Lay sat at her favorite massage parlor and waited for Mia to get there.

Baby dad: how are you feeling?

Cha💗: good and tired 😩 waiting for Mia now, how are you?

Baby dad: enjoy dat, hit me when you done.

Lay locked her phone back when she noticed a man walking up to her.

"Wassup spook?" Lay looked up to see no other than Bryson standing in front of her with a smug look on his face.

"Get the fuck away from me," Lay spoke threw clenched teeth. Her face had fallen as though she had seen a ghost.

"You scared?" Bryson asked inching closer to Lay's body.

"You will be if you don't get away from me." She gripped her purse tightly about to pull out her baby Glock cause she ain't fighting with no random.

"I just came to warn you .. Bria is hot on yo trails and she not playing." He stroked her face softly and for a second she forgot how evil he was.

"Fuck you and that bitch." Lay looked around for help and just like that he was gone. They didn't call the nigga phantom for nothing.

"Ugh!" She said with disgust, the fact that he was even back in town blew her.

"Girl, you okay?" Mia asked in her robe coming from the locker room.

"Yeah, it's nothing." Lay waved it off, she didn't want Mia to go back and tell Key what happened. That was the last thing that she needed right now.

"Okay, well they're ready for us!" Mia was suspicious cause she wasn't going to just let it go. The two women walked back towards the mani and pedi room.

"Your kids are too sweet. Did they enjoy themselves?" Lay asked Mia.

"Thank you girl, they adore yo ass. Yes, they did. Tre Tre said Key snatched some boy up for saying something to you?" Mia was being modest and she wanted to hear the tea.

"And did. I had to let the kids know I was okay. He said I should model or something like that and I looked good in my swimsuit. Key wasn't having it." Lay cheesed.

"You cheesin a little too hard. What else happened last night?" Mia wanted all the details because she honestly liked Key and Lay together.

Lay told Mia everything that had happened last night. Down to her leaving Key in the studio to think about his actions.

"Damn. I see why everybody is all over his lil light skin ass. He made you cum that quick?" Mia laughed, she could now see why she was pregnant.

"Girl, get your mind out of the gutter. That nigga said he was never touching me again. He can stand on that. Plus me and Golden are trying shit out." Lay slapped her hand over her mouth she didn't want anybody to know that. The woman doing her nails shot her an evil eye. "My bad Sasha." Lay put her hand back down so that she could finish the acrylic.

"Golden? Chalynn. You're grown but be careful with her." Mia warned looking down at her nails.

"What you mean?" This was the second time somebody was warning her about Golden.

"She's cool till you piss her off. Watch out." Lay began to go into deep thought about what was being said to her.

"She wasn't too happy about me going with Key yesterday. I'll keep an eye out. Thank you, sis. Do you know somebody named Nell?"

"Mhm. She used to be head over heels for Key back in the day until he met Brittany. Now she's suddenly popped back up. With her little son and 'husband' don't nobody know who that man is." Mia rolled her eyes.

"He loved her?" Lay asked, looking at Mia for an honest answer.

"No. Key has never loved a girl besides Eli until he met you." Mia spoke honestly causing Lay's heart to smile.

"Hmm."

"Speaking of Eli. What you gone do?"

"Key and I are going to decide together. If he decides he doesn't want to keep her either we're going to do adoption and if he does and I wanna sign my rights away I'm going to do that. We'll see if I wanna keep her but I don't know." Lay went on to tell her about the good-ass talk that led up to them about to have sex.

"Good for him. He's really trying. So with this baby, can I plan the gender reveal and shower?" Mia asked with a wide smile on her face.

"Of course sis. Whatever you want."

The girls talked for a little while longer before they began to pack up their belongings and head out of the salon. Right when Lay reached the front door, she passed out. Thankfully somebody caught her on the way down.

*

"Lay, can you hear me?" Dr. G asked putting a light into her eyes to test for concussion. Lay blinked a few times before squinting and knocking the light out of her doctor's fingers. The soft clack from the light hitting the ground was all that could be heard at the birthing center.

"I'm sorry, that just really irritated my eyes." Lay apologized feeling a whole lot better now.

"It looks like you had an anxiety attack. I thought you were going to therapy?" Dr. G asked, it seemed like she was always in the hospital and Lay was a little bit over that. She was ready for a much-needed vacation and she didn't care if she had to go alone.

"I just am overwhelmed emotionally. I need a getaway." Lay spoke quietly, and Dr. G nodded her head. She could only imagine what all Lay was going through particularly with her pregnancy and everything that has unfolded these last few months.

"I know the perfect place." Belize was currently hosting a women's wellness for expecting mothers with problems like these to prepare them for motherhood. Right after she finished discussing this retreat with Lay she didn't know how to respond.

"Sissy I think you should do it!" Marlee rubbed her sister's hand and watched as she looked unsure. Marlee wouldn't know what to do without her sister for a few weeks but she needed it.

"Me too." Keisha chimed in, there was always something going wrong while she was here and maybe a getaway with other mothers in her circumstance would help her.

"What's going on?" Key asked as he walked over to the hospital bed. He placed a comforting hand on Lay's cheek. At first, she left it but once she realized why she was there, she grabbed his hand and removed it from her cheek.

"Can we have the room please?" Lay asked looking around at the family members who were there. They all took the hint and left closing the door behind them. Lay motioned for Key to sit down next to her and he was looking at her like she had three heads.

"I don't know how to say this Markeyvius but, we're no good for each other. I-I love you with every bone in my body but we need time apart. Last night, was probably the first night that I stood up for myself when it comes to you." Lay tried to reach out to touch him but he moved away.

"Why are you always doing this Chalynn?" Key asked getting upset as if they had the perfect relationship.

"Because Key, I can't keep spreading myself thin when it comes to you. I hold my breath a lot with us. You have me on demand and I need to break you and Eli. I need a mental health break from everything. You can't even tell me why you want me back!" Lay was growing irritated with the conversation. He just wanted her around at his every beck and call but didn't reciprocate.

"Because I love you Chalynn. I clearly can't leave you alone. I know a nigga can't act right but you just gone leave?" He asked confused, she shook her head.

"That's just it Markeyvius. Claim to love me but you don't show it. When is the last time you just hugged me? Caressed me or anything like that?" Lay was calm.

"You think so?" Key wasn't at all surprised by what she was saying to him. He understood that they were living in a current fairytale. Shit was just too complicated right now.

"I know so Key and maybe Aubree can be better for you than me." Lay shrugged, all the heartache that she went through and she was giving him up on a platter.

"Mm. What bout Eli?" Key rubbed his hand across his head. He had to respect what she was telling him.

"If you can respect me as her mother. I'll keep custody of her when I come back." Lay meant that wholeheartedly.

"I can do that and if you start seeing somebody can I ask that you don't sleep with anybody else until you have the baby?" Lay looked at him and bust out laughing.

"Why would you ask me to do something that you can't do?" She raised her eyebrow, she didn't plan on having sex but he didn't have the right to ask that of her.

"I can do that." He nodded, not cause he didn't want her messing with anybody else but because he ain't want nobody possibly touching his child.

"No smoking, no drinking either nigga." She side-eyed him to see what he was gone say. If she couldn't smoke or drink he didn't need to either.

"Okay." He stuck out his pinky for her.

"Maybe we'll be better best friends.." Lay smiled small as she held her pinky out. They interlocked pinkies before releasing them.

"Maybe. Be safe kid." Key stood up before realizing her ring was no longer on her finger. It was over for them and he saw that now. Just like she needed to let him go, he needed to do the same.

"You too."

*

Golden and Lay sat on the plane on their way to Belize, she hadn't spoken to her since she slept with Key and she was a little nervous being here with her.

"I appreciate you coming with me Golden, but we need to talk." Lay bit her lip, she felt really bad about what they did. Golden felt as though she knew what it was but she didn't want to acknowledge it.

"What's up?" She asked, cocking her head to the side and drinking some champagne. The nervousness that radiated off of Chalynn caused an uneasy feeling in Golden. Golden knew this time she wasn't going to be able to save Lay.

"Key and I sort of got heated yesterday. He pushed up on me and I folded. Right, when it was about to go too far I stopped him and told him we couldn't do it." Lay mumbled under her breath.

"Huh?" Golden asked raising her eyebrow. She wasn't sure that she heard Lay correctly. Chalynn repeated herself and Golden wasn't too happy about that.

"Lay you are just like this nigga. You think I wanna be with you and you not gone respect me or yourself. This nigga say jump and you start talm bout 'how high'. Why would I wanna share you?" Golden scoffed and rolled her eyes. Her feelings were beyond hurt, she knew she wasn't over Key but she didn't think it would come to this.

"I-" Lay began to talk but she was so overcome with emotion she couldn't do anything but cry.

"Chalynn, don't start with them damn tears. Don't start. Then you have me on a fucking plane out the country for you and you still messing with this nigga?!" Golden was livid, she was ready to give Lay the world now she was ready to throw her ass off the plane. Lay began to cower under the sound of her yelling at her. Until she got tired of it.

"I'm sorry okay? I'm fucking sorry! I know, every time I fall for this nigga. Every time. I'm sick of it my fucking self but I'm trying. I'm going out of the country to get away from this man. Don't you think I know? Look, I understand you're upset but you're not gonna fuckin yell at me, Loretta." Lay yelled back watching Golden look her up and down.

"Who is Loretta?" Golden asked, Lay shook her head.

"Doesn't matter Golden, I am truly sorry but if you want to just keep this strictly professional let's do that." Lay sat back down she couldn't keep raising her voice and blood pressure for anybody. "If you want to go back home after this plane lands feel more than free. I just want to start over." Lay was dead ass, maybe a solo trip to Belize is what she needed.

"Tuh and will." Golden shrugged her shoulders, Lay shrugged hers right on back matching Goldens attitude.

When they finally landed the two of them hadn't talked since the argument happened. Lay was ready to get off the plane and not look back but Golden, not so much. Lay didn't hear her footsteps following hers so she looked back to see Golden standing in the plane.

"I like you Lay, but, I can't lie and say you didn't hurt me. I refuse to be caught in your toxic love cycle. Enjoy Belize, I pray it's good to you." Golden lifted the lift gate back up to close the door of the plane.

Lay was left to sit there and wonder if she just missed out on her real love.

She didn't have time to worry about that though, she had some healing to do. Maybe that was a sign that she and Golden weren't meant for each other and that was fine too. Whatever God had planned for her, is the only thing she wanted. She walked off the runway feeling a thousand pounds lighter.

Goodbye Lay, hello Cha.