SASHA JACKSON-My Best Friend Said

"Mija, what's wrong? Why is my little Snooky crying?"

Her only daughter coming to her in the middle of the night in tears scared the bejesus out of her. She should be home in the great Van Russell mansion, with no worry on her pretty face. She bet her scoundrel of an ex-husband had no idea her whereabouts.

"Mommy, I want to stay with you!"

"Okay baby, you can stay the night," Sasha said as she hugged her daughter close, and brushed her hair with her hand. "Now tell me what's the problem?"

Chrissy blubbered some more, tears wetting Sasha's shirt. "No. I want to stay here forever. Not with Daddy. He hates me. He's never there. Why didn't you fight for me?"

The look on her daughter's face when she said that broke her heart.

Sasha glanced over at Antonio who stood nearby, watching them. Just earlier that day he told her to fight for custody. Maybe she had to. Chrissy was seventeen now and Ejay fifteen. What's the worst Ethan could do?

"Listen sweetie pie. Your father doesn't hate you. He's just...a little misguided sometimes."

"Ha!" Antonio said, arms crossed over his chest.

Sasha rolled her eyes at him, begging him to save his banter to himself with her eyes. She focused back on her daughter.

"He has a funny way of showing he cares. But he loves you, I know he does."

"No." Chrissy wiped tears away with the back of her hand. "He doesn't know how to. He hates me, he hates Ejay, and now he has another son to hate."

"Huh, what?"

"Oh my God, mom!" she started to cry again. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you. I mean, I can't."

"Tell me what sweetie? Your father got someone pregnant?" It would not shock her, as many women as Ethan took to his bed, during their marriage.

"Yeah, like eighteen years ago."

Sasha looked at Antonio, confused. He shrugged.

"Donna just told me my dad is Tony's dad!" Chrissy blurted out.

"Get the fuck outta here!" Antonio yelled in a furor.

"Tonio!" Sasha snapped at him, then turned back to her daughter. "Sweetie, that can't be right. Eighteen years ago I was with your father. We were getting married."

"Count back nine months, how much did you know him? Did you know Donna?"

"Sure. Not well, but that's how we met in college before she transferred and..." She stopped that thought. She had not known Donna as well as she did now. Donna was always mysterious to everyone on campus. She knew of the Jackson-Van Russell connection in Midtown, but she had no idea the two knew each other, much less, were involved.

"Ethan is Tony's father?" Antonio was in a rage she knew she could not calm. "This is bullshit! I'm calling my sister."

"Antonio wait. Donna's my best friend, she would have told me this."

"I'm calling Q, we'll both go over there and find out the whole story."

All Sasha could think about was her best friend and her ex-husband. The combination did not fit. It stunk to the high heavens, and it was the ultimate betrayal to her.

ANTONIO JACKSON-Big Brother is on Attack

He called his little brother and told him to meet him at Donna's place. He wanted to go straight to that asshole Ethan and knock him the fuck out, but later for that.

"Yo Tone, what's the deal?" Quinton asked.

"I found out who's Tony father," Antonio said as he used his spare key to open Donna's door. He never would have used it but he knew she would not open the door otherwise.

"And?"

"A Van Russell. Ethan, no less."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Let's see what baby sis has to say."

He entered the house and it seemed so cold. Quiet and somber. He called out for his sister but she did not reply. He walked through the living room and checked the kitchen and dining room with Quinton right on his tail. Next, he tried her study and she was there with a bottle of peach Ciroc and flipping through old photo albums. Hair a mess, dressed in sweats and one of Tony's Dunlap Academy shirts.

Antonio stormed over to her and snatched the bottle from her and slammed it against the wall.

"How dare you! How dare you name your son after me and Dad? I helped raise him and you do this to me?"

She did not flinch at him, just finished the drink that was in her glass. "Well, he never was your son, big brother. Do you want to know all the details of how your little nephew was conceived? I mean, Ethan was a man, I was this little girl, and he-"

"Shut the hell up!"

"Whoa baby sis," Quinton said. "Did he rape you? Did he force himself on you? I'm going to kill him!"

"No! I wanted him, over and over and-"

Antonio never laid hands on his sister or any other woman for that matter, but he wanted to slap his sister to shut her up.

"What the hell have you done? You've destroyed lives. What about your son? What about Chrissy and Ejay? What about Sasha, you know, my wife, your best friend."

"I know!" His baby sister started to cry, drunkenly fell from her chair, and curled up on the floor. He did not care. "I'm a horrible person. Go ahead, shoot me, I've disgraced our precious family name."

"This is some fucking bullshit! " Quinton said. "Ethan doesn't know? The punk-ass never once supported you or Tony. What the fuck kind of man is he? And yo Tone, why the hell you call me over here when we should be bodying that cocky motherfucker!"

"No!" Donna shouted.

"You can't protect him now. This is not business. It's personal," Antonio said. "I knew he had eyes for you. I warned his ass to stay the fuck away from you. Sick fuck! See how you can't trust his slimy ass?"

"Yo Tone, I'm serious man, let's just roll out and handle this dude."

"Naw bro, we can't handle it that way. That bastard gotta step his game up if he wants to be a father to my nephew. Plus Sasha and I are getting custody of Chrissy and Ejay. He doesn't deserve to be a father."

"So how is this going to go down, big bro? We bustin' heads or what?"

Antonio looked at his sister, a drunk mess. He thought she was the smartest of them all. When she got pregnant at eighteen and refused to tell who the father was, it was no big deal because they knew she could do it all by herself. She finished college with honors and went on to law school, all while being a single parent and raising a remarkable kid.

If he had known back then about Ethan and her, one of them would have been dead.

SASHA JACKSON-My So-Called Best Friend

She did not know who she hated more. Her best friend or her lying, cheating bastard of an ex-husband. She just did not understand how her straight-laced friend could be involved with a self-absorbed man like Ethan.

That is what she liked about Ethan at first, that he was so much like her. Gorgeous, cocky, the ladies' man. He could get any woman he wanted on campus, and he did. He was known for having his way with them.

She pursued him. Pretty rich, blonde boy? She was from the southside of Chicago, she was only in college to meet a rich husband. She caught him and she forced him to marry her. Yes, she would admit he was not ready, but at the time she was young and thought she was in love. Ethan was everything she wanted, gorgeous and rich.

She had known Donna in college, but not well. Donna was only there a semester. Then she transferred and that was that. She married Ethan and dropped out of college. He would take care of her better than a degree would.

After only eight years of marriage, and many affairs by both, they had a nasty divorce. She wanted half his money, the kids, and more. Due to signing a prenup (so dumb of her), she barely got any spousal support and dropped her custody battle.

That's when she tried to find someone else to take care of her. At one of the high society galas, Tamara hosted she ran into her old classmate Donna. She told her about her nasty divorce and custody battle. She and Donna just clicked, they had so much in common.

Who knew they were fucking the same man at the same fucking time.

She looked down at her daughter who had cried herself asleep on her lap. Antonio had stormed out. She hoped he didn't do anything crazy.

She moved Chrissy from her lap and sat a pillow under her head. She grabbed her cellphone and went to another room and closed the door.

She dialed Ethan.

"Why the fuck are you calling me so early in the fucking morning?"

"Do you even know where your daughter is? Do you not care that much to even call and check on her?"

"Chrissy's there? You don't have a right to her unless I say so."

"Save the bullshit! She's staying with me from now on."

"Over my dead body."

"Oh, I can arrange that!"

"Look, Sasha, I'll come to get Chrissy."

"Hell no! She's sleeping. And you should be more concerned about your children since you can't control who you knock up."

"What are you talking about crazy person?"

"Oh, she kept a damn good secret from you too, huh?"

"I'm going back to bed."

"Ethan, I just thought you should know, my so-called best friend, Donna Jackson, I know all about the two of you, you lying bastard. Fucking her while we were engaged. But I'm the bad person? Go to hell!"

"Wait, what? What do you know?"

"Ask her about her son, Tony. Ask her about your son."

Then Sasha hung up on him with a smile on her face. Consider her friendship with Donna Jackson, her so-called best friend, null and void.

Hey readers!

Man! Sasha couldn't wait to spill that tea. Ethan knows now so let's see... we know where he is off to next.

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XOXO
Kimberly