Loyal to His Lies

by T.C. Littles

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

Every relationship has its ups and downs.

Zaria Taylor weathers the storms, accepting the bad times as temporary whenever Renard cheats. Deep down inside, Zaria prays the years invested into their relationship will be enough to keep their foundation sturdy. "Do or die" and "till death do us part" are her mottos, though her wedding ring finger is still bare. She makes the mistake of believing him every time he says he will do better, he is sorry, and his heart only belongs to her.

When his lies are exposed and it is revealed that Renard has been dragging Zaria's name through the mud while taking caring of another woman's child on the side, all bets are off and payback is on. Angry and bitter, Zaria makes it her mission to show her two-timing baby daddy exactly how it feels to get played. Between sleeping with his best friend, stirring up drama with his line-up of women, and trying to ruin his street business, Zaria is fueled by a shattered heart, and she won't stop until revenge is hers.

Release date: June 26, 2018

Publisher: Urban Audiobooks

Print pages: 288

Sample

As soon as Nardo texted back that he was on his way, it felt like there were butterflies swarming around in my stomach. As angry as I was at him, I couldn’t help but to love and lust for him. I leaped up from the couch and started getting my house in order. Me and my li’l momma had been cooped up in the living room, having multiple Netflix-and-chill binges for the last few days, and it was obvious. There were dirty bottles, soiled diapers, onesies that Cidney had spit up on, empty snack wrappers scattered everywhere, and dirty dishes stacked on the table. Nardo would read me for filth if he saw how trifling I was living, instead of blaming himself for helping me sink so low. The more freedom he took, the less secure about our future I felt. He and I might not have had the best relationship before I got pregnant, but he at least came around. Since our daughter’s birth, though, he hadn’t played the role as a family man but a couple of times, and that had been just to drop off some formula, diapers, and a few dollars. Not only was I feenin’ for some fresh air and a break from motherly duties, but for some attention that only a man could give a woman. Renard and his stroke were all I knew. We’d been off-and-on for more than eight years.

Me and Nardo hooked up as teenagers, and it was unconventional. I met him through my ex-best friend Melanie while they were still dating, then took him from her effortlessly. Call it being fake or phony; it is what it is. I took her man because she couldn’t keep her mouth closed from being braggadocious. She told me how long Nardo’s pipe was and how he stroked her pussy, how much money he spent on her weekly for her hair and nails, and how they would go shopping on Sundays to run through the dope money he made all week on the corner. Her stories not only kept my attention, but they fascinated me to the point of wanting to know what it would be like to walk in her shoes through the mall on a Sunday morning. So, I cut into Nardo, and I haven’t looked back since.

The entire process was like taking candy from a baby, since I knew how freaky he liked to get, even down to the details of what Melanie wouldn’t do. I made sure he was sexually pleased every day and several times throughout it. Women are thirsty creatures, always checking for the next chick’s man, her goods, and comparing it to what they have on deck. I was no different, and the term “best friend” was just a label. It was better that I taught Melanie that lesson at an early age before she got her heart broken as a bitter old bitch. I’d publicly embarrassed and betrayed Melanie for love, money, and sex—and I’d do it again. I don’t care how much turmoil me and Nardo have been through over the last eight years.

Like every new relationship, he and I experienced the honeymoon period where everything was solid and all good. I was young, dumb, and living on a cloud like our love was more important than life itself. We went out to eat and to the movies all the time. I got gifts even when I didn’t ask for them, and he never talked out of line to me in front his boys. I was his wifey, and everybody in the hood respected it, which was bonus because my parents kept their ear to the streets.

My mom quickly approved of Nardo once my hand flew out of her purse and into his pocket. She even taught me the rules of the game to pass down to him, so he’d level up from the small-time hustler he was. Shit was sweet until he and his boy hit a lick. Renard went from getting little-boy money to grown-man money, and then came the hoes. The more options he got, the more he took, and the more I fought. I was determined not to lose the man I’d made.

Once the house was in order and smelling fresh, I jumped in the shower and started my glow-up process. I’d been lounging in my favorite pair of sweat pants and an oversized, holey T-shirt all day, plus I’d worked up a funky sweat from cleaning up. The massaging flow of hot water felt good crashing against my skin. The steam was low key putting me to sleep. Had Nardo not been on his way, I would’ve run a piping hot Jacuzzi bath to soak and relax my nerves. Cidney had cried all morning and had me about to drop her off at the police precinct. I’d be a deadbeat mom if it wasn’t for Netflix having each season of PBS’s Sid the Science Kid loaded. My baby can’t even crawl and she’s addicted to the shit. I don’t know what that li’l dude and his gang did to her psyche, but she was settled and into a nap by the second episode.

After a few more minutes of standing under the shower head, I douched then thoroughly washed my cootie cat with a plain white bar of antibacterial Dial soap. I don’t play when it comes to catching yeast infections, so I saved the melon daiquiri scented body wash for my skin and the lotion and body spray for the finishing touches. Nardo hadn’t seen my naked body since it bounced back, and I wanted it to be one-hundred percent right. I was looking crazy the last time he stopped by to drop Cidney off some Tylenol to help break her shot-induced fever, and I hadn’t even cared about putting Vaseline on my crusty lips. I was planning on using sex as my secret weapon and my pussy as the take-down ammunition tonight, though. My baby daddy had never been able to turn me down when a nut was involved, and I hoped tonight was no different. I was aching for his stroke.

The house was still quiet when I finished in the bathroom, so I tiptoed to my room and closed the door. I didn’t want to wake Cidney while I listened to music and got cute for her daddy’s visit. The first thing I did was take my head scarf so my hair wouldn’t sweat out, then took the flexi rods out so my curls could start falling. I knew they’d be perfectly cascading down my back by the time Nardo arrived, which was exactly what I wanted. I was initially upset about having to pay over two hundred dollars for a bundle of weave, but I was happy that I’d sprung for the grade-A human hair. To say it was worth every dime is an understatement. I’d gotten it sewn in a month before my due date, and it was still silky without me having to add any sheen. All I had to do was slick down a few loose edges with some olive oil edge control, and then the entire style was on point.

Instead of getting fully dressed, I kept it simple with a cute, two-piece lavender pajama set that I hadn’t worn since before I got pregnant. Except for my breasts that were fuller and filling out the top, and my juicy booty cheeks that were spilling out of the shorts, the leftover ten pounds of pregnancy weight I was still carrying had the cotton material clinging to my skin like a glove. I’d always had a thick frame, but I was now thicker than a Snicker and loving it. I couldn’t wait to see Nardo’s reaction.

Damn, where is this nigga at anyway? I looked at the text message’s time and added up how long it had been. I was tempted to send a message asking for his whereabouts or at least his estimated time of arrival, but I didn’t want to jinx a good thing before it got to happen. I’d been trying my hardest to get Renard and me back to the honeymoon stage of our relationship. I grew up with my father, and it would be nice if my daughter could grow up with hers. I was tired of hearing my momma talk shit about me not being able to keep my family together like she kept hers. Oh, well, trust the process. I tried not getting in my feelings over my mom’s opinion, or anyone else’s for that matter. Me and Nardo might not have the best dynamic, but it was ours.

Once I was fully put together, I stood in the full-length mirror and took a bunch of selfies and a gang more pictures that showed how stacked my body was looking. I then posted them to my favorite social media site so any lurker that I had could see I wasn’t over here looking like a dried-up old maid. After the Melanie situation, I didn’t bond with many females, but I had made more than my share of enemies. It had been eight years, and girls from around the way still wanted me to fall off. After I posted the pictures, I then made a status that it was about to be family time around my crib and to look forward to a family photo within a few hours. I didn’t care how petty it may have seemed; I was letting the world know that I still fucked with Nardo heavy. With me and him being so off-and-on and him being all of a sudden so distant, I knew chicks were gunning for my position even more. Hoes lived by the “out of sight, out of mind” logic more than niggas did. My man wasn’t for everybody, though.

Cidney started fussing as soon as I got done, which was perfect timing, but terribly wrong at the same time.

“Oh, no, baby girl. It is not time to get up yet.” I dashed to her nursery then quietly tiptoed to her crib.

Her nursery was peaceful, serene, and my favorite room in the house. I’d fallen asleep more than a few times in her rocking chair. It was painted light pink but decorated in several shades of purple, and had teddy bears, stars, and princess tiaras all over the walls. I even had my nail tech design each letter in Cidney’s name for the wall as well. I’d taken a theme I’d seen on the internet, put my own spin to the vision, and then ran through over a thousand dollars of Nardo’s money making sure I didn’t miss a detail. He didn’t let our beef get in the way of him doing for his seed, and I took full advantage of his heart. I even had an over-the-top baby shower and invited a bunch of bitches I didn’t have a bond with so I could floss. No matter what went on and was said behind my back, actions spoke louder than words, and I wanted the truth on the floor. Cidney was my link to Nardo for the rest of his life. My baby shower was our marriage in my mind.

I didn’t want Cidney to wake all the way up if she wasn’t ready to, since I was trying to get some one-on-one time with her father, so I flipped on the musical projector. I was hoping the lullabies could help sing her back into a slumber. I was well overdue for some coddling of my own. It had been just me and her roughing it out day in and out for the last week.

“Mommy needs you to go back to sleep for just a little while longer.” I sounded foolish trying to compromise with a baby, but I was desperate. She was sucking her tiny lips and trying to put her itty-bitty fingers into her mouth. I knew she wasn’t hungry because she hadn’t started crying yet, so I searched around the bedding for her pacifier and let it soothe her back to sleep. I knew better than to spoil her, which was why I also made sure Nardo bought me every knick-knack, gadget, bouncer, and nurturing item they had on the market for newborns. I wasn’t trying to have a brat that my mom wouldn’t babysit. She didn’t let one day of my pregnancy pass by that she didn’t remind me of her being too young to be somebody’s grandma.

Nardo, on the other hand, was good to me during the pregnancy. Not only did he make sure I kept a refrigerator of food, fruit, and junk that I had cravings for, but he also made sure to pick up all my carryout orders. I got super big carrying her because I was hungry all the time. The only reason Nardo knew I was not lying and didn’t give me a hard time when I called him for a food run was that he saw me eat it all. Hell, he’d be here, and we’d be cuddled up on the couch, and I’d order in delivery or beg him to cook.

On the day of my baby shower, he’d showed up and out for the whole hood and my family. At first, I was stomping around that day with my lips in a frown because he kept answering the phone saying he was on the way but not showing up. It was heavy on my mind that he was cuddled up with his ex-girlfriend, keeping her cool since she had threatened to run up on me at my baby shower. Though I wasn’t the least bit worried about Mel as far as throwing hands with her goes, I was worried that Nardo wanted some pussy that was not waddling around. Okay, maybe he wasn’t all the way good while I was pregnant.

Closing Cidney’s door quietly, I was about to call Nardo to find out where he was at when my windows started rattling. I peeked out just in time to see Nardo swerve up to the curb in his triple-black Range Rover on chrome wheels with his radio turned up to the max. Always bold and making a statement, he backed up into my driveway and kept the music blasting, disturbing my working-class neighbors.

Knowing the routine, I watched him pick up his phone and probably check in with the newest hoe. I was really trying hard not to let that bitch ruin my time with him. Since our breakup, she’d become a constant thorn, always hating when he came over or did financially for me and Cid. I couldn’t wait to go for that hoe. Yeah, he was giving her the wife life now, but me and him shared a seed, something more than she could claim title to. Little did she know I was out to reclaim my throne.

As I discreetly peeked out the window, watching the man I loved, I couldn’t help but to think back on what had originally brought us together. Melanie used to kick it with him back in the day when we were teenagers and he wasn’t nothing but a low-level drug dealer that worked for another worker who was allowed to have a worker. Renard started so low on the totem pole that the police never ran up on him when they raided all the other bag boys. He wasn’t even worthy of them trying to flip into a snitch. Nardo wasn’t getting money; only hand-me-downs from other hustlers and maybe a fresh pair of tennis shoes if they were feeling friendly. I knew how empty his pockets were because my ex-best friend used to kick it with him. Lucky for me, that all changed, and by the time he was getting real money, he was mine.

As he boldly stepped into the threshold of the house he’d cashed out on for me and Cid, I smiled sweetly, hoping to start our quality time on a good note. His Polo Blue cologne smelled so fucking good. I loved a man who kept his smell-good game great! Nardo had on a black pair of True Religion cargo shorts, a new out-of-the package wife beater, and some crispy retro Jordans. With his beard thick and trimmed neatly, perfection was a must with him, and I was sure he’d just hopped out of his barber’s chair.

“Hey, daddy, I missed you,” I whispered into his ear, throwing my arms around his waist. Hugging him tightly, I didn’t want to let go. “We both missed you.”

Nardo being Nardo, he barely responded to my desperate moves of affection. He was intent on being hardcore to the bitter end. He hugged me back with little emotion, making me feel slightly insignificant.

“Now you miss a nigga? Yo’ ass is crazy for real, Zaria. Where was all that wife-like emotion earlier when you was going ham on a nigga voice mail?” His deep baritone voice sent chills up and down my spine, even though he was calling me out on acting so elementary.

“Well, that was then. You know I be tripping when you don’t answer the phone. It could be an emergency with the baby, and you’re laid up with some ratchet ho.” Lowering my voice to a murmur at the end, I didn’t want him to think I was trying to trip or start an argument.

“Look, don’t start no shit with me, Z. I didn’t respond to your little drama earlier for a reason. You can miss me with all that because my mood ain’t no lighter for it now.”

“Naw, Nardo, I’m cool, and we’re cool. You can trust that I’m not trying to get on your bad side. You know how I can get over you, babe. It’s just love.” My mind started to race and ponder on what ways I could get back into his good graces, having reminded him of my nagging ways.

It was his fault I was cut like that anyway. Had it not been so easy for me to steal him from Mel, I would’ve had faith in our relationship standing strong through rough patches. However, Nardo continuously reminded me of his boss status in the streets. It was not a hood heffa walking who didn’t want a part of him. The more he crept, the more I clowned. Even though my moms thought I was as dumb as a bag of rocks for him, there was no way I was gonna diss my baby daddy.

Nardo quickly pushed past me to get into the living room. I had mango butter oil burning throughout the house, mainly because that was his favorite scent. I liked to keep him comfortable in hopes of making his visits last longer. Anything I could try to get my family back together was worth it in my book.

“Where’s my little mama?” he asked, glancing around the room, taking off his shoes and making himself comfortable. “I miss my little princess.”

“I put her down for a nap about a good forty-. . .