All language subtitles for Acrimony 2018 eng

(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)

JUDGE: What is it going to take

to make you heed
the warnings of this court?

It is obvious to me

that you are not
taking this matter seriously.

I will not allow you to continue
to harass these people.

Is that clear?

If you violate this restraining order,
I assure you,

you will spend 40 days in the county jail.

I mean it.

One more offense.

What is obvious to this court

is that you're in need
of professional help

and anger management counseling.

This court has suggested
that you seek counseling,

but since you can't
or won't do it voluntarily,

I am requiring it as part
of your staying out of jail.

Do I make myself clear?

Do I make myself clear?

Melinda?

Yes, Your Honor.

(SOUL MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)

THERAPIST: So,

do you think you have an anger problem?

Motherfucking right,
I got an anger problem.

THERAPIST: Do you feel that
you're entitled to this anger?

That's like asking me
if I'm entitled to being hungry.

He caused all of this.

All of it.

It's not me. That son of a bitch owes me.

THERAPIST: What do you think he owes you?

Every damn breath in his body.

THERAPIST: Why do you feel that way?

You don't know what he did to me.

You don't know.

THERAPIST: Would you like
to share what he did?

Do I have a choice?

THERAPIST: We all have choices.
(MELINDA CHUCKLES)

Not when some damn judge
is making me sit here.

You know what?
This is bullshit, okay? (SCOFFS)

This motherfucker torments me,
and he gets to walk away free. (SCOFFS)

(EXHALES SHAKILY)

(THERAPIST WRITING)

What are you writing?

THERAPIST: Just my notes.

And what do your notes say?

I'm a stereotype?

Is that what you think you are?

Hell, no!

Sick and tired of hearing that.

Every time a black woman gets mad,
she's a stereotype.

"Ooh, she emasculates men."
(CHUCKLES BITTERLY)

THERAPIST: Is that what you think you did?

Bitch...

are you not listening to me?

I never did anything to him.

I was everything he needed me to be.

I was...

I was strong when he needed me to be.

I played weak when he needed me to.

I was pathetic.

(WHISPERS) I was...

(EXHALES SHAKILY)

Don't tell me I don't have
a right to be angry. Hmm?

THERAPIST: Is that what you think I said?

I really don't give a damn what you said.

But this is wrong.

All of this is wrong.

THERAPIST: Why don't we do this?

Why don't we just start
from the beginning?

Help me understand this injustice.

Just tell me what happened.

How far back do you wanna go?

I remember every damn day.

(SIGHS)

That's the problem.

Can't forget it.

I can't get it out of my head.

So...

How far do you wanna go?

THERAPIST: Well, let's
start at the beginning.

Okay.

THERAPIST: How'd you meet him?

It was raining.

I was in college...

and I was studying late.

It was raining really hard.

I don't know.
Crazy shit happens to me in the rain.

Around water.

I was trying to get back to my dorm,
and I ran into him.

(MELINDA GROANS) No!
Damn!

MELINDA: No, no!
You can't watch what you're doing?

Move! You the idiot who bumped into me!

Girl, what's wrong with you?

Damn!

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

(GRUMBLES)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

ROBERT: Hi.

Is Melissa here?

There's no Melissa here.

Oh, Melinda. Melinda's...

What do you want?

Who's this?
The asshole.

I'm sorry. Here.

I have some of your papers.

Great. Just great.

And I think you may have
one or two of mine.

No, I don't. Sorry.

Here. Forgive her.
She's really bad at history,

and she had a paper to turn in today...
Sarah!

Goodbye.

Look, I feel really bad
about bumping into you.

I can be in my own head
when I'm working on a project.

I'm sorry.

Okay, yeah. Fine.

But if you don't mind now,

I have less than 24 hours
to finish my paper.

So, goodbye.

Well, your basis is way off
in the first four pages,

and the facts of
the Spanish-American War are wrong.

And Professor Huff
will catch that in a second.

How do you know that?

I took his class last year.

I'm sorry for reading your first pages.

I got an A in his class.

I can help you if you'd like.

(MELINDA GROANS)
I was so mad the first time I saw him

that I didn't even realize
how handsome he was.

Please?

He was beautiful. Gotta give him that.

The devil sure knows
how to put a package together.

Standing in front of me
was all the things I loved.

He was dark, sexy.
(CHUCKLES)

It was 1497.
No.

Look, this is too hard for me to remember.

Can we take a break?

I don't wanna talk
about this stuff anymore.

You don't have much time.

It's too much, okay?

I'm on a brain overload. (CHUCKLES)

So, let's talk about you.

Those papers you needed, what were they?

Tell me.

I think I've found a solution
to an age-old problem.

I'm creating a battery
that can recharge itself.

If it works, it can be used in cars,
homes, you name it.

And I'm gonna be so rich.

While saving the environment, of course.

Of course. (LAUGHS)

MELINDA: He was so charming.

So slick.

I just wish to high heaven

someone would have said to me
right then and there,

"Girl, get up and run as fast as you can

because this man
will leave you devastated."

How'd you do?

Tell me.

But we studied.

Yo, I'm sorry.

Let me talk to Professor Huff.
Maybe we get you a make-up.

No. No, okay?

I mean, this is all just a waste of money.

I can't keep doing this to my mother.

To be honest with you, I mean,

she was surprised
I was even going to school.

I wasn't as smart as my sisters.

Come here.

Melinda.

Hey, what are you doing here?

BRENDA: Mama...

MELINDA: My sisters came to tell me
that my mother had died.

(CRYING)

My mother and I always been close.

MINISTER: May she rest in peace. Amen.

MELINDA: I was numb.

I was so desperate to feel anything.

You see, that's how this happened.

He was there at the right time
to take advantage of me.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

(CLEARS THROAT)

BRENDA: Hi.

I'm Brenda.

Hey, I'm Robert.

You have a last name?

Gayle.

Hmm.
How do you know Melinda?

School.
Oh.

Well, we haven't seen you around here.

Yeah, I'm from Kirkwood.

Oh.

Well, this is a different side
of the tracks for you.

What do you do for a living?

I'm in school right now.

Oh. That's good. That's good.

Yeah.

Well, if you don't have a job,
then who's paying for it?

Student loans. Scholarships.

That kind of thing.

Oh. So you must be smart.

Or an athlete.

No, no athlete.
No? Oh.

Oh. This is my boyfriend, Casey.

Oh. Hi.
Hi, man.

Hey. Nice to meet you, man.
Good to meet you, too.

And this is Kalvin, Brenda's fiancé.

What's up, man?
Good to meet you.

Good to meet you as well.

So what are you studying?

Mechanical engineering.

Oh. Devon, come here.
DEVON: Hey.

Hey.

Sorry about your mom.

Thank you so much.

How are you?
I'm good.

Oh. I'm so rude. Um...

What's your name again?

Robert.

Robert. Robert, this is Devon.

Devon, this is Robert.

Devon is Melinda's boyfriend.
Nice to meet you.

Ex-boyfriend.

BRENDA: You know she still loves you.
JUNE: Mmm-hmm.

Oh, Mel, look who came!

Hey.

I'm sorry about your mom.

Thank you.

Oh, uh, Devon, come with me for a second.

Melinda, we have to thank the pastor.

You know him, right?
Okay. Yeah, yeah.

I'll be right back, okay?
Okay.

Robert!

Hey.
Hey.

Why are you leaving so soon?

Well, you have your family.

I just wanted to make sure
that you're okay.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Of course.

I'll see you later, all right?

Wait, where are you going?

To the train.

The train? I mean, that's a long way.

Did you walk here?

You walked here? Look, no, I can just...

No, I'm fine. I'm fine.
I can drive you.

No, no, look. I'll get my keys.

I'll be right back, I'll drive you.

Mel. Melin...

MELINDA: Wow, is that your house?

ROBERT: No. That's my house.

You live in there?

Yeah.

Can I come in?

Yeah.

Watch your step.

Thank you.

What kind of music is this?

Are you kidding me?

What?

This is Nina Simone.

You've never heard of her?

No. (CHUCKLES)

I need to play something
for you then. Hold on.

I'll pass.
No, no, no.

You have to hear her voice.

Her singing is like going to church.

Listen.

(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING ON RECORD PLAYER)
(WOMAN SINGING)

It's kind of sad.

I'm so sorry.
No, no, no. It's fine.

You can leave it on.

So how long have you lived here?

A while.

I know it's not much,
but my uncle left it to me,

and my aunt lets me stay here
in the driveway for free.

Where are your parents?

My father's in prison.

And my mother left me with my grandmother,

who raised me until she died,
when I was 14.

Then I moved out here with my aunt,

and I've been living out here ever since.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother.

She sounded like a good lady.

Yeah.

Yeah, she was amazing.

You know, she...

It's okay.

Come here.

I'm sorry.

MELINDA: There was something about
the way he said he was sorry

that made me believe it.

And the way he held me.

I know this sounds so stupid,

but you have to know, I was a kid.

He made me feel safe and strong and...

You're beautiful.

...beautiful.

My mother wasn't even
cold in the ground yet,

and there I was.

What kind of man takes advantage
of a girl's grief, huh?

I'll tell you.

A low-life maggot of a motherfucker,
that's who.

He had to know that grief
can leave you open

to not knowing yourself at all.

Add that to me being so young.

He had my mind, my heart, my head...

and, let's not forget...

my virginity.

(SOUL MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)

(MUSIC ENDS)

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING ON RECORD)
(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)

(SIGHS)

Oh. What are you listening to in here?

You never heard of Nina Simone?

Oh. That's Mama's music.

Or it's that boy's.

You going out with him again?

Yeah.

And I wish you would stop saying "him."

His name is Robert,
and I really like him, okay?

And I want you to like him, too.

Are you having sex with him?

Well, it's a fair question.

But what I wanna know is,

who's paying when
y'all going out on all these dates?

What?

Look, Melinda.

Don't tell that boy

that Mama left you that money
and this house.

I'm telling you.
All right.

MELINDA: Ugh. I hate to admit it,
but Brenda was right.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

I had made the mistake
of telling Robert about the house

and the $350,000 that my mom left me.

But that didn't matter to him, right?

He wanted me.

Right?

So the name of the company is called
Prescott & Howard Industries.

Okay.

And the owner, David Prescott,
is a super cool guy.

Man, he's always looking
for the next big thing.

And he's a tree-hugger billionaire

always talking about
saving the environment, you know?

So he finds people
who just have great ideas

and he changes their lives.

You know, he's made millionaires
out of a lot of people

just by investing in their project.

And it's a lottery.

He goes through the mail and finds ideas.

But if he likes them,
then he contacts you for a meeting,

and you have to come
right when he says come,

which is pretty cool.

So I send a letter
to his office every week

talking about my battery idea.

You know what I call it?

The Gayle Wind.

You know, my last name. Yeah.

Okay, but, look.

So is the battery, like, that powerful?

Yeah.

Yeah, well, I think you should call it
Gayle Force Wind.

Oh, man!
Yeah?

I like that better.
Yeah.

I love that.

I need to write it down.

I'll be around to remind you.

You promise?

What, you planned on kickin' me out?

No.

Just a lot of disappointments, that's all.

Mmm. I won't disappoint you.

And I won't disappoint you.

We're gonna be so rich.

Look, the Gayle Force Wind

is gonna allow us to live
in that building right there,

on the top floor.

And we're gonna have one of those.

MELINDA: What? A tugboat?

ROBERT: No, a yacht.

And I will name it the Mrs. Gayle.

The Mrs. Gayle?

Yeah, I'm gonna name it after you
when we get married.

You're gonna be my wife forever.

MELINDA: "Forever." That's what he said.

Those were his words. "Forever."

And I believed him.

I trusted him.

I was so in love with him,

I didn't see the con man for the con.

Man!

MELINDA: We could have our first kid
before, like, the age of 28.

And then we can have one,
like, right after, so...

keep this body in shape.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

A little baby, I can't wait.

Look, we're gonna have
all the kids we want

because we'll have all the money we want.

I sent another letter to Prescott, right?
Mmm-hmm.

And I was thinking, what if he calls
and I have to wait for a bus?

I mean, I can just
drive you when he calls.

What if you're not around?

MELINDA: You see the game?

He had a way of not asking but suggesting

to make me think
I wanted to do things for him.

And wouldn't you know it?

A few days after he got the car,
the only time I talked to him

was when I called him.

One day, I waited a whole day to see
if he would call me, and he didn't.

So I waited two days,
and he still didn't call me.

BRENDA: Melinda...

we need to tell you that now
that we're all married,

we're gonna be moving out.

Okay.
Thank you, babe.

So, you need to get a job
so you can keep up this place.

Yeah.

Okay.

I'll be right back.

(TAPPING KEYS)

(LINE RINGING)

ROBERT: Hello?

Hey.

Oh. Hey, there! How are you?

MELINDA: "Hey, there. How are you?"

Wait. Wait. Why the hell
was he talking to me like that?

I don't know. You tell me.

Oh. Nothing, baby.

I've been working on my battery.

(SCOFFS) Okay, well, you haven't
called me in two days.

Well, you didn't call me.

I thought you were busy.

Doing what?

I don't know.

But, baby, I need both my hands
for this soldering.

Can I call you back?

MELINDA: You ever get that feeling

when a man is telling you something,
and you know it's bullshit,

but you just go with it?

Yeah. Yeah.

(LINE DISCONNECTS)

Well, I knew this was bullshit,
and I tried to go with it.

But as nice as I could be,

there was also another side to me
that he hadn't met yet.

If he was lying to me,

maybe it was time for me
to introduce him to my bitch.

And, I mean, she's a motherfucker.

Call it women's intuition.

I don't know. Call it whatever.

All I know is that something
made me drive over there.

Not only did I drive over there,
but the same thing that made me drive

told me to park across the street
and not get too close.

After sitting there for almost an hour,
I felt kind of stupid.

I was trying to talk myself

out of the voice
that was deep inside myself.

That was myself.

I started thinking, "How dumb is this?

Oh, God. This looks desperate."

There I was, sitting outside
of a man's house...

well, RV...

trying to see if he's lying to me.

I already knew he was lying!

It was in my damn gut!

And here I am trying to confirm
what I already knew.

I'm not doing this.

(STARTS ENGINE)

(WOMAN MOANING)

MELINDA: There is something
about my crazy.

It's blind.

It's not rational.

It rages. It doesn't stop.

It doesn't subside. It doesn't quit.

It's immediate.

(TIRES SCREECHING)
(MELINDA YELLING)

(WOMAN SCREAMING)

WOMAN: Robert, what was that?

ROBERT: I don't know. Are you okay?

(GRUNTS)

(WOMAN AND ROBERT SCREAMING)

This what you do to me?

Huh?
Give me your hand.

Is this what you do to me?

Is this what you do to me?

Melinda! Melinda!
This is what you do to me?

And then you lying with this bitch!

Melinda!

Yeah!

What you looking at, bitch?

You didn't tell me
you were in a relationship, Robert!

Go!
What you looking at? Yeah!

Stop, stop! Please!
Don't touch me!

Please, what? Please, what?
Come on, please!

Please!
Please, what?

Stop it. Stop it!

Let go of me!
Stop!

You're bleeding.
We gotta stop the bleeding.

Christ. Melinda.

Melinda! Melinda!

Fuck!

MELINDA: I had so much adrenaline
that I didn't know

I slammed my body against
the steering wheel so hard.

Internal bleeding.

And worse, ruptured ovaries.

A full hysterectomy,
and I wasn't even 21 years old.

Children, never.

BRENDA: No. No, no.

So you cheat on her, you take her money,

she buys you a car, and you do that?

You do that?

She better be all right.

That's all I know, you know?

Hey, hey...
Just get out!

Get out of here!

Get out of here!
Maybe it's best you leave.

You're not welcome here!

Get out!
Go.

I'll call you.

I'll call you.

How could he do this to her?

How could he do that to her?

MELINDA: I was laid up for three weeks.

I was in so much pain.

Melinda, you've been doing this

since you were a little girl.
Yes.

You get mad and nothing matters.

You have to stop doing that.

I know.

MELINDA: I did know that.

For some reason, I couldn't control it,

any more than I could control
how I was feeling about him.

I soon realized that most of
my pain wasn't physical. It was...

ROBERT: Melinda!

MELINDA: No, no, no. Look,

you have to let him talk to me.

Please? I just want to know why.

Baby, sometimes men don't have a why.

No. They just got a bunch of lies.

June, can you go get him for me? Please?

He ain't coming in here
to do nothing but lie to you.

He probably just broke and hungry
and needs some more money.

Why don't you just let him get it

from the whore
you just caught him with, huh?

(ROBERT SIGHS)

Can we have a moment, please?

Please?

We will be right on
the other side of this door.

Okay. All right.

Come on.

ROBERT: I'm so sorry, baby.

I don't even know why I was with her.

She didn't mean nothing to me.

Nothing.

It was just sex.

MELINDA: And here we go.

How many times has a woman
heard this bullshit?

And I felt so bad because
you been there for me.

I love you. Just you.

I'm sick without you.

I need you.

(MELINDA AND ROBERT SIMULTANEOUSLY)
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...

I promise I won't do it again.

MELINDA: And somehow,
that shit always worked.

Until it didn't.

After all, he had me
by a four-letter word.

Love.

And I did love him.

And that part I couldn't help,
no matter what he did.

Love is a bitch when she's chained
to a tormentor.

And when that tormentor is a con man,
well, what do you do?

Just wait for the next con.

What?

What is it?

I lost my scholarship.

And I don't have a way of paying for it.

I can't get a student loan.

It's too late, so...

How much are your last two semesters?

(MELINDA SIGHS) Yep... You heard me.
My dumb ass paid

for his two final semesters of school.
(ROBERT CRYING)

I was still with my man, holding him down.
You know? (CHUCKLES)

My lying, cheating,
son of a bitch of a man.

There I was.
You sure?

I couldn't even believe I said it.

You don't have to judge me,
I'm my own jury. Okay?

And I had already convicted
and sentenced myself.

I was guilty of stupidity.

So guess what he did
when I wrote that check? (SCOFFS)

You guessed it.

The bastard didn't even have a ring.

This is temporary.

One day, I'm going to replace it
with three diamonds.

One big one in the center for our love,

and a yellow one on this side

to remind us to always
look towards the sun.

And a chocolate one on this side
that reminds us

that there may be dark times ahead.

MELINDA: And then I heard myself say...

Yes!

Yes! Yes!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

(DOOR CLOSES)
That man cheated on you

and you almost died.

What happens when he does something
to you the next time?

There won't be...

No, don't say there won't be a next time.

That man is throwing out
all kinds of red flags,

and now you wanna just go and marry him?

I can't and I will not stand for this!

If you go, and you go and do that,
I won't be there!

I won't.

June.

This is a mistake.
Mmm-hmm.

MELINDA: And yet,

there I was, walking down the aisle

with more questions in my head
than petals in my bouquet.

I couldn't help but look over
at the empty seats

where my sisters should have been sitting.

I couldn't believe they didn't come.

But I should have understood,

seeing as how I wasn't even sure
why I was there.

There was Sarah at the altar,

my maid of honor, cheering us on.

She loved the thought of us.
I guess I did, too.

But the thought of us was better
than the reality of us.

And there was Robert,
standing at the altar, smiling...

as I walked, moth to a flame.

MINISTER: I now pronounce you
husband and wife.

You may kiss the bride.

(GUESTS APPLAUDING)

MELINDA: Burned.

Years ticked by like seconds
on that big clock in my mother's hallway.

And with every tick,
there was a subtraction sign

from the account for something.

Something he needed,
supplies for his battery,

books for research, metals, plastics.
Always something.

And as the money got low,
so did his affection for me,

his tolerance of me,

his patience.

Damn.

Did I just say I was being tolerated?

(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(MELINDA SIGHS)

I need you to see this.

I mean, I'm worried.

Is this right?

Yeah.

Damn.

I'll get a job, babe.

I'll try to help out.

MELINDA: "Try"?

I couldn't believe
that bastard just said "try."

But you know it's gonna be
hard for me to study

and work, and work on this.

But I'll try. I mean, I will. I will.

MELINDA: For some reason, I just smiled.

I just need a little more time.

Okay.

Hi, Ms. Hilderbran?
Yes.

My name is Robert Gayle.
I know who you are.

Will you please stop calling
and writing letters?

That's not how this works.
It won't get you seen.

It's a lottery system for a reason.

I know, but could you just...

(FUNK MUSIC PLAYING)

MELINDA: Sarah helped me get a job
in her office as an office assistant.

SARAH: They need these by morning.

Sorry.
Sarah.

It's good overtime.

MELINDA: I was actually working two jobs.

I would leave there

and clean offices at night.

Anything I had to do

to keep from having
to ask my sisters for anything.

I just...

I just had to get through
the next year, you know?

I thought, "Just work hard, girl,
this man loves you."

(LAUGHING)
(MACHINE WHIRRING)

Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

(HIGH-PITCHED WHINING)

Robert.
Baby!

Robert, you have every light on
in this house.

The light bill was $300 last month!

Baby, this won't run up the light bill.

This is my battery working.
It's running the whole house.

Robert, did you talk to an electrician?

Why?

(ELECTRICAL POPPING)
(BOTH YELPING)

MELINDA: Oh, my God!

(SONG SLOWS, STOPS)

(TIMER TICKING)

Sorry.
(TIMER DINGS)

MELINDA: Not only did he almost
burn down my mother's house,

he burned up all the wiring.

It almost worked.

MELINDA: Cost to repair? $37,000.

That was it.

We were in the hole.

ROBERT: At least I didn't break nothing.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER: Thomas Fry.

MELINDA: But then the day came
that I had been waiting for.

ANNOUNCER: Robert Gayle.

(CHEERING CONTINUES)

(CAMERA CLICKS)
MELINDA: I was so happy.

I thought for sure that the very next day,
our lives would change.

I thought all of our troubles were over.

I mean, he had three job interviews.

Each started at $150,000 a year.

I was so excited.

But...

How could all three turn you down?

I mean, they recruited you.

When I was 15,

I was in a gang,
and we robbed a grocery store.

I got charged as an adult,

and I spent two years in jail.

I thought I could get it
expunged off my record

since I was only 15,
but it's still there...

and no one will hire a felon.

MELINDA: You have no idea how much
I was looking forward to a break.

Room to breathe, you know?

To relax. Let him take care of me
for a change.

But there I was, hearing this.

A felon.

And now he tells me?

This motherfucker says this to me now!

The con game. You see?

Baby, it's not the end of the world.

(LAUGHS BITTERLY)

Look, I have an idea.

I figured out all the bugs,
and now it's even better than ever.

I just need to get it to Prescott.

I know he'll love it, okay?

I'm still sending letters.

I'm going by and I'm calling.

And I'm gonna call his secretary.

I know we're low on money.

But I was thinking,
if we mortgage the house,

we can pay for the rest
of my research on this

and make it top notch, a new design.

I know it'll work.

Okay. Mel, look at me. I know it'll work.

No.
Come on.

Don't stop believing in me now.

Please trust me.

It's gonna work, I know it will.

MELINDA: What the hell?

I felt like my back was against the wall
and I had no choice, you know?

I couldn't keep doing this.

I couldn't keep working like this.

Come on.

MELINDA: So I had to fall for the con.

I was in too deep to stop and walk away.

So guess what my stupid ass did.

My mama's house.

A house that was paid for,
that she left to me.

The house that she had worked
her entire life to pay for.

I mortgaged it.

ROBERT: Melinda!

MELINDA: Working to keep my sisters
from knowing what I had done.

And every time I would see him
sleeping in the bed

when I was headed to one of my two jobs,

I would get mad, you know?

I would get resentful.

And this was my routine every day.

To the bastard's credit,
he did get odd jobs from time to time.

But they...

They didn't even cover the utilities
most of the time.

How do two people live through two decades
and miss everything?

Every moment of it?

I'll tell you how.

You just feel trapped.

But fuck that.
This trap wouldn't destroy me.

Or did it?

One of the saddest parts
of our lives was that

we were just existing.

No coloring outside of the lines,
no excitement,

no birth of a child to mark our age,

or his or her first step,
or his or her graduation.

Nothing to be a mile-marker
for the years that were passing.

There were no warning signs.

Eighteen years seemed to pass like days.

How does that happen?

Diana.

Wow. You look great.

Robert Gayle.

How have you been?

I've been good.

God, I haven't seen you since...

Yeah, yeah.

She destroyed your RV.

I don't blame her though.

You should have been honest.

We were kids.

No, but you lied to me also, Robert.
I didn't know about her.

Yeah, I know, I know, I'm sorry.

Anyway, whatever happened to her?

I married her.

Okay.

So what are you doing here?

Yeah, well, get this.

I've been sending letters
to Prescott here for years,

telling him about my battery.

You remember, in school,
what I was working on?

No, sorry, I don't.

Well, anyway, I've been trying to get
a meeting with him,

and I found out that
Ms. Hilderbran retired

and that you took her place...

Congratulations, by the way.
Mmm-hmm.

So I figured this must be God
helping me out, you know?

No, it's not God. I can't help you.

What? Why?

No, I can't. We have new policies now
about receiving information.

But look, Robert, it was really...

It was nice to see you.

Can I take you for a coffee sometime,
maybe catch up?

Yeah, sure, if you invite your wife.

Look, I do not cheat on my wife.

I don't do that.

This is strictly business.

I can't help you.

Look, I know.
I'm sorry.

I know, I understand. I just...

I just need some advice, that's all.

Okay, look. Here's my card.

I usually grab coffee at Q & A

on 52nd Street in the mornings
at about 7:00 a.m.

If you happen to be there...
Yeah.

...then maybe we can talk, okay?

Okay, thanks. Maybe I'll catch you there.

Okay.

Carly, can you get me the file
on Robert Gayle?

CARLY: You want the file on the psycho

who's been sending letters here
since before I was born?

That's what I said.

Sure.

Thank you.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello?

MELVIN: Robert Gayle?

Yeah.

My name is Melvin White.

I'm the head of security
for Prescott & Howard Industries.

I'm calling to inform you

that you've been put into our system
as a credible threat.

You are not to send
another letter to our office,

nor contact or visit
any one of our employees.

You're not to come within
300 yards of our campus.

If you come near the building again,
you will be arrested.

(LINE DISCONNECTS)

Fuck!

(GRUNTS)

Damn it!

(ROBERT BREATHING HEAVILY)

What happened?

They won't see me.

Prescott. They won't see me!

Okay? They won't!

All these years wasted!

(ROBERT GRUNTS)

Damn it. I wanted this for us, baby.

I wanted it to work for us.

I wanted to get you that ring.

The apartment, the boat, the private jet.

I wanted you to have it all.

I wanted you to have it all.

Have you ever asked me what I wanted?

I just want you to get a job,

help me out consistently, that's all.

Now that we know this battery
is not going to work...

we can put it away, okay?

Because that's over.

That's it.

Move on. Let's just move on.

Okay?

I know this could work.

MELINDA: Please.

Please.

Please. Come on.

Just a job.

Okay?

Yeah.

I'll find the best job I can.

Baby.

If you give up on me now,
I got nothing left.

Tell me you love me.

I love you.

I do.

But I'm so tired.

I'm so tired.

MELINDA: Go, go. It's recording.

Hi, my name is Robert Gayle,
and this is my wife, Mel.

Hi, I'm Melinda Gayle.

And we are excited to show you
my new invention!

It's called the Gayle Force Wind.

And it's powering this room right now.

Melinda?

Melinda?

MELINDA: Hey.

BRENDA: Did you know this house
was about to be foreclosed on?

Did you?

That damn Audra at the bank.

She's not supposed to be
telling my business.

Mel, that's our cousin.

Did you know this house
was about to be foreclosed on?

Yeah, I was just getting
my battery ready for...

We all know about that damn battery.

That shit ain't never gonna work.

It's a joke.

Get a job and help her.

Baby, that's enough, okay?
Yes, Brenda, stop it.

We need to be able to talk about this.

BRENDA: Melinda, this is Mama's house.

We grew up here.

And you mortgaged it for him?

His ass needs a job.

Why are you putting up
with this shit, huh?

Why?
Brenda, let up...

Move, Kalvin.

The things our daddy did
to keep this house.

And you gonna lose it?

I knew this would happen.

Okay, okay. Listen.
I knew it.

We know the problem,
and we know you don't have the money.

So Audra told you that, too?

Mel, we're trying to help you.
Just listen. We have a plan.

Babe, tell her the plan.

Look, Kalvin and I went to the owners
of one of the restaurants we deliver for.

He will advance us money
for future deliveries

three weeks at a time.

But if we mess this up,
he'll take our trucks.

BRENDA: I do not like this at all.

Baby, it's all right.
We're just trying to help.

We worked our asses off for those trucks.

KALVIN: Baby, stop!

Just listen.

Look, man.

All we need you to do is help us
keep the requirements, all right?

You gotta drive and you gotta
be on time to his chains.

That's all.

We can get this paid back in, like,
three months.

But you can't be late.

You can't miss a delivery or a pickup,
or we'll lose everything.

Everything!

And we can't pay you.
And we shouldn't do it.

He don't give a damn about nothing
and nobody but himself.

Look, promise us that
you'll do this, Robert.

And you'll do this right.

Promise us.

Yeah.

I'm in.

MELINDA: See, he's in.

I'll see you at the lot
at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.

I'm there.

And I'm changing the locks.

Mel, we're just trying to help.

Mmm-hmm.

She gotta want to help herself.

You're right.

Have a good night.
6:00 a.m.

MELINDA: He'll be there. Just go.

You know why I know how you don't
love me the same?

You didn't even try to defend me.

MELINDA: That bastard
actually said that to me.

He actually said that.

(CELLPHONE BUZZING)

Another morning.

No kiss, no hug.

Good morning.

Another night of him sleeping downstairs.

At first, I was sad about it.

Then I started to get mad.

SARAH: It's good.

Right? I mean, it's good.
At least he's working.

Yeah, right.

He's so mad at me, though.

Is he?
Yeah.

He's not touching me.

He sleeps downstairs.

We haven't had sex in months.

Really?

Yeah, it's like we're roommates.

Well... Hey. At least
he's a roommate with a job.

Right.

Yep.

But I know that man.

And he is very sexual.

So if he's not getting it from me,
he's getting it from somewhere.

No, Mel, no.

I don't believe that, not for one second.

Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure.

I'm sure. He learned his lesson
before y'all got married.

Okay.

If he's cheating, he better pray to God
that I don't find out.

Yeah, for all our sakes.

Stop it.
You a little crazy.

Hey!
You know it.

I love my wife.

And I just wanna do so much for her.

She's done so much for me.

And if you can find the time to just
take a look at the Gayle Force Wind,

it will truly, truly change this planet.
(BATTERY HUMMING)

The Gayle Force Wind. (VOCALIZING)

(SING-SONGY) The Gayle Force Wind.
The Gayle Force Wind.

Hey, they need this delivery
by 11:00 am this morning.

It's a big one.
Okay.

They're having a corporate luncheon
or something like that.

All the execs will be there,
and they need this fish fresh.

And he likes it an hour before they open.

ROBERT: Okay.

It's our biggest client,
so you can't be late.

Okay.
Look, man...

you've been killing it around here.

All right. Keep up the good work.

And don't worry about the Moore sisters.

They're just close.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

Hey.

So, I see. You just not
gonna say nothing to him?

Not a damn thing.

I just need him to work,
like all of us have to do.

Let me see, 9 times 16.

Let's see here.

Let's see here.

27...

2...

Okay.

What is this?

Hi, Mr. Prescott. My name is Robert Gayle.

I invented this battery, Gayle Force Wind.

I would appreciate it

if you would consider
reviewing my materials.

Thank you.

Are you still watching those videos?

Yeah.

Is Prescott in yet?

Let me check.

(CELLPHONE RINGING)

Yeah.

CASEY: Hey, man. It's 9:30.

Just wanted to be sure
you're gonna be there at 11:00.

Yeah.

I'm tracking you. It's a lot of traffic.

Yeah. I'm close.

You the man.

I'll call you when it's done.

Okay.

(CELLPHONE RINGING)

Look, the last letter I sent was
the morning before you called.

You must have just gotten it.

I won't send another.
I won't call your office.

Plus, I threw the battery out,
so no need to threaten me.

DIANA: Well, that's too bad.

I saw your research. It's brilliant.

I've shown it to Mr. Prescott.

Oh, my God.

He wants to meet with you today at 11:30,
but if you've thrown out the prototype...

No, no, no. I have it, I have it.

Can you make it at 11:30?

11:30.

Does it have to be today?

Robert, you're joking, right?

Yeah, yeah. Yes, yes.
I'll be there. I'll be there.

Okay, I'll see you then.

Oh, shit.

(BEEPING)

CASEY: Kalvin!
Yo.

Check this out, man.

KALVIN: Where's he going?

Shit.

He's not pickin' up.

Babe.

BRENDA: Hey, Kalvin.

Yeah, you're not gonna believe this.

What's up?
Where you at?

I'm going to Mel's.
You with Melinda?

No. Not yet. What?

It looks like he's heading to her house.
What?

Yeah. Meet us over there, all right?

All right.
All right. Love you.

Come on, man.

Come on.

(HORNS HONKING)

Hey! Hey!

(CELLPHONE RINGING)

Hey!

Hey, hey, hey!

Sorry, sorry.

I need that, I need that, I need that.

That?
Yeah, yeah.

Of course.

Hey, Mel.
Mmm-hmm.

Mel, honey, your sisters are here.

(SIGHS) This can't be good.

MELINDA: Do you know what the last thing
a woman wants to hear about her man?

It's that he's cheating on her.

SARAH: Wait up, I'm coming.

And the last person in the world
she wants to hear that shit from

is the damn family member
who told her he would.

Hey, baby, you're not gonna believe this!

The fuck is wrong with you, man?

You're gonna cost us our biggest client!

Where the keys?
Let me show you, man.

Right here.
What the hell is wrong with you?

You trying to destroy us?
Look, I'm sorry!

KALVIN: Let it go, man.
ROBERT: I'm sorry, man.

Hey, baby, you're not gonna believe this.

But they called...
They called about the battery.

Prescott called, baby.

What is this?

Why was her wallet in your truck?

What?

After all these years,

you still messin' around with her,
aren't you? Hmm?

After all we've been through, Robert?
No. Baby, no.

Baby, no. I promise you. Listen.

I saw her.

It must've fallen out in the truck.

Why was she in your truck, Robert?

Listen, listen.

Listen, I gotta go.

You gotta go?
I promise you it isn't... Listen.

I will explain everything
when I get back, okay?

Robert, if you walk out of that door,
there is no coming back.

Prescott called me.
I have to go. I have to go.

So you're just gonna leave?

You're just gonna leave?

Where you goin', huh?

Where you goin'? Where you goin'?

Baby, I need my keys!

You ain't getting a damn thing!

What, you just gonna just leave?

Baby, I gotta go. Give me the keys!

No! Take 'em.

Take 'em. Please, take 'em.

I can call the cops,
I'll have your ass arrested.

Take 'em!
Damn it, baby!

You don't understand!
I need to see Prescott!

What? Her?

No!
After all these years...

Baby, I didn't do anything! Baby...

Baby! Mel!

MELINDA: Get off of me. Get off of me!

Get your hands off of me!
Mel, stop!

Mel, you need to stop!
No!

Stop it!
BRENDA: Melinda!

Give me the damn keys!
Melin...

Get off of her! Get off of her!

Get your ass off of my sister!

No!
MELINDA: Get off of me so I can...

Get off of me! Don't let him go!

Come on! Help me!
Don't let him go!

MELINDA: Don't let him go!

Don't let him go! You're letting him go!

Why are you letting him go?

You better not come back!

BRENDA: Go!
MELINDA: Don't let him go!

BRENDA: Help me, June.
Get her up here. Go!

(MELINDA SCREAMING)

Damn it.

Robert.

What a way to make
the wrong first impression.

You look terrible.
I'm sorry.

Gonna be hard to convince people
you're not crazy looking like this.

Follow me, come on.

Are you okay?
(SIGHS)

Robert...

(STAMMERING) My wife...

You're melting down.

You left this in my truck.

Robert, did you steal my wallet?

You left it in my truck.

No, Robert. Is this what this is about?

Did she find it?

I'm so sorry.

I got nothing left. Okay?
I got nothing left.

Yeah, I risked everything
for this meeting with Prescott, okay?

And I'm not even sure if I can do this.

Look... Look at me, Robert! Look at me.

If this is as good
as your research suggests

then your dreams have come true.

Now you need to put
the personal shit aside

and you go in there and you own that room.

You got me?

Come on, let's go.

Leave that.

Mr. Prescott, this is Robert Gayle.

The persistent Mr. Gayle.

Like a gale force wind.

All right. Let's hear this pitch.

What happened? Did we make it in time?

No.

So we're gonna lose our trucks?

We can keep the trucks.
We lost him as a client.

He won't give us the money for this house.

(SIGHS)

It's gonna be okay, baby.

Is she okay?

No.

MELINDA: I wasn't.

I was in that place that scares me.

That place between present and furious.

I had lost all rhyme and reason.

It's like nothing mattered
but getting even.

I was told I get it from my daddy,
but his was quiet.

Mine...

I would burn a whole house down
with me in it

to get to the motherfucker
that done me wrong.

...and the lipo and nickel,
and the Gayle Force Wind...

Okay, I've heard enough.

Our team has received your research.

They believe it can work,
even though you don't have a prototype.

We wanna offer you $800,000 today

for all your notes and research,
and any plans that you have.

You will have to sign
a non-compete, of course.

$800,000. Um...

You wanna buy... Buy my work?

Yes.

That's how this goes.

We are prepared
to write you a check today.

(SIGHS) Um...

No offense, Mr. Prescott...

I have no intentions of selling my work.

I wanna own my copyrights
and license it to you for a term.

When this thing hits the market,
it will bring billions to your firm.

I only think it's right for me
to participate in that upside.

Yes. But I would be taking all the risk
and spending all the money to perfect it.

$800,000 is my offer to you, Mr. Gayle.

And it's not changing.

Take it or leave it.

Um...

I'm gonna have to say no.

I'm sorry to have wasted your time.

Sure. Okay.

Well, thank you.
Sorry, Mr. Prescott.

Robert. Robert!

Wait, Robert!

There's no way I can take that deal.

It's a lot of money...
Not for him.

This is my life.

What did I do?

I'm sorry.

Robert, I'm sorry,
especially about the wallet.

Robert. Robert.

Look, first let me just say this.

I did not do anything with Diana.

I found out that she worked at Prescott,

and we went out for coffee
to talk business,

and that was it.

And she got into the truck
because her daddy

was some kind of driver
or something like that.

And her...
Her wallet fell out of her purse.

Look, listen, I know it makes
no damn sense,

but it's the truth.

And the reason why
I didn't make the deliveries

because Prescott called me, baby,

to see the battery.

They offered me $800,000.

And he was ready
to write that check today.

And I'm sure if I had a prototype,
it would have been a lot more.

$800,000 today?

Yeah.
KALVIN: You need to take the money.

Look, I can't.

There is no damn money. He lying.

Baby...

Can we talk by ourselves?
Sure.

Sure.

Just let me understand this.

Some random bitch
that I caught you with before

just happens to be in your truck

and leaves her wallet?

This house is getting foreclosed on.

And you turned down an $800,000 check

that Mr. Prescott

was gonna write you today?

Is this the bullshit you selling me?

Baby, this is not bullshit.

Then call him and take the offer.

It's not a good offer.

It's not a good offer, baby.
"It's not a good offer."

So I just lose my mother's house?

Baby, I'll buy you a bigger house.

As a matter of fact,

we're gonna live in a high-rise building
overlooking the city.

And that diamond...

I'm gonna get you.

And the Mrs. Gayle, private jet.

We're gonna make it, baby.

This is it.

No, we're not.

No, we're not gonna make it.

You had a good woman.

I would do anything for you.

And I did.

And you lie

and you cheat on me.

You're a motherfucking loser.

Don't talk to me like that, baby, please.

I'm done with you. I'm done.

I need you to get your shit while you can,
and I need you to get out.

I want a divorce.

Mel...

Mel, please.

No.
Mel, I love you.

Please.

You're really gonna do this?

Why don't you go find that bitch
and let her take you in?

Get out.
Mel.

Get out!

Come on, man. You should leave.

I'm not leaving.

You know me.

You know I can be the motherfucking devil.

MELINDA: Three months later,
I lost my mama's house.

You know, that bastard didn't
even call to see if I was okay.

He didn't even bother.

He was done with me.

He had gotten all he could.

I guess he was off looking
for his next victim.

Not caring that I was devastated.

I can't believe
I let that son of a bitch...

Damn.

(BLUES MUSIC PLAYING)

I was humiliated.

I had to move in with my sister.

At this age, living with my sister?

All I needed was a bunch of damn cats.

Fuck him!

Who the hell took my damn phone?

MELINDA: I had wasted
too many years with Robert.

Too many years feeling lonely
whenever he was around.

Thought it was time for me to move on,
and so did Brenda.

So she wasted no time trying to
get me hooked up with Devon.

She heard that he was divorced.

So, much to my disapproval,
she called him up and we went out.

My divorce wasn't even final,
but what the hell?

So there I was, out with a man.

A man that could pay the check

and who commanded attention
when he walked into the room.

All eyes on him.

And yet, it felt strange.

It felt foreign. It felt wrong.

It... It was like I was starting over

and learning how things
were really supposed to be.

And I thought about Robert
from time to time.

Sometimes with sympathy
but mostly with anger.

Especially when I looked up
and saw his ass.

There he was in the damn kitchen,
washing dishes.

All that money I wasted helping him,
and his ass is in the damn kitchen?

Of all restaurants!

I got mad all over again.

I wanted my $1,234,908.07

And that's with him
paying me back every dime,

and then half of all
the bills for all those years.

Looks like his ass will be washing
a lot of dishes to pay me back.

Fuck it, I'll cut my losses.

Just give me a divorce.

Sorry I'm late.

It's a family divorce, I see.

She wanted us here.

Is your lawyer here, Mr. Gayle?

I can't afford a lawyer.

No, you can't, working as a dishwasher.

Ma'am, you're a guest in this mediation.

Please.

ROBERT: Mel, are you sure
you wanna do this?

I still love you so much.

I do.

We're prepared to let you
have the car and your clothes.

ROBERT: No, no. You keep it.

Keep it all. Everything.
I don't want anything.

I just wanna say this and I'm done...

Mel, I am so sorry that
I couldn't be what you needed.

But I...

I never cheated on you again,
after I saw what it did to you.

I found out what love is

for the first time in my life
because of you.

I can honestly say with all my heart
that I love you.

I will always love you, Mel.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Mel.

Please, Mel, just...

Just look at me.

Well...

At least you don't have to
give that bastard another thing.

(CELLPHONE RINGING)

Hello?

Hello?
ROBERT: Hello.

Where the hell have you been?

Someone stole my phone. Sorry.

I've been trying to reach you all week.

I'm sorry.

So Victor called.

He said that you called him
to represent you in the deal.

If there's ever a deal.

(SIGHS) Prescott will come back, okay?
You'll see.

Just keep your fingers crossed.

Hey, I asked Victor for your home address
or your phone number,

and he said he had
to wait for you to call him.

What's going on, Robert?

I'm just... I'm just...

We're just between places right now.

Robert, did she put you out?

Um...

We're... We're divorced now.

I've been staying in the Genesis Shelter

on 4th for the past three months,
and I'm just... (SIGHS)

I'm coming to get you.

No, Diana.

You okay, baby?

She is fine.

More champagne?

She's celebrating her divorce.

(CHUCKLES)

But my favorite part

is when that bastard said
how much he loved her.

I almost threw up.

You know, I never thought
he was lying to you, Mel.

I always believed he loved you.

BRENDA: You would, but she didn't.

MELINDA: I did believe him.

I even felt sorry for him.

What is that about us as women?

Why do we feel bad
when we didn't do shit, huh?

And yet, there I was
feeling bad about him,

feeling sad that he never made it.

That he was a dishwasher.

Why the hell should I care?

So you know what I did?

I got that tall, sexy thing
standing over there

to take my mind off it.

Can we go back to your place?

Now?
Yeah.

So sorry.

Good night, folks. I'm outta here.
Go on, Devon. It was nice to see you.

Get home safe.
Brenda.

Babe, wait up.

This will do you good.

Thanks.

Sure.

You should have told me
you were in a shelter.

(SIGHS)

It doesn't matter.

Robert, I know you're upset
that you lost your wife,

but listen to me.

It's okay.

Sometimes things just happen, you know?

I'm a firm believer that when

someone falls out of your life maybe...

Maybe they're supposed to.

Maybe they're not supposed to share
the level that you're going to.

Maybe you're supposed to
leave them behind.

I hate seeing you this broken,
this defeated.

You're a good man, Robert. You are.

And you're gonna be okay.

I know that you'll be okay.

MELINDA: Devon was just okay in bed,
but he wasn't Robert.

Robert mastered my body.

He knew my curves.

He knew how I liked it
slightly to the left.

Robert would at least try to hold me.

And the thought of him
being with another woman

still made me jealous.

DEVON: Good night.

MELINDA: You know what I found out?

The truth always comes when a man comes.

When Devon was finished, he was done.

Good night.

Didn't matter what I felt.

You gotta take me home.

You wore me out. Don't you wanna stay?

No! Take me home.

(SIGHS)

Still asleep?

Shit. Damn it.

I can't believe I slept this long.

I gotta get to the restaurant.

I called them and told them you quit.

What? What?

No, Diana, you have no idea how hard it is
for me to get a damn job.

Why would you do that?

What's this?

Is this real?

Yeah.

This is... This is the offer?

Yeah.

I begged Victor to let me tell you.

I'm pretty sure this is
Prescott's best and final.

And this the best part, Robert,

that this is a license for the technology.

You still own the IP.

You did it.

You did it.

Mel.
What?

Melinda!

What?
Look.

What the hell?

No way.
Go.

How are you?

I'm busy.

I just need 10 minutes of your time.

You have two.

Okay.

I just wanted to come here to tell you
thank you for loving me.

You know, there were times
when I doubted myself...

You kept working and kept me believing.

Um... We are never getting back together.

Okay?
Yeah.

Never.
I know.

So what is this?

You borrow a suit,
and you come up here and try to...

(SCOFFS)...impress me?

For what?

My battery. It...

It hit.

Yeah. I signed a deal.

And I'm in business with Prescott.

Good for you.

Good for us.

I know our divorce is finalized,
but I wanted you to have this

for everything you've done for me
over the years.

I don't know of any woman
who would have put up with me,

loved me, cared for me...

Believed in me.

I don't blame you.

Like I said, I started to doubt myself.

I'm just sorry that my dream
took so long to come true.

Anyway, look.

You gave me two minutes,
I'm sure it's just about up.

I love you, Mel.

I always will.

Oh. I almost forgot.

Your mama's house.

It's yours again.

Might look a little different
on the inside

'cause of the last owners, but...

It's yours.

You're taking all day, baby.
BRENDA: My partner got it.

It's mine.

Bam!
JUNE: Boo.

That's what I'm talking about.
I got you on this one.

All right. Let's go, let's go.

Hey, sissy.
Thank you, thank you.

Hey, Melinda.
Where you been?

You're late, babe.

What's up, Mel?
Yeah, I know.

Did Robert give you this?
Yeah.

Along with these keys

and the deed to Mama's house.

What?

Yeah, his battery hit.

He's in business with Prescott.

I'm calling the bank
first thing in the morning.

I already did, and it's good.

Damn.

He hit like this?

I knew he would. That dude is smart.

Mel, when did you see him?

He came to my job to tell me he was sorry,

and that he loved me,
and he wanted to give me that.

Oh, my God.

That is so sweet.
We ain't never had this kind of money.

Wow.

He really did it.

Well...

you always thought he would.

$10 million.

Hell, go cash this before
he changes his mind or something...

He won't.

Well, let's not take no chances.

Let's go to the bank
first thing in the morning.

That bastard
might have a change of heart or...

Shut the fuck up.

Why did I listen to you?

I mean, both of you are
some miserable bitches.

Neither one of you are happy
with these bastards,

and I listened to you.

Now you just wait one minute.
No, no.

Everybody in this town knows Kalvin
has a baby in Ellenwood.

And, well, Casey, you know
what they say about you.

Melinda!

Devon, you should go home
and never call me again.

You are horrible in bed.

You snore,

and you are too big
to have such a little dick.

MELINDA: Fucking shit.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hold on.

Hi.

The address was on the check.

Yeah. Yeah.

And I remembered the building.

(MELINDA LAUGHING IN DELIGHT)

This is the building
you said we would live in.

You look great.

Thank you.

And this view...

Oh!

This view!

(CHUCKLES)

Top floor.

You said the top floor.

Out of your dreams.

This is just like everything
you described to me.

I'm so proud of you.

Thank you.

And when you said you loved me,

I realized I still love you
very, very much.

And I should have believed you

when you said you weren't with her.

But my sisters, my sisters.
They got in my head.

That's all behind us now, Mel.

I'm so glad you said that.

Sorry I'm late, babe.

Hey...

Baby, this is Melinda, my ex-wife.

Hi.

I'm Diana. I'm Robert's fiancée.

MELINDA: There she was.

The bitch I tried to kill
all those years ago

standing in my apartment,

wearing my ring.

Looking at me.

That son of a bitch humiliated me again
in front of that same whore.

I can't believe he let me
pour my heart out

and she was in there all that time.

This bitch was living my life.

The one I bought and paid for.

He would always like
to do it in the shower

because he said it reminded him of us
when we met in the rain.

You see why I hate the rain?

I'm sure he was with that bitch
in the shower.

That was supposed to be mine.

Tasting her.

Fucking her.

Using what I taught him.

Using my tricks on that trick.

And I know Nina was somewhere close.

(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)

By now, Robert was spooning her, I'm sure.

Breathing ever so slightly
on the back of her neck.

I can still smell the slightest hint
of whiskey on his breath.

I can feel it on my neck.

Bitch!

And she just moved in?

Oh, no. I don't think so.

I put every jewel in that crown,

and I was not about to let
another bitch wear it!

(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)

I couldn't believe it.

He could just leave and walk away.

He said he loved me,

but he moved her into my place
like I never existed.

I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep.

All I did was think about him and her.

I had alerts on everything I owned.

Every time that bitch posted something,
I knew it.

And you know what?
Everything he said to me...

He would take me to Paris,
and there they were in Paris.

He said he would take me
on our private jet.

And there they were.

Day and night, I just watched her page.

I couldn't help it.

Her wedding ideas. And her.

She even chose a dress
by the same designer

that I wanted to make mine.

At the same boutique.

ROBERT: I got you.
DIANA: Babe...

I will not let go of you.
Okay.

Walking. So get ready...

Okay.

Not yet.

Come on.
No, just... Right there.

DIANA: All right.

Can I open?

Open them now.

Look behind you.
(GASPS)

Surprise.

Oh, my God!

The Mrs. Gayle.

I told you I would buy it for you.

(UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)

I love this, I love this!
Mmm.

Oh, my God. I like this, but in white.

Hmm.
Yeah?

How about this one?

As you're waving goodbye to your guests.

Perfect! I love it. They're gonna love it!

Hi, John.

Hey, babe. Look at this.

Okay, what do you think about this with
the "bon voyage" and I wave goodbye?

It's beautiful.
Right? Ain't it pretty?

Listen, baby, can I talk to you?

Yeah, sure.

Okay, well, John, we'll talk more
about the wedding tomorrow?

Some other time? Okay.

Okay, thank you.
Thanks, John.

(SIGHS)

What's...

Melinda, she's...

She's suing us.

She's claiming that the deal
happened before the divorce.

We both know that's not true.

Yeah, I know. It's just so sad.

Yeah, I'm gonna call Franklin.

Yeah, I already talked to him
this morning about her.

What? Why?

I didn't wanna tell you,
but I received, like,

3,300 nasty comments from
somebody named Pissed.

And, of course, it's Melinda.

I'll talk to her.

No.
Maybe I can give her more money.

No. It's not about the money.

You cannot negotiate with crazy.

It'll be okay.
Yeah.

Mel?

Mel?
JUNE: Hey, Sarah!

Hey. Hey.

Look, she's not calling us.

I don't think we should be here.
Something's wrong.

BRENDA: Guys, I don't think it's a good
idea for us to go in there. Come on!

Where are you going? What is...

It is still that easy to get in here?

Melinda?

Melinda?
Melinda?

Melinda, where are you?

SARAH: Mel?

BRENDA: What is going...

SARAH: What the hell is all this?
What?

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. What is...

We're certain he made the deal
with Prescott & Howard Industries

while he was still married
to my client, Your Honor.

He also received all the investments

for the Gayle Force battery
from my client's income alone,

and the mortgage from the family house,
which she lost.

Counselor, I'm looking at all
the dates on these contracts,

and the email chains,

and an affidavit from
Prescott & Howard Industries.

They attest that the deal wasn't offered

until well after Mr. Gayle
and your client were divorced.

And seeing as he didn't ask
for the divorce, she did,

I'm confused.

Well, Your Honor...
I'm not done.

After the divorce, he gave your client
$10 million voluntarily.

And then he rebought the family house

and gave that to her.
(INAUDIBLE)

Is that right?

Yes, Your Honor.

And how much are you claiming for damages?

Well, she invested over $1.2 million

over the course of their marriage.

And we're asking for half the value
of the Gayle Force battery,

which deems to exceed
approximately $150 million.

Okay, enough. That's ridiculous.

It is apparent to the court that Mr. Gayle
has been more than fair.

I'm going to dismiss this case.

MELINDA: This is not fair.

I should get half of what he got.
That is fair.

Listen. This court has spoken.

Don't you understand that
he didn't have to give you anything?

This is one of the most generous gestures
this court has ever seen.

This case is dismissed.

Also, Your Honor,
there's another matter on the docket.

Mrs. Moore has been harassing
the future Mrs. Gayle.

You'll see all the evidence
presented there in front of you.

We're asking for a restraining order
for both Mr. and Mrs. Gayle.

I'm the one who should get
the damn restraining order.

Counselor, control your client!
Melinda.

I don't need to be controlled.
I'm not an animal.

Did you send these messages?

This is America.

I have freedom of speech.

JUDGE: These are threats.

You could spend time in jail, Mrs. Moore.

Do it again, and you will.

The restraining order is granted.

Mrs. Moore,

you are to stay 300 yards away
from Mr. and Mrs. Gayle.

Do you understand?
They're not married.

Stay away from both of them.

Is that clear enough for you?

Yes.

Wait, go!

Melinda!

Go!
Mel, don't!

I'm okay, I'm okay.
Stop, stop, stop.

Let them go.

Melinda, no.
Melinda!

This is Melinda,
and I am live recording on the Internet.

I want you to see this injustice.

This whore slept with my husband.

And he left me with nothing...

Stop it now. Please stop.
Enough, enough!

Please stop!

Mel, it's not healthy. I'm serious.

You have to stop the way
you're dealing with him.

I don't want to talk about him.

Fine, we won't.
We'll talk about your sisters,

and how they love you,
and they're worried about you.

And so am I.

That stuff that we found in your house.

It was...
Wait.

You went to my house?

Yeah.

Y'all motherfuckers don't wanna help me.

Come with me, so we can talk about it.

Melinda, just...
No, I see what's going on.

Melinda?
Fuck that!

I'm going to June's.

JUNE: Thank you, guys, for coming.

Look, we're worried about Melinda.

She has really lost it over you two.

Now, we're gonna try to get a judge
to force her and get some help.

That might be a good idea.

But in the meantime,
you need to be careful.

BRENDA: Yeah.
Yeah.

Both of you do.

We have the restraining order.

You guys might wanna have
security at the wedding.

Yeah.
Seriously.

Look, guys,

I know she's upset.

Like you said, I know your sister.

She'll be fine once she calms down.

If you think that,
you don't know her at all.

Oh, my God. No, no, no.

You two, you cannot be here right now.

She's right behind me.
Oh, shit.

Why the fuck are y'all
still coming in my house

without my permission?
Sweetie.

So what y'all been doing?

Talking about me behind my back?
Melinda.

Go!
That's why you brought her here?

No! No!

Let me talk to her!
No!

Y'all have to hold me back! No!

I need that bitch to know that's my car!

Why would you bring her here, Robert?

That's my car, bitch!

It's not worth it, honey.

MELINDA: That's my car!
BRENDA: No! No!

Go!
Get off of me!

I'm okay. Okay!
All right!

I'm okay.

I'm okay. I'm okay.

Stop treating me like this.

Why would you let him bring her here?

So disrespectful!
What kind of family are you, huh?

What about me?

God!
Melinda!

Melinda!

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

ATTENDANT: Hi, may I help you?

No, I'm just looking.

Thank you.

WOMAN 1: Here we go.

WOMAN 2: It's really lovely.

Yeah, I love the buttons.

(ACID SIZZLING)

(ALARM WAILING)

Hey, wait!

FRANKLIN: And she ruined the future Mrs.
Gayle's wedding dress.

JUDGE: This court apologizes to you.

I shouldn't have been so lenient.

It's okay, Your Honor.

I couldn't fit the dress anymore anyway.

This little one's growing pretty fast.

JUDGE: What is it going to take to make
you heed the warnings of this court?

It's obvious to me that you're not
taking this matter seriously.

I will not allow you to continue
to harass these people.

Am I clear?

If you violate this restraining order,

I assure you, you will spend 40 days
in the county jail.

I mean it.

One more offense.

Do I make myself clear?

Yes, Your Honor.

THERAPIST: Melinda.

Have you ever considered that maybe
there's another way to look at this?

Maybe he did mean what he said.

Maybe the deceit isn't what you think.

Would you allow room for that possibility?

Would you feel better
if he was really being honest

and he really meant well?
(SCOFFS)

I am not wrong.

You're just like everybody else.

See... (CHUCKLES)

I get dogged...

and it's my fault.

That's not what I'm saying.

That's what you're saying.

I just wanted to know
if you would consider it.

Let me ask you another question.

Okay.

Have you ever heard of something called
Borderline Personality Disorder?

It's when a person has...

You know what?

I'm not doing this.

Fuck you and this bullshit.

I'm not crazy.

What?

Get out of here with this bullshit.

As a matter of fact, I'm out.

We are gathered here...

MELINDA: That bitch wasted
no time taking over my life.

I just can't believe
Robert married that whore...

and gave her my boat. My boat!

The boat with my name on it.

She was living my life.

Fuck her.

Fuck him.

Fuck them both.

Hey.

(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)

JUNE: Melinda?

Melinda?

(SLOW MUSIC PLAYING)

DIANA: It's a beautiful night.

Mmm-hmm.

Mmm-hmm.

I love you.

Look at those stars.

You're that one. What are you doing?

I meant to start a bath.

Let the staff do it.

No, no. I need to get up.
I need to get sea legs.

You wanna join me in a few?

You know it.

See you.

Where's my wedding dress?

It was hanging in the closet, ma'am.

I didn't see it.

I'll check with housekeeping.

Okay.

(SLOW SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)

The bath is ready already?

No.
(GUN COCKS)

Sit down.

Mel.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

What are you doing, Robert?

Come on, Mel, you know this is not right.
No.

What's not right is what you did to me.

What did I do?

Don't act like you don't remember.

Okay, okay, okay.

Tell me so that I'm sure.

You left me.

You took the best parts of my life.

And you gave that bitch my ring,

my apartment,

my boat,

my life.

And you promised those things to me.
Didn't you, Robert?

Didn't you?

I did, I did.

I did.

I did.

So why... Why did you give it to her?

Mel, you divorced me.

You left me!

You didn't fight.

You didn't fight.
Mel.

No, you used me to work
and take care of you until you made it.

You never loved me.

Mel, that's not true. I loved you.
Then why?

Why did you give it all to her, huh?

Why are you here with her and not me?

You promised me forever.

You promised me forever,
and she was there all the time.

No, no. That is not true, Mel.

I never cheated on you.

Then why?

I never cheated on you, Mel.

Never!

I love you.

I always will.

Good.

Then make her jump off the boat.

Mel, Mel.
Come on.

So we can start our life together.

No, come on, get up. Let's go get her.
No, Mel, Mel.

Get up!

Listen, let's just talk about this, okay?

Come on.

Give me the gun.

Just give me the gun.

(GUNSHOT)

MAN 1: I heard a shot!
MAN 2: It came from up top!

WOMAN: What's going on?

Jump!

Jump!

You better jump!

(SCREAMING)

ROBERT: Mel, what are you doing?

Mel.

Where are you going, huh?

Stop, bitch, before I shoot you in the...

(GUNSHOT)

(GROANING)

Give me the ring.

What ring?

That ring, bitch!

Give it to me.

You bitches are something.

The first wife puts in all the work,

and you whores reap the benefits?

No, ma'am. Give it here.

Give it to me.

No!
(SCREAMS)

Robert!

(WEAKLY) I need to stop the boat.

Okay. Okay.

ROBERT: Pull the throttle.

(ENGINE STOPS)

(GROANING)

Okay. Are you okay?

I'm okay. I'm okay.

Okay, babe.

I need you to get in the tender,
and I need you to go get the crew.

The crew?

She made them jump.

Go.
I'm not leaving you!

Go, baby. I'm bleeding out.

Robert.

They can help me.

Go!

Be careful.

Hurry, baby.

Hurry.

(ENGINE STARTING)

MELINDA: Robert.

It's all your fault, Robert.

Now look at you.

(ROBERT BREATHING HEAVILY)

(SLOW MUSIC PLAYING)

(WOMAN SINGING)

(YELLING)

(INAUDIBLE)

(SONG CONTINUES)

(SONG ENDS)