nonetheless.  Lord knows what would have happened if Lana didn’t express the importance of not doing anything, she’d later regret. She probably would’ve ended up behind bars facing life in prison.

Full of rejection and pain, Shay rested her head between her folded arms sitting on top of the kitchen table.  Tears flowed uncontrollably as the many possibilities of explaining Tony’s betrayal raced through her mind.  After wallowing in her release for several moments, Shay vowed to never shed another tear for Tony.  In the back of her mind, she knew she’d have a hard time doing this because the wounds of her heart were so fresh.  He surely was not thinking about her when he had that woman bent over the side of their bed.  Strangely, the woman looked familiar to Shay.  Quickly she dismissed the thought, writing it off to hopeful thinking. 

Pulling herself up from the table, Shay ambled to the front door and locked it and drew all the blinds, yearning alone time. She needed to lie down. Dragging herself up the same stairs that led her to heartbreak, she remembered the church revival she had promised her best friend, Cari, she would attend at her husband’s church.  After the emotional roller coaster she had experienced, a revival was the last thing she wanted to go to, let alone being around people.

Shay frowned at the thought of how things just never seemed to go right in her own life.  Cari seemed to be living the perfect life—a preacher’s wife, with two beautiful children—not having to struggle to survive.  Always smiling, Cari appeared as if nothing had ever gone wrong in her life.  Although her friends adored her husband and envied her lifestyle, no one really knew the hardship of being married to Reverend Clarence Brown.  She was active in the church and very much involved with raising her children.  Cari was definitely on Tony’s side when Shay confided that she suspected him of stepping outside of their relationship.  She told Shay that it had to be her insecurities from her previous relationship and to let well enough alone.  She disagreed because things weren’t well enough for her liking.  Shay decided she wasn’t even going to call to let Cari know she wouldn’t be in church because she didn’t want to be chastised.  She could imagine Cari telling her this was the time to run to God, but she just wanted to go to sleep. 

Besides the cheating, Tony was a good man—cooking, cleaning, and always taking Shay somewhere exciting on their dates—even bringing up marriage to Shay a few months ago. However, after experiencing her parents’ bitter divorce, at the tender age of ten, she had no interest in marriage. It seemed as if her family was plagued with the divorce curse and it terrified her to think about possibly getting married and it failing. It seemed as if the disagreement to marry him had really hit Tony hard.  He was rather distant for a few days, and it was from that point when he started to hang with the boys more often.  For a moment, Shay wondered if this was all her fault.  Everything was fine until he brought up the subject of marriage, upsetting them both. She quickly dismissed that thought and headed down the hallway toward her bedroom.  She didn’t understand why people needed a piece of paper to solidify them as a couple, when they could simply live together as companions do anyway. If it didn’t work, then they could simply break up without all the court appearances and division of property.  It made more sense to her for each of them to have their own belongings and to contribute equally. 

Upon entering her room, Shay could still smell fornication in the atmosphere, instantly spiraling her stomach back into knots.  She hastily shut the door and made her way to the guest bedroom down the hallway.  She needed to rest her head on a pillow to rid the pounding determined to disrupt her sanity.  Crawling on the plush queen-sized bed, she turned on her back and stared up at the taupe ceiling. Truth striking her again, she covered her face with the pillow and wept regretfully until she drifted off to sleep.

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This Too Shall Pass
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