Free Prima Donna by Keisha Ervin Page A

simple as possible, let me get you up to speed. Jamil and I have been married for nine years and we have two lovely children, Brianna and Jamil Jr.”
     
    McKinley immediately remembered the phone call where the lil boy answered the phone. So that was his son, she thought.
     
    “ We have a home, or shall I say, a mansion on Star Island, and an apartment in Tribeca, New York, and a beach house in Malibu. I’ve known about you for about two years now.”
     
    “ So why are you just sayin’ something now?” McKinley snapped.
     
    “ ‘ Cause you weren’t the first woman he stepped out on me with and you for damn sure weren’t the last. To be exact, it’s me, then his other girlfriend slash baby mama Tanay, then you. And yes, to be clear, he was seeing all three of us at the same time. Did it hurt in the beginning, yes? Do I care now, no? ’Cause I knew this day would come where I would get everything.”
     
    McKinley stood speechless. She hadn’t even blinked she was so stunned.
     
    “ Yeah, I know it’s a shock. It was also a shock to me when I found out that he’d proposed to you with a five-carat diamond ring a couple of months ago and you tearfully said yes,” Leah said mockingly.
     
    “ Oh, but wait, there’s more. Because of my husband’s untimely passing, I now have to tie up all of his loose ends. See, this fairly modest apartment that you’ve been living in is under Jamil’s name and since I’m his beneficiary I now have control of it. So I’ve decided to sell this apartment immediately, which gives you thirty days to vacate the premises.”
     
    “ What? You’ve got to be kidding, right?” McKinley said in disbelief.
     
    “ No, honey, sorry, I’m not. Well, look, now that we’ve gotten a chance to chat I have to be off. I do have a funeral to plan.” Leah secured her purse underneath her arm. “It was nice meeting you, McKinley. I wish you the best of luck. Smooches.” Leah blew McKinley a kiss then sashayed off down the hallway.
     
    “ What was that all about?” Kristen asked standing up.
     
    “ Oh, just the usual, you know,” McKinley scoffed. “That was Jamil’s wife. She came by to tell me that I have thirty days to vacate the premises. So I guess I was wrong. My life can get worse.”
     
    “ O…M…G, really?” Kristen said, aghast.
     
    “ Yes. This whole time that muthafucka was living a double life. Here I am thinking I’m the only one and he got a whole wife, two kids and a baby mama. I was with him for three years and all I have to show for it is a bunch of clothes and a wack-ass engagement ring. This bitch gets everything and I’m left with nothing. I gave up my family and my friends for him. He had me thinkin’ we were gon’ be together forever.” McKinley cried hysterically.
     
    “ So what are you going to do?”
     
    McKinley stood, trembling with fear. There was only one way out of her predicament. The one thing she’d been dreading the most. The word alone made her cringe and brought on bouts of anxiety.
     
    “ I guess I’ll have to,” she swallowed hard, “go home.”
     
    “ I guess I met you for a reason. Only time can tell.”
     
    J Cole feat Drake
    “ In The Morning”

After two weeks of packing up her things and having them shipped to St. Louis, courtesy of her mother, it was time for McKinley to bid farewell. It was her last day in Miami before flying home to St. Louis. She’d truly miss Miami. She didn’t know how she’d live without the smell of sea salt or seeing the leaves from the palm trees sway in the wind. She’d yearn for the scrumptious food, colorful printed clothes, all-night club scene and great weather. More then anything she’d miss all of the time she and Jamil spent there.
     
    When they’d met three years prior, while she was on vacation, he’d swept her off her feet and she’d never left. Now she was being forced to leave. Parts of her hated him for the lies he’d told and for making her feel like she