Page 66 of No Remedy for Love

“I don’t know what the fuck that lil girl did to you like that but I told you to leave her alone the first time all that bullshit popped off. Now, she’s laid up with a nigga that used to work for you and your family is gone. And I can’t believe that you’re still trying to fuck with her after all that.”

“I’m not trying to fuck with her no more.”

“The fuck you keep calling her for then!” his father yelled angrily.

He was pissed and he didn’t even try to hide his feelings. His son had a good girl but, just like him, he wasn’t satisfied. He remembered being the exact same way at his son’s age and he lost out on the love of his life. His ex-wife was every man’sdream woman and he took her for granted. He regretted it, and she never forgave him.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if his son had followed in his footsteps. He regretted helping him lie and cheat on Kiva, but it was too late now. He loved Kiva and felt bad for helping his son do her wrong. Just like him, Mav didn’t think that he would ever get caught.

“I wasn’t calling her on no getting back together shit.”

Mav felt bad for how he did Kiva, and Remi was a victim too. He couldn’t help that he still loved her too but he’d lied to them both. Feelings didn’t go away just like that if they were real. Now, instead of dividing his time up between two women, he didn’t have anybody. Aside from the times when he had his son, Mav’s house had never felt so lonely. Even the shop was lifeless without her being there.

If he were being honest, it hadn’t been the same since Blaze left and neither was his money. He played the game and lost. He didn’t know much about depression but he was sure that he was experiencing something similar. His appetite was messed up and he could barely sleep. He hadn’t cried since he lost his best friend as a teen but he’d even been shedding a few tears lately. Sadly, he didn’t know which woman he was hurting for the most.

“You shouldn’t be calling her at all,” Mark said, pulling him away from his regretful thoughts right as he pulled up to Kiva’s mother’s house.

Mav had heard it enough from his mother, he was over hearing it from his father too. His mother told him that she was happy that Kiva left. She’d done the same when she learned ofhis father’s infidelity. To her, Kiva had made the right move and she commended her.

“Go see if MJ is ready for me, pops.” Mav had seen Kiva since their breakup but only if he had to. His sister was usually the go-to person for both of them, but she was on vacation. Kiva didn’t care about seeing him, but guilt was eating him up every time he was in her presence.

Mav watched as his father walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. He smiled when he saw his son come running out of the house. For everything that Mav had ever done wrong, his son was something that he got right. MJ was a perfect mixture of him and Kiva, and she was an amazing mother. She came to the door and waved once his father had their son. Kerri walked up and stood behind her, making Mav frown angrily.

“Hating ass, miserable bitch,” Mav mumbled to himself, even though she couldn’t hear him.

“I know that nigga hate me more than anything,” Kerri laughed once Mav was gone with her nephew.

“Oh well, he’ll be okay,” Kiva said as she turned and headed back to the den where Nessa was sitting.

“See, that’s how you’re supposed to do a nigga! These hoes be out here fighting over these bum ass lil boys instead of linking with each other and fucking over the man.” Kerri was so happy to hear about how Kiva and Remi did Mav. She still hated both of them for their past transgressions but she hated her sister’s ex more.

“Girl, Kerri, stop it. You used to get out there and fight over all your baby daddies and nobody could tell you nothing.We’ve all taken more than we should have off a nigga at one point but that’s life.”

“That was only cause some of these hoes don’t know their places.”

“I’m not saying that Remi and I will ever be best friends or nothing, but she’s not the enemy,” Kiva spoke up and said.

“I disagree but I’m just happy that everything played out the way it did. That bitch still ain’t right if you ask me,” Kerri replied with a roll of her eyes.

“Me and Remi been dealing with the same nigga off and on for years, and I don’t have nothing bad to say about her. I don’t understand how you hate her more than I do.” Kiva gave her sister the side eye.

“Cause one of her baby daddies was crushing on Remi a while ago and Kerri was in her feelings about it. He was too damn old to be trying to fuck with that young girl anyway,” Nessa replied.

“I know you fucking lying! Which one?” Kiva questioned. She had never heard about that before but it made a lot of sense to her now. She had a reason to hate Remi but she never did. The same couldn’t be said about her sister though.

“Girl, that is a damn lie. I just feel like you give the bitch too many passes. Mav ain’t the only guilty one in the situation.”

Nessa had Kerri right, but she would never admit it. Her youngest daughter’s father wanted Remi bad but she was never interested in him. Kerri was happy for that much, seeing as how gone she had her sister’s man. When Mav cheated on her sister with Remi, that just added more fuel to an already burning fire.

“He’s the only guilty party in my eyes. Remi didn’t owe me nothing no matter if she knew that me and Mav were together or not. She didn’t have to be loyal to me, he did.”

Remi shed a lot of light on the darkness that Kiva had been in. She answered a lot of Kiva’s questions without her even having to ask. Mav had indeed purchased her car and lots of items in her wardrobe. They apparently loved Saks equally as much, and Mav frequented the store with both of them quite often. That explained the shade that she always felt that the salesman was throwing. Mav hated him but they seemed to always get the same person to help them. He’d obviously seen Remi a lot too and that explained the size mix ups. Maybe he was trying to tell Kiva all along but it always went over her head.

The part of it all that really had Kiva throwing in the towel was the apartment that Remi had a key to. Mav went to the extreme just to cheat, and that was unacceptable. He was living a double life and Kiva could no longer trust him. Cheating with multiple women meant that he was just a dog. Cheating with the same woman let her know that feelings were involved and she was bowing out gracefully.

“I’m not taking sides here but I seriously doubt that Remi would have started fucking with Mav had she known for sure that he was still with Kiva.” As usual, Nessa tried to play devil’s advocate. She knew Remi better than both her cousins did and she didn’t like the picture that Kerri was trying to paint.

“Bitch, please! She’s fucking with a married man right now!” Kerri pointed out.

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