💸 Shayla Finds Out Anthony’s Been Secretly Paying Angelina – But WHY?! 😱

💸 Shayla Finds Out Anthony’s Been Secretly Paying Angelina – But WHY?! 😱

[Scene: Shayla's apartment. It's quiet except for the ticking clock. Shayla stands in the living room holding a bank statement. Anthony walks in from the hallway, surprised to see her up.]

Shayla:
(voice low, trembling)
You weren’t gonna tell me, were you?

Anthony:
(startled)
Tell you what? Shayla, it’s late—what’s going on?

Shayla:
(holds up the bank statement)
Don’t play dumb. I saw the transfers. Regular payments. To Angelina. For months. Want to explain that?

Anthony:
(eyes widen, caught)
Look, I was gonna tell you. It’s not what you think.

Shayla:
Oh really? Then what exactly is it? Because right now it looks a hell of a lot like you’ve been financially supporting your ex behind my back!

Anthony:
(takes a deep breath)
It’s complicated. She’s been struggling—she lost her job, her rent went up, and she didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

Shayla:
So you thought it was your job to be her savior? Without even mentioning it to me? We’re in a relationship, Anthony. We don’t do secrets.

Anthony:
It wasn’t a secret to hurt you, Shay. I didn’t want you to worry. I knew how it would look, and I figured it’d just cause problems that didn’t need to happen.

Shayla:
No, you knew exactly what it was. That’s why you hid it. If it was truly innocent, you’d have told me upfront. So tell me now—are you still in love with her?

Anthony:
(defensive)
No! Of course not. That part of my life is over. But she’s the mother of my kid, Shayla. I couldn’t just let her drown.

Shayla:
(stunned)
Wait… what?

Anthony:
(silent, eyes drop)
Yeah. You didn’t know. I… I just found out a few months ago. She told me the kid might be mine. We did a paternity test. It’s true. He’s mine.

Shayla:
(shakes head, voice cracking)
You have a child and you didn’t tell me?

Anthony:
I was still processing it myself. I didn’t know how to break it to you. I didn’t want to scare you off.

Shayla:
Scare me off? You were building a second life behind my back, Anthony! You were supporting another woman, hiding a child from me… how did you think this would end?

Anthony:
I messed up, okay? I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t want to lose you, Shayla. But I couldn’t turn my back on my son either.

Shayla:
(quiet for a moment)
You don’t protect someone by lying to them. That’s not love, that’s fear. And now I don’t even know who I’m looking at.

Anthony:
I’m still me. I made mistakes, yes. But I want to fix this—with you.

Shayla:
(sighs)
I need time. I need to think. You’ve been living with the truth for months. Now it’s my turn.

[Shayla walks toward the door, grabbing her keys, leaving Anthony standing there alone.]