by Vera Roberts
Dressed in jeans and thigh-high boots, Faith paired it with a cream sweater that showcased her newly installed auburn weave. After Simone successfully tore out bits and pieces of the other one, Faith seized the opportunity to switch up her look.
On Instagram, she showcased a mini-video installation and a few hundred people already shared it. Her celebrity was steadily rising thanks to the reality show. Eli suggested she created a YouTube tutorial channel and Faith was in the process of starting one. Now, she needed to come out with a wig line and she would be set.
“So, I was thinking maybe on Tuesday’s meeting, you can talk about how to be a good partner,” Amy Sheppard met with her only daughter over tea. “A lot of women see how you and Eli are and really look up to you two as role models.”
For the past several years, Faith led a weekly Bible group aimed called Everpresence, based on Psalm 46: 1-3. The group centered on sisterhood while remaining firm in Christ. The women discussed their struggles, their triumphs, and encouraged one another. They often went out to dinner, had spa days, and trips to wineries.
Faith paused mid sip and blinked at her mother. It was their weekly luncheon together just the two of them. It was a tradition started when Faith was just a baby and continued when she became a wife and mother. “I’m not sure with recent events if that’s a good idea I still lead Tea Tuesdays at the church. I’m sure word has gotten around about the fight.”
“It has,” Amy took a sip of her iced peach tea, “and that’s why it’s even more perfect you lead this upcoming week!”
Faith shook her head. She was lucky the IG gossip blogs only reported the fight for a day but since there was no confirmation of said incident, it just became an urban myth. No one could connect the fight directly to her or Simone and most people thought it was just two customers fighting.
“Simone has brought out the worst in me,” Faith looked out the window of the tearoom, “I was never like this before.”
“Maybe it’s not Simone,” Amy greeted the server who brought over their lunch, “maybe it’s the true Faith coming out all this time.”
“I’m not a hood rat, Mommy.” Faith defended. “But I don’t regret what I did.”
“Let’s say grace, Faith Marie,” Amy grabbed her hand and the ladies bowed their heads, “Father God, we come before You in grace and mercy. Thank you for blessing us with another day and the cooks who prepared our wonderful meal. Thank you for watching over my daughter and her family as they face this trial. In Your name, we pray Amen.”
“Amen,” Faith repeated and folded a napkin onto her lap. “You were about to say?”
“Regardless of how you feel about Simone, you two have one thing in common – Eliodoro – and he feels bad enough about the situation as it is. But you two cannot let your personal feelings about each other dictate how he is going to parent your respective children. He cannot be in a position where he’s forced to choose.”
“I’m not asking him to choose our children over Elena,” Faith grumbled, “in fact, he’s in Houston right now visiting her.”
The news caught Amy by surprise. “Oh?” She blinked. “That’s interesting. I thought Simone had a home out here with Darren?”
“Apparently she stays there sometimes but she’s in Houston the majority of the time,” Faith took a bite of her cucumber sandwich, “so my husband is traveling once a month to see his alleged daughter with a mother who still wants him, and I’m supposed to be okay with that situation?”
Amy took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich and slowly chewed. Her eyes crinkled a little as she stared into the distance. “So, what you’re saying is you don’t trust your husband?”
“I don’t trust him in that situation.” Faith clarified.
“Faith, either you trust your husband in all situations or you don’t trust him, period.” Amy replied. “You can’t choose on how and when you trust your husband.”
“Well, then I don’t trust him.” Faith shrugged, “There. It’s out. I don’t trust Eli.”
Amy felt the tension simmering from her only daughter. Instead of backing off, she wanted to get to the root of it. “Since when?”
“Since forever,” Faith admitted, “he’s given me plenty of reason to not trust him. All of the times we’ve broken up in the past and he’s dated someone so quickly afterward, like if I never meant anything at all to him. He finally made one of the reasons come to fruition with Simone.”
Amy slowly chewed her bite of food as she remembered Faith’s and Eli’s wedding. It was a production, costing close to four hundred thousand dollars. She knew Faith was drunk on her wedding day due to nerves but Amy began to wonder if it was because she knew she was making a mistake. “Why don’t you trust Eliodoro?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Faith shook her head, “maybe the appearance of an outside baby did it.”
“No, before that,” Amy pressed. She had a bad feeling the relationship between Eli and Faith was about to come an ear-bleeding screeching halt. She wondered when Eli’s breaking point was going to happen. “I want to know when you knew you were wasting Eliodoro’s time.”
“And of course, it’s always my fault,” Faith shook her head. It was always the wife’s fault for when a husband strayed, and never the husband. She’d learned the old saying – what a woman won’t do for her man, he’ll get somewhere else – from many older women in her shop.
Faith didn’t even want to know how nasty and disgusting Simone became when she was with Eli. “He cheats on me, and I’m still the villain.”
“No one is accusing you of being the villain here, Faith Marie,” Amy replied, “You just said it yourself you have never trusted your husband, yet you went onto marry him. My question is if you knew that, why did you marry him? There were plenty of great, God-fearing men you could’ve chosen from and you married someone you have never trusted.”
“Eli gave me everything I could ever want, that’s why I married him.” Faith replied. She caught the look on her mother’s face and revised her statement. “I was also in love with him, too, Mommy. I did go through fertility treatments for him.” Faith grew increasingly defensive. “I do love my husband.”
“I never doubted your love for Eliodoro, Faith Marie,” Amy added, “I just wonder how much of the lifestyle Eliodoro is providing for you is playing a part of making you stay in a marriage you clearly no longer want and probably never wanted from the start?”
“Eli proposed to me when he was dirt poor, barely any money, and I said yes,” Faith’s tone was polite, but angry. “His money had nothing to do why I married him.”
“His money has everything to do why you’re staying,” Amy replied, “you don’t trust your husband, and you’re staying with him. You have yet to give me a solid reason as to the why.”
Tension inched along Faith’s spine. “I don’t believe in divorce,” she paused for a moment, “I was taught – by you out of all people – that divorce is not an option.”
“In certain situations, divorce is allowable in the Bible.” Amy put down her sandwich, “this is assuming you’re aware of what I’m referring to.”
Faith was well-aware of what her mother spoke of. She also knew God hated divorce. “I’m trying to trust my husband but it’s hard, okay? Every time he walks out the front door, I don’t know for sure if he’s going to work. I don’t know if he’s really doing an event. I don’t know if he’s really with his employees at happy hour. I just don’t know! I go to the salon, and then it’s me and the kids most of the time.”
“Faith, it’s always been you and the babies. Eliodoro works very hard to provide the lifestyle others could only dream of. You needed extra help, Eliodoro got a nanny. You didn’t like to cook that much, he got a chef. You were too tired from the salon to clean, he hired a maid. And Faith Marie, he did this when it was just you and Nathan.
“Faith, if you can’t forgive your husband for his affair, you need to leave him alone,” Amy suggested, “so you both can move on.” She
paused for a beat. “Faith Marie, why are you still with Eliodoro?”
Her mother’s question took Faith by surprise. “Why am I still with Eli? That’s insane, Mommy! I’m with my husband because I love him!”
“Okay,” Amy sipped her tea.
Amy Sheppard was grace personified and Faith spent many years trying to emulate her mother’s classic and flawless style. Even when her mother politely shaded other folks, she did in a way it appeared to be a compliment. “What is on your mind, Mommy?”
“When a woman is married, there’s a certain respect society has for her, no matter where she is on the socio-economic ladder of life. When a woman is divorced, her stock drops rather significantly. Not that it’s any of her fault and most of the time, it’s not. But society doesn’t view her with the same respect and awe as when she was married.
“My point is while I do believe you love Eliodoro and you do want to make your marriage work, I also wonder if you also love the privilege that being Mrs. Eliodoro D’Amato brings to you.” Amy glanced at her daughter. “Everyone cares about the current, but no one ever cares about the ex.”
Six
“So?” Simone asked. “What do you think?”
Eli stepped into his newly purchased apartment. It took up two full floors and had a spectacular view of Central Park. Its floor-to-ceiling windows stunned her, a sweeping view of the city from different angles.
The apartment was on two floors and was considered the penthouse suite. The open kitchen area was to die for with his marble countertop, sub-zero refrigerator, extensive pantry, and chocolate brown cabinetry. Simone begged him to let her decorate it and he happily obliged.
He didn’t know what he expected when he stepped in. He told Simone he wanted contemporary, sleek, but comfortable. He wanted Nathan to have his own bedroom and playroom. He wanted enough space to run around and chase the child all over the home without fear of breaking anything.
Simone came through.
The living room was contemporary with plush velvet sofas. The flat screen TV hung on the wall, surrounded by bookcases. The guest rooms each contained a full-sized bed with a small flat screen TV located on top of a dresser.
Eli’s master bedroom featured chocolate hardwood flooring and a California King-sized bed dominated the room. An open space was at the corner for a private area to read. The other side of his bedroom showcased a sparkling view of New York. It was already his favorite room.
“Well?” Simone waited on pins and needles. Eli was silent as he perused through each room, carefully examining it. “What do you think?”
Eli turned to her with a huge smile on his face. “It’s perfect, Moni. You’ve really outdone yourself! I love it!”
Simone bounced in her Guccis. “That means so much to me!”
Eli picked her up and twirled Simone around. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“You make me feel amazing.”
Eli picked her up and laid her on top of the bed. He hovered over her as she opened her legs more to accommodate him. “I hope I can make you feel more amazing now…”
“I only have one request, baby…” She breathed.
“Yes?” He asked.
“Well?” Simone asked. “Is there a reason for the DNA test?”
Eli briefly looked away as the memory dissipated into the air. His eyes traveled until they saw Nick and Elena playing in the backyard. He briefly smiled at the interaction. Nick was so wonderful with children and he was sincerely happy his brother and Zerrin were finally having another one. He knew all too well the struggles of unexplained infertility. “I want to be sure she’s mine.”
“You have any reason to believe she’s not?” Simone folded her arms. “You never doubted her before.”
“Yes, I have,” he quietly replied, “I just want to be sure Elena is a D’Amato. If she is, it changes a lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“Well, for starters, she needs to be named in my will,” Eli glanced over to his ex, “and her last name changes to D’Amato.”
“Her last name will remain as Harris until she’s old enough to make a decision,” Simone stood her ground, “you can’t come in here and make demands on what Elena is going to be doing just because you want to play daddy.”
Eli chuckled. “Funny how you’re giving me that lecture when you only told me about Elena three years after she was born, vaffanculo.” Eli glanced down at his Rolex watch, “just like my haters, you don’t know if you love me or hate me.”
“I loved you more than anything and I knew you didn’t feel the same way; I loved you anyway!” Tears threatened Simone’s eyes. “You were never going to leave Faith. I was ready to give up everything for you and you wouldn’t even be seen with me in public! Why would I think you would care about a child? You certainly didn’t give a damn about the mother.”
“I can separate feelings towards my child’s mother and my child. How I feel about one wouldn’t affect my relationship with the other.” Eli finally locked eyes with Simone and his stare went icy. “You will never make that accusation ever again.”
“Excuse me,” Nick’s baritone interrupted the tension between the former couple. He was holding a sleepy Elena. “Elena is ready for her nap.”
“I’ll put her down,” Eli took Elena from his brother before walking upstairs.
Simone cleared her throat and wiped the fallen tears away from her eyes. “Thank you for coming over to see her, Nick. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” Nick replied. He waited for Eli to be out of earshot before he addressed Simone. “You’re a great mother. Elena is a well-rounded child. A very bright, little girl.”
“Thank you. It does take a village. I’ve had a lot of help.” Simone nodded. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“No, I’m fine. I think Eli and I are leaving soon so we won’t stay much longer.” Nick leaned against the entryway and glanced out the kitchen window. “It’s interesting how all of the D’Amato grandchildren have a certain trait that’s undeniably D’Amato. Kieran’s children, Joey’s twins, my kids, and finally, Eli’s children. The only one who doesn’t share that trait is Tyson, and that’s because he has a different father.”
Anger boiled at the surface but Simone kept her composure. “What are you implying, Nicholas?”
“I’m not implying anything,” he turned his attention towards Simone, “I am stating now is a good time to stop the bullshit you’re doing with my baby brother.”
“What went on between me and Eli is between just us two.” Simone stated.
Annoyance twisted Nick’s arm. “When it comes to an innocent little girl, I think not.”
“This is not a battle you should be involved in, Nicholas.” Simone stated, “I don’t know what Eli has told you or implied but this is not something you want to be involved in.”
“When it comes to family, I’ll always be involved.” Nick held his ground. “This is a battle, however, you and Darren won’t win.” He heard Eli’s footsteps down the stairs. “Choose wisely on how you want to proceed.” Nick turned to his brother who stood beside him. “Ready to go?”
“Ready,” Eli nodded, “I’ll be back tomorrow before I head out. I’ll see you later, Simone.” The two left her home.
“So do you think, big bro?” Eli asked. “What’s your honest opinion?”
Nick looked around to make sure they weren’t in earshot of any fans or paparazzi. “Honestly? I don’t think she’s a D’Amato. She has none of the features the others have. Then again, genes are a bit of a lottery. She could be yours and just look like Simone.”
“I would accept that but she also doesn’t really look like Simone,” Eli looked up at the sky.
Nick softly blinked and turned to his younger brother. “Oh?”
“I didn’t ask her if there was another possibility,” Eli shrugged.
“But you think there was?”
Eli thought back to when he was with Simone. They saw each
other plenty during the week, but the weekends were always swamped. There was also a time period they didn’t see each other for a couple of weeks.
Could she have? It wasn’t like they were in a committed relationship and Eli was still trying to process what he did to Faith and Nathan during the time. “Anything’s possible,” Eli replied, “I wasn’t with Simone all of the time, so…”
Nick shook his head. “Your ego is out of this world, little brother.”
“I’m speaking the truth,” Eli defended with more haste than he’d intended. “I don’t know what she was doing.”
Nick simply smiled. “Just come correct with me, Eli.”
“About what?”
Nick stopped walking and turned to his younger brother. He briefly looked around the Houston sky and admired how sunny and bright it was before he redirected his attention back to Eli. “You can’t stand the fact that while you were cheating on Faye, Simone could’ve been cheating on you.”
“She was never my girlfriend,” Eli replied.
“But I’m almost positive you didn’t want her sleeping with anyone else.”
The truth was a punch to the gut. “Why does any of this matter?” Eli defended. “This was three years ago.”
“It matters because it’s your ego. Eli, you know Elena is not yours.” Nick took off his sunglasses. “The way you’re acting tells me you know deep down Elena is not your child. But you don’t want to accept the fact that the woman you gave up your marriage and family for, was also playing you like a fiddle. You cannot accept the new pussy you chased and threw everything out the damn window, only saw the prestige of being connected to a D’Amato and dollar signs. You cannot accept the fact that the sweet Moni you knew in high school and lost your virginity to, grew up to be Simone, the home wrecking gold-digging whore.” He spat. “So that is why we’re here in hot-ass Houston, examining an innocent little girl because you want to be convinced so badly that Elena is your daughter, it would somehow mean what I just said isn’t true. I have news for you, sweet brother, even if Elena is proven to be yours, what I just said about Simone stands.”