Drunk in Love 3: An Original Love Story (18 page)

As Mrs. Jackson watched the video her heart dropped and her eyes bulged from worry. This could definitely ruin a lot for their daughter. Olivia looked from Mark then back at her mom. The look on her face caused her to want to look at the video too.

“Let me see that,” she said instantly taking the phone out of Mrs. Jackson’s hand with no regard. She was tired of this shit and ready for Mark to leave for good. As she got the phone, her mouth opened in shock as the video played on four different cameras. She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing.

The footage showed her walking out to the garage with her luggage in hand, coming back inside the house through the garage without them. While in the garage a different camera view showed her picking up the lighter fluid and a box of matches.

Olivia disappointedly shook her head as her eyes followed from the phone over to her father’s disappointed facial expression. She hated for him to see her in such a disturbing manner. Then her head dropped back down to see the rest of the footage on the phone.

A different camera view then showed her inside their closet talking mad shit, looking like a deranged woman and squirting lighter fluid all over Mark’s belongings. Lastly, she struck the match and threw it in the closet, setting the entire house on fire. Unfortunately for her, Mark was still inside the house taking a shower which made this look just as bad as him shooting at them.

“So, you had hidden cameras in our house?” She questioned feeling very embarrassed and ashamed by this point as her parents stood by almost feeling helpless. This was a big blow for them and one that would tarnish Olivia’s name and reputation beyond repair. Not to mention, it could land her in jail for no telling how long. “So, is this how you’re playing?”

“I just want you to play fair. No one has to know about this video as long as you play fair.” Mark said. “We both did some stupid things, but we’re both fine and alive. Don’t push me to do something that I don’t want to do. I already have a reporter on standby and all I have to do is leak this information to them and you’re done. Regardless of what you may tell on me, you’re still done. See at this point I’m good, because if I go to jail you will, too.” He boldly stated. He walked over to grab his phone out of Olivia’s hand, but was met with a mean slap to the face.

“YOU BASTERD!” she yelled at him just as Zay was making his way into the house. Hearing Olivia’s cry for help sent him straight to where her voice came from. As he bent the corner, Mark was heading to the front door. Zay knew that nigga anywhere. He glanced in the dining room only to see Mrs. Jackson’s arms around Olivia as she cried like a baby.

“Aye!” Zay called out as Mark reached for the doorknob. Mr. Jackson immediately stepped out in the foyer to stop Zay from killing him.

“Just let him go,” he said. “Just let him go.”

“What did he do? Why is he here!?” Zay asked out of confusion mixed with anger.

“Ask your girl.” Mark said with pure sarcasm and stepped out the door. Zay hated to be disrespectful, but this was the man that tried to kill him. He took off for the front door with Mr. Jackson trying to grab him by the back of his shirt to hold him back.

“OH MY GOD!” Zoe could be heard from outside. She and Dillon had just gotten out of the Bentley and they caught Mark slipping without his piece. Dillon was beating the brakes off of his ass by the time Zay got out the door. It happened so fast that it was hard for anyone to react quick enough to stop him. Luckily, Uncle Craig and Skeet were there to help break up the brawl while Mr. Jackson kept Zay at bay. Mark was then able to get away with his life still intact. He quickly jumped in his car and sped away with his thoughts all over the place. Dillon may have beaten his ass, but he left more blows behind than they ever could.

Olivia was left standing there with some serious thinking to do if she wanted to keep her sweet, good girl, business savvy image up. The ball was no longer in her court and with everything on the line; Mark may just end up with everything that he was requesting.

****

Later that night, Mark sat in a Jacuzzi full of hot water that contained alcohol and Epsom salt. He was feeling pretty banged up and out of it. Drowning his sorrows with a bottle of 1800, he was hoping that somehow he’d feel better. He looked over at his phone, hearing it buzz again from Felisha aggravating the hell out of him. At that moment, she was the last person he wanted to talk to. He had a black eye, a badly bust lip, and knots and bruises on his body. Dillon had certainly done a number on him and he didn’t want anyone seeing him this way. As he sat there soaking, his phone rang. He looked over at the caller ID. There was no name saved under the number, but he knew exactly who it was. He reached over and dried his hands just enough to answer the phone while putting it on speaker.

“Hello,” he spoke.

“Hey,” Angel spoke back. “How are you?”

“I could better,” he responded.

“You don’t mind me calling you do you?”

“Nah,” Mark answered.

“Are you busy, you good to talk?”

“I can talk, what’s up?” he asked.

“Well, since I hadn’t heard from you, I wanted to know if you’d spoken to your wife. Or, did you even go to find her?”

“Oh I went,” Mark answered. “But, I can’t say if it went well or not.”

“What happened?” She asked like she was concerned. “I thought you said that you had something really big on her. The way you sounded, I thought that she would’ve signed the divorce papers today with you getting everything you want out of it.”

“That still may happen,” he stated.

“So, where did you find her?” Angel curiously asked.

“She was at her parent’s house.” He said. “Long story short, she knows what I have on her. Her parents also know that I have this video and I’m sure between the three of them, they’ll find it in their best interest to bow out gracefully.”

Angel didn’t say much, but she was itching to see what was on his phone. “Wow, that must be some crazy shit on that video?”

“What was crazy is that her lover was over to her parent’s house with her. Her parents don’t even play games like thought.” He informed her, talking a bit too much from the alcohol racing to his brain.

Angel disappointedly frowned. “Xavier?”

“Yeah, whatever his name is.” Mark sourly responded.

“How did that turn out?” Angel curiously asked.

“Not good,” he admitted. “Everything was good up until I made it outside and ran right into the guy you said was his brother.”

“Dillon,” Angel whispered knowing that Dillon was no joke with those hands. He and Zay had won quite a few matches back in their early years of kickboxing. One thing about them was that you couldn’t let the handsome faces fool you. They’d put a nigga on his back real quick. Poor Mark had learned the hard way.

“Look,” he said feeling like he just wanted to lie down and rest his body. “I’m tired. I’m about to get out of this water and get some rest.”

Angel had to think quickly. “What if I came by to see you?”

“Huh, I thought you’d be back in Atlanta by now. Weren’t you heading back when I left?”

“I was, but I started drinking some wine and fell asleep after sitting here thinking about our short term visit. It was something about you that was intriguing. I just didn’t expect you to look like that.” She said thinking about how sexy he was in a navy pair of Ralph Lauren pants and a pink, blue, and white striped Ralph Lauren shirt. He was definitely one good looking man with a clean shave and a low waved haircut that she found to be quite sexy.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you looking like that either,” he admitted.

“Well, since I’m still in town, why don’t you let me come see you?”

Mark wanted too, but he just couldn’t do it. He didn’t want her looking at him differently with the black eye and bruises. “Nah, it’s not a good time.” He said.

“I can doctor on you,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

Mark thought about it some more, and then he said again, “Nah, it’s really not a good time.” He stuck to his words and eventually, Angel gave up so Mark could get some rest. However, she wasn’t done trying to get next to him. She wanted what was in his phone and she wasn’t giving up until she got it.

Chapter 15

A little over two and a half months had crept by like it was moving at its own slow pace. Olivia was finally able to breathe since Mark had signed the divorce papers two days prior. Zay stuck right by her side and promised to still be there when the war was over between her and Mark. He meant every word.

It was the end of August and a very special day to Olivia, because it was Zay’s birthday. She was happy that she was able to freely be with her man and that Mark and his shenanigans were finally behind them. She and her mom stood in the kitchen as she fixed some to go plates for Olivia and Zay to take back to Atlanta with them.

“You know Zay loves your potato salad.” Olivia said with a light smile on her face.

“I know,” she said. “He called me personally to ask if I’d make some for him today since y’all were coming over.” She smiled. “You know I couldn’t turn him down. I honestly think that he’s the best thing that has happened to you in a long time.” Mrs. Jackson looked back at her daughter with a smile on her face. “You have that glow back.”

“Thanks mom,” Olivia said. “I feel good. Being with Zay feels right.”

“I’m sure it does.” She said, and then moved on to a subject that they’d been hoping to suppress and move past. “How did you feel on Wednesday to see Mark again after all of this time?”

Olivia stood quietly by the granite countertop, leaning partly on it with her elbows as leverage. “I didn’t know how to feel. I haven’t much talked about the meeting. I’m just glad that he signed the divorce papers and that we can move on.”

Mrs. Jackson could tell by her daughter’s body language that she wasn’t happy at all with the way things were played out. Mark certainly had backed them all in a corner with that horrendous video that he had stashed.

“All those years that I’ve known Mark, I never thought that he’d turn out to be the man that he’s become.”

Olivia sighed. “Me either,” she said. Never in a million years did she think he’d do her the way he did with Felisha, and then go berserk after finding out that she was playing the same game that he’d invented. The shooting was bad enough, but then finding out about Lil Romeo being his son was disheartening. That pain still lingered for some reason. And, even after that, he still pulled the most conniving stunt of them all by pulling out the video that made her mostly agree to whatever his terms were in the divorce settlement.

“What are your honest feelings about Felisha keeping the nail salon and knowing that you’re still a part of that business? I know that still bugs you.”

Olivia shrugged. “It does. I hate that he wished for everything to remain the same in the contract with her. I’m glad that I don’t have to see her, but I hate I’m still tied in this thing with her. I refused to buy her out at what she was asking. So that wasn’t going to happen, but in five years I can walk away with what I put in and some.” She said with a slight raise of an eyebrow and a light smirk on her face. “I guess I’m cool with that. Plus, in the end it benefits Lil Romeo.” She said knowing that those were Mark’s only real intentions. “I’m glad that he forfeited all rights in having to do anything with my hair salon business and any other personal business that I had going on, but in return I had to do the same when it came to his dump truck business and side gigs.

“In a sense, I wanted to believe that he was trying to be fair until he asked that you pay him fifty thousand in pain and suffering.” Mrs. Jackson said with a disapproval shake of the head.

Olivia unpleasantly grinned a little. “Yeah, like I was the one that caused him pain and suffering. I couldn’t believe that he’d try me like that, but he did. You just never know what to expect from a guy like Mark.”

“You’re right about that.” Mrs. Jackson agreed. “Nothing halfway decent came out of this, but him getting rid of that video.”

“I know right. I could never have anything come out like that about me. It would definitely ruin my image, my life as I see it, and no telling what Zay would think. He’d think I was a mad woman.”

“Mrs. Jackson laughed a little. “Well, you did look quite mad, sweetie. A little psychotic too,” Mrs. Jackson added as she teased her.

“Why thanks mom for making me feel better about it.” They laughed just as Zay and Mr. Jackson entered the house from sitting on the back patio drinking a couple of beers and sharing small talk.

“You ready babe?” Zay asked Olivia as he walked over and kissed her softly on the lips.

“Yep,” she said.

“Don’t y’all forget to give Zoe and Dillon their plates that I fixed for them,” Mrs. Jackson said. “And, Zay I hope you enjoy your red velvet cake; happy birthday again.”

“Thanks, and you know I will,” he said with a handsome smile on his face. He walked over to her, and then hugged her gently while kissing her on the cheek. “You are the best.”

“You are too.” Mrs. Jackson said with a warming smile. “Especially, for our daughter and this family,” she added.

Within the next ten minutes, they’d said their goodbyes until the next time, and with that they left Augusta, heading back to Atlanta.

****

Due to backed up traffic in the heart of Atlanta, Olivia was about forty minutes behind schedule of what she’d had planned for Zay. However, all she wanted was to make sure that it would be a nice surprise for him. She looked over at him as she sat behind the wheel of his Bentley. He was definitely all the man that she needed and as long as he stood by her, she wasn’t going anywhere.

“You know Capricorns and Virgos are compatible?” She said making up small talk as she continued to drive.

Zay smiled knowing that he was a Virgo and she was a Capricorn. “No, I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you know.” She said with light laughter. “Taurus’s are also compatible with us as well. Zoe is a Taurus and-”

Zay cut in and said, “And, Dillon is a Capricorn.”