Day 7 of March Madness has arrived and I'm up again. Yes! Today my birthday celebration continues, as I share my upcoming release: A Woman's Design Afflictions! This book is scheduled for release later this month. Leave a reply on the post to be entered into the giveaway! I'm giving away an eBook copy of one of the books in The House of BeJeweled series...Your choice. Ambiance – Loving her husband, building her brand, and being there for her girls are the only things that matter to her. But she’s quickly learning that her love is not enough to build a strong, stable marriage. Surrounded by family, friends and business constituents should be enough; yet, she’s all alone. When her love isn’t enough to suffice her husband’s needs, Ambiance considers stepping beyond the vows and taking matters into her own hands. Naomi – As a teen she made the decision to be a single mother. Choosing to build her life around her daughter has molded and shaped all the decisions she has made until now. Her relationship with her daughter is highly valued and nothing can shake it, not even her daughter’s attempts to grow up. But when her daughter’s so-called “deceased” father comes back, Naomi’s carefully constructed world may begin to crumble. Her efforts to protect her child may be the one thing that pushes her away, and she must decide if she will open herself up to love again. Paige- running from her inner demons she struggles to build a life vastly different than her mother and aunt’s. With a mindset of use or be used, she takes the concept of “love ‘em and leave ‘em” to a new level, and her promiscuous lifestyle is a cause of concern for all those who love her. She doesn’t care whose heart she’s breaking or whose life she’s ruining, it’s all about her. Until it no longer is. Three women are on a journey of self-discovery, as they deal with the fallout from choices made from emotion rather than self-awareness. A WOMAN'S DESIGN: AFFLICTIONS EXCERPT I received a call from Naomi around three that afternoon asking me out to dinner after work. I suggested she come to my place instead. I was still dragging and too tired to put up with people in public. She informed me that Ambiance would be coming along, as well. I ordered Chinese to be delivered so that no one had to cook. It would be quick and simple. Naomi and Ambiance rode over to my condo together, arriving just before seven. “Hey girl, did you see your car?” Naomi asked, gesturing over her shoulder to the parking lot behind her. “What do you mean?” I asked, panicking and feeling as if I couldn’t catch my breath. I ran out the door with my two friends hot on my heels. When I arrived in the parking lot, tears fell from my eyes. Not because my baby had been attacked, but because of what it represented, hate, evil, anger, and rage. All four tires had been slashed, and the front driver side window had been bashed in. On the front windshield, $0.02 had been scrawled, and on the back windshield, the word “ho” had been spray-painted. “Who in the hell did you piss off?” Naomi asked. “I don’t think it was something she did. It looks like the work of a horny teenager. Paige, which one of those babies on your job you been teasing again?” Ambiance laughed. I turned tear-filled eyes her way and shot her a venomous look. I was in no mood for jokes. I knew who had done this, but I had no way to prove it. “Come on, honey. Let’s go back in the house, and you can call the police to file a report. If for nothing else, at least for insurance purposes,” Naomi coddled. “And you need to take out a restraining order if you know who did this.” I sniffled and shook my head okay. I was consumed with rage and couldn’t think straight. After we called the police and filed a report, my next call was to the insurance company. They would send someone out first thing in the morning and also have a rental car delivered to me. “So, what’s going on, girl?” Ambiance asked, tucking her feet underneath her on the floor where she sat. We finally had a moment to sit down and dig into our food. I didn’t have much of an appetite and toyed around with it. I would probably have it for my lunch on tomorrow at work. “David, the guy I met at the conference on workplace safety a year and a half ago…” I began, and then spooned a small bite of food in my mouth. The ladies nodded their heads, assuring me they remembered him and wanted me to go on. “Well, I broke things off with him, and he obviously didn’t take it too well.” “I thought you weren’t in a relationship?” Naomi queried. “I’m not. It was just one of those things, you know?” I shrugged it off, hoping to leave the subject alone. “Was he getting attached to you like Vic?” Ambiance questioned. “Mm-hmm…but he doesn’t even have the right to be jealous. Being a marr—” I cut myself off, realizing what I was about to say. I hadn’t meant to allow that to leak. “Come on, Paige…don’t tell me he’s married?” Naomi probed, quickly picking up the vein of conversation I had purposely dropped. I looked all around the room, avoiding the gaze of my two friends. I felt so ashamed, I didn’t know what to do. “Paige…Paige, look at me. Is he married?” Ambiance demanded. As I shook my head yes, she let out a deep breath. I knew she was furious, especially knowing she had issues with her husband and his infidelity. I didn’t mean to hurt my best friend. Ambiance stood up and walked to the bathroom off the hallway. “Paige, what were you thinking?” Naomi asked me. “I wasn’t thinking, Naomi. Truthfully, I didn’t care. It’s only been lately that it started to bother me. To be honest, it was one day when we were together that she called him and he forced me to look at her face on his phone while he continued to do it to me. That was the first time I felt any shame,” I revealed. I sighed deeply, not knowing what my girl was going through. I pointed towards the bathroom. “I never meant to hurt her, either,” I shared. “She’ll be okay. She’s got her own issues to deal with,” Naomi stated. I shook my head, figuring she was referring to Eric’s affairs. “Well, I’m glad you learned your lesson. I am assuming you don’t plan to do that again?” she asked. “No. I’m tired, Naomi. And truth be told, I don’t think it’s over. Now, he has his wife to deal with.” “What do you mean?” Naomi asked. At that moment, Ambiance walked back into the room. Her eyes were red, and we knew she had been crying. When Naomi moved to comfort her, she put her hand up, stopping her. “I’m okay. I really am. And it’s not you alone, Paige. Everyone has choices to make, and that man made some poor choices, too. But go ahead with your story.” “Are you sure?” I asked. “Yeah, I am. Finish telling us what led to this,” Ambiance encouraged. “Well, he was upset with me, because I got a call about one of my babies who had run away. I had to leave and sent him home.” For some reason, I didn’t share with them what he had done to the mirror in my master bathroom. Maybe because that was too personal. Everyone knew I had been sleeping with the man, but somehow sharing that information was putting it out on a different level. “Oh, no, is she okay?” Naomi asked. Naomi and Ambiance both knew how much the children I worked with meant to me. Even if they were only around for a short time, they were the most important thing in the world. They were what kept me whole and gave my life any substance, the possibility that I could make a difference and give someone a shot in this thing called life. “Yes, we found her. All is well with that. But I didn’t get back home until four-thirty this morning. He was calling me no sooner than I got in and then at my door when I refused to answer. He started banging on it and kicking it when I refused to let him in. I threatened him with the police, told him I was packing, and nothing I said would deter him. He acted a fool in the hallway, until some of the men in the building got him out of here.” “But why did you say you didn’t think it was over, and he has his wife to deal with?” Naomi asked. I looked at Ambiance. I didn’t want to upset her any more than I already had, and I was sure this next confession might do just that. She sensed my hesitation and pulled her eyes from her lap, where they had been focused, to look at me. “I’m okay, Paige. Go ahead and tell us what happened,” Ambiance stated. “Well, in the midst of him acting a fool, I called his wife.” “How did you get her number?” Naomi asked. “The day he forced me to look at her picture on his phone while he had sex with me, I saw it, and that number stayed in my head. So anyway, I called her and put her on speaker and turned on the house intercom. She could hear everything he said. I said some things to him to calm him down, and he started talking intimately. Then I got on the phone with her and I told her. Call me selfish, but a part of me felt she needed to know,” I said, attempting to justify my actions. “Damn!” Ambiance said. She stood up and was rubbing her arms up and down. I knew she was trying to get control of her emotions and thinking of her own troubles with her husband. “What did she say?” Naomi asked. She was not only worried about Ambiance, but I could tell she was worried about my state of mind, as well. “You know, she was furious and I could tell that she was hurt. But I swear, I didn’t do it to hurt her. I did it to help her. She needed to know. If she chooses to stay with him, that’s her business. But at least she knows what’s going on in her marriage.” “Did you use protection?” Ambiance’s voice came out a little shaky. “Always,” I replied. I didn’t feel as if I owed anybody that explanation, but I knew where her question was coming from. If I could offer anything to ease her pain for what she was going through, I would give that to her. “I wish someone had told me.” Ambiance muttered that under her breath, and I barely heard her. Naomi simply nodded her head. “Look, I know you two look at me one way. We see life in different perspectives, and I don’t judge you about the routes you choose to go. So, I just ask for the same respect,” I shared. “That’s not fair,” Ambiance began. “You’re always judging me. You talk about how you wouldn’t put up with the stuff that I go through with Eric. You talk about how you’re going to use them up before they use you and you wouldn’t be sitting home at night alone, crying while you know he’s with another woman.” “And that’s true, I wouldn’t. Hell, but that’s how I feel. I don’t get you, Ambiance. You’ve known that man was sleeping around on you before, but not only did you stay with him, you still put up with his mess. You don’t have a life, because everything is centered on him. If he wants you to stay at home alone…then guess what you do? I won’t be sleeping with a married man again, but I won’t be letting them make a fool out of me, either. And that’s exactly what you do every time you let Eric get away with that. I just wish my sisters would wake up,” I stated matter-of-factly with a simple shrug. About Chelle: Women's fiction author and blogger, Chelle Ramsey lives in the metro Atlanta area with her husband and three children, where she is an HR Professional by day. Chelle wants readers to become empowered to rise above life's adversities, with faith in the Almighty God, and belief in themselves. During her “me time,” she becomes enraptured with the enthralling stories of Terry McMillan, Nora Roberts, James Patterson and Stuart Woods. She hosts the annual 20 Days of Love authors’ blogging campaign, March Madness authors’ giveaways campaign, and showcases other authors on her blog at www.chelleramsey.com/beautifully-inspired-blog. She is a ghostwriter for romance authors. She also blogs for Liyahmore Publishing and Amore Speaks. Her novels can be found online at Chelle Ramsey Amazon. LINKS: WEB: www.chelleramsey.com EMAIL: chelleramseywrites@gmail.com FACEBOOK: Author Chelle Ramsey TWITTER: @ChellesBooks PINTEREST: ChellesBooks INSTAGRAM: Chelleramseybooks - See more at: http://www.chelleramsey.com/beautifully-inspired-blog/march-madness-happy-birthday-chelle#sthash.u5VMlZX9.dpuf Don't forget to reply for a chance to win! To join this blog simply click "Follow This Blog," "Subscribe," or "Email" links in the upper right corner. 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June 2019
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