Copyright © 2026 Shamar Phillips. All rights reserved. The Wife, The Bestie, & The Side Chick and its contents are the property of Shamar Phillips. No part of this work may be reproduced, distributed, or republished without the author's permission.

CHAPTER FIVE

"Hey, baby. What took you so long to get home?"

"The usual. Met up with the team for food and drinks after the game."

"Oh, ok. Wish you would've told me you were staying out. I cooked."

Ty smelled the aroma of a home-cooked meal the minute she walked into her condo. It was clean and cozy; it had the vibes of everything she wanted in this world. She just couldn’t keep her strap in her pants to save her life.

"I'm sorry, babe. Today was a lil crazy for me. My mind's been elsewhere."

"Well, do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really much to talk about. Just had a long day, that's all."

How could Ty tell her lady that she was upset about Nina meeting some guy at her game?

Ever since she watched them walk out of the gym together, she had been in a funky ass mood. On top of that, Nina hadn't answered one call or responded to one text. That made the situation worse. Ty wanted to know just who in the fuck that guy was, and she didn’t plan to stop asking until she found out.

She texted a few more times before she took a shower, and told herself that if Nina didn't respond, she would make time to go to her shop and press the issue. Since Nina was there every Sunday, hanging out and making sure the end of the week went smoothly, Ty knew she could catch up with her then.

"I guess you're still pissed about Lyrica? I told u it’s nothing like that. She's just helping with the center. Text me back. Don’t make me have to come looking for you."

Ty had showered for a long time, and still nothing. She got dressed and stepped outside to try calling again, and that time, Nina’s phone went straight to voicemail. She almost smashed her phone out of frustration, but knew that would only add another bill to her already climbing list.

"Ay Ni, you probably sleeping. Hit me back when you get this. For real. This shit getting ridiculous now. I said I was sorry a thousand times. You ain’t tryna hear it; you just assuming the worst. Hit me back. Seriously."

Ty waited a few minutes before giving up and going back inside, before Zoey came looking for her. But she was already too late. Zoey stood at the sliding glass doors in her silk pajamas, tapping her foot against the carpet.

"Who was that?"

"Who was who?"

"I heard you on the phone, Ty. Since when do we take phone calls outside in the middle of the night?"

"Man, I made a quick call to Lyrica to see if she got the notes I faxed over, and I checked for my notebook in the car."

"Yeah, ok,” Zoey rolled her eyes. “You been acting real strange these days, Ty. No sex. Coming home all times of night. Hell! You barely even talk to me. I have no clue who you are anymore."

Ty stood there, staring at Zoey for a minute, wondering how she ended up with her in the first place. When she couldn’t find an answer to satisfy her own mind, she shook her head and headed towards their bedroom.

"See! This is the shit I'm talking about! If you don't wanna be with me anymore, then man the fuck up and tell me that! I’m tired of this shit, Ty!"

"You need to calm down,” Ty said. “I don't know what the fuck your problem is right now, but I ain't for this shit at 5:00 in the morning."

Zoey shook her head. Fighting back tears, she threw her hands up in defeat. She went into their closet, pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt, got dressed, and grabbed her keys off the dresser. She didn't say anything else to Ty; she just left. And Ty, being too stubborn and focused on what Nina had going on, didn't even go after her.

It wasn't until Zoey made it all the way to her sister's house that Ty called her. At first, she wasn't going to answer, but they'd been through so much over the past five years; she couldn't bring herself to forward the call. She loved Ty too much.

"Yeah?"

"Where you at, man? Come home."

"Oh, now you want me around? I don't think so. I'm not sticking around while you're out doing God knows what with who knows who, and then come home and treat me like shit. I'm too good to you to keep putting up with your shit."

"Zoe, I'm sorry. I had a rough day today; I told you that."

"Yeah? What about any other day? And the days before that? You just seem like you're so annoyed with me every day, and that hurts, Ty! It hurts to feel like the person you're in love with wants nothing to do with you."

Zoey fought back tears. She heard her sister’s voice in her head, telling her to leave Ty alone for the millionth time. They had been together for five years, and it was always the same shit. She hated trying to prove herself worthy of being with the woman Ty loved, and the longer it went on, the more she tried to distance herself, to no avail.

"I know. I understand, and I'm sorry. I'm letting the pressure of saving the center get to me, and I shouldn't take that out on you."

"I ask you all the time if there's anything I can do to help, and you push me away. I might not know exactly how to fix the problem, but I at least wanna be able to help my significant other in her time of need. You don't even consider anything I suggest. Oh! But let Lyrica open her mouth with something, you're all in. Are you fucking her?"

"NO! Now you just being ridiculous,” Ty scoffed. “Look, take whatever time you need to get your mind right and then holla at me when you feeling better, alright?"

Ty was ready to get off the phone and try calling Nina again. Since Zoey was easy and always came running back to her, she was used to not putting in much effort to get her to stay.

"Yeah, now you wanna let me go get my mind right," Zoey mocked. "I know you fucking that girl. I can read it on your face. I can smell her damn perfume on your clothes as soon as you step in the house. The bitch needs to tone it down a bit if she's gonna be messing with people who are in relationships."

"Whatever, Zoey," Ty exhaled sharply. “I’m going to bed. I got shit to do in the morning. You believe what you wanna believe. I don't wanna argue and fight when I have to be up in a few hours."

"Yeah, I bet. I'll speak to you later."

Zoey hung up her phone, locked up her car, and let herself into her sister's house with the spare key.

By the time she crashed, it was damn near 7:00. She had to take a sleeping pill to make her mind stop wandering over Ty and all their bullshit.

They had been together for a long time, and throughout all the years, she had put up with so much—Ty staying out all night with her best friend. Getting popped up on by Rose while they were out to dinner. Ty texting back and forth with some new bitch named Charlene. And then there was Lyrica.

Zoey didn’t know how much more she was going to take, but she knew Ty had her fucked up. And if she couldn't do anything else, she knew how to plot revenge.