6 6

A few days later

Elliott was in his office, sorting through a few files when he heard a knock at the door. His next appointment wasn't scheduled until another thirty minutes.

"Come on in." He yelled.

"Hey, baby." Chanel's voice echoed through the small office.

Elliott jumped at the sound of her voice. He rushed passed Chanel and closed the door. He locked the door before telling her to take a seat. Since Chanel gave birth to Ja'Mira, she's been a stay at home mother. Elliott vowed to solely take care of them until their daughter started school. The only problem was that Chanel was getting frustrated with the same schedule. She missed interacting with people her own age.

She missed the outside world.

"You okay? Why are you so jumpy?" She chuckled. "You in here doing something you have no business doing?" She teased.

"I-I'm good, baby. What are you doing here? Where is Mira?" Elliott questioned.

It would be bad if she happened to bring Ja'Mira to the hospital. As the days went on, the little girl began to favor him.

"I needed a break from mommy duty. Plus my momma wanted to spend some time with her. I brought you homemade lunch. You shouldn't be eating so much take out."

Sadly, Chanel's mother was located ten minutes from Janaya's home. He hated it when Chanel would take his daughter over there. Afraid that they would bump into Issac, Kyla, or Janaya.

"Okay okay. My baby momma looking out for me I see. I might have to wife you up so you can't go anywhere."

Chanel laughed. "I'm not going anywhere. You are the real deal and my daughter kind of likes you for some reason. I couldn't bear to break her little heart." She placed a hand over her heart and smiled sweetly.

"Ha Ha" Elliot said unamused. "Give me some love before I kick you out."

She puckered her lips and kissed the man she fell madly in love with.

Janaya was in Kyla's office, chatting during their lunch break.

After their brief discussion, Janaya decided to pay Elliott a visit before returning back to work. As she walked closer to his office, she heard laughter. Before she could put her ear to the door, it opened. She jumped back and smiled.

Elliott froze but quickly regained his composure. "I-I had no idea you were coming today. Why don't you go in and take a seat? I'll be right there." His palms began to sweat. He hoped that neither one of the two would say something out of line.

"Oh b-" Channel started.

Elliott cleared his throat. "I'll take you to get your appointment scheduled. Walk this way." he held his arm out for Chanel to follow him. "I'll be just a minute, Janaya."

"What's wrong?" Chanel whispered to Elliott as they walked down the hall. "Was it a problem to drop by unannounced?"

"I don't know what you referring to, baby. I was just trying to remain professional. It was nothing you did." He fixed his tie and rubbed his face.

"I guess I can understand that," Chanel mumbled. "Hey, I have some exciting news! Come home as soon as you get off."

"I'll probably be working another double. If so, I'll call you during my second lunch break."

After parting ways, Elliott entered his office where Janaya was waiting. He strouted in the room and slamming the door behind him.

"What are you even doing here?"

"I figured I stop by since I barely see you at home. Your always too busy for me." Janaya was confused as to why Elliott was hostile.

"Just because you miss me doesn't mean you can show up here unannounced. What would my supervisor say if he were to see you constantly showing up here? I don't even visit you at your workplace."

"What's gotten into you lately? You've changed and it is not for the better."

"Just stop showing up here. This a place I work. I could have seen another patient instead of getting you to realize reality."

Janaya stood to her feet, prepared to leave. "Why don't you take all the time you need. Spend weeks here for all I care. It's me that stopping you from coming home so let's eliminate the problem."

"W-What are you saying?"

Janaya gave him an irritated facial expression before she opened the door to leave.

"Janaya!" Elliott called after his wife.

She paid his calls no mind as she continued to walk away. Just maybe, Elliott had fallen out of love with her. That he was just hanging on to memories of their good times together. Those words of eliminating the problem were only a bluff. A small part of her wanted her husband to fight for their marriage. She couldn't be the only one that felt that her marriage was falling apart.

As she parked her car in the employee parking lot, Janaya has seen Advik sitting outside.

"What's wrong, pretty lady?" Advik questioned.

"Is it that obvious?"

"What's going on? You look tired with a mixture of of...sadness?" He truthfully said.

Janaya sighed and plopped down beside Advik. She pondered if it would be a good idea to vent to a colleague. After much thought, she decided to give him a detailed explanation of what she was going through.

The way Elliott would lock and mute his phone whenever they were together. How their long conversations became shorten to nonexisting. She felt insecure in her relationship and didn't know what to do.

"He could be working hard like he constantly says, trying to pay for that vacation you deserve. Or, he could be hiding something. That something I truly do not know. The next steps you take is up to you. Do you want to lurk and find out the truth?"

"I don't know."

"Keep in mind that you could possibly be digging for nothing or you could dig too deep and hurt yourself. It's up to you what your next move is going to be."

There was no doubt that Janaya loved Elliott. While her family members begged her to leave him. Instead, she picked up from Texas and moved to Atlanta. She tested her faith in Elliott and chose love. She just didn't want to regret those decisions that put a dent in her relationship with her family.

Therefore, she decided to fight for her marriage. There was no way she could lose her husband to work or anyone else. She would do almost anything to rekindle her relationship. Just maybe the spark was dying for some reason.

Throughout the day, Issac continued to text Janaya. She stopped herself from venting to him in fear of her words getting out to Elliott. He was the distraction she needed to forget her worries and the stress from work. It was a distraction for her but for him, he loved talking to her. He craved easy-going conversations from her.

It was wrong to yearn for another woman who wasn't his wife but Janaya had qualities Kyla didn't. Just like Kyla had qualities Janaya didn't. They both were goddesses in his eyes. No woman could amount to the women they were.