Seeing Kyra in action used to excite me because you can tell she loves what she does. Any role she plays on tv, she puts all her effort into it.

Now, let her put that much effort into her home life.

Anyways, Kyra's playing in this movie about two people who fell in love on vacation; a place away from home. They fall out of love when they go back home and forget each other until years later.

Kyra has the lead role with some famous actor I know nothing about. They say he's all over the media as one of the finest actors ever but I don't pay attention as much.

So back to the studio situation. I'm here to have lunch with my wife. I wanna surprise her because I thought it'd be a good way to keep our marriage alive.

Bruh, you keep going back and forth with that hoe! Break free, man! LEAVE!

I can hear Ryker's obnoxious words ringing through my ears and I try to tune them out while waiting.

That's not about to happen. I'm gonna give this another chance and I will be heard this time.

My hands clutch onto the lilies and caramel candies as I watch Kyra finish shooting this scene. It's been said that she wouldn't be long.

Her and her costar are sitting at this nice bar setup with some extras dancing like they got two left feet. She's looking into his eyes with so much intent and it takes me back to a time when we were in love.

We first fell in love with each other then.

The dim lighting, the energy that surrounded us, the electricity between us at the time. Everything was chill.

In fact, I can feel her wrap her arms around me as we slow dance to a love song. My hands gently place themselves on her waist as my chin rests on her head smelling that shea butter and coconut oil from her moisturized braids.

Her eyes lift up to mine and I see them twinkle as a delicate, precious smile appears on her face. The smile, the hope, the innocence...

The genuine glow I never want to go away.

As our souls connect, one thing leads to another and our lips attempt to do the same until-

"Um...baby? Are you okay?"

I open my eyes, bringing myself back to a reality. It's disappointing, honestly, because you'd think she'd just go with it. Like, kiss me back, woman.

But no. Instead, her hand is centimeters away from my face and she's checking out her fresh set of nails. Soon after, she looks up at me with concern in her eyes.

Maybe that's a good thing because I'm over here fantasizing about something I long for in my marriage.

"No, babe. Are you for real okay? Now that I see your face, it looks like you've had a bad day. Do you need some sleep?" she asks as she packs her bags and walks ahead of me, not worried about the flowers and candy I got in my hands.

Bruh, you soft as fuck!

Anger rises and falls in my heart while I continuously ignore Ryker's voice in my head.

So, she ignores my gifts. I can save them for another day if she keeps looking past them. It's disappointing but we've been through worse.

I dust myself off and we head out for a nice lunch at her favorite fine dining restaurant downtown. When we get there, her eyes glow as we take in the velvety scene. Low-lit light bulbs decorate the ceilings and compliment the dark red velvet walls.

A smooth jazz band plays on a stage beside the large, exquisite glass bar. Tables with candles and the finest silverware fill the black, tiled floor.

As we check in, Kyra wraps her arm in mine and rests her head on my arm. A warm tingle travels through my insides as she moves her hand up and down my arm. This one moment makes everything worthwhile.

When we follow the host throughout the restaurant, that warm feeling escapes because Kyra decides to break free from me and has no problem speaking to everybody in the restaurant. In fact, she gets so caught up that I have to catch up to the host by myself.

It's like high school all over again. She pleases the crowd while I stay in the background, watching everybody else watch her.

Menus are placed at either side of the table and the waiter introduces themselves. I move things along and order a Jet Pilot cocktail with a water.

Once he walked away, I'm stuck watching the time on my wrist. Five minutes, ten minutes, 15 minutes. Time's ticking by pretty fast.

So fast that I get my drinks and the waiter asks if I want an appetizer. I order tuna tartare and the waiter goes away.

My eyes move over to my phone and I see a notification from Cam. Opening my phone, I look at the text message and, to my surprise, it's a picture of his little girl and...

Noah.

His grin is so big and he's getting so tall. I can even see some of my features coming through on him. That's my-

I slam the phone down onto the table and rub my hands against my face.

He did that shit on purpose. Cam never sends pictures of that kid to me but he chooses today to send that shit?

Still waiting....

20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes...

It takes me 20 minutes to get over that picture and 45 minutes for my wife to strut over to the table in her red, tightly-fit ensemble. She's showing off more skin than I care for her to show.

"The least you could've done was speak to people as well. Do you realize how dumb I looked when you just left me over there?" she snarls as she makes herself comfortable at the table.

"Don't worry. We already look stupid," I call out as I point out the 'hidden' cameras that are placed at the tables around us.

"Tripp-"

"Now that you've said your peace, it's time for us to get to the main reason why we're out to lunch now." I say sharply.

The appetizer comes right after and Kyra looks at it in disgust. In fact, her red lip turns into a frown and she says "You couldn't have ordered anything better? I can't have any meat right now. I'm on a diet."

"Kyra-"

"You know what? Can I get French lentils with the Dijon vinaigrette please? Thanks," she tells the waiter in an enraged tone.

I just order some baked salmon and leave it at that. The waiter takes our menus and we just sit there silently. The appetizer looks less appetizing now than it did when it first came out due to Kyra's bad attitude.

We just sit there, going through our own thoughts.

That damn picture has me in a chokehold right now. That little boy is pulling my right hand while I'm trying to fix what's in my left. I don't even know why it's hard for me to have a relationship with that kid.

Could it be because I'm with Kyra and I don't want to deal with...

That's gotta be it. Can't even say her damn name.

But that's my only boy. That's my first kid.

"Tripp, you need to watch how much you eat, babe. It's not healthy for your shape. Also, too much alcohol can cause your skin to deteriorate. You'll look like a monster. Now, I think we should-"

"That's it, Kyra! I'm not doing all that shit for everybody else. I'm tired of looking like the clown in front of millions of people."

I've had enough.

"Tripp, I'm doing everything I can to make us look good but you're not following-"

"And that's the problem. You're trying too hard for these damn flashes and cameras and shit. That's why I'm giving you an ultimatum."

"Oh great. Can't wait to hear this." Kyra's words drip with sarcasm as I shoot her the evil eye.

That shit used to get me popped in the mouth. I guess we weren't raised the same way.

"Ain't no work coming to the house anymore. I hate coming home to a house that feels nothing like home. So, no more cameras around the house no more. I'm done playing a role in your tv show and so is Safari. If you can't do that, we leave for good."

Her jaw drops right before the food comes. I saw this coming and that's why I'm not backing down on this demand.

"Tripp, it's part of our-"

"It ain't part of mine. It's your life-"

"And you two are part of my life, therefore-"

"We ain't gotta be actors in your life, Kyra. That's where I draw the line at now."

"But-"

"And before you go off, paparazzi is different. You don't see them bitches coming so I don't wanna hear it."

Once again, her jaw drops and I enjoy my dinner.

Leaving her with this decision makes me wonder if this will be like high school. We went our separate ways for this reason. She got caught up in the limelight and there was just no time for us two.

It's happening again and I'm not looking back if I have to leave again.

That's my nigga! Put her in her damn place!

That damn Ryker...

"Fine. I'll cancel the reality show..."

It's shocking but I'm proud of her. We're turning over a new leaf and moving some-

"But the season ends after we come back from Hawaii. They wanted another episode to complete the season in full."

For fuck's sake.

****
Oooooohhhhhh!

Whats up everybody? Please tell me what y'all think of this chapter.

Should Tripp go along with this season premiere or go ahead and back out? It's just the last episode, right?

Do y'all think that Kyra's being fair to Tripp? Is she in over her head?

Thank y'all for reading! Hope to see y'all soon!