Page 29 of Ex- Factor

The food court was loud. We were surrounded by a couple hundred people, but I still heard it loud and clear when Angel said, “Oh my God.”

I looked up from my smoothie. “What?” I asked, already uneasy from the way she was staring past me. She smiled awkwardly. “Charmaine. Hey!”

I blinked. “Charmaine… why does that name sound familiar?”

Then I saw her. Tall. Pretty. She had in faux locs now that made me miss my own. Why the fuck had I messed with my hair?

Silas’s ex.

I sucked my teeth. “What the fuck is going on? Why is God throwing exes at me like dodgeballs?” I muttered.

Angel tittered. “The moon is in retrograde,” she joked. “It’s bringing out all the unresolved issues.”

“Hey, Angel,” Charmaine said, coming over with a Sephora bag on her arm. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Angel stood and hugged her. “Yeah! We were just grabbing lunch. You wanna join us?” She said I could see it in her eyes she didn’t actually want her to join us.

“If you don’t mind.” Charmaine accepted. She slid into the seat across from us. “I’ve been meaning to call you, Angel.”

“Mmhmm.” Angel nodded and took a sip of her lemonade.

Charmaine turned her attention to me. “Hey again. Eshe, right? I met you a few months ago... back with Silas.” She looked over my shoulder like she expected him to pop up.

I nodded. “Yeah, I remember,” I said cordially.

She nodded back. “Silas has a way of making everything memorable,” she said just as cordially—but there was some bitterness under the tone.

I sat there quiet after that and let her and Angel talk. I was somewhere between zoning out and fantasizing about being anywhere else when Charmaine turned to me again.

“So, Eshe,” she started sweetly and it sounded like a trap. “How do you feel about Silas calling Angel his baby mama? And claiming Cassius’s kid like he his own?” She looked at Angel. “I don’t mean no harm by asking this, Angel,” she clarified.

Angel gave a simple “okay.”

I blinked. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Really?” she asked, like that was a shocking answer.

“I like people who show up for kids,” I said. “Blood or not.”

Angel let out a long breath and stood up. “Bathroom. I need to use it.” She left, leaving me and this patchouli-scented bitter lady alone. And I wasn’t even judging or being mean—just recognizing myself in her a year ago.

Charmaine’s voice dropped to that fake-concerned tone. “Look, I just want to be honest with you, woman to woman.”

Woman to woman , huh? I sighed mentally. Okay Mrs. Shirly. Here we go.

“Silas… he’s immature. And he can be really sweet when he wants to, but he’s emotionally unstable. You probably won’t last long with him.”

I stared at her like she’d grown another head, hoping she’d shut up. I had already dealt with Sinica less than an hour ago. I wasn’t ready for this...

She kept going though. “I tried with him for a whole year. I gave him everything—patience, space, support. He still shut down. Still disappeared when I needed him. I’m just saying… be careful. He drains you. Like, emotionally.”

I didn’t say anything at first. I just sat back and studied her. The way she spoke like a martyr, like she’d done Silas a favor by sticking around. Like I was supposed to thank her for the warning.

I finally spoke. Calm. Calmer than I felt. “Your Silas and my Silas aren’t the same person.”

Her whole face frowned.

“I’m not saying he’s perfect,” I added. “But I haven’t seen him shut down. I’ve seen him try. Every day. With me.”

“Yeah, because you’re new.” She refuted.

I shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just not you.” I stood up, grabbing my drink. I thought about throwing it on her.

Charmaine looked thrown. “So… that’s it? You don’t want to talk to me when I’m trying to help you—”

“That’s it.” I gave her a tight smile. “I wish you healing and closure, for real. But don’t talk to me like I’m in the same situation you were. You’re not some Silas expert. You’re just a woman who couldn’t love him the way he needed—because him loving a child and another woman hurt your feelings.”

I turned to leave—

I saw Silas jogging our way, hoodie half-zipped, keys in hand like he’d just dropped everything to get here. Full-out running in basketball shorts and a T-shirt. I knew he’d gone to play ball with Jonas earlier.

“You good?” he asked, out of breath.

“I’m fine.”

He turned to Charmaine, jaw already tight.

“Angel called me. I told her to leave, she said she’ll call you,” he said, then muttered, “I’ll be right back.”

Silas walked over to the table, voice low but venomous. “Don’t speak to her again. Or Angel. Don’t look at them. Don’t wave at them. You’re pissing me off, Charmaine—don’t do that.”

She tried to open her mouth, but he was already turning back to me.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, stepping into my space all normal-like, like he hadn’t just threatened somebody’s self-esteem. “You ready to head home?”

I stared up at him in awe for a second. This man protected my peace.

He was my protector—unapologetically. He was my mirror—he made me see myself. He was the grace I didn’t think I deserved.

Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me , was on the tip of my tongue. He had me in my feelings, but I simply nodded and said, “Yup.”

He grabbed my hand, interlaced our fingers, and walked us out like nothing happened.

Behind us, I could feel Charmaine’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

But I didn’t care. Not even a little bit.