Secrets of a Kept Woman 3: Secrets of a Kept Woman

By Shani Greene-Dowdell

Baggage. Every woman has it, but Rhonda Jackson is carrying around so much that her back is about to break. Kicked out and abandoned by her mother at sixteen, Rhonda Wilson didn't get the blueprint on how to love. Instead, she's been pulling a freight train of internal turmoil around and dumping pieces of it on the people who love her the most.

After coveting Shayla's first and second husband, she finds herself battling to stay out of jail. Fortunate for her, Jameson Brown has had a crush on her since they were children, and he's a partner at Brown and Associates Law Firm. He agrees to take Rhonda's case, but under one condition. She must make true amends for all the hell she's raised. Coming from a world of love, privilege, and religion, Jameson was groomed to go after what he wants. And he wants Rhonda, but not before she learns the true meaning of love.

Will she finally face her demons and discover self-love?

New Cover. New Edits. Same Great Story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shani Greene-Dowdell
• Release date: Jun 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223083290

Shani Greene-Dowdell

Shani Greene-Dowdell’s passion lies in weaving intricate and titillating worlds of romance, drama, and suspense. For more information about Shani's new releases, cover reveals, and excerpts, as well as great book recommendations from other authors, visit www.shanigreenedowdell.com today.

Book preview

To everyone who was ever given a second chance to get it right, you are worthy.

RHONDA

Dang, Mama! I screamed as I marched up the hall of the meager two-bedroom apartment I purchased with the money I’d stashed away when Titus and I moved from Opelika. My mother couldn’t hold water if she needed it for hydration. She’d just as soon shrivel up and dry out like the old prune she was before she’d be faithful to me, for once. Argh! Why is this my life?

A squad car had just pulled into the parking space directly in front of my building, and now someone banged on the door like satan was after them. The police were here, and I had no doubt my mother was the snitch who told Shayla about me stealing Antonio’s sperm from the Forge. James didn’t tell our plan; he was too busy stalking Shayla, attempting to rape her, getting killed, and allowing his text messages to be read by the very people we were supposed to be blackmailing. What a moron—and now a dead moron! I shook my head. I couldn’t have chosen a dumber partner in crime.

Three more dreaded knocks against the hardwood door left me pondering if I’d spent my last day as a free woman. Panic rushed over me as I thought about the possible reasons the officer could be knocking on my door. This wasn’t my day. Shayla had stopped by to lay a guilt trip on me earlier. Now, the police were here.

I flung the door open and greeted the officer with ambivalence. Yes?

A tall, lanky white man in uniform wore a shit-eating grin as he looked me in the eye. Hello, ma’am. Are you Rhonda LaShae Wilson? I have something for her. He raised the big white envelope in his hand.  

Yeah, that’s me. Ca-can I help you? I stammered with a slight tremor reverberating through my tone. Thankfully, I’d gotten up and dressed for the day. My hair was pulled up into a neat bun, and I wore a nice, light coat of warm-toned makeup. It’d be a shame to look as disheveled as I felt, so I made sure my outer shell was beautiful. Also, an ugly mugshot in the scummy newspaper on the counter of every gas station countertop in Atlanta would have taken me out mentally.  

Yes, ma’am. I’ve got some papers here from the Justice Department. The officer dropped the papers in my palm with one hand and snapped a picture of me holding them with the other. With your acceptance of these documents, consider yourself lawfully summoned to attend court. You’ll receive more info in the mail. Have a nice day, ma’am.

He turned to walk away as I mumbled, Summoned?

All the information you need is inside the envelope. Just make sure you show up in court, so we won’t have to come back out here to serve you with a failure to appear, he pointed out.  

Uh-huh. I closed the door and leaned against the frame. Getting a summons from the Justice Department was more bad news. I’d already been implicated criminally in the attack against Shayla. The district attorney stuck me with some bullshit charge like conspiracy to commit a sexual assault, which was crazy because I didn’t tell James’s stupid ass to attack Shayla. He had one job, and that was to seduce and blackmail her. But no, he forced his way into their home, attacked her, and got himself killed. That was on him.

When Titus left Shayla, she was lonely. With Gladys living all the way in Miami, I thought it would be easy for James to slide in and cuff Shayla. We were all friends, but every woman has needs. I just didn’t bank on her falling for that Antonio guy. They’d moved on and built quite the life for themselves. However, James was dead set on continuing with the plan, saying he was still capable of taking her from him.

For a year, I waited for James to work his magic, but come to find out, he was nothing more than a peeping Tom. He would have never gotten close to Shayla with the garbage stalking he was doing. Because I chose to work with a loser like James, I ended up in a pissy jailhouse for a week before I was able to get arraignment and post bail.

I had made a complete mess of everything. James was dead, and I was facing more jail time while the DA tossed around the idea of charging me with his murder, conspiracy to commit a sex crime, and stolen property from the sperm bank. According to the DA, I was the mastermind behind the plot to blackmail the Davis’s, so I was inadvertently responsible for James’s death. Which was bullshit. Nobody told him to be stupid.

At my wit's end, I held my life together by a thread. I quickly glanced down the hall where Antonia and Miyah slept and began to open the letter. Focused on my trembling hands, I didn’t notice Titus walk into the room. He’d slept through Shayla’s visit. Too bad he awoke in time enough to witness the police summoning me to court.

Who was that at the door? he barked roughly, his deep tone seared with accusations.

Every time he talked to me these days, it was a bark, scream, or yell. He hadn’t had a nice thing to say to me since he found out Antonia wasn’t his daughter. He was only at my new place to spend time with Miyah, who he promised to never leave in my care alone again.

Nothing important, I waved him off. Are you about to leave? A girl could hope.

Nah, but I thought I saw a police car outside. Did it have anything to do with Miyah’s case? he pressed the issue.

Yeah, there was a police car out there, but it had nothing to do with Miyah’s case. I’m supposed to hear something back from the social worker today, I lied, hoping he would walk to the spare room of the apartment where his things were and leave it at that, but Titus never left well enough alone.

So you talked to her social worker? What did she say? he probed.

That they are still reviewing her case. They’ll let us know when they have updates, but for right now, she has to stay in my mother’s custody.

He glared at me with a raised brow. This is messed up, Ronnie. It should have never even got like this. Got my fucking daughter caught up in the system, thinking her mother don’t want her and that her father ain’t there for her either. We can’t even be around her unless your mother is here. We have to be supervised because your dumb ass left her home alone. If you didn’t want her, you could have just called me. I would have came and got my damn daughter. You didn’t have to leave her at home by herself and let them folks come and get her, Titus yelled within an inch of my face. Spittle and hard accusations rained all over me, hitting me until I blinked back tears. What kind of mother are you? he added.

I started to walk down the hall toward my bedroom, but he grabbed my arm. Let me go! All you want to talk about is Miyah this and Miyah that. Well, Miyah is okay. Probably doing better than both of us, in my mother’s care.

The veins in his neck strained as he spoke. I see, you got me fucked up, thinking you can do my daughter any kind of way, pawn her off on your Mama that you talked shit about every since I met you, and then go off and get pregnant by another nigga. Got me out here thinking that baby was mine, too. He looked at me with seething contempt as he took a deep breath and pushed the dreads out of his face. You never loved our child! You only loved what you thought she could give you—some kind of twisted one up on Shayla. You thought we was gonna ride off into the sunset and live some kind of thuggish happily ever after, knowing I was dealing with legal problems. When the money dried up, so did all those feelings you claimed to have for a nigga.

It’s not that I don’t love her... or you, I started to lie but stopped. I’d fallen out of love with Titus the minute he decided we would live a square life. He thought I wasn’t good enough to go hard for after he went hard for Shayla for years, giving her the best of the best. But when it came to me, a run-down trailer and a sweaty ass man coming home after a long day at a factory job were it. If it wasn’t for the money I had stashed away, we would have been in abject poverty.

Then, he wanted me to love Miyah, who he continually reminded me was the only reason we were together. That was why I left her alone. I had hoped when she was in DHR custody that he would just take her and leave me alone as well. She was the only thing tying me to him. I didn’t know DHR wouldn’t let her have him because of his past record.

If you love her, what made you leave her like that, Rhonda? he broke me away from my thoughts.

I don’t need this right now. Just give me time to figure this out and some space to breathe. Actually, I wished he would disappear. When I looked at him, I couldn’t even believe he was the same man with whom I stole so many salacious moments away from his wife.

You dizzy ass broad! All you have is time and space, he barked. At the rate you’re going, you’re going to get plenty of time in a little bitty space to think about all the shit you’ve done to people.

Me? What about you? What about the way you pretended to care about me, only to not give a damn once Miyah was born. You never cared about me. You never wanted anything with me. You married me and still didn’t care. The whole time you wished you were with Shayla!

"And I never told you I wanted anything serious with you. We were creeping around, and that was it. It was never supposed to get this far. You lied and told me you were on birth control and trapped me with a baby. Miyah became my responsibility as soon as I found out you were pregnant. Don’t get mad at me because I take