Trial By Fire - Bouncing Back, Book 1

Thirty-One

"Do you know what you did upstairs?" Thomas asked her gently as she got to his side.

She scowled, “No one’s calling for my head, so I doubt it was anything wrong.”

He shook his head, "Kennedy, Melody Jane and Neo are my sister’s kids. Helena won’t stop praising you for including them."

Wide-eyed, Kennedy looked at him in shock. It was the first she heard of it. "I had no idea. I just wanted to include some kids from your family, too."

Declan walked over to her, "Well?"

"Well, what? If you expect me to pick and choose, get off your high horse, Declan. Both of you are walking me down."

Rushing over, Belladonna pushed a bunch of fresh black roses into Kennedy's hands. "Memphis mentioned these were your favourite. My sister, Catherine, owns a flower boutique, so she supplied them for the wedding. You look so beautiful, Kenni. I am so happy for you."

Kennedy pulled the woman close. "I know they symbolize tragedy, but…”

Shaking her head, Belladonna said, "The tragedy is that your parents couldn’t be here to share this day with you, but they are watching over you from a place unseen. Anyone who knows the truth will understand the meaning, and if anyone says anything, you let me know, Baby. I’ll get ‘em good for you."

Laughing despite her tears, Kennedy took a breath, “Thank you, Bella. Thom, Dec, I’m ready.”

Two hours later, Memphis stood on the front stoop with a glass of wine in his hand. It had been years since he'd been at the manor, and now, because of his new wife, he had the wedding he always wanted. Sensing someone approaching, he looked over his shoulder, throwing an uninterested glance at the woman coming over to him. "Keep your distance, Charmaine."

"Didn’t you miss me," she purred seductively.

"I'm married," Memphis spat. "Go screw around with Rick like you've been doing since you were thirteen.”

"What's going on out here?" Kennedy asked as she stepped onto the stoop.

Memphis snickered, "I stirred the s**t pot."

"Who’s on the list to lick the spoon?" She questioned eagerly.

Turning to the young woman smirking at her newlywed husband, Celeste said, "Memphis, what was that you said about my husband?"

Kennedy swallowed nervously. Her hands flew to her stomach as concern and fear surfaced in her mind. If there was going to be a fight today, she would have no choice but to bow out. There was no way she would put her baby at risk.

As more people from the family gathered to see what was going on, Rick and his father came around the corner of the manor. Paling instantly at the looks on the gathered faces, Ricky swallowed tightly.

"Hey, baby," Charmaine ran to him.

Rick glared at her, shoving her hands off his person. "Why are you even here? This is a family event."

"Oh, it's okay," she replied. "Your wife knows now ‘cause Memphis and his little b***h ratted us out."

Whispers rose around them, no longer questioning the validity of Memphis’s earlier statement. Eyes wide, Richard stared at his younger cousin. “What the f**k are you trying to do? Ruin my marriage?”

“I’m glad he said something,” Celeste growled out. “Now I can stop wasting my precious time on your unemployed ass.”

Richard, his anger blinding him, rushed after Memphis, who was unfazed by the attack. As his foot hit the stone steps, the barrel of a G43 was pointed at his head. Staggering backward, he gasped in shock. “What the…?”

"Back off," Kennedy said darkly.

Growling in frustration, Rick looked at the young woman in front of him. Sneering, he said, "What does a pretty girl know about using a gun? Why don't you hand it over?"

"Here's an even better idea, why don’t I hold you down and let your gorgeous wife shoot off your non-existent balls?" Kennedy shot back.

Tanisha, unaware of the sudden fallout within the family, walked out of the house. She shivered when she saw the matte black gun in Kennedy’s steady grasp. Looking around, she took in the scene as she muttered: "Someone explain what is going on?"

Memphis crossed his arms, "I will, Arrière grand-mère. You see, the last time they met, Kennedy knocked Richard’s teeth loose for sizing her up. I know for a fact that he’s been sleeping with Charmaine behind Celeste’s back.”

A serene calm chased the lines from Tanisha's face. Shaking her head, she guided the sobbing Celeste into her arms. "I'm disappointed in you, Richarde. Where is your sense of loyalty?!"

"Tante Kenni, I was taking videos to show my cousins and friends back home, and I ended up getting the last half hour. I don’t think she noticed me in the corner when that nasty lady went over to Oncle Memphis," Hans said.

Kneeling down, Memphis pulled Hans into a hug. "I want you to go find and guard your mom, and siblings, okay? Tell your dad that things are about to get heated outside and that we need a bit of backup."

“I’ll get your daddy, too.” Handing over his phone, the eight-year-old vanished into the house.

Turning his eyes to his wife, Memphis said, "This idiocy ends here. Us against them, and only the truth will win.”

"f*****g right, it will," she replied, pulling back the slider on the gun in her hand. "That poor woman had a right to know her man was stepping out with a good-for-nothing slut."

Celeste finally snapped, a teary-eyed rage spilling over into her words. "All these years we’ve been married, all the years I begged to start a family with you, and you were two-timing me all along? I had my suspicions, but now I know for sure. Memphis, you said you had proof. I want to see it.”

His father appearing at his elbow, Memphis took the manilla envelope and handed it over. “I had him investigated the day after he dropped in unannounced last month. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but my wife has a point. You deserved to know the truth, no matter how brutal.”

Pale, her hands shaking, Celeste pulled the pictures and the report out. Pulling off her wedding ring set, Celeste shrieked, "Go stay with your lover because you're no longer welcomed in my house."

"Our house," he corrected.

Celeste laughed, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder with a manicured hand. "That house and the surrounding land is my property, left to me by my father in his will when he died three years ago. Anyone with half a brain knows that inherited property or funds are not shared marital assets. You’ve been spending my money, living in my house, wasting my time, using my cars, and sleeping with a common slut."

Charmaine's jaw dropped, "You told me you were going to kick her to the curb and move me in! You said it was your mansion!"

Kennedy laughed, "Celeste, a strong woman like you doesn't need a loser like him. You deserve better."

Nodding, she stopped as she passed Kennedy. "Sweetie, you are absolutely right. I'll send the divorce papers to your parents, Rick. Have a nice life."

When Richard tried to get to Celeste, Memphis stopped him, "You don't deserve a woman like that. She's too good for your worthless ass."

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Richard screamed. “You and that gold-digging Snowflake?”

Kennedy barked a laugh. "I know I'm a b***h, but so are you. The difference is that you’re nothing but a basic while I’m a boss. If you were part of my Scorpions, I'd kill you for insubordination. As for calling me a gold-digger, I assure you that, with a cool eight million in my bank account, I have no use for your family’s money.”

Declan made his way over to her, his deep blue eyes swimming with concern. "Are you okay, Princess?"

"Yes," she muttered.

Richard’s mother, Monica, stormed out of the house with his younger sister close on her heels. Grabbing her son by his now rumpled dress shirt, she snarled, "What the hell have you done? You had a good woman with a job and a house of her own, and you blew it for that nasty-ass ho? I can't believe I raised a hoodlum like you."

"Honey, stop it,” Darren started, but his wife shook her head.

"Don't you ‘honey’ me, Darren," she snapped. "I just answered your phone, which you shockingly left dragging in the bedroom, and had a nice little chat with your girlfriend. Like father, like son, I suppose."

Darren paled, "I can explain."

"Good, go explain to your mother and grandmother why you and our son are cheating, lying bastards. Kennedy, baby, you come on inside and rest. This hullabaloo isn’t good for your health or the baby you’re carrying," Monica murmured.

Following the family into the manor, Kennedy grasped Memphis’s hand, squeezing slightly to warn him that she was feeling weak. He lifted her into his arms, letting her fall asleep against his chest as he carried her up to their bedroom. The sounds of arguing followed him, but he was more concerned for his wife than the ongoing family drama.

Thomas followed them to their assigned bedroom, helping his son get his exhausted wife to their marital bed.

“I can’t believe Oncle Darren was cheating on Tante Monica,” Memphis hissed, swiftly and gently removing the constricting clothes from Kennedy’s body. “Mon doux ange de justice. You’re safe, now. Dad?”

“Make no mistake that what you and Kennedy did was a long time coming. I count that as a revenge dish served up nice and cold after what they put us through. Get some rest, and I’ll go help keep the damage to a minimum,” Thomas said as he shut the door behind his son.

Stripping off, Memphis yawned as he laid down. As if on instinct, Kennedy curled into his torso while his hand came to rest on her stomach. “Bon nuit, mon un petite.”