"Whispers Before the Storm"
Angelina warned Shayla about the secret plan of Anthony and Rolonda about marriage
The early morning light filtered softly through the curtains of the upscale café in Midtown. Outside, the city stirred into motion, horns blaring, heels clacking against concrete, and the buzz of the day beginning. But inside, the air between two women was frozen in time.
Shayla, dressed in dark sunglasses and a black coat, sipped her espresso like a woman dodging bullets—not caffeine. Across from her sat Angelina, a longtime friend-turned-reluctant confidant. Angelina had called the meeting with urgency in her voice, claiming she had something important to share.
Something Shayla needed to hear.
Shayla tilted her head. “What is it, Angie? You’ve been playing with your spoon like it’s a bomb trigger.”
Angelina exhaled sharply. “Because it is, Shayla. It is a bomb. And it’s about Anthony.”
Shayla’s lips curled at the name. The man who had raised Kai. The man she had lied to for years. The man who had, finally, stopped calling.
“What about him?”
Angelina leaned in, voice hushed. “He’s planning to marry Rolonda.”
The cup in Shayla’s hand trembled slightly, but she kept her face neutral. “And? He can do what he wants.”
“No, Shayla. You don’t get it.” Angelina dropped her voice even lower. “He’s planning it in secret. With Rolonda. And I overheard something… something you really need to hear.”
Shayla said nothing, her eyes now laser-focused.
Angelina continued, “He’s going to file for full custody of Kai.”
That did it.
Shayla set the cup down—hard. Her jaw clenched. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, he would,” Angelina said quickly. “He’s furious after that DNA report. He knows Kai isn’t his by blood. But guess what? He’s building a case with Rolonda, who's apparently got a legal background. They’re collecting evidence, Shayla. Your sudden disappearance, the lie about paternity, and your past.”
Shayla’s mind raced. How much did they know? Had someone—maybe that nosy hag Mrs. Langford—started talking?
“What else did you hear?” she asked, her voice now cold, calculating.
“They’re going to present the case as a moral one. That you’re unstable, that you’ve lied about your past, and that you’re unfit to raise Kai. Rolonda’s coaching him, pulling old records, digging into court files. She’s serious. She doesn’t just want Anthony to be free of you—she wants to erase you.”
Shayla stood abruptly, the chair screeching back.
People turned to look.
She didn’t care.
Angelina reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Listen to me. I’m telling you this because… I remember who you were before all this. Before the lies. I don’t know what you did, Shayla. I don’t know what happened to Monique, or that man from Ohio, or your first son…”
Shayla’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“But I do know this—if Anthony marries Rolonda and files for custody, he might win. He has a clean record, a job, the community’s support. You? You’re a ghost.”
Shayla yanked her hand away. “You don’t know what I’ve sacrificed. You don’t know what it’s like to live with the weight of secrets that had to be kept.”
Angelina softened. “Then don’t lose Kai too. You need to act—before it’s too late.”
Later That Day: In the Shadows
Shayla didn’t go home.
She didn’t answer calls.
She sat in her car, parked a block from Anthony’s apartment, watching. A pair of children played near the curb. A delivery man came and went. Then she saw her: Rolonda.
Smart, elegant, her confident stride cutting through the air like a blade. She knocked on Anthony’s door with ease. No hesitation. No nerves.
She belonged there.
Shayla’s nails dug into the steering wheel. Rage and heartbreak twisted inside her. She didn’t love Anthony—not in the way he had loved her. But he had been hers. Kai had been hers.
Now the world was changing.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled to a name she hadn’t contacted in years.
“Jeremiah – Private Investigator.”
She typed a quick message:
“I need everything you can find on Rolonda. Fast. And quiet.”
She hit send.
Meanwhile: Inside Anthony’s Apartment
Anthony poured Rolonda a glass of wine. Their conversation was hushed, but warm. For the first time in weeks, he was smiling again. Genuinely.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he said. “But I think I’m ready.”
Rolonda placed her hand over his. “You deserve peace, Anthony. Kai deserves a stable life. And I’m going to help you get it. All of it.”
Anthony nodded. “We’ll go to court. We’ll tell the truth. That Kai deserves better. That he deserves us.”
Outside, in the car, Shayla whispered to herself:
“No one takes what’s mine.”
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